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Our Expert Consultants

The explic8 Team has a combined 140+ years of business experience.
Our Directors take a hands-on role in every explic8 engagement, harnessing this experience to help you drive your business further.

explicate Verb ex·pli·cate

  1. to give a detailed explanation of
  2. to develop the implications of: analyse logically
  3. analyse and develop (an idea or principle) in detail.

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The Senior Management Team

  • Ian Nicholls
  • Al Friedle
  • Niall Murray
  • Harry Ferris
  • Tom Cassidy
  • Shah Alam
  • Ed Durbin
  • Darrin Poole

  • Ian Nicholls

    CEO

    Ian is an experienced business leader with a proven track record of delivering profitable growth through sales development and operational performance improvement.

    With a consulting career spanning almost four decades, Ian has delivered results for leading organisations across the UK and Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and America. Ian is a change and strategy expert with a demonstrated ability to drive large-scale business transformation, embedding change and building a platform for continual progression.

    Prior to his consulting career, he held senior leadership roles with several blue-chip companies with full P&L responsibilities; real-world experience he brings to each explic8 engagement.

  • Al Friedle

    Managing Partner

    Al is an operational excellence expert, trainer and coach who helps explic8 clients drive profitability through strategic growth, waste elimination and quality enhancement. He has worked with some of the world’s most recognisable brands to execute tactical operating plans and deliver results.

    With more than 30 years in consulting, Al has a proven and sought-after approach to lean deployment and lean six sigma programmes. He is known for his ability to effectively engage stakeholders from the shop floor to the board and drive sustainable culture change.

  • Niall Murray

    Managing Partner

    Niall is an experienced PMP Project Management Professional who delivers robust, holistic business solutions to a wide range of organisational challenges. Amongst explic8 clients, he is known for his ability to lead and deliver complex projects on-time and on-budget.

    Trained in leading project management methodologies, Niall takes the best of each to shape his unique and trusted approach. A logical, focused business analyst, he has significant experience in Lean Six Sigma, delivering projects across Europe and America.

  • Harry Ferris

    Program Director

    Harry joined explic8 after graduating from Leeds Beckett University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Studies and holding a range of management positions within food retail and distribution.

    Working with clients of all sizes, Harry has delivered projects across the UK and the USA operating within manufacturing, program management, process optimisation and technology solution implementation. Mentored by the Managing Partners of explic8, Harry has experience in Lean Six Sigma, project management methodologies and business transformation.

  • Tom Cassidy

    Partner

    Tom is a strategic and results-driven leader with a passion for scaling service organisations, optimising business operations and delivering exceptional customer results.

    Tom graduated from the University of Cork with an honours degree before undertaking an MSc in Supply Chain Management.

    Tom has worked with software development companies and has obtained funding from backers to bring products from inception to market.

     

  • Shah Alam

    US Business Partner

    Shah has over twenty-five years’ experience in the world of operational consulting. He has delivered projects with clients as diverse as rare earth mineral miners to call centers, and manufacturing companies among others.

    Shah graduated from London Metropolitan University with a BA (Hons) in Accounting. He subsequently attained his MBA in Strategy and Finance from Kingston University in Surrey, England. He is based out of Dallas, Texas having moved to the US in 2015, and is an avid hiker, traveler and enjoys writing in his spare time.

  • Ed Durbin

    Senior Vice President, Global Business Development

    Ed brings a wealth of expertise from his time as a retailer, and then onto his long career within roles as Global Sales Lead for several world-class organisations.

    Ed started as a retailer working in the stores, distribution centers, transportation and logistics, and finally in corporate IT. There he found his passion in retail technologies that ultimately assists the customer. Over his career he has developed an expertise in technologies that support the datacenter, database, desktop, to the device.

    Along the way Ed has worked with retailers all over the world. Understanding their problems, wanted outcomes, partnering for success and then leveraging the right technology.

  • Darrin Poole

    US Partner

    Darrin is a Customer Experience Leader specializing in digital transformation and customer engagement for SaaS and IT services. He leverages data-driven insights and cross-functional collaboration to boost revenue, retention, and operational efficiency.

    A strategic thinker with expertise in go-to-market planning, SaaS management, and customer success, Darrin aligns post-sales operations with customer needs to drive loyalty and scalable growth. His global experience spans South Asian, Indian, and European markets.