The Future Materials Group Team
Future Materials Group is led by Adrian Williams and David Schofield. Their combined track-record of formulating powerful strategies for accelerated and sustainable growth ensures that Future Materials Group is well-placed to provide advisory services of the highest calibre for clients at every stage of their development.
Complemented by the knowledge and resources of our Associate Directors and business partners, Future Material Group’s advisory expertise is underpinned by a deep understanding of the sectors in which the company and our clients operate.
Managing Directors
Adrian Williams
Co-Founder and Managing Director
Adrian has over 20 years experience in the advanced materials and renewable energy sectors and has held a number of senior management and director positions in the UK, Europe and North America.
Adrian held a variety of positions at leading advanced materials company SP Systems, including global head of sales and marketing. In 1997 he was part of a management buy-in team and was subsequently involved in a number of company sales and acquisitions.
At Gurit AG Adrian served on the executive committee and was head of the wind energy business unit with offices throughout Europe, Asia and North America.
Adrian has advised extensively on growth strategy and implementation across a broad range of companies from large multi-nationals to start-ups in Europe & North America. Adrian has a BEng in Aeronautical Engineering from Kingston University.
David Schofield
Co-Founder and Managing Director
David has 25 years experience in the specialty chemicals/advanced materials sector on a global level with a focus on the areas of strategy and business development.
He has broad management experience and has held senior positions within Ciba-Geigy, Huntsman and Gurit AG where he served on the executive committee with responsibility for Corporate Development. His non-executive career covers both chairman and director positions in Europe and Asia. He has advised extensively on strategy, marketing, business development and acquisitions for multi-nationals and SMEs
David read Natural Sciences at Cambridge University.
Directors and Associates
Stephan Haller
Director
A Senior Director with specialist expertise in the chemicals and materials sectors, Stephen Haller brings over 30 years of global experience within CEO, Director and Business Leadership positions in Europe, the America’s and Australasia.
Stephen has held senior positions at the SI GROUP Inc, VonRoll and Ciba-Geigy, where he oversaw the Strategy, M&A, Sales & Marketing and Business Development functions as well as having site operation and P&L responsibility for up to $500million in EMEA and the US. Most recently Stephen served as CEO of Konapharma AG.
Besides driving growth, Stephen also has extensive experience of business portfolio optimization, operational excellence and change management.
Stephen holds an MSc in Engineering and Business Management from the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. He is based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Mark Neville
Director
Mark has worked in the engineering plastics, elastomers, technical fabrics, specialty chemicals and composite sectors in UK, Belgium, Holland and Germany for more than 33 years and now works mainly with our clients in mainland Europe from his base in Frankfurt.
Prior to joining Future Materials Group, he held senior positions at ICI, Huntsman, SABIC, Owens Corning and Treofan with a focus on business leadership, strategic growth planning and M & A. Mark’s commercial and transaction focussed experience across a wide range of industry sectors provides a strong fit with FMG’s expert advisory work.
Before starting his career in advanced materials, Mark served as an officer in the British Army with the Royal Engineers.
Berthold Alfes
Director
Berthold has over 20 years’ experience in the specialty chemicals and polymers sectors and has held senior positions in Germany and Asia. His role at FMG involves strategy management and commercial due diligence projects for industrial businesses, he works from his base in Düsseldorf.
Prior to joining Future Materials Group, he was head of corporate strategy at Covestro AG. Berthold’s extensive international experience and background in strategy development and implementation provide a strong fit for FMG’s expert advisory work.
Berthold holds degrees in Mathematics and Economics from the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster, Germany.
Adam Clitherow
Associate
Adam has worked for over 30 years in a number of planning, business modelling and finance roles for chemical and manufacturing companies across Europe, Africa and Asia. His roles in industry have included assessing businesses for both improvement projects and M&A work.
He supports Future Materials Group in client engagements for matters of financial modelling, risk management and strategic planning.
By training Adam is a qualified Chartered Accountant with a dual country business degree, MBA, associate treasury qualifications and holds the professional certificate in microfinance banking.
Masanori Kato
Associate
Masanori brings more than 30 years of experience in the chemical industry having held a variety of senior leadership positions.
He most recently served as President of Huntsman Japan, where he was responsible for all business activity, including sales and market development. Prior to that, he held various executive positions at ICI Japan, including Head of Japan operations. During his ICI tenure he also worked in corporate planning at ICI Corporate (UK) for the business areas pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, dyestuff/pigment, herbicides and fermentation.
Masanori is currently a visiting professor at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, and holds a PhD in chemistry from University of Washington.
Strategy Team
Collin Heller
Senior Manager
As a Senior Manager, Collin supports clients in growth strategy development and execution. Based in London, he joins Future Materials Group with experience in M&A due diligence, strategy, business modelling, and sustainability issues. His consulting work is supported by his broad data analysis and financial modelling experience.
Prior to joining Future Materials Group, Collin worked as a strategy consultant in the aviation and aerospace industries with a particular focus in commercial aviation. He has a MS in Aerospace Engineering and an MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Dr. Myriam Yagoubi
Manager
As a Manager in the Research & Analysis team, Myriam supports FMG’s clients in developing and delivering their business growth strategies. She conducts market assessments, benchmarking analyses and develops forecasting models and tailored market entry approaches. She is also responsible for carrying out due diligence assignments for buy-side M&A and assisting in sell-side transactions.
Previously a researcher and project manager for Infineum UK Ltd., a Shell and Exxon Mobil joint venture, Myriam was responsible for the development and commercialization of novel products for the lubricant market. She holds a Ph.D in organic chemistry from the University of Oxford and received a MS in chemistry from the Ecole Nationale de Chimie of Montpellier, France.
Dr. Robert Walker
Consultant
As a Consultant in the Research & Analysis team, Robert supports FMG’s clients in developing and delivering their business growth strategies. His role involves market assessment, technology mapping, competitive analysis and benchmarking. He also supports principal consultants and directors in commercial due diligence assignments for buy-side M&A and sell-side transactions.
Prior to joining Future Materials Group, Robert worked within product development at Johnson Matthey designing catalytic convertors in diesel vehicles. He obtained a MS in Chemistry from Durham University before embarking on a PhD from Imperial College London in Materials Science where he investigated various metal oxide films and powders for solar applications.
Yusef Rabiah
Consultant
As a Consultant, Yusef supports clients in growth strategy development and execution. He joins Future Materials Group with experience in market entry, growth strategy, and competitor intelligence benchmarking. His consulting work is supported by his primary and secondary research analysis experience.
Prior to joining Future Materials Group, Yusef worked as an EMEA Manager for Atheneum Partners, leading the insights and research consulting division, with a particular focus in chemicals and advanced materials. He has a BSc in Biochemistry from Imperial College London and an MPhil in Computational Biology from the University of Cambridge.
Nick Aldridge
Consultant-Analyst
As a Consultant-Analyst in the Research & Analysis team, Nick supports principal consultants and directors in developing and delivering business growth strategies for clients. His role involves research, market assessment, company profiling, technology mapping, competitive analysis and developing forecast models.
Nick started his working career at FMG. He studied Physics for two years at Imperial College London and is planning on working towards a formal qualification while being employed at FMG.
Sarah Dodds
Analyst
As an Analyst in the Research & Analysis team, Sarah supports principal consultants and directors in developing and delivering business growth strategies for clients. Her role involves industry research, market assessment, competitive analysis, and financial analysis.
Sarah started her working career at FMG. She has a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham. Her studies focused on genetics, concluding with a dissertation on a genome characterisation of two bacteriophages.
Support Team
Emma Stokes
Principal – Finance
