Steve Pugh

Chief Executive Officer

Next 11 Ventures(next11.vc)

Next 11 Ventures (N11), backed by global investor Christopher Topp, is a UK-based software incubator. Its purpose is to build, scale and exit high-value software businesses, deploy capital efficiently across multiple opportunities, maintain clean exit optionality, and leverage AI across every part of the business.

• Own the governance and compliance framework for the portfolio, building high-value software businesses.
• Exit planning starts on day one: each venture carries a defined exit case with the revenue, margin and customer milestones needed to reach it, with progress reported to the shareholder against those milestones.
• Maximise shareholder value, working with management teams to reduce cost and maximise revenue to achieve the best possible ROI from investments.

Director — Portfolio Operations

Topp Holdings GmbH(topp.com)

Maximising shareholder value across the Topp Holdings portfolio of circa €250m+ revenue and 3,000+ employees, working with management teams to reduce costs and maximise revenue to achieve the best possible ROI from investments. Reporting directly to the Global CEO, Christopher Topp. The portfolio includes manufacturing companies, engineering companies, service businesses in the wind energy market and more.

• M&A and company integrations — currently working on a £100m wind energy service business.
• Leading the development of the companies' short- and long-term strategies, implementing industry best practice and ensuring alignment with investment objectives.
• Supporting the CEO and company Managing Directors based across Europe on strategic growth projects, including transformation and change programmes.
• AI implementation projects — achieving 50–100% efficiency improvements from Claude.
• Maintaining awareness of the competitive market and opportunities for growth and expansion.
• Linking forecasts to financial projections, comprehensively understanding key revenue drivers and their monthly fluctuations.
• Implementing corporate governance, compliance and risk-management procedures.
• Managing different personalities and disputes.
• Supporting strategic contract and commercial negotiations.
• Installing and managing KPIs, including cost controls and cash flow, to monitor how departments operate and work together to achieve overall strategic goals.
• Driving business growth and revenue generation, and maximising value for shareholders.

Managing Director

Subsea Energy Solutions (part of Topp Holdings)(subenesol.co.uk)

Overseeing operations, strategy, HR, HSE, sales and finance within the North East manufacturing business of cable protection systems and subsea equipment. Increased EBITDA by 300% during 2020–2023 and oversaw the successful exit to RTS Wind Group GmbH, part of Topp Holdings GmbH. Currently overseeing the management team and executing the next phase of the growth strategy.

• Full P&L responsibility.
• Strategic direction and leadership.
• Implementing a new growth plan, including developing and maintaining relationships with key clients.
• Reduced overheads by 30% in 2025/26 while improving efficiency.
• Ensuring maximum efficiency and cost-effective production.
• Monitoring and addressing KPI variances.
• Aligning engineering activities with manufacturing goals.
• Leading engineering strategies to enhance processes and product quality.
• Risk management and compliance.

Management Consultant

Various clients

As an independent management consultant, acting in fractional CEO, Managing Director, Operations Director, COO and Sales and Marketing Director roles to oversee company turnaround and growth strategy projects. Supporting projects and clients in the UK, Europe and USA — including SMEs and major multinationals, both privately owned and VC backed.

• Developing business growth strategies to drive profitable revenue or achieve strategic goals.
• Developing new client relationships, identifying business opportunities and managing strategic projects.
• Leading complex projects, ensuring client satisfaction, effective project management and collaboration between executive team members.
• Negotiating commercial contracts, including supporting M&A and due diligence.

Founder and CEO

Roadmap MBA Ltd

In 2020, founded an award-winning startup with the mission of making business education accessible for 5 billion people. Roadmap MBA helps teach people from under-privileged and under-represented communities business skills. It ran as an e-commerce online education business and now runs as a non-profit philanthropic project. Launching the startup was a challenge that eventually pivoted from e-commerce to not-for-profit as the cost of customer acquisition challenged the financials — and people around the world still use the course today.

• Launched during COVID.
• Course included a 250-page book, online video, podcasts and an app on Android and iOS.
• Rated 5 stars on Trustpilot.
• Users in over 144 countries.

Board Member and Shareholder

Time To ACT plc

Time To ACT supports the transition to Net Zero, addressing challenges including reliance on Rare Earth Elements and clean hydrogen. The role was to advise the board on corporate strategy and support a flotation on the AQUIS stock market. Chose to leave the board in November 2022 to focus on other projects.

Head of Strategy

Tekmar Group plc

Tekmar Group was the global leader in offshore cable protection systems, largely made from polyurethane. The role oversaw group strategy and helped float the offshore equipment business Tekmar on the stock market. Tekmar Group plc had five companies, 220 staff and serviced over 50 countries — a varied commercial role sitting above all group companies, reporting to the CEO and the Board, split into two distinct functions.

Managing Director

Bignall Group Ltd

Durham-based Bignall Group was an SME engineering and manufacturing business exporting to 30 countries, with circa 40 staff across three profit centres and a large focus on distribution of plastic products in the commercial hardware industry and manufacture of plastic products for agriculture and medical appliances. Grew turnover by 26% and net profit by 228% through a more sustainable lean business structure and dramatically improved sales processes. Brought into the business to take over from the retirement of a long-standing Director.

• Full P&L responsibility.
• Created and drove the company's new vision and values.
• Provided strategic direction and leadership, including a new sales and marketing plan.
• Developed Bignall Group's domestic and international market presence.
• Provided clear direction to job roles and accountability for defined areas.
• Controlled costs and identified cost efficiencies.
• Developed and maintained relationships with key clients and stakeholders.
• Improved communication between all levels of the business.
• Oversaw continuous improvement.

Group Business Development Manager

Nortech Solutions Group Ltd

Nortech Group was a global EPC engineering consultancy business, supporting major engineering contracts in the UK, Europe and Middle East, servicing the oil and gas, petrochemical and maritime industries.

• Drove business growth, including diversification into new sectors and geographies.
• Adapted against market trends.
• Managed teams of multi-discipline engineers.
• Developed and maintained excellent client relationships.
• As Chairman of the Business Leadership Team, acted as Quality Champion, ensuring adherence to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 29001, and reviewed all business and HSEQ issues including reports from the Senior Management Team, Quality Management Team and Board of Directors.

Business Investment Manager

Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership

Recruited as a sector specialist in offshore wind, oil and gas, subsea and decommissioning. The role involved developing and maintaining a detailed knowledge of the industry and its supply chain, identifying its competitive position and delivering inward investment opportunities by selling the North East of England as a world-leading location for offshore energy.

• In 2012, invented a fund to help companies bid on bigger projects by removing limitations from performance and warranty bonds using Government money. The £10m Tees Valley Catalyst Fund (managed by FW Capital) has supported nearly £300m of contracts since launch.
• Asked to head up a team from Central Government to showcase Foreign Direct Investment opportunities in the offshore wind sector.

Managing Director

UniPhotos.co.uk

In 2008, while studying full-time for a PhD, started a business and created two successful photography brands: UniPhotos.co.uk and FriendsandFamilyPhotography.co.uk. UniPhotos.co.uk was launched at Europe's biggest photography trade show and was awarded second place as Best New Business in 2010 at the Sheffield Business Awards.

• Full profit and loss (P&L) responsibility.
• Leadership and the ability to motivate a team.
• Effective management and delegation.
• Communication and negotiation.
• Strong financial acumen.
• Planning and forecasting.
• Complex problem solving.
• Effective decision making.

PhD Student (Full Scholarship) — Mechanical Engineering

University of Sheffield

PhD research based around increasing efficiency and reducing carbon emissions in aircraft landing gear. This included a great deal of data analysis, understanding of problems on both the macro and micro scale, gaining insight into complex phenomena and coming up with real-world solutions. Published twice in respected journals and presented at international conferences around the world.

Project Mechanical Engineer

Kier Group, Jamaica

Part of the management team on a £100m project to expand an industrial process plant for the client Alcoa. This included managing the installation of a £54m aerial conveyor belt which transported bauxite 3.4km through mountainous jungle to a rail transport network. The conveyor belt was unique as it generates 1,200kW of green energy per hour and saves the CO2 equivalent of 1,200 truck journeys per day. The role required applying engineering and project-management skills, working as an integrated team in a highly pressurised environment on one of the world's leading construction projects. The project was put on hold mid-2008 due to the financial crash.

Mechanical & Electrical Design Co-ordinator

Kier Group

Advanced Kier Construction's knowledge of the latest renewable energy sources, updated their approach to new low-carbon technologies and, as a result, helped put forward their first tender bid including wind turbines and ground-source heat pumps. Also developed a tool for Kier to assess their buildings' carbon emissions to comply with new regulations — identifying a weakness in the business, solving it within tight timescales and adding value through improving the company's performance.

Project Engineer

Kier Group

Working in close conjunction with Project Managers on several projects, became skilled in negotiating with suppliers, solving technical problems, managing sub-contractors and contributing knowledge and opinion. Solved a serious technical problem regarding a pumping system, saving the company £92,000 by correcting an installation error which was the actual source of the failures — saving the cost of replacing the existing machinery, where the same problem would have occurred.