Mark Smith

Mark Smith is an entrepreneur who believes in the power of a small business to make a significant difference in the market that it serves. His own entrepreneurial journey started in 1994 when, with colleague Tim Connolly, he left consulting firm KPMG and founded Partners for Change, which established itself as an organisation that was committed to changing the face of consulting in the UK. The business model adopted and the philosophy of working with clients clearly differentiated the business and has since been copied extensively by large and small competitors alike.

Mark and Tim attracted great clients to Partners for Change because they succeeded in creating a vision of the future that struck a chord with large multinational clients like GSK, Cable and Wireless, Barclays, Astra Zeneca, Morgan Stanley, Burger King and many more. They were able to deliver on the vision by attracting the best consultants in the market and by giving them the space to operate and help develop the business. Mark and Tim learned a huge amount about the dynamics of rapidly growing a business from the experience of delivering 100% per annum growth in each of the five successive years following its formation. This growth experience resulted in the company being placed in the Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track table for three years in a row and left the founders with deep insights and views on what it takes to create and sustain the entrepreneurial spirit of an organisation.

Since selling Partners for Change, Mark and Tim have run Ugly Duckling. With Ugly Duckling, Mark and Tim have been involved with a range of businesses, taking in depth roles where appropriate, and gaining further experience in nurturing young management teams, creating innovative business models, buying and selling businesses, making a business investor-ready, and in raising finance.

Mark graduated from Southampton University with a business economics degree, is a qualified accountant and a member of the Institute of Management Consultancy. After qualifying as chartered accountant Mark emigrated to Canada where he first gained his appetite for working with smaller entrepreneurial businesses. Having stayed for five challenging and enjoyable years he returned to the UK and still retains Canadian citizenship. Mark is married with two teenage children, and is a dedicated skier, traveller and gardener.