Martin Walker
Redcar,North Yorkshire
Summary
Experienced leader specializing in strategic vision and corporate governance. Proven ability to drive organizational growth and build strong stakeholder relationships through collaborative leadership. Skilled in guiding companies towards sustainable success while effectively managing complex challenges.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work history
Club Chairman
Teesside Erimus Football Club
Redcar, North Yorkhire
06.2022 - 09.2025
- As Chairman of a thriving community-based football club, I have provided strategic leadership, commercial vision, and operational oversight to drive exceptional growth on and off the pitch.
- Responsible for setting the club’s long-term direction, ensuring strong governance, and representing the organisation at local and regional levels.
- Successfully secured high-value sponsorships and forged strategic partnerships that have strengthened the club’s financial sustainability and community presence.
- Built and maintained positive relationships with sponsors, local authorities, volunteers, and other stakeholders, while ensuring compliance with league regulations and safeguarding policies.
- Significant increase in membership, improved facilities, and expanded community programmes, achieved through sound financial management, effective marketing initiatives, and a commitment to delivering a professional and inclusive environment for players, staff, and supporters.
- Set annual budgets to maintain fiscal discipline across departments.
- Led executive team to increase operational efficiency.
- Built a consensus among diverse board members, promoting unity and shared purpose.
Head of Brands & Marketing
Stockton Business Hub
Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire
03.2018 - 04.2024
- Delivered exceptional growth through innovative, fully organic strategies for multiple clients.
- Grew multiple six-figure annual revenue streams directly from social media platforms while driving unique weekly viewership to over 100 million on single platforms.
- Skilled at developing and executing brand strategies that captivate audiences, strengthen market position, and deliver measurable ROI without reliance on paid media.
- Experienced in leading cross-functional teams, overseeing end-to-end campaign execution, and maintaining brand consistency across all touchpoints.
- Adept at leveraging data insights and creative storytelling to build high-engagement communities and turn brand awareness into sustained commercial results.
Sales & Marketing Manager
Angling Trust & Fish Legal
Ilkeston
05.2017 - 03.2018
- Joined the organisation to apply commercial expertise to a sport I have a lifelong passion for, with the goal of supporting its growth and long-term sustainability.
- Developed and implemented a business model that positioned the organisation for financial resilience, while creating innovative campaigns to boost membership and expand engagement across the angling community.
- Designed and executed marketing strategies that increased membership numbers and brand visibility, introduced commercially driven initiatives to diversify revenue streams, and leveraged experience from the commercial sector to improve operational efficiency and marketing ROI.
Regional Manager North East England, Scotland and N.I
Gekko Group Limited
Newbury
09.2015 - 09.2016
- Managed the regional performance of high-profile marketing and sales campaigns for some of the world’s most iconic technology brands, including Apple, Google, Samsung, and Fitbit.
- Directed the training, coaching, and performance management of sales teams across major UK retailers such as John Lewis, Fenwick, Marks & Spencer, Dixons, and Carphone Warehouse, ensuring exceptional ROI for every campaign.
- Built and nurtured strong relationships with brand stakeholders and retail management teams, acting as the key link between global brands and the UK retail sector.
- Delivered unprecedented sales uplifts of up to 700% through a personalised coaching style and bespoke sales strategies.
- Successfully planned and executed extensive UK travel schedules to maximise regional coverage, operational efficiency, and campaign impact.
Flagship Store Manager
Signet Trading UK
Hockley, Birmingham
11.2013 - 10.2015
- Managed one of the world’s largest specialist jeweller’s flagship stores, taking full control of budgets, staffing, training, performance, and profitability.
- Analysed all aspects of the retail business to create targeted strategies that improved key performance areas and achieved set objectives.
- Introduced behaviour-change coaching methods to enhance colleague performance, driving significant uplifts in sales, customer satisfaction, profitability, and team engagement.
- Maintained a strong commercial awareness of competitors to secure local market advantage, while devising high-impact in-store events such as The BIG Wedding Weekend to boost footfall and sales.
- Under my leadership, the store rose from the bottom of 22 flagship locations to the top five in sales during Q4, achieved its first annual target in over a year, delivered a 170% and 38% increase in two key branded diamond ranges, and achieved a 23.5% swing in overall sales for the half year to date.
- Wedding events were transformed into major profit drivers, generating over 400% more revenue than previous years.
Business Manager
Dixons Retail
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
04.2011 - 10.2013
- Leveraging my expertise in business development and sales strategy, I cultivated and maintained long-term relationships with clients across both the private and public sectors, with particular success in managing one of the UK’s largest accounts for Duncan Bannatyne’s health club and hotel group.
- Applied strong negotiation skills to secure high-value contracts, consistently delivering an exceptional standard of customer service that not only retained and expanded existing accounts but also attracted new business.
- Leading a store team of over 70 colleagues, I implemented a proactive recruitment approach directly from the shop floor of Europe’s largest electrical store, securing top-performing talent to strengthen account performance.
- By redefining our sales approach and enhancing the way we engaged with key accounts, I increased my account portfolio size by over 300%, transformed dormant customers into active, high-spending accounts, and grew the portfolio to over 800 customers with recent spend activity.
- My leadership and commercial focus turned year-to-date sales from -27% to +11% in just six weeks, achieved annual targets for the first time in over eight years, and delivered sustained profitability in line with KPI objectives.
Store Manager
Dixons Retail
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
10.2008 - 04.2011
- Hand-selected to join the launch management team for a new concept superstore, I was tasked with transforming a store ranked 22nd out of 24 on the company’s Balance Scorecard into a top-performing location.
- Taking full responsibility for coaching, motivating, and developing the sales team, I implemented targeted performance strategies and operational improvements that delivered rapid, measurable results.
- Appointed as the company’s first Knowhow Expert, I championed its world-class customer service programme, using the “circles of influence” approach to embed a culture of exceptional service and customer engagement.
- Through a blend of data-led decision-making, hands-on leadership, and behaviour-change coaching, I drove the store’s annual revenue from £7M to £11M in just eight months, achieved the highest regional revenue for new Knowhow services despite competition from a £35M turnover store, and consistently maintained customer satisfaction scores above 95%.
- Under my leadership, the team secured the number one position on the company’s Balance Scorecard across all KPIs and became the first in DGS history to achieve every single KPI within a single month.
Education
MA - Human Resource Management
Teesside University
BSc (Honours) - Psychology – Elite Coaching and Performance
The Open University
AS Level - Business Studies and Psychology
Prior Pursglove College
B Grade GCSE - Science (Double), English Literature, English Language, Mathematics, History, Food Technology and ICT
Redcar Community College of Visual and Performing Arts
Skills
- Expert in coaching methodologies and design
- Proficient in HR legislation and best practices
- Specialist in Marketing Science and Sales Psychology
- Highly analytical and data driven
- Committed to CPD and self reflection
Timeline
Club Chairman
Teesside Erimus Football Club
06.2022 - 09.2025
Head of Brands & Marketing
Stockton Business Hub
03.2018 - 04.2024
Sales & Marketing Manager
Angling Trust & Fish Legal
05.2017 - 03.2018
Regional Manager North East England, Scotland and N.I
Gekko Group Limited
09.2015 - 09.2016
Flagship Store Manager
Signet Trading UK
11.2013 - 10.2015
Business Manager
Dixons Retail
04.2011 - 10.2013
Store Manager
Dixons Retail
10.2008 - 04.2011
BSc (Honours) - Psychology – Elite Coaching and Performance
The Open University
AS Level - Business Studies and Psychology
Prior Pursglove College
B Grade GCSE - Science (Double), English Literature, English Language, Mathematics, History, Food Technology and ICT
Redcar Community College of Visual and Performing Arts
MA - Human Resource Management
Teesside University
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