Jon Gerrard – Business Development Manager
Jon has worked in the Business Advisory sector for over 15 years, starting at Business Link in 2003. What started off as a temping post, soon after leaving Uni, turned into a career of business support. He worked as an over the phone advisor at first signposting businesses to help and support, but then became a Start Up Business Advisor and also took the lead on “Internet” (as it was known then) Marketing.
After the scrapping of Business Link, Jon started his own Digital Marketing Agency and ran that for a few years, but was still involved in Business Support programmes, as a consultant, such Connecting Cheshire and UKTI.
In 2016, Jon joined the Superfast Business Programme, helping business across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to make the most of Digital Tech. Through this, Jon worked with 100s of businesses throughout Cornwall at workshops, face to face meetings and helping to implement some amazing projects for these businesses. Twice he and the team were stranded on the Isles of Scilly due to bad weather, which was no big hardship.
He is also a partner in a small Cornish Micro Brewery, where his title is Chief Taster.
What do you like most about your role?
I love Cornwall and I love working with the amazing businesses in Cornwall. There is such a diverse mix of businesses here and they are really up for taking advice to help grow their businesses. I love to support and watch them flourish.
What do you do to relax after work?
Pretty much anything that involves being outdoors or on, in or beside the water. I enjoy surfing (extremely badly, no I mean ridiculously badly), kayaking, mountain biking, walking the awesome Cornish coast, running and generally embarrassing my daughters.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Disney films. I love them, even the cheesy ones from the 60s. Having 4 daughters, I pretty much know all the words to the Disney princess songs. It’s a gift.