Ian Hobday

Ian has a degree in International Marketing and an MBA and resides in the UK. Born in England, Ian has lived and worked in England, Australia, France, U.S.A. and Italy.

He spent 16 years with BASF initially in Marketing, before taking on the role of a turnaround or restructuring specialist, working in several of their businesses across a number of countries. In his penultimate role at BASF (Divisional VP EMEA) he delivered 3 years of record profits and record sales in a division with revenues of €167m in the middle of a recession. His last role at BASF saw him turn a loss-making business into a profitable one in just one year.

Head hunted by Arch Chemicals to restructure their Coatings business ($125m and 474 employees), he spent 5 years living in Italy where the main plant was located. At the end of this period with sales up and the business restructured, he successfully engineered the sale of the business.

He then moved back to France and set up a boutique investment and consultancy business. He took on NED roles in four companies in which he invested, before focusing his efforts on his largest investment, Liberty Electric Cars. He went on to become Managing Director with Liberty, before organizing its sale to Green Automotive Company, an OTC quoted business based in California.

Subsequently Ian has continued his passion for the world of startups and turnarounds, and has recently spent 3 years successfully restructuring an ailing financial services business in the UK. Currently working as an Expert in Residence at Imperial College, Ian continues to mentor and coach early-stage businesses with a focus on ESG and related sectors, working directly with a number of them as an NED, Advisor or Consultant.