Stuart Vere (Chairman)

Stuart became Chairman of Avanta Enterprises Ltd in April 2006, following the merger of TNG and InBiz. Stuart was previously Chairman at InBiz and led the Company's successful growth and associated change and restructuring from 2001 to 2006.

Stuart's background has been in CEO, Board and Chair positions, mainly in commercial service industries, both in the UK and overseas. He has a strong record of entrepreneurial and commercial success, achieved through, leadership, creative strategic planning and consistent growth based around a belief in people and their capacity to develop and achieve.

Many of the companies with which Stuart has been associated have involved start ups, Management Buy-ins and company developments in areas such as health and training. A significant number of these have also been involved in the public/private sector interface.

Janette Faherty, OBE (Chief Executive Officer)

Janette became CEO of Avanta in April 2006 having previously been at the helm at TNG, the Company she started in 1983. Following the merger of TNG and InBiz, Janette is now able to use her 25 years experience to guide the group to greater success.

Janette has a 'can do' approach to life, the business and its employees and inspires those around her to achieve, adapt and grow. She has created a working environment that enables people to develop. Janette was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 at the London Business Awards and was the sole UK honouree at the Sydney 2004 'Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World' Awards. Janette was also awarded an OBE for services to unemployed people and entrepreneurship in the New Years Honours List in 2010.

Janette dedicates her time to issues surrounding employment and enterprise through her work with advisory groups, Women in Management and Prowess. She is a member of the local Skills Funding Agency and on regional Skills Funding Agency bodies. She is a regular and sought after speaker on Entrepreneurship, management and women's development topics.

Peter Brooks (Managing Director)

Peter joined Avanta as Managing Director in March 2009. He has several years experience in the private sector, training and welfare to work industry.

Most recently, he was CEO of A4e Work, where he successfully led the diversification of the division into new markets including offender learning, provision of adult social care and legal care. Prior to this, Peter was Operations Director at A4e Work. He has also held senior operational roles at Bass plc.

Peter was educated at Manchester Polytechnic, where he gained a BSc (Hons) in Economics. He holds an MBA from City University Business School and is a qualified Chartered Management accountant.

Colin Martin (Group Finance Director)

Colin joined Avanta as the Group Finance director in March 2007. Colin is a qualified accountant with over twenty years accounting and commercial experience.

He has a detailed knowledge of the training and recruitment industry gained in recent roles whilst working with Triage Consulting Ltd and then Xansa Recruitment Ltd.

Earlier in his career Colin held senior roles in both the Retail and Publishing sectors and has worked for both publicly quoted and private companies.

Chris Spanoudakis (Non-executive Director)

Chris is a founder non-executive director of Avanta Enterprise. He has spent the last fifteen years specialising in mergers and acquisitions predominantly within the private equity arena.

Prior to setting up his own M+A boutique focusing on management buy-outs and disposal transactions in the healthcare and outsourcing sectors, Chris spent a number of years in the United States working in the healthcare and outsourcing sectors.

Chris was an investment banking partner at Price Waterhouse Coopers where he was voted "Rainmaker of the Year" from 1998 to 2000 by the Sunday Times and Mercury Asset Management. Chris is a qualified chartered accountant and is a non executive director on a number of private equity backed businesses.

Suzy Brain England, OBE (Non-Executive Director)

Suzy Brain England, OBE, joined the Avanta Board as a non-executive director on the 1st April 2008. Suzy has an excellent history of achievements and experience in Commercial and Public sectors and received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2009 for her sterling dedication to Public Service, specifically citing her role as Chair of the Department of Work and Pensions’ Decision-making Standards Committee.

Suzy runs her own successful mentoring business supporting senior executives, and providing counselling and hypnotherapy.

She has considerable experience as a chair and director on boards in the public and private sectors. Her current appointments include: Chair of Berneslai Homes, (managing Barnsley's council houses); Chair of the Department for Work and Pensions' Decision Making Standards Committee; Chair of Ofcom's Advisory Committee for England; Chair of Connexions West Yorkshire; a Director for Community Health Partnerships on LIFT (health and social care) boards in Hull, Barnsley, Doncaster, Bradford, Bury, Tameside and Glossop, and a non-executive director on the Mid-Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust.

Suzy is a former non-executive director of Melton Mowbray Building Society, and Chief Executive of the Earth Centre, Morley Books and Library Services UK. She was director of Business Services at the Central London Training and Enterprise Council and an interim CEO for the Talent Foundation.

Stuart Walkley (Non-Executive Director)

Stuart Walkley joined the Avanta Board as a non-executive director in May 2008. He is a qualified psychologist who previously ran his own assessment and organisational psychology company.

Most recently, Stuart was Group Executive Vice President at Right Management, part of the Manpower Group, where he was responsible for all operations in twelve countries. He has also held the post of International Business Development Director at Coutts Consulting Group where he worked in senior management roles for twelve years.

Stuart is an accomplished international public speaker and has commissioned publications on work-life balance, cross-cultural working, and connecting people to strategy to gain a competitive advantage. He is a champion of HR in organisations providing a lead in the optimal performance of companies through effective leadership and strong engagement of people “who are the single most important resource in any company and who hold the key to competitive advantage.”