An accomplished Regional Director of a multinational brand has stepped back from the corporate world to support and coach small and medium sized businesses in Kent.

Steve Wheeler had worked for various companies within BT Group for 24 years, the last five of them as BT Local Business’ Regional Director for London and the South East.

Now Steve (50) from Chislehurst has become the UK’s latest certified Business Doctor and is looking forward to working with SMEs in the Tonbridge and Sevenoaks areas.

He will be focusing on how to make them more successful, with an emphasis on topics such as strategy, customer experience, management and leadership, as well as recruitment and retention.

Steve said: “I’m looking forward to getting to know businesses in my area better, and helping them to succeed.

“SMEs are vibrant and all about people; they’re fast-paced and face unique challenges on a daily basis. At BT I discovered that it really mattered to each individual SME what I could do to support them – each problem or solution was a big deal.”

Steve’s achievements as Regional Director included leading the transformation of an underperforming region, by encouraging better collaboration and strengthening sales teams. Responsible for turnover that exceeded £200 million, he succeeded growing revenue and market share growth in the SME sector.

His other roles at the group included Head of New Business (BT Directories, London area) and UK Head of Inbound Services (BT Corporate Sales division).

“I’m excited about the prospect of sharing my expertise and helping within what I can only describe as a ‘real’ environment,” he said. “I’m sure owners of small and medium businesses will know exactly what I mean! So I applied to become a Business Doctor. The culture and philosophy are a good fit – caring, collaborative and supportive.”

Business Doctors’ is an elite network of business coaches, armed with first-hand experience of driving SME growth and creating sellability – there are currently only 45 approved coaches UK-wide, who are based across most regions.

Co-founder of Business Doctors Rod Davies said: “While he’s had experience within a very large company, Steve’s roles have always involved successfully working with SMEs. He has genuine interest, understanding and strategic approach to creating success that SMEs in Kent will find very beneficial.”