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About us.

Paul Faulkner

Paul Faulkner

Over the course of my career I have held a number of senior executive and non-executive positions across a range of sectors, delivering results and driving business growth through a dynamic and positive approach to leadership.

From banking, recruitment and Premier League football, through to family businesses, charities and leading one of the UK’s largest and most influential Chambers of Commerce, I have enjoyed an eclectic career, providing me with a plethora of experience and a great network of contacts.


I have built teams, developed talent, managed and led organisational change and achieved commercial success, while always adopting a positive style and approach to people and business.


At the age of 31 I was the CEO of Aston Villa Football Club, having been a key part of the purchase of the club by the Lerner family four years earlier in 2006. 


Such a role in business is unusual given the extremely high profile and pressurised environment that exists around football. It certainly gave me great practical experience of leading effectively and delivering results while operating in the public eye and under intense scrutiny. I have carried lessons learned from this role with me throughout my subsequent career.   


A commercially astute business generalist, I enjoy working in trusted relationships to deliver outstanding results.  


I hold an MA in History from the University of Cambridge and also received an Honorary Doctorate from Birmingham City University in 2022 in recognition of ‘outstanding achievements in the West Midlands’.  

Paul and Mark in meeting
Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor

I am a collaborative and transformational leader with over 23 years of experience in the professional services sector, including 17 years as a partner at RSM UK.

I spent over 15 years in leadership roles within the RSM partnership – a time of considerable success for the business as it more than trebled in size to have revenues of around £500m. These roles included various responsibilities in respect of strategy, operations, governance, finance, HR, business development, legal and property management matters. 


For the last eight years of my time at RSM, I was Regional Managing Partner for the Central region (comprising seven offices and - by 2023 - over 1,000 people). During my time in this role, Central more than doubled in size. Concurrent with this role, I was also Office Managing Partner of RSM in Birmingham (the largest office in Central) and oversaw the transformation of that business unit - seeing revenues grow by over 140%, the partner group expand from 20 to 32 and the total team grow from under 200 to more than 400. Whilst I was Regional Managing Partner, I also spent a period on the firm’s National Leadership Team.


I have a strong track-record of building and motivating diverse teams to generate profitable growth. I also have considerable experience of leading change in a wide variety of situations, including start-up ventures, turnaround scenarios, location exits and integration following mergers. Innovative and entrepreneurial in approach - and a passionate believer in the power of developing the right culture - I am highly commercial and adept at leveraging business networks to deliver results.

Throughout my career, I have delivered performance improvement projects to a very diverse client base – ranging from small, owner-managed businesses to large, listed global corporates and including public and third sector organisations.


I am an elected member of the Council of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (the Council is the body of business and public and third sector leaders tasked with advising the Chamber on strategic priorities) and a Trustee of Sport Birmingham.


Prior to joining RSM in 2003, I was a graduate trainee in supply chain management with Sainsbury’s Supermarkets before moving into the professional services sector with EY.

A lover of most sports, I try to get to the ski slopes every year, toil to improve my golf handicap when I get time and avidly tune in to the NFL. Football was my first passion, and I am a lifelong (mostly long-suffering) supporter of Nottingham Forest. I also love to travel, watch anything Star Wars, read non-fiction and try to learn a little Spanish every day.

I hold an MBA degree from Warwick Business School.

Clients

Clients.

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Paul and Mark laughing in Element45 business meeting

About us?

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