Our Core Team

Brian Smith OBE

Brian Smith OBE has practical experience of implementing change in both public and private organisations and is well known for his innovative approaches to developing people and businesses through the strategic use of human resource development. Brian is a Fellow of the University of Sunderland (Lifelong Learning) and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute. He is a member of the Institute of Learning, holds an MCI Management Diploma and Level 5 in Management, NVQ5 in Strategic Human Resource Management, Diploma in Leadership Mentoring and Executive Coaching Level 7, Internal Verifier V1 and Assessor A1.

Tim Ong

Tim Ong Learning Development Manager specialises in the occupational specific awards providing learning support, assessment and the delivery of workshops. He has considerable knowledge of recruitment and training through experience gained working with SME's and Graduates as employment development officer at Derby University.

Tim holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Certificate in Training Practice and is a Qualified A1 Vocational (NVQ) Assessor. He holds a BSc (Honours) Mechanical Engineering and MSc Nuclear Reactor Technology. He is also a member of the Institute for Learning.

Lynne Smith

Lynne is Quality Manager and has an excellent reputation with awarding bodies, a working knowledge of the requirements of the Qualifications Credit Framework and SFA requirements on eligibility.

Lynne established and oversees the management information and IT systems for the company and has ensured that the business administration functions in the company operate to the highest quality standard. She has an eye for detail and the ability to digest information on a wide variety of subjects.

Diana McAlpine

Our Project Manager, Diana has considerable experience in working with the private sector and contributing to public/private partnerships. She has demonstrated excellent project management skills by successfully delivering projects on time, within budget and meeting the key performance indicators.

Diana works closely with businesses and funding agencies to gain an understanding of the issues they face and ensures that our delivery meets all expectations and contractual obligations. She has recently graduated at Newcastle University with a Masters Degree in Local and Regional development focussing on sustainable development and renewable energy crops.

Stuart Smith

Stuart has a background in marketing having achieved a BA (Hons) in marketing from the University of Northampton in 2007. He has worked for LDR Squared in the environment of training for 9 years and has a good grasp of training needs and the principles of business and business processes. He has a working understanding of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and how organisations can access government funding for training.

He has managed a number of projects including supporting a multinational organisation in the south east to bring about lean. The project culminated in cultural change and over £500,000 worth of savings and was delivered to all levels of the organisation.

Stuart holds the EAL Business Improvement Techniques and Assessing Vocational Achievement in the Workplace Qualifications (Formally A1).