John McKeown

Director @Rift Limited

My primary areas of interest and activity include: Networking and specialist affiliations: I have built a large network of contacts, like-minded professionals and experts in a range of business areas. I work with an extensive number of institutions, including many banks, large and small accountancy firms, mentoring organisations and individual mentors, patent attorneys and IP specialists. I also collaborate with a large pool of non-executive directors/board members – working with them all to develop growth opportunities for small-to-medium businesses. Workshops and trade shows: my involvement with several SME Growth Accelerators sees me providing workshops on Government support and incentives. I front trade shows, speak regularly at events and am a highly approachable mentor and business adviser. I’m told that my presentation style is ‘hard to forget’! Sustainable technologies: I have a keen interest in solar photovoltaics (solar PV), solar thermal, clean energy, battery research and other sustainable technologies, such as wind energy, bio mass, and air & ground-source heat. I am currently helping several companies with interests in this area to prepare for and make claims for R&D tax credits. Government agencies: I recognise that it can be difficult for a small business to stay on top of all the opportunities made available by the Government to promote the UK economy. I work with a number of Government agencies to capture and share such knowledge with my clients. For example, I work with the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) and the Knowledge Transfer network to maximise opportunities, either for specific sectors or for designated activity, such as R&D.GET IN TOUCHInterested in finding out more? Contact me for a chat via LinkedIn, or on:• 07•••••••84 • 01•••••••71• J•••••••@riftgroup.com / j••••••••@bradshawgrice.co.uk