Peter, the founder and CEO, brings a wealth of experience across a number of industries, products and services. A senior business development and marketing professional, Peter has led and supported numerous campaigns in a variety of sectors, including defence, central and local government, transport, infrastructure and renewable energy.

With an outstanding track-record in bid support, Peter provides strategic direction, process management, review and authoring. He has also been appointed to the UK Board of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals as its Professional Development Director. Peter is one of the few independent AWARD evaluation tool specialists.

He served as a senior officer in the Royal Air Force before embarking on a career in business development in 1995. His career includes holding senior positions in Babcock International and Raytheon Systems Ltd. In both of these positions, he was responsible for major contract acquisition and operation, including long-term PPP/PFI contracts. Many of the projects he worked on required a high level of security clearance.

A creative individual with excellent interpersonal skills, both in formal presentations and informal environments, Peter is accustomed to working at a senior level with multinational customers, consortium partners and major legal and financial advisors.

When not working, Peter can be found in the air, on the water or on the dance floor.

Chris has had a long association with the company, advising on projects and acting as the firm’s accountant in its earlier years. More recently, he brought his corporate finance and franchising skills to assist with the development of the BiD Masters Network. Following its successful launch, he continues to provide advice and guidance to the board as Chairman.

A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA), Chris  worked in practice for 31 years until 2007. Since then, he has been acting as a consultant.

Dave has been working in operational delivery for over 20 years, often in very challenging environments. He is a stickler for robust processes, policies and procedures, which he ensures adherence to in a pragmatic way. He joined the board in 2020 to ensure consistency of delivery standards across the BiD Masters Network.

He is an expert trainer in Health and Safety, First Aid and Navigation. He also volunteers as a search leader for Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue.

Hannah has been the company accountant for many years, not just counting the beans, but also providing sage advice and guidance. As CFO, she continues to provide financial wisdom to the board and across the BiD Masters Network.

Despite being both a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor, Hannah takes pride in not being a stereotypical accountant. She prefers to be viewed as a new breed within the profession, bringing a fresh outlook and passion for life, while maintaining respect for proven values – honesty, quality and service.

Her passion for life includes her young family and equestrian pursuits.

Andy is a highly adept Bid and Programme Manager. He has experience of managing UK and international bids and programmes for defence, training, engineering and transport companies. He excels in liaising with subject matter experts to manage the design and delivery of technical projects and programmes.

He has extensive experience in project management, bid management and proposal generation, especially for programmes with a high technical content. Andy also has experience in the design, development and implementation of engineering and logistics support solutions for components and systems fitted to AFVs and aircraft.

In his spare time, Andy enjoys riding and restoring vintage British motorcycles.

Rhianne has worked in business development roles for over 10 years, gaining diverse experience across academia, engineering, and the rail industry. With a passion for languages, Rhianne studied French in Paris before going on to complete a PhD in systems thinking and communication. She is an advocate of encouraging those with different skill-sets, such as languages, into the rail and engineering domains.

Giselle is an expert in writing, copy editing, and proofreading and has a keen eye for detail. She is a qualified journalist and marketing specialist who holds a Master of Business Administration with a marketing specialisation from Charles Sturt University in Australia. She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and has significant experience in working on bid across multiple sectors, including transport and defence.

In her previous marketing roles, Giselle has been responsible for all elements of the marketing mix, across both private and public sector organisations, ranging from budgeting to collateral design and development, media planning and marketing strategy.

Before joining Ad Astra, she was Group Deputy Editor for the Etihad Airways inflight magazines and Editor of several British property and lifestyle magazines. She has also held senior marketing management and events positions in the Far East and Middle East. This included the role of Marketing Manager for Ski Dubai, the Middle East’s first indoor ski resort, during the start-up phase, during which time Ski Dubai was awarded Superbrand status. 

When not working, Giselle plays petanque, is a keen jive dancer and is often found jetting off to foreign climes.

Monica is a highly accomplished Bid Management and Content Specialist. Not only does she have vast experience in bid management and writing, she is also an expert in the development and delivery of bid training. She leads the provision of bespoke face-to-face training for our clients.

Monica is a chartered chemical engineer, with over 20 years’ experience in the nuclear and defence sectors. With first-hand experience of working at nuclear licensed sites, Monica understands the challenges of solution delivery in a high hazard environment. She is extremely proactive and has experience working in technical, project, business and operational roles. Monica has been instrumental in delivering successful proposals in other sectors, such as engineering, construction and professional services.

Judi is a senior B2B writer and has worked in global marketing and public relations for over 30 years. She blends highly technical bid writing with effective promotional language to establish your expertise, ahead of your competitors. Her journalistic skills focus and deliver written responses that are accurate, succinct and successful.

Charles has been described as energetic, knowledgable and wise. He is the epitome of dedication, determination and professionalism. He is the consummate gentleman, with a calm, strong leadership style, coupled with an innate understanding of human nature and broad maritime experience. 

As a Royal Navy Commodore, he was the MOD Director of Naval Surveying, Oceanography and Meteorology (DNSOM) and Naval Regional Commander Scotland and Northern Island.  He is a Chartered Marine Scientist with a Masters in International Studies from Kings College London and a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies. Active in the local community, he is Ambassador of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Niall has over 30 years’ experience working in Defence and Aerospace. He has put bid graphics and documents together on behalf of most of the UK’s top defence organisations. The organisations he has worked for include Thales, Lockheed Martin, Hunting, Serco, Babcock, Spectris, Holdfast, RATP, Morgan, BAE Systems, Vanguard, VT and TQ.

Niall specialises in bid and proposal work for organisations bidding for UK and overseas government contracts, working with and incorporating the internal graphics resource of an organisation in a sympathetic and cost-effective manner to maximise client value. Bringing a client’s corporate identity into the proposal signposts the document’s heritage and gives a cohesive look to the finished document.

Niall enjoys country pursuits, like walking his Airedale Terrier and getting up at 4am to make sure he meets client deadlines.

Katherine is a Senior Designer and has over 15 years experience in the graphics field. One of the fastest, highly skilled designers in the area of bid graphics, Katherine can take a pencil sketch and meld it into a truly impressive visual to clearly illustrate an author’s point.

Katherine specialises in visually breaking up a document with on-point images to make it more easily digestible to the reviewer, clearly demonstrating the correct answer has been given to the question.

When not working, Katherine likes to add to her extensive knowledge of real ale and craft beers.

Andrea is one of the preeminent Microsoft Word experts within the bid and proposal profession. Understanding the idiosyncrasies that affect complex bid documents enables her to maintain her calm professionalism in the face of approaching submission deadlines.

Over the last 15 years, Andrea has supported blue chip companies with templates and document formatting on major projects, including rail franchises and infrastructure bids. Andrea employs Word best practice to ensure absolute consistency of documentation and uses advanced techniques to produce bespoke client templates, creating an environment that allows bid teams to produce more consistent documentation that conforms to their corporate style, irrespective of an individual team member’s experience with using Microsoft Word. Andrea designs Word templates for a vast array of clients each year, including the development of macro-enhanced Word templates, facilitating document consistency and enhanced efficiency within the bid production process.

Keen to share knowledge and help bid teams, she has delivered training and guidance to a number of organisations on using Word effectively in a bid environment and regularly posts tips and blogs on best practice, via LinkedIn and other forums.

Between bids, Andrea enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, going to the gym and running. She jointly set up a running club and helps with couch to 5k running courses. She enjoys travelling and is equally happy lying on a beach or skiing down a mountain.

Kevin is an international consulting bid specialist based in the UK. Over the last 30 years, he has worked with UK and overseas organisations in Europe, USA, India, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Philippines, Colombia and Peru. He has supported multi-million GBP bid wins for clients, including SMEs, universities, NHS and Local Government.

He is a writer of strategic and Business Case documents for clients in the private and public sectors; and a trainer, providing bespoke bid writing courses to start-ups and established businesses with high growth potential. He is a qualified project manager (PRINCE2) with accredited training in MSP and MoR.

For the last 10 years he has been rocking the boat as a shanty singer with Dorset’s premiere shanty crew; singing at RNLI HQ lifeboat naming ceremonies, at the International Shanty Festival in Falmouth, and in gigs at home and abroad.

With a strong background in organisation, administration and over a decade of international experience, Rayne is a professional problem solver.

Drawing on a broad skill set encompassing logical data analysis, system administration, process improvement, project scope and delivery, she creates calm in a world of chaos with a pragmatic, proactive, professional and service-focused approach.

When not working, Rayne can be found shopping up a storm at a local farmer’s market or exploring one of the UK’s many historical sites.

Andy is an experienced bid and proposal manager with experience in infrastructure, defence, rail, support services, motorsport and energy. He is highly experienced in leading proposal teams, in addition to acting as a bid writer. As an advisor he has helped guide client’s business development focus, business planning and organisational structures.

Outside work he can be found driving either on the golf course or the motor circuit. He both races cars and provides supercar experiences.

Greg is a versatile, and experienced leader, having served as an officer in the British Army. His ability as a manager of people, tasks and risks, together with his excellent communication skills, serves him well in the bid support environment. He has a track record of generating successful solutions and confidently articulating complex issues to diverse audiences.

Greg is a successful project manager, familiar with working under pressure and within tight constraints: financial, time and manpower. He is adept at fostering relationships with stakeholders from different backgrounds under challenging circumstances. Furthermore, he has extensive training and development expertise.

Hannah is an experienced copywriter, editor and proofreader. In addition to bids and proposals she is experienced in academic work and novels. Furthermore, she is also a dab hand on the keyboard, typing 80 words per minute. With a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature, she can relied upon to tell a compelling story.

In addition to her career in writing, she is an award-winning jazz and soul singer. Amongst other venues she has performed at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and on board the Venice-Simplon-Orient Express and Belmond British Pullman.

Graham is a Programme Manager, Bid Manager and Bid Writer with considerable experience across a large range of market sectors and companies. He is highly adaptable, rapidly grasping what is required in different situations. and he excells at resolving tactical problems.

Graham is committed and effective in bidding and delivering complex programmes, with skills covering a wide range of disciplines. He has a comprehensive understanding of government procurement processes and what is needed to deliver a winning proposition.

His free time is spent travelling, listening to (and attempting to play) music, and maintaining and voyaging on a narrowboat.