Email: shak@theenterpriseagency.co.uk

I'm proud to say that I was born and bred in the North East. I have a good knowledge of the region as a whole and am getting up to speed with Wear Valley & the Dales.

I attended Sunderland Business School for both my undergraduate (BA Hons. in Bus Studies) and postgraduate studies (MBA in International Marketing.)

I was bought up around business, primarily retail. Ever since I was about 8 years old my family have owned a number of businesses, specialising in the convenience sector (incorporating Newsagents, Off licence, Grocery, Hardware, etc.) I also have a good working knowledge of the hot food industry (cafes, restaurants, chip shops, pizza shops, etc.) Most evenings & weekends I can still be found at our family convenience store in Newcastle, whether it be on the till, stocking the shelves or indeed anything that needs doing really !!!

After completing my studies I've mainly worked around the wider region, employed primarily within the Consultancy / Regeneration arena with the majority of these roles being Community based. For the past few years, I was employed as a business coach, based within a district housing some of the UK's most deprived wards, in a role very similar to this one.

My outlook on life is that of the "glass half full". I really enjoy working within the various communities that i engage with and the amazing mix of people that I come across. It brings me great satisfaction to know that I can be of help to them.