Our team
MORNÉ SMIT
Founder and Principal
Morné has over 20 years of C-suite experience in sales, marketing and management across six different industries. He has owned, built and sold two businesses successfully, as well as learnt some valuable lessons from failure.
Drawing on his experience, Morné set up Emerse in 2017 to teach clients how to succeed at sales. He is passionate about helping like-minded businesspeople achieve sales mastery. Since inception, typical Emerse client revenue gains are 30-130% year on year.
When asked what it is about a product or service that he’s passionate about, Morné always says the same thing: ‘It’s not really about the product or service, it’s about the process and the people’.
OLIVER TUFFNEY
Engagement Director
Ollie’s sales success started when he was just 13, buying KitKats by the thousand and selling them at school with a 63% margin.
He began his career working in international sales and marketing positions across China and Kenya, before entering the FMCG world at the bluechip company, KP Snacks.
A true entrepreneur, Ollie joined Emerse as the first full-time employee back in 2017 and is now the Engagement Director. His role in a nutshell? Turning sales problems into programmes, to make sure that numbers go up and to the right!
NUNO BASTOS
Operations Manager
Nuno heads up the operations management at Emerse, successfully managing all the moving parts of the business operations. He enjoys the challenge of creating new processes and keeps everything ticking over like clockwork.
A believer in the power of fine-tuning processes, Nuno ensures that clear feedback is looped to continually improve and optimise performance.
NEIL HUNTER
Certified Coach
With over three decades of sales leadership experience across various sectors, including financial services and healthcare, Neil has dedicated his career to helping organisations build sustainable sales and client retention programs.
Neil is passionate about developing sales professionals at all levels. He executes programs to achieve sustainable growth for clients, helping them to develop strategy, grow and improve their sales function.
NATASHA HEMMINGWAY
Certified Coach
Natasha is a corporate, start-ups & entrepreneurial-based Sales Consultant, with over sixteen years as a successful sales professional with 2 Fortune 500 companies, where she held a corporate role as a Senior Territory Sales Manager. After leaving the corporate world, she found a heart for corporations & entrepreneurs looking to garner their gifts and passions to create & scale their own
businesses.
Natasha is in charge of executing programs. Clients experience her warmth and toughness through her research-based methods and “one-on-one” tactics that help them scale and grow as sales teams, entrepreneurs, organizers, and leaders.
RUSSELL FISHER
Certified Coach
Russell is an established and successful business leader with an excellent track record built of 30 years of consistently delivering results.
As an accomplished facilitator and qualified International Coaching Federation (ICF) Executive & Organisational Coach, Russell delivers development, training, mentoring, and coaching programs including, Sales, Leadership, Mindset, Coaching as a Culture and Personal Effectiveness.
He has run his own consulting and coaching business and worked with a diverse range of organisations across the globe including TVNZ, Vodafone, Yellow, Mars, and Verizon.
PETER COOPER
Associate Coach
Peter brings a real passion for growth through his 25+ years of commercial leadership in FMCG, B2B and Not for Profit sectors. Specialising in sales, Peter has personally delivered time after time when leading successful large and small teams at Camelot (UK Lottery,) Yellow Pages, PHS Hygiene and Lucozade & Ribena.
Now as a business owner himself, Peter regularly exceeds his customers’ expectations equally well through both in-person and remote methods of delivery. Driving people, processes and performance transformation is his sweet spot and he thrives when developing individuals and teams to stretch towards inspirational goals.
Peter brings high integrity, excellent listening skills and appropriate challenge & support, with a proven track record raising up Leaders, Managers and Sales People to deliver well above their own expectations.
ANDY EDWARDS
Associate Coach
Andy is an inspiring professional speaker, trainer and coach who delivers memorable material on topics ranging from business relationships, leadership and sales, to self-awareness, understanding others and teams.
As an accredited behavioural psychologist, Andy runs workshops and coaching sessions in the UK, Europe, USA and the Middle East.
Andy has a unique and effective approach to leadership training – identifying the link between world class leadership and delighted customers. His books, “LEADERSH*T” and “WHY CAN’T PEOPLE BE MORE LIKE ME!?”, have been well received by thousands of readers on Amazon and beyond.
GRAHAM PRESTON
Associate Coach
Graham has an outstanding record of success, having held Sales Director positions in both corporate and privately-owned organisations, as well as being Managing Director of a public quoted company in the late 90’s.
With his overriding belief to deliver and encourage a process of sustainable performance, Graham has led his own consultancy since 2000. This specialises in senior management coaching, sales and marketing advisory, delivered through high impact workshops and interim management positions.