Our Training Team

Consultant trainers with national and international experience in journalism

Our Consultants

  • Dave ran Mentor's Media Training for five years, following a 30 year career in broadcasting, before becoming its Managing Director and owner.
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    Dave Mason

    Managing Director & Lead Consultant

    Dave Mason

    Managing Director & Lead Consultant

    Dave is Mentor Media Training's Managing Director. He is a CIPR Accredited Practitioner and regularly trains for the PR industry institute. His extensive career in broadcasting spans 30 years across radio and television. He has coached executives from major public and private sector organisations, as well as the UK Armed Forces/NATO, around the world for the past decade. Dave is respected for his inspiring training, which is supportive and concentrates on fast learning development. A founding presenter and shareholder of Somerset’s Orchard FM, he went on to work extensively in commercial radio around the UK, as well as BBC News, where he was a Correspondent at BBC Radio 5 Live and Radio 1 Newsbeat. Dave has been a TV presenter, reporter and producer at ITN, GMTV, (ITV Breakfast), ITV News Westcountry and HTV West. He was one of GMTV’s senior producers for a decade, covering major international, domestic, political and entertainment stories. His roles have included senior news producing and planning, undercover investigations, war reporting and features production. Dave still broadcasts as a crisis communications pundit on Talk TV / Radio, BBC Radio and is a visiting lecturer at several universities. He is a non-executive Trustee of community station Radio Bath and the author of 'Handling the Media In Good Times & Bad'.

  • Julia has more than 25 years' experience as a senior BBC producer and journalist
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    Julia Hayball

    Senior Presentation & Media Trainer

    Julia Hayball

    Senior Presentation & Media Trainer

    Julia Hayball is a radio producer, journalist and media trainer with more than 25 years’ experience in the media industry. She started her career at the BBC World Service as a studio manager and then went on to work as a producer for BBC Radio 2 for 10 years. As a freelance producer and journalist, she’s made programmes and documentaries for many national radio stations, including BBC Radios 2,3,4, 5Live and the World Service. She has also worked for BBC Training coaching new BBC employees, training German naval officers with the Ministry of Defence and groups of young offenders with HM Prison Service. She continues to make programmes for Radio 3 & 4 and is a Senior Lecturer in Radio at the University of Gloucestershire. Julia is a director of Mentor Media Training

  • Chris is an award-winning journalist with more than 35 years experience in newspaper and broadcast media
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    Chris Eakin

    Senior Media Trainer

    Chris Eakin

    Senior Media Trainer

    Chris was a launch presenter in 1997 of BBC News 24, where, for 18 years, he anchored more than 8000 hours of live studio TV and more than 20,000 interviews. Chris has hosted the BBC One O'Clock bulletins, BBC Breakfast and special breaking news programmes on BBC1 and 2. As a live location specialist both home and abroad, he has anchored in Belfast, Beirut and Belgrade. Chris was live in Tavistock Square on the day of the 2005 London bombings. He has interviewed most front line politicians of the last 20 years from Tony Blair to Theresa May, from Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson to Boris Johnson and Michael Gove. Before joining News 24, Chris reported from Kuwait on the aftermath of the Gulf War, from the Old Bailey and the Royal Courts of Justice on landmark legal cases and from Sedgefield where he was filming Tony Blair the night he became PM. As a print journalist for more than a decade, Chris reported on inner city riots in Toxteth and won Reporter of the Year awards as a newspaper investigative journalist in the North West, and twice as a TV broadcaster in the North East.

  • Rachel is an experienced national newspaper and magazine journalist, including The Sunday Times. She works across media and presentation training for Mentor
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    Rachel Mostyn

    Senior Presentation, Social/Media Trainer

    Rachel Mostyn

    Senior Presentation, Social/Media Trainer

    Rachel has sixteen years experience as a writer and editor at national newspapers and magazines. She started her career as a news reporter at The Sunday Times, covering many front page stories, before moving across to Cosmopolitan magazine as news editor. She has also appeared as a media commentator on Sky, BBC and regional radio. Rachel has been a media training consultant for nine years, working with leading corporate and public sector clients. Her first hand knowledge means she is able to share the skills that can turn any media engagement into a positive opportunity, regardless of the circumstances. She thrives on offering clients a real insight into the inner workings of the news industry across newspapers, TV and radio. Rachel continues as a successful freelance journalist writing for newspapers including The Telegraph and The Guardian as well as women’s magazines. She also contributes to TV and radio with her most recent work at ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

  • Rachel is a highly experienced multimedia trainer for media and crisis coaching
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    Rachel Hicks

    Senior Media Trainer

    Rachel Hicks

    Senior Media Trainer

    Rachel combines 20 years of BBC journalism with 20 years’ expertise in media training and crisis communications coaching. She worked in BBC TV news at network and regional level as a reporter, news anchor and programme producer. Rachel has reported on a huge variety of stories including crime, business, technology, farming, maritime, health, education, sport and environment. She’s interviewed leading public figures including Tony Blair, Boris Johnson and Gary Lineker. Rachel is a warm, knowledgeable and deeply experienced media trainer. Her mission is for clients to leave courses better prepared to do an effective interview and feeling more confident about dealing with the media.

  • Angela is an experienced TV newsreader, reporter and producer, having worked at Sky, ITN, and Good Morning Britain for more than 15 years
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    Angela Corpe

    Senior Media Trainer

    Angela Corpe

    Senior Media Trainer

    Angela Corpe has been a national news presenter and reporter for more than a decade, covering breaking news from the all over the world for Good Morning Britain, Sky News, ITV News, Channel 5 News, GMTV & Sky Sports News. A journalist for 20 years, Angela has interviewed 3 Prime Ministers, numerous government ministers, CEOs, business leaders, covered royal investitures at Buckingham Palace, and reported from high profile court cases at the Old Bailey and High Court. Angela is an experienced media trainer & crisis management advisor. She is also an accomplished News Desk Editor, Senior Producer and Programme Editor.

  • Chris can train you to produce better homegrown web videos
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    Christopher Slade

    Senior Presentation & Media Trainer

    Christopher Slade

    Senior Presentation & Media Trainer

    Christopher Slade has spent over 30 years in the industry as a BBC presenter and independent producer/director. He has designed and applied internal and external campaigns for clients such as Volkswagen UK, Barclays Corporate, Heineken, Audi, Home Office, European Parliament, Tom Daley, British Heart Foundation etc. Christopher's creativity and knowledge of ‘the language of television’ will lift your productions out of the ordinary.

  • Yvonne is a highly experienced, qualified trainer in customer services techniques
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    Yvonne Bignall

    Customer Services Training Consultant

    Yvonne Bignall

    Customer Services Training Consultant

    Yvonne is an energetic and inspiring coach, specialising in customer service, confidence building skills, and emotional intelligence. Having started her career in the Health and Fitness industry, working with people at all levels of business, Yvonne is able to easily adapt her approach to meet the needs of those she is working with. She has held several senior level positions, including UK Director and Lead Trainer for IMTA (International Medical Training Academy) and currently sits on the Board of Directors at Somer Valley FM local community radio. With more than 25 years training experience Yvonne has an interactive style of delivery. She enjoys using appropriate humour in her training to quickly build engagement and confidence in her audience. She holds an ILM Certificate in Leadership and Development and a CMI Level 5 Certificate in Coaching.

  • Andy has worked as a consultant and trainer, specialising in the fields of crisis management and business continuity management, for over twenty years and has a wealth of practical experience of developing, implementing and testing crisis management and business continuity plans.
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    Andy Osborne

    Risk Management Consultant

    Andy Osborne

    Risk Management Consultant

    Andy has worked as a consultant and trainer, specialising in the fields of crisis management and business continuity management, for more than twenty years. He has a wealth of practical experience of developing, implementing and testing crisis management and business continuity plans, adapting to current scenarios and moving with the times. He has worked with a huge number of clients across a broad range of industry types including; housing, travel, transport, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, retail, energy, utilities, insurance, financial services, local government, education, and I.T. Andy has prepared and facilitated in excess of 200 scenario-based crisis management and business continuity exercises. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books “Practical Business Continuity Management” and “Risk Management Simplified".

  • Alex is part of Mentor's Crisis 'First Responders' team
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    Alex Tilley-Loughrey

    Media Training & PR Consultant

    Alex Tilley-Loughrey

    Media Training & PR Consultant

    Alexandra is a communications consultant with extensive experience. She helps clients turn all media exposure into a positive experience, as well as diverting unwanted drama from a crisis. Her expertise includes PR, media training, crisis management, internal communications, stakeholder relations, event management and change management, focus groups, copy-writing and content management skills. While living in Sydney she worked as a producer on the ABC’s Radio National news show, writing scripts and interviewing an array of spokespeople, from politicians to scientists. Alexandra’s worked with numerous high profile organisations – within government for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Cabinet Office and the Welsh Assembly – on the landmines campaign for the British Red Cross, for blue-chip companies from British Airways to Tesco and within tourism for the BBC's Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park. Her media training highlight was advising the team who launched the ground-breaking news of Dolly the cloned sheep. Having worked with many internet start-ups during the dotcom boom, she embraces new communications technologies and their benefits, so is bursting with enthusiasm for all forms of social media.

  • Robert Frische is a digital marketing consultant and social media trainer
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    Rob Frische

    Social Media Trainer

    Rob Frische

    Social Media Trainer

    Robert Frische is one of our Social Media Trainers. Robert has a strong background in content marketing and digital media, having trained as a journalist, launched websites and edited magazines. In 2010 he helped win a best car hire website award and in 2013 he became the first UK winner of a ‘Cover of the month’ award in competition with 800 other global titles. He has worked as an SEO specialist, ran big budget PPC campaigns for ecommerce sites and overseen social media for some of the largest insurance companies in the UK. He is excited to carve out a new future at Mentor Digital, fitting into their culture of excellence and helping the training team to deliver top quality courses

  • Chris is creates new relationships and find packages to support your needs
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    Chris Edge

    Business Development Director

    Chris Edge

    Business Development Director

    Chris, a graduate engineer, has worked in business development for 20 years. He has specialised in integrated and digital agencies for the last 14 years and has worked extensively in the education, technical, financial services and healthcare sectors, across both business development and account management. His role at Mentor involves working across all the company’s services and developing relationships with our new training clients.