Crispin started his career rather differently to most consultants, running expeditions and adventure races in Namibia and Borneo. Since then he has held advisory and leadership roles with organisations including Siemens, Macmillan Cancer Support, Snowsport England and US sports sponsorship company Hookit.

What makes his approach different is that he’s not just advising businesses, he’s running them. Crispin currently owns and operates businesses across four sectors: glazing and home improvement, self storage (three sites across the UK), food retail and The Carbon Group itself. Some he started from scratch; others he bought and turned around. That mix of sectors means he understands the commercial pressures SME owners face, not from a textbook, but from a cashflow report.

This is where the TCG commercial diagnostic came from. After years of watching businesses struggle with problems their owners couldn’t quite see, Crispin developed a structured process to find and quantify the commercial leaks that are quietly costing businesses money and a clear plan for fixing them.

Outside work, Crispin coaches his son’s football team and he is also a Trustee of The Frederick Andrew Trust.