People

Michael Beniston, Managing Director
BA (Hons), MCIPD

Michael Beniston has been involved in a wide range of projects since launching Abacus in 2002. His activities since beginning consultancy eight years ago have brought him into contact with a wide range of industries, companies and sectors. Prior to this, Michael has 13 years experience as a project manager in the field of economic development, specialising in training and development.

Over the last 2 years Mike has been the driving force behind the development of Abacus’s two leading consultancy and training products – project management and managing diversity. Relevant projects he has been involved with have included the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Court Service, VOSA and the Scottish Legal Aid Board. He has also continued to develop his experience in management and leadership development and recent projects have included working with the Seafish Industry Authority and Railtrack PLC (now Network Rail).

Malcolm Pendreigh, Training Director
BA Dip (HR)

Malcolm is a Learning and Development professional with significant experience at a strategic level, with over 15 years experience in blue chip companies. He has the ability to combine specialist knowledge of communications and organisational design, with a broad knowledge base of individual and team based development solutions. He is able to undertake research design and delivery of development interventions across a wide range of topics.

Malcolm has a key role to play in delivering a number of programmes across the United Kingdom. In particular, he has worked with the Scottish Executive, Silberline, and VOSA, and the Scottish Court Service. Prior to this he worked with BAE Systems to lead the development team to increase management skills and performance.

His current projects include working with with Silberline Ltd, where he is developing an Internal Communications Review programme.

Karen Harris, Marketing Assistant
BSc (Hons)

Karen is a new member of the Abacus team, and has bought a range of newly developed skills in marketing and design elements. She recently graduated in Marketing from Lancaster University, and has a background in customer relations and the press industry.

Karen concentrates on focusing Abacus’ efforts in developing new contacts, market sectors and brand identity. She had a significant role to play in developing the corporate website and runs a variety of marketing projects, from campaigns, to conferences and events. Abacus is branching out into public courses as a new element of its portfolio, and Karen plays a key role in organising such events.