Member Article

SQW Group appoints new Chief Executive

SQW Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of consultancy and business services to support economic development, is pleased to announce the appointment of David Crichton-Miller as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mr Crichton-Miller will succeed Chris Green, who is standing down after nine years as Group CEO.

Mr Crichton-Miller joins SQW Group after a lengthy career in consulting and public service outsourcing, most recently with A4e, one of the main operators of UK Government employability and skills outsourcing contracts. Prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer of WYG plc. His career started as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Commenting on his new role, Mr Crichton-Miller said: “I am very pleased indeed to be joining SQW Group, a unique business with unparalleled expertise in supporting innovation and economic development. The Group’s services – consulting to cities, regions and countries on economic and social development, whilst fostering innovation and small business formation and growth – feel ever more relevant today and I am greatly looking forward to joining a market leader in these fields as we seek to grow and develop further”.

With a turnover of £24million, SQW Group employs around 250 people in the UK and has three main divisions:

• SQW providing consultancy in economic and social development to public and private sector clients throughout the UK and internationally
• Oxford Innovation Services, which manages programmes providing coaching services to high growth potential companies, and runs three investment networks that link small firms seeking investment to business angel investors
• Business and Innovation Centres, which runs 20 innovation centres across England, from Stockport to Southampton. The centres provide accommodation and support services to 900 new and small firms.

SQW Group’s current CEO, Chris Green, will remain with the Group in a consultancy role for SQW, focusing on economic and spatial development issues. Sir Michael Lyons, Chairman of the SQW Group Board commented: “David has excellent credentials for the CEO role, and we are delighted to have appointed him. We believe the Group has tremendous growth potential, and that David is the right person to help us exploit it to the full. He will be able to build on the strong platform that Chris Green and other members of the executive team have built over the last few years. We are extremely grateful for Chris’s contribution to the business over many years, through both good and tough times, and look forward to a continued association with him.”

Mr Crichton-Miller held various senior positions before his role at A4e, an organisation that focuses on employability, rehabilitation, business start-up and self-employment, education and training services, These included Director for Business Development and Strategy at Mouchel, Chief Operating Officer of WYG plc and Managing Director of the Environmental and Planning Consulting Division at WYG, Managing Director for Amey Technology Services, and as a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company.

For further information about SQW Group, visit: sqwgroup.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kelly Lea .