Strategy | Business Development | Skills
Strategic thinking, commercial growth and skills-led transformation - delivered independently.
Helping businesses and organisations transform performance and achieve sustainable growth. I bring over 25 years of senior leadership experience in business development, sales and operational transformation, including five years as Managing Director of a yacht refit & repair business, which I led to profitability. I now work independently across strategy, business development and skills initiatives – with clients spanning marine and maritime, membership organisation, government-funded programmes, and increasingly the public sector and the arts.
I’m Mandy Boughton, an independent business consultant based in Hampshire.
With a passion for sailing, I studied Yacht Manufacturing & Surveying at Solent University – a vocational foundation that shaped my career across sales, business development, and operations leadership in the marine industry.
Currently serving as a Non-Executive Director for Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, where I’m President, and for British Marine – these board-level roles keep me closely connected to the issues and priorities shaping businesses across our region and industry, and a clear understanding of how organisations can collaborate to achieve even greater success.
Whether you need to redesign processes, unlock new revenue streams, lead transformation projects, or navigate pivotal change, I bring senior leadership expertise with deep regional knowledge and a practical, solutions-focused approach.
About
The best businesses aren’t just profitable – they’re places where craft, expertise, and people matter. Throughout my career, I’ve worked with specialist organisations that care deeply about what they do, from luxury yacht builders and equipment manufacturers to membership bodies and skills and training providers.
I’m drawn to organisations that care as much about how they grow as how fast they grow – where the challenge isn’t just making the numbers work, but doing it while staying true to what makes the organisation distinctive.a
How I Work
I work on a day rate or project basis, so you get senior-level thinking and hands-on delivery exactly when you need it – whether that’s leading a transformation or business development project, running fieldwork-based research through to reporting, or providing ongoing support through a period of growth or change. I work independently, or bring in trusted specialist partners when a project calls for it.
What I bring
Across both independent consultancy and senior leadership roles, I’ve spent my career transforming sales, aftersales, strategy and operations in complex, specialist environments – combining strategic thinking with hands-on delivery.
Consultancy highlights: Supported the delivery of the Hampshire & the Solent Local Skills Improvement Plan – working with key stakeholders across maritime, construction and the wider skills landscape – designing surveys, facilitating roundtables, authoring sector reports.
Designed and delivered a competitor benchmarking study, delivering price intelligence to inform review and training recommendations to strengthen customer experience and increase revenue.
Engaged initially to shape strategic direction for an organisation, the work developed into a full strategic review identifying new revenue streams and productivity improvements, delivering a commercial framework and KPI framework for ongoing growth.
Career highlights: Built and led high-performing teams across sales, aftersales, and operations, and turned around an underperforming business through strategic partnerships, process redesign, and cultural change. Highlights included an enterprise-wide ERP implementation and process architecture redesign to transform operational efficiency, and securing a contract with the RNLI by developing an innovative solution that delivered significant servicing cost savings for the charity.
Board Experience
Following five years as Managing Director in my previous role, I’m now in my second term on the Board of Directors at Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, where I also serve as President, representing member businesses across Hampshire.
In July 2026, I was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of British Marine, the trade association for the UK leisure marine industry, joining the Board to focus on membership growth and commercial development, bringing a deep operational understanding of the marine sector.
This is my third board-level role – as a company director, and now as a Non-Executive Director for a regional membership organisation and a national trade association – which has broadened my perspective from operational leadership into strategic governance and regional economic development. I’m now looking to bring that experience to further Non-Executive Director roles.
How I help
Research, evidence and skills strategy
My research-led work spans independent structured studies through to Government-funded skills initiatives, connecting organisations with the training and provision that will shape their workforce. This is a field I’m actively looking to develop, bringing evidence, insight and business leadership experience to help shape the future of our region.
Leading specific projects without long-term commitment
Sometimes you need senior-level expertise to lead a critical project but not a permanent hire – a strategic review, a skills initiative, a competitor benchmarking study, a department restructure, a new service launch, a period of change, or a business development project. I work with your team to understand the objectives, design the approach, lead the implementation, and ensure a sustainable handover, giving you experienced leadership without the overhead.
Current work
Following publication of the Government-funded Hampshire & Solent Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), I’m now engaged in delivering its key priorities, working with strategic stakeholders across Hampshire and the Solent – commissioned by Hampshire Chamber of Commerce in their role as the region’s Employer Representative Body.
This work has also led to wider regional roles: contributing to the region’s Skills Strategy and delivery programme through the AI Growth Alliance’s Leadership and Skills Working Group, co-convening an Electrotechnical Training Alliance for the region, and leading the initial development of an important piece of place-based intelligence research.
Contact me
Get in touch.
If you’d like to discuss a project or explore how I might help, I’d be pleased to hear from you.
Saltwood Partners
Mandy Boughton
