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Colin Banno-Thornton - Managing Consultant |
Colin is a Managing Consultant in our Manchester office and a member of the Company's key operations steering arm, the Delivery Management Team. He joined Informed Solutions in 1999 having completed an MSc in Geographic Information Science at University College London, specialising in urban regeneration strategy.
While at Informed Solutions, Colin has worked on a very broad range of assignments from strategy to major implementation projects. Over the 10 years Colin has been with us, he has worked with clients that span the transportation, emergency services, central and regional government, land management and utilities sectors. His most recent experience has been leading a team of Consultants in a high profile, national e-Transformation project for the UK central government.
Colin reflects on why our Company is right for him:
"A key factor in my decision to join Informed Solutions was the chemistry I felt with the team. Informed Solutions is an organisation run on strong principles and professional ethics. All members of the Company truly live and share a common set of values, but it is expected that we will be our own person and that we will actively contribute to and influence decision-making - in line with our individual skills, experience and perspective. Consequently, I am part of a very strong, capable and committed practice and team, but I am supported in exploring and developing career options and in achieving my "personal best" by balancing my particular strengths, competencies and preferences".
"In all the years I have been with the Company, it has consistently placed great emphasis on creating a work environment that develops 'our people' - challenging and stretching us professionally, whilst always remaining respectful and supportive of the individual. I have been given many opportunities to grow and learn, and the Company has invested in me in many ways. I have attended numerous formal, structured training courses and obtained world class accreditations that have significantly built up my practitioner skills. I have been individually profiled and received a tailored coaching programme that has assisted my personal development. Throughout the last few years, I have enjoyed one-to-one mentoring from the Company's Executive Team and Directors which has expanded my business and relationship management skills, as well as helped me realise my leadership potential. And, lastly, but certainly not least, there has been extensive on-the-job skills transfer from more seasoned colleagues, on every assignment I have worked on, which has helped me consolidate my learning".
"What continues to excite and attract me to Informed Solutions? Its high standards and excellent reputation; strong values and positive culture; challenging but supportive work environment; commitment to encouraging my personal and professional development; and, the emphasis on coaching and empowering its people to help shape the business".
"Outside of the office, I have a keen interest in sports (distance running, football and badminton in particular) and I thoroughly enjoy travel. I have also benefited from the focus on 'our people' when the Company afforded me a paid Sabbatical, which enabled me to fulfil a long held wish to spend a concerted period of time travelling in the Ashanti region of Ghana".
