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Who we are

cogentsi is an international economic development and business strategy consultancy. Since our foundation in 1993 we have developed an extensive practice advising industry on market, regional and policy issues which may affect it, and government and regional agencies on the development of economic activity within their sphere.

We serve clients in Britain, continental Europe and North America. We operate from our base in Scotland and offices in London and Vancouver.

Our people

Professor Hervey Gibson	Bill Mitchell	Dr Tim Padmore

Professor Hervey Gibson

Hervey Gibson founded cogentsi in 1993 and is currently Chairman. His recent work for clients includes cluster mapping, strategy prioritisation, international benchmarking and assessing economic impact in industries from biotechnology, through advanced manufacturing such as photonics and aerospace, to oil and renewable energy.

His work in economic measurement includes compiling Scottish National Accounts in The Caledonian Blue Book, preparing the first Tourism Satellite Accounts in the United Kingdom, and recently developing the Detailed Regional Economic Accounting Model. (hyperlinks for these).

Hervey was previously Head of Economics for Scottish Enterprise and its predecessor the Scottish Development Agency. Before that he was Senior Economist at the British National Oil Corporation (Britoil) and set up the university spin-off company Cambridge Econometrics. His early career was as a marketing manager in the chemical industry in Britain and Sweden.

Hervey is Visiting Professor at the Caledonian Business School. He represents economic statistics on the SCOTSTAT board advising the Scottish Executive on statistical issues and is an international advisor to the Canadian Research Councils’ initiative on Clusters and Innovation.

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Bill Mitchell

Bill is Research Manager of cogentsi.

Before joining the company Bill was the Research and Policy Officer at South of Scotland European Partnership (SOSEP), the organisation which administers European Regional Development Funding in the rural South of Scotland.

During his time there he was responsible for developing an understanding of the socio-economic issues facing the region. He carried out a range of economic analysis and research functions, including the writing of reports and briefing papers and the commissioning of external research. Working with officials and politicians at all levels within partner organisations his work included liaison with and input to a number of other multi-agency groups in the region.

With a particular interest in rural economic issues, Bill has sat on a number of labour market working groups with national agencies, such as Futureskills Scotland, to improve understanding of the rural labour market and highlight the particular opportunities and threats to rural areas from policy decisions.

Prior to joining SOSEP, Bill worked for Dumfries based Currie European Transport, one of the largest privately owned haulage companies in the country. There he was involved in purchasing and systems development and was responsible for monitoring a budget of around £5 million per annum.

Bill graduated from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow in 1996 with a first class BA (Hons) degree in Management Science (Operational Research).

Areas of specialism: rural development, regional development, Europe, economic measurement and analysis.

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Dr Tim Padmore

Tim is a director of cogentsi and heads the Canadian operation. He is a Stanford-trained physicist who has worked on university faculties in physics, economics and higher education. At the University of British Columbia, he managed a macroeconomic model of the Canadian economy.

At the Vancouver Sun, western Canada’s major broadsheet newspaper, he was science and business editor and received numerous awards including Canadian Science Journalist of the Year. During a third career in the service of the British Columbia Government, he was Head of Policy in a series of Ministries including Finance, Social Services, Technology, and Regional Economic Development. In 1993 he left to form Cogent Impax, the Canadian operation. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia.

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Iain Donnelly

Iain Donnelly joined cogentsi in 2007 as an analyst.

Iain graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 2007 with a Masters Degree in Applied Mathematics. He studied a wide variety of advanced level courses which allowed him to build many different mathematical models. Throughout the course of his study he completed several dissertations, his Masters project was entitled ‘Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion’. Iain’s experience in interpreting and constructing mathematical models gives him a suitable foundation to conduct economic research.

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Bob Baird

Bob is financial controller of cogentsi and also acts as a consultant when projects involve public sector financial analysis. He began his career as a professional financial accountant with the South Eastern Regional Hospital Board in Edinburgh. He has held senior Finance Posts throughout Scotland and including Corporate Accountant for Dumfries and Galloway Health Board.

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Anne-Marie Coxon

Anne-Marie Coxon is Marketing and Administration Manager for cogentsi. She is responsible for the marketing functions within the company and also carries out a range of research functions for projects. In addition, she is involved in client liaison.

Prior to joining Cogentsi, Anne-Marie was an NHS Service Manager at a large London Trust. Anne-Marie carried out a large range of duties including managing, interpreting and maintaining complex information as well as planning the delivery of all inpatient and daycase services across the Trust. She developed and implemented new policies and procedures to ensure better patient access to Trust services and was a member of the team who redesigned the elective admissions procedure.

Prior to that, Anne-Marie was the Patient Liaison Manager for the Trust and was responsible for the management of complaints. She investigated a wide range of concerns on a diverse range of subjects, from catering provision to complex clinical enquiries. Through this role, Anne-Marie was required to develop a detailed knowledge of all aspects of the Trust’s operation. Anne-Marie was an integral part of the team tasked with developing the Patient Advice & Liaison Service which involved discussion and negotiation with local stakeholders.

Anne-Marie is used to working closely with officials and civil servants at all levels within partner organisations.

Areas of specialism: client and public liaison, administration, health.

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Dr Geoff Riddington

Dr Geoff Riddington is an associate of cogentsi.

He has over 30 years experience of economic forecasting and impact analysis over a range of industries. Recently this work has had a particular emphasis on leisure and transport, with work on angling for SNH, SportScotland, SEERAD and DEFRA. He is an Associate of CogentSI. Geoff has expertise in econometric and time series modelling and experience in all methods of forecasting including the Delphi technique. He also has experience of successfully undertaking site based, paper, telephone and internet based surveys.

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Dr Adam Holbrook

Dr Adam Holbrook is Associate Director of the Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology (CPROST), and Adjunct Professor of the School of Communication, both at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver. Previously Adam was a Senior Policy Advisor on scientific issues to Industry Canada and an advisor to the Canadian government on science and technology economic and innovation policy. Adam inputs to cogentsi's work in the field of innovation.

Area of specialism: Science and technology, innovation systems

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cogentSI

COGENT STRATEGIES INTERNATIONAL LTD
KILLYLUNG HOUSE, DUMFRIES DG2 0RL SCOTLAND
Tel +44 (0) 1387 720 462 E-MAIL info@cogentsi.com