UPGRADING YOUR FUTURE

Greg Billson 

Following the completion of articles with Grant Thornton I took up a position with what was then a relatively small, but nationally based consulting practice focused on Department of Trade and Industry Incentives. As managing director, this consulting practice grew significantly over the years, ultimately listing on the JSE’s ALT‑X.  During the initial 15 years, my passion for seeing industry prosper continued to grow and my natural passion for people led to me establishing EDC in Port Elizabeth in 2011.  While the benefits available to industry are significant and often extremely lucrative, the management of the entire process requires a dedicated focus on managing the process every step of the way to ensure the greatest chance of success.  The excellent growth of EDC may further be ascribed to the dedication of the entire team in their client centric focus where the required time is set aside to ensure that you, the client, receive the necessary advice to ultimately make an informed decision.  To this end, our consulting services are performance based with no charges being applicable until a decision to pursue the relevant incentive programme is taken.  My passion for economic development and efficiency has led to me serving on the board of the Incentives Consultants Association, serving as honorary treasurer of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber (2007 – 2015), being the current chairman of the audit committee of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and serving as the current treasurer of Grey High School.  I firmly believe that if we all give something of ourselves, we create a better future, society and country for everyone to prosper within.

Ryan Tudhope

I am a qualified chartered accountant who is passionate about Nelson Mandela Bay where” I both studied and reside. After qualifying as a chartered accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Port Elizabeth, I worked at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University as a lecturer in corporate governance and auditing. I then left the education sector to join the automotive component sector in Uitenhage where I was employed for five years in both finance and business development roles before joining Enterprise Development Consultants (EDC). I am also a member of the SAICA Southern Region Young Chartered Accountants network where the main focuses of the committee are to address the needs of young CA(SA)’s and learners who are looking to pursue the Chartered Accountant qualification by promoting and marketing the SAICA brand.

In my experience, EDC is the preferred investment incentive consulting service provider due to their:

- Active participation in available industry networking events to remain relevant in terms of trends facing various sectors, the key role players and the personnel involved so as to provide future strategic leads to overcome possible barriers that industry could be experiencing;

- Channeling the focus of industry stakeholders to create an environment that facilitates and enables economic growth and development by recommending input from, and connecting strategic people so as to allow businesses to move forward from having visionary concepts to seeing tangible economic benefits for their shareholders and for the fiscus;

- Focus on economic development to ensure that potential investors take advantage of opportunities that could see the development of both new industries and the expansion of existing industries;

- Strategic relationships across a range of industries with entities such as industrial development zones, banking and lending institutions, architecture and property development companies, B-BBEE consultants and verification agents, auditing practices, business chambers, and the Department of Trade and Industry; and

- Offering superior practical advice and assistance so as to position clients to obtain the most preferential future strategic position to maximise their return on investment.

David Lindsey

I’m originally from South of England. After finishing my studies in Marine Biology at the University of Liverpool, I worked as an investment manager in the offshore financial industry for over 10 years. In 2013, we took the bold decision to relocate to South Africa, which is where my wife is originally from.Working at EDC was daunting at first, it really took me out of my comfort zone which was a welcome change. It has taught me to see the benefit that the various Government programs have for the participants and their respective employees. Government funding can sometimes be the difference between companies closing their doors or reaching new heights and this motivates me to do the best I can to secure the benefit from Government for the client. EDC provides a great environment and we have a great team, with people from all different backgrounds with a great variety of skill sets needed in order to get the job done for our clients and provide a good working relationship with the Government departments that we deal with.

Chelsea Walker

I completed a B.Com Financial Planning degree at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University after which I then went on to complete my B.Com Honours degree in Business Management. I was initially employed within the steel industry having joined a stainless steel company with a national footprint, working in internal sales.  I was exposed to the manufacturing sector during this time and joining EDC has placed my in a strong position in dealing with an industry I am well acquainted with.