Michelle Dalton – Managing Director

 Michelle Dalton is the Managing Director of Rockfine Group Limited, and she loves a list.

She creates lists for everything: agendas for team meetings, priorities for the day, week and month, who needs to be called and when, who should be added to this distribution list, what’s for dinner for the week, etc. With so many different hats, she even has lists of lists!

So here is a list of things you might want to know about her:

• Born in Alaska
• Studied Business and Marketing at the University of Alaska Anchorage
• Moved to England in 2002 with her husband
• She likes to get up before the sun rises
• Worked at MedilinkWM at Communications Director for 10 years
• Took a break from work to be with her young family
• Started freelance marketing after being approached by previous medical device manufacturing clients
• Started investing in other businesses initially exploring the healthcare market then by default moved into technology
• Launched Rockfine Group to house all investment work and strategic support
• Expanded marketing role to include contracts and operations for FCA-regulated Temple Row Wealth Management

 With heightened senses and insatiable curiousity, Michelle is always up for a coffee and chat – so please get in touch!

Bart Dalton II – Director

B.D. Dalton, aka ‘The Lazy Over-Achiever’, has over 25 years’ experience in financial and business sectors, building successful businesses on two of the world’s most influential continents: the United States and Europe.

B.D. has continued to grow his businesses, Temple Row Wealth Management and Bart Dalton Consulting whilst expanding his horizons, becoming CEO of a Legal Practice. This contributes greatly to his growing knowledge of the business world, allowing him to share his insights and concepts through nationwide speaking engagements, workshops, conferences and coaching.

B.D.’s business nouse can be found in his three published books: True Gravity, Grow, Sell and Retire, and The Assisted Purchase where he shares his logical tried-and-tested strategies and systems. Grow, Sell and Retire has been brought to life in the form of a successful podcast series as well, giving busy commuters an easy way to access the knowledge.

The proven success of B.D.’s work with businesses across the region has received recognition, being shortlisted and winning awards at various ceremonies.

Chris Kealy – Associate

Considered by my peers as “an experienced business leader with entrepreneurial stamina and wisdom to drive bottom-line growth”, I am excited to be working with clients in a position to really take their business to the next level.

Building robust professional relationships has been a defining management strategy for me, to bring out the best in everyone, instil pride, and inspire them to achieve our common goals.

While a large percentage of my experience has been focussed in the construction industry, spending time with business leaders in other sectors constantly reminded me that the principles of business are universal.  At every step of the business lifecycle similar challenges, and joys, are typically experienced.

I started at Stonhard, a global market leader in high performance polymer flooring, as a Territory Manager, building market share through relationship cultivation and a real focus on solving my clients’ problems.  Sales processes have changed throughout the years, but I quickly realised my ability to create win-win scenarios resulted in mutual benefit.  For me, it’s all about the relationship.

 In my 22 years at Stonhard, moving up the ranks and running the company as Managing Director for 8 years, I honed my business management skills with a keen eye to process delivery and profitability.

 Highly adaptable and swift to gain a thorough understanding of ‘the Bigger Picture’, I pride myself on my ability to analyse business functions and to simplify processes, creating a system which is lean, yet effective. I am passionate about facilitating and encouraging cohesive teams and build robust professional relationships with key internal stakeholders including senior executives. 

Dan Licari – Associate

Dan is known internationally as a “digital connector”.  He is energized by opportunity and takes great pride in connecting ambitious companies to funding, commercial partners, and support.

Based in the UK but originally from Seattle, Dan understands the cultural differences businesses face when approaching international markets and has developed an impressive track record of helping companies from around the world establish their presence in Europe, and European companies expanding internationally.

Over the last 20 years, Dan has sourced commercial and technology partners with and for independent development firms such as Ericsson, HSBC, Microsoft, Sony and Nokia.  He has also worked with inward investment clients in the UK, France, Canada, Ireland, Singapore and Malta.

Whether moving from minimum viable product to market leader, or expanding into new markets, Dan will hep source the pieces of the puzzle to make it happen. This includes securing and negotiating of terms with investors, content/IP holders, partners and talent throughout his network.

Jimmy Leach – Associate

Jimmy has specialised in delivering digital in a variety of settings since the turn of the century. He works with governments, companies and start-ups to refine their communications messages and the platforms on which they deliver them. And then checks that’s it is working.
In previous lives, he worked in media, in senior roles at the Guardian, the Independent and, most recently, as editor in chief at HuffPost UK.

He has dabbled in agency work – in consumer PR at Freuds and in public affairs at Portland. And he has worked in government too – as head of digital comms for two Prime Ministers and as head of digital diplomacy for two Foreign Secretaries. 

As a consultant, he has worked for governments in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, for international organisations such as the OECD and ICANN and for billion dollar companies and start-ups. He has written for the Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Independent, Newsweek, HuffPost, PR Week, the Sun and more.

 John Charlton – Associate

John has worked in the IT sector for the last 20 years working for large blue chip companies on Government projects through to the SME sector.

Working across a range of disciplines from support of key applications  to technical project management such as the roll-out of help-desk,  John has always worked at the forefront of technologies from the commercialisation of the web in the late 90s to the areas around cloud technologies and cyber-security today.

Whether it’s reviewing a company’s technology stack to looking at how an organisation is protecting its digital assets, John will help translate the tech speak into language that key business stakeholders understand to make the right decisions about the what and how they use technology.

 James Hanlon – Associate

James Hanlon started his career by winning a Smart award a medicine medical product in 2006 since then he has led the product delivery of many projects over a number of the fields which has given him a broad understanding of multiple technology domains and has a proven track record of taking projects from paper into production.

From a design perspective, he is fascinated by how to make a complex process simple and actively works to ensure that a product is understood by all parties both technical and commercial sides so a remake of pentagon wars do not happen again.

 Mike Pagan- Associate

Having a proactive support network is the secret to your success.

 Mike believes isolation kills creativity and prevents decision making. You need to be surrounded by a team of people who support you in your personal and business life.

 Mike asks the questions that most others shy away from. He challenges your options and helps you find more opportunities. He connects you with the right collaborative partners you didn’t know you needed.

Mike provides that vital external insight through a powerful combination of 1:1 coaching, non-executive thinking and masterminding, to achieve maximum results for you personally and professionally.

Stephen Karle – Associate

Stephen Karle is a deeply experienced business and finance consultant with more than fifteen years of impact across a diverse range of business sectors.

His earlier career encompassed two decades of top-level experience in the field of business operations, including a high- profile position as CEO of a major U.K. financial institution.

He served seven years as Chair of an AIM-listed fin-tech company which he took to market for investors.

He is a qualified solicitor (now non-practising) and has advised and run a range of businesses and organisations in the private and public sectors.

Stephen has proved to be an innovative and committed expert who has a proven history of aiding and significantly improving the efficiency and success of numerous businesses.

His core skills include:

• Problem-solving and applied critical thinking
• An interest and sound understanding of business strategy
• Leadership skills with team synergy orientation
• Critical decision-making

Adrian Holles – Associate

Adrian, with over two decades of experience, is a driving force at Rockfine Group, specializing in empowering aspiring entrepreneurs. With an unwavering dedication to the nitty-gritty details of structuring, financials, and governance, he’s the go-to expert for those seeking a pragmatic approach to business. Adrian’s unapologetic focus on the bottom line ensures that every venture he touches is geared towards success.

Outside the boardroom, Adrian’s passion for motorsport perfectly mirrors his love for innovation. Just as he cheers for victories on the racetrack, he champions his clients to achieve triumphs in the business world. At Rockfine Group, Adrian is not just a consultant; he’s a dynamic catalyst for your entrepreneurial journey.

Hugo Russell – Associate

Hugo is skilled in innovation and process automation underpinned by project management and cyber security experience. This typically enables the leadership of a business to make the appropriate process, platform or cultural improvements to benefit their profitability. These skills have been refined over 18+ years of creating and delivering funded and commercial projects that engaged over 320 regional businesses. He is an experienced innovator who is well-connected within the region.

He has recently completed the delivery of the £9M Cyber Quarter facility for the West Midlands and is actively engaged in the regional cyber & investment communities. He has also created and delivered projects like the £3.2M Innovation Engine programme for the West Midlands and implemented distributed working environments, online collaboration and innovation spaces and business resilience processes.

Whilst at Innovation Birmingham, he expanded the Serendip® community, developed the innovation community, and facilitated the technology & commercial discussions between many SMEs. This included commercial engagement with Universities and partner organisations [Tata Motors, Barclays Eagle Labs, WMAHSN, National Express, Gymshark, TfWM].

He enjoys messing about on the water sailing, exploring or training. Hugo and his wife have creative daughters, a pet and the memorable experiences of starting up and exiting health and tech businesses.

Dirk De Cuyper – Associate

With a passion for food spanning over 30 years, Dirk De Cuyper, a classically trained European chef, has honed his culinary skills in diverse kitchens around the world. After completing his culinary training at the Antwerp culinary school, Dirk gained valuable experience working in Michelin-Star restaurants in Belgium before embarking on a journey in the private yachting industry, where he dedicated 14 years to perfecting his craft.

Following his yachting career, Dirk relocated to Miami, Florida, where he owned and operated Yen Catering, a successful catering and events business, for over 12 years. The Eten brand, associated with Dirk De Cuyper’s culinary expertise, was later acquired by Bill Hansen Catering, a renowned Miami-based catering company. Eten Catering, under Dirk’s guidance, continues to thrive, serving clients throughout the South Florida area.

Currently based in the UK, Dirk is on a new culinary adventure, developing a range of fresh finishing sauces destined for the UK food service and retail sector. His wealth of experience and passion for food promise to bring exciting flavors to the British culinary scene.