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The Counterpoint Team
Richard Apps
Richard Apps
Director and co-founder
At GKN Aerospace, Richard Apps worked on strategic planning, business development and the evaluation of acquisitions. He also managed GKN’s industrial offset commitments in Kuwait and prior to that he was the Group Strategic Planning Manager for Westland Group. He managed R&D projects at BICC (now Balfour Beatty) and was a Production Controller at Marconi Avionics (now part of BAE Systems). He has a degree from Cambridge University in Engineering and an MBA from Manchester Business School.
Ben Bettell
Ben Bettell
Project Director Aircraft Interiors
Ben Bettell has worked in the aircraft industry in senior positions for 35 years, including being Group Business Development Director for Premium Aircraft Interiors Group responsible for worldwide marketing and product development. Ben has been engaged in almost all aspects of interiors, including the manufacture and sales of crew seats, galleys and inserts, lavatories, water and waste, stow bins, and monuments. He has been involved in all classes of seating design, development and certification. Since retirement from PAIG in 2010, Ben has worked for clients around the world on: design and development of new interiors; market research; and M&A.
George Burton
George Burton
Co-founder and Senior Adviser
George Burton was the Director of Strategic Planning and Business Development for GKN Aerospace, and prior to that for Westland Aerospace, in a career there spanning over 20 years. Formerly a Research Partner for a City of London stock-broking firm, he has a degree from Oxford University in Philosophy, Politics and Economics
Joanne Zhang
Joanne Zhang
Consultant
Joanne joined Counterpoint from the University of Bristol where she completed her PhD degree in Aerospace Composites. During her 4-years research experience Joanne developed a patentable composite manufacturing technique which can be used to produce a multifunctional aerospace composite by introducing graphene and/or carbon nanotubes, outcome of which has generated a lot of industrial interest. Joanne also carried out a project for a tier-1 supplier researching next generation composites technology and has a MEng degree in Aerospace Engineering.

To increase our capacity and bring in additional specialist expertise, Counterpoint has an diverse team of associates who work with us regularly on projects. We also have an extensive worldwide network of experts and can bring in other expertise as required.