--- title: About Matthew Gaunt | NED, Board Advisor & Fractional CMO description: "Matthew Gaunt: non-executive director, board advisor and fractional CMO for UK consumer businesses. The numbers behind the claims, from Majestic Wine to Hamleys." image: https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/hubfs/Matthew-conference.webp --- [Skip to content](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/about#main-content) [![Logo_Primary-1-remove-background.com](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo_Primary-1-remove-background.com.png?width=1001&height=338&name=Logo_Primary-1-remove-background.com.png "Logo_Primary-1-remove-background.com")](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk?hsLang=en-gb) - [Home](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk) - [Non-Executive Director](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/non-executive-director-services) - [Services](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/work-with-me) - [About](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/about) - [Contact](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/contact) - [Blog](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/blog) - [Book Intro Call](https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/matthew-gaunt) About Me # I BRING BOARDROOM RIGOUR TO OPERATIONAL REALITY. I am a board advisor, Non-Executive Director and Chair for UK consumer businesses. I spent 25 years carrying the P&L at some of Britain's best-known retailers. Now I use that experience to help boards make better commercial decisions. ## Grey hairs, not slides I have sat in the director's chair at Majestic Wine, Hamleys and Wickes. I have taken businesses through private equity ownership, PLC governance, family succession and a £70m sale. I govern with the lens of someone who has carried the commercial risk, because I have. ## The numbers behind the claims **Majestic Wine - Chief Customer Officer.** Recruited by the PE investor for the turnaround of the UK's largest specialist wine retailer. Profit quadrupled from £6m to £24m. Revenue grew 26% to £383m. The investor made a 4x return. **Hamleys - Executive Director, Marketing, Digital and Customer.** Brought in to prepare the world's most famous toy shop for sale. Led the commercial repositioning and the due diligence. The result: a £70m sale to Reliance Industries. E-commerce profit grew 8% in a year. **Wickes - Brand & Marketing Director.** Board-level role in a £1.5bn omnichannel retailer. Repositioned the showroom journey for sustained double-digit growth. New category propositions added 12% margin. ## Where I sit today **Non-Executive Chair, Harvey Jones.** The premium handmade kitchen maker, around 50 years old, with its own manufacturing and about 25 showrooms. Chairing an investor-backed turnaround and building exit readiness. **Non-Executive Chair, ExtraCare Retail.** The retail division of a social purpose enterprise. Balancing commercial discipline with mission. **NED and Advisory Board Chair, Volunteer It Yourself.** A community interest company I have helped scale from £20k to over £4m turnover. Recent advisory work includes AlixPartners, as a senior advisor on retail and consumer restructuring. I also spent two years with EP Barrus, the 100-year-old family-owned engines business, as advisor and part-time CMO. ## Five ownership models, one standard I have governed under private equity, PLC, family, community interest company and special-situations investor ownership. Each needs different behaviour from its board. I adapt the governance to the ownership without ever losing independence. ## Credentials Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Mini MBA in Marketing under Mark Ritson. BSc (Hons), University of Liverpool. ## Start with a conversation If any of this sounds like the challenge on your board table, the first step is simple. Bring one problem. If I am not the right person, I will tell you. [Book a confidential call](https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/matthew-gaunt) [Three ways to work with me →](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/work-with-me?hsLang=en-gb) ![Matthew-conference](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Matthew-conference.webp?width=1243&height=727&name=Matthew-conference.webp "Matthew-conference") The Philosophy ## "Cash over Vanity. Growth is easy if you don't care about profit. I focus relentlessly on customer-centric propositions, commercial efficiency, unit economics and EBITDA." [![Logo_Primary-1-remove-background.com](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo_Primary-1-remove-background.com.png?width=1001&height=338&name=Logo_Primary-1-remove-background.com.png "Logo_Primary-1-remove-background.com")](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk?hsLang=en-gb) ### Pages - [Home](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk) - [Contact](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/contact) - [About](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/about) - [Work with me](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/work-with-me) - [Blog](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/blog) - [Privacy Policy](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/privacy-policy) ### Contact me - [Get in Touch](https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/contact) - [Follow me on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/matthew-gaunt-associates) - [Email Me](mailto:matthew@matthewgauntassociates.co.uk) ### Newsletter Sign-up --- ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/#organization", "@type" : "Organization", "areaServed" : "GB", "description" : "Board advisory, non-executive director and fractional CMO practice for UK consumer, retail and private-equity-backed businesses.", "email" : "matthew@matthewgauntassociates.co.uk", "founder" : { "@id" : "https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/#matthewgaunt" }, "logo" : "https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo_Primary-1-remove-background.com.png", "name" : "Matthew Gaunt Associates", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/matthew-gaunt-associates" ], "telephone" : "+447813187728", "url" : "https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://matthewgauntassociates.co.uk/#matthewgaunt", "@type" : "Person", "alumniOf" : { "@type" : "CollegeOrUniversity", "name" : "University of Liverpool", "url" : "https://www.liverpool.ac.uk" }, "description" : "Board advisor, NED and fractional CMO for UK consumer, retail and PE-backed businesses. 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