By Connor Whiting, Motion Wave Digital
We talk about brand as if it were something constructed. Defined. Designed. Deployed. And to a point, that’s true. But it mistakes the output for the origin, because before a brand can be expressed, it must be governed. But what governs before strategy, identity or messaging? Spirit.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring | Summer 26
By Louise Groves, Rickard Luckin
Are you so busy working in your business that you’ve stopped thinking about why your business exists in the first place? If so, now is the perfect moment to pause and consider how your business supports your personal goals.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Phillip Slater, Ellisons
Most business leaders recognise the moment. Cash flow tightens, opportunity appears or pressure starts to build. A funding conversation moves from something on the ‘to-do’ list to something that needs action. What happens next can say a lot about leadership.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Dean Hunter, People Puzzles
There’s a lot of noise right now about AI, automation and the future of work. Boards are asking which roles technology can replace, which processes can be streamlined and which costs can be cut. It’s a reasonable conversation to have.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Rob Dukelow-Smith, Forward Corporate Finance
Thankfully, starting and completing a deal to sell a business, buy a business, complete an MBO or raise funding does not just revolve around data, valuations, financial models, due diligence exercises and legal contracts.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Rosie Cairns, ROL Cruise
In today’s workplace, salary and benefits alone are no longer enough to attract and retain great people. Employees are increasingly looking for something more meaningful: a sense of purpose, a supportive culture and the opportunity to make a positive impact beyond their day-to-day role.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
Let’s Do Business Finance is now offering an increased maximum business loan of £250k, giving businesses greater access to the funding they need to achieve their ambitions. Previously capped at £150k, the higher lending limit will help growing businesses across the East of England to take their next major step.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Becky Ames, Larking Gowen
How can businesses protect creativity, loyalty and purpose while still embracing AI? The human spirit – its drive, ambition and purpose – built the way we do business at Larking Gowen and across the communities in which we work.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Julia Esse, Essex Community Foundation
From marathon start lines to community support across the county, individuals connected through Essex Community Foundation (ECF) are demonstrating how personal commitment can translate into lasting local impact by taking part in the London Marathon.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Rob Thacker, Sona Insurance Solutions
When I think about the spirit of Sona Insurance Solutions, I think about our values. They are not words on a wall or phrases in a handbook; they are the lived experience of our people and our clients.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Stephanie Boyce, Avena Group
As the UK’s leading secure destruction service, trust underpins everything we do. Our role is to protect sensitive information, assets and brands by ensuring that materials are destroyed securely, compliantly and beyond recovery at end of life.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Simon Martin, Ensors, part of Azets
The East of England has rarely been a market for dramatic deal cycles. But while it does not surge with the intensity of other areas in the boom years, nor does it retreat as sharply when sentiment turns. Instead, M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) here follows a steady pattern.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Juliette John, Aesthetic Laser Skin Wellness Clinic
In a world where our professional and personal lives unfold on screens – whether in virtual meetings, filmed podcasts or on the wider social media platforms – how confident we are about our appearance, can shape how comfortable we feel on camera and how the world perceives us.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Chris Harbutt, New Energy Vehicle Solutions
Most businesses don’t begin with a strategy or plan. They begin with a thought. Often a quiet one that just keeps getting louder – a sense that something could be done better: a product improved, a service delivered differently, an experience made more enjoyable, or a problem solved in a way that hasn’t been tried yet.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Paul Spires, Sound Financial Planning
In business, strategy and numbers matter, but they’re not what make a company thrive.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring| Summer 26
By Mario Garcia, Achilleus Security
When people talk about spirit in business, it is easy to imagine something motivational or abstract.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring | Summer 26
Managing Director, Carbon Numbers
Our lead interview in the Spirit issue of Essex Director business magazine is Caroline Fright
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring | Summer 26
Co-Founder, Firevault
Mark talks to us about how he spends his leisure time and where he would go if he could time travel.
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring | Summer 26
By Vanessa Pedder, TechWyse Limited
When I first sat down last December, with a blank page and the idea of running a cyber security event for Essex businesses, I knew only a few things: I’d need help, I’d have to delegate some day to day responsibilities, I needed to build my confidence – and the venue had to serve hot breakfast rolls!
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring | Summer 26
By Nicholas Pandolfi, Panda Studios
If you had asked me during my early cinematography training where I’d be today, I would have described a life behind the lens. But a career is rarely a straight line; it is often the response to a firm shove in the back!
Published in UK Director Magazines Spring | Summer 26
