Social Enterprise Advisory Group members

The Social Enterprise Advisory Group is made up of leaders from across Greater Manchester's public, private, and VCSE sectors. 

Chair of the Social Enterprise Advisory Group

Scott Darraugh – Chief Executive Officer of Social adVentures

Scott is a leading social entrepreneur and an influential voice in the social business sector, working to enable change in public health services for over 10 years. Formerly a Project Director in NHS Salford for over eight years, delivering innovative, community based programmes to some of the UK’s most deprived neighbourhoods, in 2010 Scott became Chief Executive of Social adVentures and created one of the country’s first NHS Social Enterprises. Scott has also been supporting the Cabinet Office’s public service mutualisation agenda.

In 2011 Scott was one of the UK’s Top 100 Young Social Entrepreneurs. Scott is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Art, Commerce and Manufacturers. He is also chair of a number of leading care social enterprises, including Bevan Healthcare and Global Grooves, a non-profit organisation (NPO) in Tameside.

Find out more about Social adVentures (external website)

Members of the Social Enterprise Advisory Group

Anwar Ali OBE – Chief Executive Officer, Upturn Enterprise

Anwar is a multi-award-winning social entrepreneur, BAME business leader, Co-Founder and highly motivated CEO of Upturn Enterprise Limited. With over 20 years’ management experience leading teams that make a difference to people, communities and business.

Anwar carries extensive academic and professional qualifications. Operationally, he has extensive stakeholder, senior management and project management skills – which is based on 20 years’ successful experience of running multi-functional teams, managing publicly funded projects and developing socially focused business programmes, transforming lives and communities across the Northwest and beyond.

Anwar is motivated to solve social challenges and the desire to make a difference to people, supporting communities and delivering a commercial social offer to businesses, stakeholders and supporters. He was awarded an OBE in 2021 for services to social enterprise.

Anwar is based in Oldham and helped co-ordinate the town’s bid to become a Social Enterprise Place. He now acts as Oldham’s Social Enterprise Ambassador.

Find out more about Upturn Enterprise (external website)

Liz Allen – Director of The Connectives

A director of The Connectives, Liz is known for transforming creative ideas into realistic deliverable solutions that grow company value and contribute to social changes.

Liz has worked with enterprises to evaluate culture change, assess social and economic impact and ensure that the voice of the person served informs product or service development. She creates enterprise activity that delivers change in communities and delivers highly effective social impact measurement solutions.

Liz has a first degree in Business and Leisure Management and a Master’s degree in Social Enterprise, as well as being a qualified and experienced social accountant and auditor with excellent knowledge and proven practice in the field of social impact reporting.  A strong advocate of corporate social responsibility, Liz is also an experienced trainer, delivering social impact measurement awareness sessions to many groups representing the public, private and social sectors.

Find out more about The Connectives (external website)

David Baxter – Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Wigan & Leigh Community Charity

David has been working in the community for many years, having managed Platt Bridge Community Zone for 25 years.  In 2013, he founded Abram Ward Community Cooperative, to support a neighbourhood approach to reducing inequalities via the growth of social enterprises and community businesses.  This then expanded borough-wide to support more neighbourhoods in 2021.  He has created the ‘Made in Wigan (external website)' initiative, a local wealth building project funded via Power to Change that aims to reduce inequality through the growth of community businesses.

Wigan and Leigh Community Charity were successful in leading the campaign for Wigan Borough to become a recognised Social Enterprise UK Place in 2020 (external website).

Find out more about Wigan & Leigh Community Charity (external website)

Dr Marilyn Cromie OBE, Director of the Blair Project

Marilyn Comrie is an award-winning entrepreneur, green tech innovator and social justice campaigner.

She is a director of motorsport STEM education provider The Blair Project, principal founder of the Black United Representation Network which exists to tackle racial inequalities in Greater Manchester through wealth generation, and CEO of the Manchester Innovation Activities Hub (MIAH) a £4 million net zero industrialisation and electrification skills training centre to tackle climate change and ensure a just transition.

Marilyn is passionate about developing the pipeline of diverse talent needed to fuel the green industrial revolution and save the planet. This includes girls, Black Asian and Minority Ethnic youth, and those from low-income backgrounds. Her determination, persistence and Northern grit, have earned HER a growing reputation as a transformational leader, influencer and change agent. Her goal is to inspire other women and people of colour to assume leadership roles.

Marilyn sits on the Greater Manchester Business Board (LEP)(external website) and is the Board’s lead for Social Enterprises.

Find out more about The Blair Project (external website)

Lisa Dale-Clough, Assistant Director of Economy at Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Lisa’s role at GMCA is to drive the delivery of the city-region’s economic strategy and priorities, working with other public agencies, business representative organisations, universities, and business and enterprise communities. Lisa has over 15 years’ experience working in the public and private sectors in strategy, policy and management roles in banking (including as Ethics Advisor to The Cooperative Group), housing, health, cultural, transport and economic policy.  Multiple roles have included developing opportunities for social enterprises to grow, shape new markets and deliver outcomes for communities.

Lisa has a PhD in Business and Innovation from University of Birmingham and also worked as an academic at Alliance Manchester Business School, where her research interests included innovation ecosystems, the role of public procurement in shaping innovation and creating value, and Community Share Offers.

Councillor Bev Craig – Leader of Manchester City Council

Bev Craig became Leader of Manchester City Council in December 2021. First elected in 2011 as a Burnage Councillor, she held a range of responsibilities on Manchester City Council, including serving for 4 years as Executive Member for Adult Social Care, Health and Wellbeing, then as Deputy Leader overseeing resources, capital programmes, social value and digital.

Born and raised council estate just outside of Belfast, she was the first in her family to go to university, moving to Manchester in 2003 to study and making it her home. After graduating from the University of Manchester she began her career in local government, before working in higher education and then a national trade union leading on social care. Alongside working full time, Bev completed postgraduate degrees at Warwick Business School and the University of Manchester.

As Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing she led the city of Manchester's COVID health and community response, manging the crisis and focusing on a more equal recovery, and has championed the City’s work to become a Living Wage City.

As Leader, one of her key priorities is on building a more inclusive and sustainable economy and is also the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s portfolio lead for Economy, Business & Inclusive Growth.

Visit Manchester City Council (external website)

Shaun Fensom – Founding Member & Secretary of Cooperative Network Infrastructure

Shaun Fensom has over 30 years’ experience working in and with innovative co-operative businesses. Shaun helped found Cooperative Network Infrastructure, which uses a cooperative model to share digital infrastructure for the benefit of public sector, private sector and community. In the late 1980’s Shaun co-founded Poptel, a cooperative and one of the UK’s first Internet Service Providers. Poptel launched the .coop domain ending in 2001 - now used by cooperatives all over the world. Shaun is a founding director of Manchester Digital and a co-founder of the Customer Union for Ethical Banking.

Find out more about Cooperative Network Infrastructure (external website)

George Konstantakopoulos – Social Enterprise & Innovation Strategist; Founder of Manchester Social Entrepreneurs

George, after finishing his Master research degree in Social Entrepreneurship, found there was no place to share knowledge and network with like-minded people, so went on to start Manchester Social Entrepreneurs in 2014. Since then, the community has grown to +1300 members providing a safe space for people to exchange ideas and network. This has allowed George to work with social entrepreneurs, mainly at idea/early-stage level, but also with established social enterprises.

George’s expertise ranges from business modelling and creating new propositions and revenues to marketing and communications. George also led Wayra's first North accelerator academy, based in Oldham which focused on identifying solutions for the “poverty premium” challenge. George led an EU Horizon 2020 social innovation project, designed and delivered a regional innovation programme for GMCA/MIDAS and also designed and delivered “Innovation Labs” for The University of Manchester and the Doctoral Training Partnership.

Find out more about the Manchester Social Entrepreneurs (external website)

John Hannen – Chief Executive Officer at Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisations (GMCVO)

John Hannen became the Chief Executive Officer of GMCVO in 2021 and is one of their longest serving members of staff, having been at the organisation in various roles for 23 years. Founded in 1975, GMCVO works to drive economic and social inclusion in Greater Manchester through effective collaborations and supporting other organisations to achieve their goals. Their practical services include research, policy and events, whilst their subsidiary companies provide a conference centre (external website) and social investment (external website).

John designed and led the Ambition for Ageing programme between 2013-2021. This was a £10.2 million programme aimed at creating more age-friendly places in the city region and empowering people across Greater Manchester to live fulfilling lives as they age. John is keen to use research and evidence to design new ways of working and to enable low income and marginalised communities to develop the evidence of what works for them.

Find out more about GMCVO (external website)

Mark Hughes MBE, Group Chief Executive of The Growth Company

Mark was appointed as Group Chief Executive of The Growth Company in 2013. Including the Business Growth Hub, Marketing Manchester, MIDAS, and Business Finance Solutions, the Growth Company drives forward GM’s economic agenda and delivers the Greater Manchester Strategy priorities in relation to employment, skills, business support, inward investment, international marketing, the visitor economy, policy development and research.

Formerly Chief Executive of the North West Development Agency, Mark has also held positions with Ernst and Young and DTZ. His Board Directorships have included Central Salford URC, New East Manchester URC and Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus Limited. Mark was awarded an MBE for services to business in the North West in the 2013 New Year’s Honours.

Find out more about The Growth Company (external website)

Hayley Hulme – Managing Director of Starts with you

Hayley has 30 years’ experience working in the public, private and third sector, with a passion for supporting people and places to see and achieve their potential. As MD of Starts with you, she leads Bolton based property services social enterprise using “business brains for social gains”, creating entry level jobs and supporting local people to address barriers which hold them back in life. Passionate about doing business in a kinder, fairer way she is a champion of inclusive economy, social enterprise and good employment practice. Hayley is active in the Greater Manchester social enterprise community and played a key role in securing and delivering “Proper Good” social enterprise support funded via Local Access and Big Society Capital and is an active supporter in the Bolton area. In 2024 Hayley made the prestigious “WISE100” list and was a WISE100 Awards “Business Woman of the Year” finalist.

Visit Starts with You (external website)

Rose Marley – Chief Executive of Co-Operatives UK

Rose Marley has had an eclectic career. Self-employed from a young age, Rose cut her teeth in the music business during the ‘Madchester’ era before turning her hand to social enterprise, inspired by the lack of social mobility in the creative industries and in search of something more impactful. Rose was the founding COO of Manchester City Council developments The Sharp Project and Space Studios where she was a founding director of award winning social enterprise SharpFutures. This led to Rose becoming the Social Enterprise Advisor to Greater Manchester Labour and Co-operative Mayor, Andy Burnham, and lead for the young person's opportunities card Our Pass.

Rose is renowned for her ability to galvanise community action, not least in leading Manchester City Council’s response to the Manchester arena attack, leading a global broadcast of choirs singing from the steps of the town hall on the first anniversary.

Rose joined Co-operatives UK as CEO in January 2021 and has ambitious plans to raise the awareness and growth of the co-operative sector in the UK.

Visit the Co-operatives UK (external website)

Matt Richardson – Head of Leadership, Skills and Social Impact at the Growth Company

Matt is Head of the Leadership, Skills and Social Impact service at the GM Business Growth Hub and also leads on the wider Growth Company’s Social Impact agenda. Matt has worked in community development and social impact his entire career, previously working with local authorities and a national drug and alcohol charity before joining the Hub within the Leadership and Management team. Passionate about value and societal benefit, Matt has led programmes that challenge ways of working within businesses relating to good employment practices, community partnerships and most recently to drive a more inclusive procurement landscape across Greater Manchester. Matt is also Chair of the Greater Manchester Social Value Network and works with school to develop their careers curriculum through the Careers and Enterprise Company.

Find out more about The Growth Company (external website)

Nickala Torkington – Managing Director at Flourish Together CIC

Stockport born and bred, Nickala is Managing Director of Flourish Together CIC, a social innovation company and network which reinvests surpluses in supporting diverse women as a force for social change.  Nickala has spent over 20 years directly supporting over 2,000 social innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders to create the change they saw to be needed in communities across the UK - predominantly in the North West. Nickala is also a social value specialist.

Listed on WISE100 in 2020 and 2022 as one of the top 100 women in social enterprise nationally, Nickala was awarded Woman of the Year in Social Enterprise in 2019 as part of the Inspiring Women Awards and won a Northern Power Women Award for Innovation in 2021.

Find out more about Flourish Together CIC (external website)

Josh Turner – Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Stand4Socks

Josh is the founder and CEO of the award-winning social enterprise Stand4 Socks. They are a global brand with a Manchester HQ and New York office, that supports people experiencing homeless and the UN Global Goals through a buy one give one model. Leading celebrities including Louis Theroux and Stephen Fry have endorsed Stand4 Socks, and supporters include many international brands from Google to Oatly.

Josh appeared on Dragons Den in 2019. His expertise lies in scaling ideas with small budgets, e-commerce, digital marketing, partnerships and growing teams – all with real hands on experience. Although Josh suffers from dyslexia, he puts it down as one of his greatest strengths. Josh is a passionate champion for business for good and entrepreneurship in young people.

Find out more about Stand4 Socks (external website)