Meet Our Members

David Roberts

As a strategic marketing professional, winner of multiple nationally recognised awards for my business growth expertise, and teacher to business owners and executives across the UK, my understanding on all levels of business, from organisation and planning, sales and marketing to the director, has propelled my unyielding passion to help others get what they want from their businesses! Kaizen Derby was created for small to medium business owners to give them a low cost coaching environment where business’s feel they have the support and confidentiality of their peers who are like-minded individuals who want to succeed and create more time for themselves to be able to have a thriving business in today’s economy. As Chairman of Kaizen Derby I am very proud to have created this environment and really enjoy meeting and helping members to collaboratively succeed at building better businesses.

Roseanna Croft

“I joined Kaizen three years ago to help grow my business and become stronger in areas I was unsure in, such as marketing and sales. In Kaizen I have found a community of business owners and like minded people I trust, where I can discuss business challenges and achievements. Without a doubt, attending the Kaizen breakfast meetings twice a month and really becoming involved in the community has had a monumental effect on the growth of my business and me as a person.”

Roseanna Croft is a fine jewellery designer based in Derbyshire, designing one of a kind, bespoke pieces of jewellery that tell powerful stories. Roseanna opened her first boutique in Bakewell in 2015 and has been a jewellery designer and goldsmith for 10 years.

Her jewellery is worn by royalty, in an up-coming Hollywood movie and has been featured in national magazines.

Roseanna Croft is a Young Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust and supporter of other charities that are close to her heart, regularly speaking to help inspire people, especially the youth and women, to follow their passion in life.

Darren Wheatcroft

I have run my own business now for over 6 years, building on extensive experience in the financial services sector over 30 years, working for one of the UK’s largest banking groups.

Having recently graduated as a Chartered Financial Planner I provide face to face financial advice to clients for investment and pension planning as well as mortgage and protection advice.

Derwent Financial Planning now employs 6 staff including a dedicated mortgage adviser and 2 full financial advisers focusing on pension and investment advice.

I joined and helped form Kaizen in 2013 having attended several other networking events where it was a lot of talk and handing out of business cards but little else. I suppose I was looking for more ideas on how to grow a business and in the initial stages of being a new business owner and have found the help and support invaluable. By talking through and sharing ideas with fellow members and dealing with these on a practical level I have learned so much around all the fundamentals of running a business from marketing at its core to all the necessities of finance and business plans. Without this I honestly do not feel I would have taken the business to where it is today.

I continue to learn from these meetings and use them to debate challenges and growth plans for the business and gain views from others who have experienced the similar issues within their own businesses.

I would recommend KAIZEN to any new or existing business owner and it is a welcome break where you can focus on your own development and that of your business.

Tim Sutton

Tim Sutton is a Partner/Business owner of Derbyshire Technology Systems Ltd which he established with a colleague he met in a previous IT company in 2001.

Both believed they could run a more successful IT company than their existing boss.

He is passionate about quality standards; customer care, procedures and protocols which he contends form the basis of running a successful business.

Continuous learning about good management practices, ongoing review of trends in technology and changing to suit have kept the company in business in an industry where a third fail in the first two years and half fail in the first five years

He is keen to share his knowledge and experience with others, helping those with an open and enquiring mind survive successfully in todays competitive market.