About MJB

Mike Briercliffe

Non-Exec Director, Entrepreneur, Coach, Mentor, Strategic Adviser

• Non-Exec Director, The IT Forum Foundation – Director of this and its predecessor non-profit market-influencer organisations since 1988. Access to a large IT community & industry contact base. Founding Chairman of InterForum and instigator of the new OpenForum Europe initiative.
• Non-Exec Director, Crisp Thinking Limited – A young Yorkshire-based company developing radical artificial intelligence technologies for pattern matching in web interactions. Child Protection is a key market.
• Non-Exec Chair, Dubit Limited – Assisting a innovative group of young people (and their mentor) with their leading-edge business, market research and financial services portal for teenagers.
• Non-Exec Chair, Virtual Network Partners and Virtuity Limited – Small group of companies based in Yorkshire in the Virtualization, Cloud and Network Management business.
• Non-Exec Chair, KAOS Solutions Limited – Innovator of “light-traffic” transactional engine for mobile phones.

Additionally – Business development with a small number of start-ups & incoming U.S. companies in the hi-tech arena. Occasional speaker in Europe and USA on market futures & strategies for IT companies. Occasional Business Mentoring to user organisations on matters of IT & Marketing Strategies. Specialised Merger and Acquisitions activity. Business Incubation in IT & Telecoms.

Past Activities

1997 – 2001  Executive Chairman, Sphinx CST Limited

Overall direction of company strategy in IT distribution. Management & development of the board of directors. Customer, Vendor & General Industry relations a key focus for personal activity.

1995 – 1997 Strategic Business Adviser

Active in many projects within the IT industry and a few select major user organisations. Also . .

·          Deputy Chairman – Graham Technology Limited. Responsible for positioning, branding, subsidiary development and industry relations, with a call-centre and workflow specialist.

1991 – 1995  Business Development Director, Computer Service Technology Limited

Marketing, customer development, vendor relations & strategy in a unique IT Channel support company.

1985 – 1991  Managing Director, Kernel Group Limited and Open Group Limited

Founder of this Open Systems development & training company. Key responsibilities were strategy, marketing/sales, industry relations, staff development. Kernel was successfully sold in 1991 to F.I. (now Xansa plc).

1979 – 1985  Director, Systime Computers Limited

Commenced as Automotive Systems marketing manager. Progressed through directorships of: Applications Development; OEM Sales; Marketing; Open Systems & Group Sales & Marketing.

Pre 1979        Parts & Service Management positions in Automotive After-Market

An early career in the retail motor trade with Halfords, Brown Brothers, Kennings & Appleyards led eventually to the purchase of a large & advanced mini-computer system & the move to IT industry.

Born 1948 – Burnley, Lancashire. Educated – Burnley Technical High School