Howard Sharman
My background in the commercial world was in business magazine publishing and information provision – magazines, newsletters, conferences, exhibitions and the Internet. Starting as a journalist I later moved over to the commercial side of the business and then on to general management. Working for a small LSE-quoted company I was also involved in M&A work. I manage consultancy projects for EP on a wide range of business strategy, sales & marketing, income generation, product development and communications topics. Lately I have been working on a number of ‘digital’ projects working with charities looking at launching or developing websites, developing apps, even software development.
Key skills & experience
In my publishing career I initially trained as a journalist and learned the skill of using desk research backed up by interviews to become an ‘instant expert’. Later I produced magazines, conferences or websites for a number of different markets, and so learned quickly how to identify the key similarities – and the differences – between the markets. My work in M&A made me very comfortable with producing business plans. And I lived through the first 15 years of the digital transition of printed magazines to interactive websites – including managing an in-house web development team.
Recent projects
My recent projects have included:
- Big Potential-funded projects for: a small charity that had developed its own software; and a national charity looking to launch a paid-for website;
- Developing a sales and marketing plan to help an arts charity market itself and its services to the commercial world;
- Research into the local newspaper market in London for a social enterprise that was considering entering the market;
- Producing a brochure and a local marketing and awareness-raising strategy for a charity working with the homeless;
- Initial ‘Leadership and Location’ research, followed by detailed due diligence for the merger of two medical charities;
- Assessment of the viability of a charity, largely funded by the Cabinet Office, involving a review of the potential of its online products.
Other information
In 2008 I gained an MSc in Environment & Sustainable Development at University College London. I am a trustee of participatory photography charity PhotoVoice (www.photovoice.org). Alongside project work for Eastside Primetimers, I also work through my own company, ERD Associates, as a media consultant in the business-to-business sector, advising publishing companies on strategy, consulting on operational issues and working on all aspects of acquisitions (initial research, approaches to acquisition targets, due diligence, integration).
