ICE Associate Consultant
Wendy Parvin BA(HONS), MA, PGCAP, FRSA, FHEA, Strategist and Learning & Development Specialist
Wendy Parvin is a highly experienced strategic consultant specialising in business development, innovation, and entrepreneurial leadership. She has run her consultancy, Conversations with Purpose Ltd, since 2006, bringing a wealth of expertise to organisations across various sectors. With a strong track record in securing funding, managing significant budgets, and designing high-impact leadership programmes, Wendy works with a network of subcontracted trainers and subject matter experts to deliver tailored learning experiences, and has been an Associate of Dinah Bennett and ICE Ltd for many years.
Wendy has built a reputation as an innovator in learning and development across academic and business contexts in the UK and internationally. With extensive experience as a strategist, communicator, consultant, and mentor, underpinned by both formal education and decades of hands-on involvement, she has successfully designed and implemented practical business development strategies to drive measurably improved performance. Impacts have also been deepened and sustained through successfully translating and building entrepreneurial capacity amongst leaders and teams across a variety of sectors, from Engineering and Medical Technology to Education, Creative and Cultural.
Wendy has specific experience in the UK higher education sector, having worked as a Senior Lecturer in Enterprise, Project Manager, and Partnership Manager. While serving as Director of Durham University’s ERDF Graduate Business Start-up Programme, GLEAM, Wendy’s delivery outputs and programme design were cited in the Government’s Denholm Report on higher education. The programme also won the prestigious Rome 2007 European Training Foundation European Union Best Practice Regional Award. Wendy is passionate about empowering leaders, fostering innovation, and driving meaningful change within organisations.
Professional Memberships
– Fellow of Advance HE, (2023 – present, Associate Fellow from 2021)
– Steering Group Member, North East University Screen Network (NEUSN) (2023—present)
– Steering Group Assist Women Network Tees Valley (2020 – present)
– Charted Management Institute (CMI) (2019 – present)
– Honorary Entrepreneurship Fellow of Durham University Business School 2014-2020
– Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, (RSA) (2007 – present)
Key Skills and Experience
Enabling change
– Development of strategy and follow through with design and delivery of projects and programmes
– Supporting growth and sustainability of small and medium sized businesses through innovation, stronger leadership and business development
– Mentoring programme design & management
– Creative and cultural sector development and commissioning
– Embedding creativity and design thinking into business/professional practice and HE curricular
– Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Education
– Graduate Venture Creation
– Gender proofing training programmes
Communications
– Design and hosting of virtual and in-person knowledge transfer events (academic research and policy)
– Strategic engagement and enabling the development of strategically important networks
– Events design, hosting, and management
– Practitioner papers contributing to the strategic debate to promote and disseminate best practice