Amanda is founder and Managing Director of Formation, which she has built up over an eight-year period from an effective one-person consultancy to a thriving and growing organisation with a reputation for being a ‘people’ company. Amanda has led an extensive range of training courses including ‘Training for Trainers’ and "Project Management" for a client base that includes private sector companies, government departments, local authorities, arts organisations, development agencies, charities and other voluntary sector organisations. She also provides business development mentoring for individuals running small businesses.

Amanda previously held the post of Chair of the City Arts Management Committee, successfully turning the organisation around through strategic planning, consolidating funding and raising the organisation’s profile with key stakeholders. From 1993, Amanda ran her own successful design business, selling work worldwide through publishers as well as direct to private buyers. Amanda was given a grant to set up this business from the Princes Trust. This helped initiate a long-term relationship under which Amanda became a business mentor for the Trust. It was whilst running her design business that clients began asking Amanda for help with resourcing and preparing training. Finding the experience personally rewarding, Amanda devoted herself more and more to training and development projects, and as her skill and reputation for bespoke and innovative training grew, so did client demand.

An effective communicator in both the workshop environment and in larger arenas, Amanda is a regular guest speaker at business and charity events on popular topics including business start up, entrepreneurship and skills for succeeding after graduation. She has shared the stage with Tony Blair, William Hague and HRH Prince of Wales.

She holds a Training for Trainers Certificate from Leeds University (Counselling & Careers Development Unit), and successfully completed an IBA Accredited Training Certificate in Business Counselling Skills. Amanda holds an NVQ Vocational Assessor Award (D32/33), and has a CIM Advanced Certificate in Arts Marketing from Cambridge Marketing College. She has been an Associate Member for Institute of Business Advisers, and sat on the east Midlands regional committee between 1999 and 2001. Amanda remains a regular contributor of guest articles to the training and development trade press including ‘The Audience,’ ‘Training Strategies’ and ‘Arts Training News & Networking’. In 1992, Amanda was presented with the ‘Women into Business Award’ by Soroptimist International, a volunteer service organisation which seeks to improve the lives of women and girls across the world.

In addition to growing her own successful business, Amanda has two young children. She remains passionate in her beliefs about the capacity of individuals to grow, change and develop. Amanda has made a positive difference to the companies with which she works by helping them to increase performance,  profitability and team commitment.

Whilst her business has grown, both in terms of staff (1 to 9) and net profit (over 50% across the last year), Amanda has ensured the company respects the environment and the local community. Amanda has resisted the temptation to relocate the business to the centre of a large city, instead opting to keep the company within her local town of Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, as she is determined to ensure that as the company grows it does not lose sight of its history and the community in which it is based. A people focused and family friendly company, Formation has grown through nurturing its most important assets: its people.