meet the team

our core team

andrew donnellan

Andrew began his career in Retail management back in 1983. In 1986 he attained a diploma in management studies from the University of Limerick.  In that role he managed a team of 40 whilst "wearing many different hats". That experience ingrained on Andrew how teams "need to connect" and also the benefits of knowing how all the parts of the business function and how to bring them together.

In 1989 he moved to the UK in order to pursue further professional development and joined GSK pharmaceuticals as a team trainer. Here as part of a sales team he had responsibility for developing and delivering training as well as identifying training needs. Open to new ideas and methods Andrew quickly became an early adopter of the principles of coaching and the "pull" rather than "push" techniques.

Leaving GSK in 1994 he moved to AstraZeneca pharmaceuticals in Hertfordshire as a Regional sales manager with responsibilities for a team of 20 including sales staff, customer advisors and field trainers. Here he immersed himself in the development of his team and with building strong relationships with key customers. During this time Andrew developed his own personal style and cornerstones to his philosophy are "putting people first" and "personal accountability". Following numerous team successes and awards, Andrew was asked to become part of an innovative project group which was tasked with developing and implementing AstraZeneca's first ever assessment centre.  It was through the course of this project that Andrew and Sue first came into contact. It was clear from the start that they shared a similar philosophy and outlook towards Training & Development, oh, and life!

Having become an item, in 2001 they took the plunge together and founded People Development Specialists a training company that was to be shaped by their own personal values. A core value is to provide and demonstrate exceptional customer care. This is driven by Andrew, who in his role as client liaison director ensures that everyone in the organisation is both dedicated to, and equipped, to deliver excellence in customer care. He is passionate that all PDS clients feel that they personally are being looked after and that their expectations are always being exceeded.

Work life balance is very important to Andrew and he lives in E. Kent with his wife Sue, and their 3 children, Max, Danielle and Ciara. Other than his family, he is passionate about learning and human potential.  He also loves running, cooking and playing guitar.

sue donnellan

Sue qualified as a Nurse in the mid 1980's training at Guy's London. She began her journey in sales and training with Stafford Miller pharmaceuticals plc in 1988. Keen to develop herself Sue gained a diploma in management studies from the OU in 1993. It was firstly as a regional training manager then business manager with Bayer pharmaceuticals plc that she developed an insatiable appetite and passion for the development of others, leaving Bayer to pursue this interest in her own very individual way. In 1995 Sue founded the New Business Consultancy in association with the Holt, Surrey as an outlet for her talents and in 2001 with her husband they took the opportunity to work together and set up People Development Specialists.

We often think that if Sue was a stick of rock and you snapped her in half she would have 'passion, integrity and imagination' written all the way through her.

For more than 10 years Sue has had a passionate interest in designing and running Assessment & Development centres. She loves the unique challenges of each project and channels all her energy and enthusiasm into each design. Sue has designed cutting edge courses for high profile clients including AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Nestle UK, Coutts & Co and Vodafone where she has focused on her main training passion. A key driver for Sue is to enable clients to achieve results through their employees. Her passion is for facilitating the potential of others and this has been a familiar thread running through her working career.

In the last few years Sue has grown to become an inspiration to our delegates, our clients and our own staff. In addition to being our managing director responsible for the day to day running of the business she also provides the bulk of our creative innovation courses, and she has created a reputation of being a true 'creative' with an ability to really connect with people and develop deep and meaningful relationships. The "Sue effect" is to challenge existing mindsets in a way that allows individuals to grow…

Sue trains for more than half the year and also provides considerable mentoring support to many of our clients.

Enjoying travel, films, and horse riding, she is married and lives in Kent with Andrew and their three children.

janet george

Janet has over twenty five years commercial experience gained within differing industries as diverse as IT, finance and healthcare. In this time she has held various positions ranging from personnel management, operational HR functions, through to development and training. For the last fifteen years, working with leading companies such as IBM and Bayer, she has been committed to developing the potential of people at all levels - seeing this as a key factor in business success.

Alongside this Janet has indulged her own passion for learning and personal development and has gained (amongst others) an MSc in management development, an advanced diploma in coaching and mentoring and is a NLP practitioner! Not bad whilst keeping down the day job!

It is the diversity of roles and experiences which Janet has had, coupled with her passion for learning and development, which has created the perfect template for her to become our lead training consultant.

Whatever the particular need - be it meeting the challenge of leadership in today's environment, developing the skills to manage people and resources effectively, building dynamic high performing teams, or enhancing performance by building personal effectiveness at work, Janet is absolutely committed to achieving sustainable learning and change - and improved business results. 

Janet specialises in designing and delivering tailored leadership, management and team training to groups. She is also a coach and works with people on a one-to-one basis. She understands the needs of her audience and her training style is relaxed but informative, and is focused to promote interaction and participation, as well as to encourage a convivial learning and development environment.

Enjoying tennis, travel, walking and yoga, she is married to Steve and lives in Hampshire.

anne chandler

Anne has over 20 years' commercial experience in Pharmaceuticals, gained in front-line sales, marketing and management roles. This includes 5 years as Bayer Pharmaceuticals National Sales Manager, during which time Bayer was listed as one of the FT's 'Top 50 Companies to Work For'. Anne completed her Bayer career with 3 years as the Head of Bayer's Management Consulting practice in the UK, working with clients operating in retail, agro-chemicals and healthcare sectors on projects as diverse as Board-level development; strategic visioning and its implementation; stakeholder focus groups to develop core marketing messages; sales training Programmes; developing a balanced score card approach.

As a consultant Anne has specialised in sales performance improvement and supporting organisations and individuals during times of change. She is qualified to British Psychological Society Level A and Level B in psychometric assessment, as well as holding certification in applied Emotional Intelligence diagnostics. Anne brings a wealth of commercial experience, a great ability to provide structure and clarity, and her highly-valued personal skills as a qualified coach to every project she engages in.
 
Alongside this Anne has kept hold of her sense of humour and infectious joie de vivre! Clients have said that working with Anne is both productive and fun - her approach helps people to relax and to gain valuable insights which are then applied to improve business results.

Anne adores socializing, spending time with her partner Chris, and splits her time between their Wiltshire home and their apartment on Turkey's Turquoise Coast - perfect as they are both qualified scuba-divers! Anne has 2 grown-up children, 2 grown-up step-children and is a doting grandmother of 4 - and she's finally got the work/life balance thing right!