Meet the team

Michael Welch, Managing Director

Michael Welch has been voted both Shell and Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2008 won the BT Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Founder and Managing Director of Blackcircles.com Michael has spent over 12 years in the tyre industry in varied roles including E-commerce Director for Kwik-Fit Group.

Kenny Baillie, Finance Director

Kenny Baillie is a Chartered Accountant. Previous roles include audit manager with Tenon Scotland and a senior management accountant within Scottish Widows.

Peter Nowell, Commercial Director

Peter worked with Kwik-Fit for 10 years, latterly as Marketing Director for the UK. He left in 1993 to launch a marketing consultancy, which counted Southams, ATS Euromaster, Orange and ScottishPower as clients.

Selling the consultancy in 2000, he then took an interim post at ATS Euromaster for 2 years as Marketing Director for the UK.,and following that, fulfilled similar roles at SSK and Puzzler Media.

Joining Blackcircles.com in 2008, Peter has taken responsibility for key supplier relationships, to develop mutually beneficial marketing strategies.

James Eccleshall, Head of Operations & Trading

James worked with the UK’s largest golf wholesaler for 6 years, progressing through the company gaining valuable experience in the customer relations and sales departments before assisting in the developing key brands as Head of purchasing and logistics.

After leaving the wholesale business in 2007, he spent 18 months working as a consultant for a profit improvement company that focused on reducing costs through process improvement, increasing efficiencies and cost reduction.

Further to joining Blackcircles.com in March 2008, James has taken responsibility for several key areas; supplier negotiations, operational processes and efficiencies, whilst overseeing the sales, buying and customer relations teams.

Richard Rankin, Head of Web

Richard joined Blackcircles.com as marketing manager in 2007 following 3½ with an Edinburgh based online marketing agency as a paid search specialist.

With a background in online marketing , web development and search engine optimisation and a passion for everything “web” Richard now heads up the Blackcircles.com online marketing and development teams.

Key areas of responsibility include online marketing strategy and the creation, development and roll out of new technologies for Blackcircles.com UK, Blackcircles.com Europe and key strategic partners.

Alan Littlewood, Head of Network

Alan Littlewood previously held roles within Stapletons Tyre services as Business Development Manager for wholesale accounts in the north of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Before joining Blackcircles.com worked for the Pendragon group as the National Tyre Manager responsible for all tyre related sales and purchasing within the group

Margaret Russell, International Operations Supervisor

Margaret Russell graduated from the University of Leicester in 2007 with an upper second in Law, French Law and French and obtained the LPC from Nottingham Law School in 2008

Margaret oversees Blackcircles.com's international customer service, logistics and marketing and the ongoing expansion of our European retail websites sites in  France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Finland.

Steven Guthrie, Marketing and Communications Executive

Steven Guthrie graduated from Aberdeen University with a 2:1 in Management and Sociology in 2007 and joined the Blackcircles.com team in 2008 as a marketing assistant.

Steve currently manages external media and communications and assists Business Development team in the creation and implementation of new strategic partnerships.

Marie Bennett, PA to Michael Welch

Having recently joined Blackcircles.com from a global Law firm where Marie was PA to the Head of Private Client and Financial Services her background is quite varied.

Marie left school at 15 and worked through the different departments of hospitality and catering, then on to front of house with RBS Private Equity, after which entering the Law Sector as a legal secretary and PA, specialising firstly in Renewable Energies then Private Client.