Ian Blackhall - Managing Director

"I love to help entrepreneurs turn ambition into outcomes, with clarity, focus, and a plan for growth or exit".

A seasoned strategic marketer who breathes clarity into complexity and delivers breakthrough growth across industries. Ian brings over 25 years of P&L leadership across FMCG, telecoms, and private equity, including transformative time at Kellogg’s and as CMO of a major telco.

He excels at breathing fresh life into iconic brands and showing real results. Reviving Nutri-Grain and doubling customer base, revenue, and profits in under a year.

Now a director at SSG, Ian guides SMBs through the Discovery Roadmap, delivering bullet-proof strategies and performance plans. From manufacturing and distribution to retail and services, he interacts deeply with clients and crafts plans that stick. His passion lies in using tech, strategy, and empathy to unlock brand and team potential.

Michael Butler - Founder

"The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything. ".

Michael launched Strategic Specialists Group to disrupt traditional consulting, fusing experience in trading, advertising, and brand leadership into a dynamic offering for small and medium businesses. From trading commodities on the London Stock Exchange with Merrill Lynch to growing a Kiwi agency by 300% in just three years, his journey is marked by big wins,helping brands like World Vision, Canon, and Suncorp thrive

His entrepreneurial spirit shines through in how he leads SSG working directly with hundreds of SMB owners, mastering everything from high-level strategy to rolling up his sleeves on sales calls and workshop delivery. Michael’s formula? Combine hands-on involvement with disciplined strategic frameworks, anchored around his proprietary Discovery Roadmap.

Katherine Aitken - Business & Marketing Manager

"I love collaborating with an incredible team to support great clients".

With over three decades in marketing and business leadership, Katherine is the expert who knows how to make strategy stick. She’s developed and executed marketing and communications initiatives across industries from big-name corporations to nimble small businesses translating high-level vision into tangible results with clarity and confidence. Her collaborative, operational approach ensures every stakeholder is aligned, every goal is clear, and every plan can be executed.

Katherine brings empathy and insight to the table consulting for small and medium businesses, but having navigated the highs and lows as a hospitality business owner. That dual perspective sharpens her ability to diagnose what matters most.

Hayden Harvey - Client Director

"It’s a privilege to work with so many amazing businesses. I love that we are not only a strategic sounding board for owners, but get the opportunity to become part of their team and help drive the next chapter of their journey".

With nearly two decades in FMCG across ANZ, Hayden has built a powerhouse mix of brand marketing, innovation, e‑commerce, strategic planning, and M&A integration all wrapped in powerful commercial thinking. He thrives on digging deep to surface the insights that set brands free

That same curiosity fuels his SMB consulting: developing strategic frameworks from zero, launching new‑to‑market brands, and guiding expansion efforts. He’s also co‑founded a hospitality business, blending entrepreneurial grit with strategic precision.

Paul Capper - Client Director

"I love working with leaders who are hungry enough to chase and humble enough to change. Once you have that, it’s about focus."

Paul brings a blend of marketing savvy, entrepreneurial experience, and strategic management—from leading The Bradford Exchange’s direct-to-consumer model to founding his own retail‑tech startup, Beyond The Label.

His deep P&L fluency has consistently driven both sales and profit across diverse markets and channels.

At SSG, he guides Australian SMBs with pragmatic, outcome‑focused advice mixing startup agility with structured strategy to unlock sustainable business growth.

Frank Burke - Finance

“There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a business owner / GM / CEO empower their team with decision making responsibility, having helped them build a budget they own and believe in.”.

Frank thrives in diverse environments from multinationals and social enterprises to owner‑managed businesses across healthcare, retail, hospitality, telco, and pharma. He excels at setting up and stabilising operations, bridging finance, people, and culture in fast-growth settings.

He’s built finance teams and IT infrastructure from scratch in family-owned enterprises standardising contracts, restructuring, and embedding agile infrastructure to support growth. His communication, partnership, and development skills make him a change agent wherever he lands.

Mike Betts - Operations

"My passion is to work with clients on optimizing profitability and cash flow by reducing operational costs, eliminating waste, enhancing team skills and achieving process efficiency to support business growth".

With 30+ years in logistics and supply chain, Michael builds structures and teams designed to adapt as markets evolve. While never compromising on quality or service, he refines systems so they endure..

He’s helped SMBs introduce forecasting systems, fix invoicing issues, implement warehouse management platforms—and transformed freight operations from fragile to frictionless. He doesn’t just deliver change; he ensures it's owned by his clients long-term.

Katie Hunter - Marketing

"I believe growth comes from clarity, collaboration, and action. I thrive on helping businesses see the bigger picture while staying true to values that build trust and lasting impact."

Katie draws on experience in ANZ and the UK across FMCG, food, retail, hospitality, and e-commerce. Her strength? Identifying the core “why,” crafting a simple strategic narrative, and weaving it through every part of the marketing mix.

For SMBs, Katie’s approach is refreshingly straightforward—find the anchor point, keep it simple, and let that clarity endure long after the initial push. It’s marketing with staying power.

David Phillips - Sales

"I get great satisfaction in helping Sales Managers and Sales Teams focus on 'where to play and on how to win'.

With over 25 years’ experience across Australia, Asia, and Europe, David has mastered the art of transforming B2B sales operations. From reorganising sales models to streamlining systems and processes for peak performance . He bridges the best of blue‑chip discipline with startup agility, offering SMBs rock‑solid strategy grounded in real‑world hustle.

His SME work includes launching greenfield operations in Indonesia, scaling a Hong Kong tech firm from 40 to 200 staff in four years, and steering businesses through the Global Financial Crisis. David’s culture-aware approach makes every sales plan profitable, sustainable, and human.

Heinrich Venter -

“What drives me is walking alongside business owners on their journey, bringing clarity and transformation that lasts.”

Heinrich’s leadership journey includes founding and scaling his own business before merging it into, and taking the helm of a larger company. He excels at turning strategic vision into tangible wins: optimising operations, structuring funding pathways, and leading digital transformation for sustainable growth.

With expertise across strategy, M&A, and go‑to‑market design, Heinrich brings a hands‑on, partnership‑driven approach—guiding SMB leadership teams to navigate complexity, seize opportunity, and scale with confidence.

Karly Jones - People

“I am passionate about helping businesses thrive by delivering tailored HR solutions that strengthen culture, foster growth, and drive success.”

Karly is a People & Culture professional with two decades of experience spanning many industries. She brings expertise in talent acquisition, employee relations, organisational development, governance, and policy design and thrives in coaching, project planning, and execution.Her reputation rests on keeping every initiative on track, with grace, precision, and empathy.

Having worked with with many SMB's she understands their world intimately. She’s guided businesses through building HR systems, process rollouts, and engagement programs always with resourcefulness, care, and a human-centric mindset.

Paul Ridoutt - Marketing

“I’ve met some amazing businesses over the years, but what really energises me is teaming up with people who truly get their business and want help to take it further.”.

Paul brings 15 years of experience across five cities and two countries in corporate settings and another 12 years working across diverse industries. He blends strategic fluency with on‑the‑ground practicality, and is equally at ease presenting to executives, coordinating with technical leads, or guiding marketing teams all with a diplomatic and collaborative edge.

Passionate about mid‑market, fast‑growing businesses, Paul excels at helping SMBs make smart choices from budgeting to solution design and implementation. He brings a mindset grounded in teamwork, culture, and sustained high performance.

Katja Thies - Marketing

“I create tailored strategies that deliver measurable growth. With over 20 years experience across global brands and agile SMEs, I know how to adapt what works, so your business can scale with clarity and impact.”.

Katja has steered P&Ls and brand strategy across FMCG giants like Unilever, Mars, Kellogg’s, and Reckitt Benckiser, as well as local leaders like Blackmores and Vitaco. She’s masterfully turned brand decline into growth—bringing campaigns like “Be a WellBeing” to life and seeing Blackmores regain market dominance (and a Golden Effie Award).

Beyond that, she’s driven over 50 successful product launches—from nutrition to pet food—guiding SMBs with full P&L accountability and enduring growth strategies that span customer insight through innovation, marketing strategy, and team leadership.

Jake Hampton - Digital

“I love turning digital complexity into clarity, showcasing to clients that strategy, not guesswork, is the real growth engine.”.

Jake thrives in the digital realm bringing expertise in paid media, e-commerce, data analytics, and P&L management across FMCG, airlines, QSR, entertainment, and more. He knows how to plan, measure, and execute campaigns that matter.

He helps SMBs use digital strategy not as an afterthought but as the engine of growth—making performance measurable, accountable, and aligned with broader business strategy. By blending creativity with sharp analytics, Jake ensures every dollar spent works harder. His passion lies in demystifying digital for business owners, giving them the confidence to embrace technology as a growth driver, not a challenge.

Martin Vana - Finance

“I am passionate about partnering with business owners and building strong, reliable financial foundations that support sustainable growth and smarter decision-making.”

Martin is a seasoned Finance Director known for pairing strategic business partnering with financial clarity, bridging complex data and collaborative insight to support decision-making at every level strategicspecialists.com. He demystifies finance, making cash flow, forecasts, and risks not just understandable, but actionable.

He’s passionate about empowering non‑finance stakeholders boosting financial literacy across teams and using innovative, sustainable strategies to drive business growth through clear, collaborative leadership.

Scott Noble - Sales

“Developing the Right Strategy is Critical to Success, Executing it is Essential. Working on this Journey, Enabling Stronger Teams, Better Ways of Working & Delivering Superior Sustained Results are my KPIs".

Scott’s 30-year career spans multinationals, start-ups, and consulting. Leading Colgate-Palmolive through divestment and strategy development, launching FIVE AM Yoghurt to market leadership, and turning around underperforming companies his career is the map of outcomes.

Scott brings hands‑on insight into SMB struggles from shifting margins to economic uncertainty and delivers cost‑effective consulting, helping businesses regain momentum and clarity.

James Fitzpatrick - Sales

“Helping Sales Teams break through to new markets is one of the most satisfying things we do. These successes are a reward for the passion and determination to succeed we see in so many of these businesses.”

James is equally skilled at crafting long-term strategy or diving into the nitty-gritty from sales process design and CRM effectiveness to territory planning and trade spend ROI. He’s fluent in execution disciplines and financial metrics.

He also enjoys guiding future sales leaders, driving decision-making across business functions, and upgrading sales organisation effectiveness for SMBs. Strategy, structure, and people development, he covers it all.