Our team

Gary Hurlstone

Managing Director

Gary has been running successful start-up businesses since the late 1990s. He founded technology services companies Hanston Technology Partners Limited and Nymad Limited, both of which became industry leaders and were sold to competitors. 

Gary attributes his love for developing new businesses to the influence of his father, Graham Hurlstone. In the mid-1980s, Graham invented the Tubex tree shelter which went on to become the market leader. Gary started NexGen to update his father’s original design into a tree shelter that would perform at least as well while being cost-effective and, most important of all, environmentally friendly.

Tim Oliver

Technical Sales Manager

Tim studied horticulture at college and, after 15 years working for Forestry & British Timber magazine, began selling tree shelters in 2002. In the early days of his career, Tim worked for Graham Hurlstone, Gary’s father. He has experience of product development and opened up new markets for tree shelters in India, South Africa, Australia, Morocco, Turkey and even The Seychelles.

Today, it’s probably fair to say Tim has more in-depth knowledge of the global range of tree shelter types and their applications than anyone else in the world.

Caroline Green

Office Manager

Caroline has worked in export, import, logistics and operations in the manufacturing industry since 2007. 

Before joining us in 2022, Caroline worked in the plastics industry. One of the things she says attracted her to NexGen was knowing that, rather than potentially polluting the environment with waste plastic, Caroline is now helping to protect it.

David Seall

Technical Advisor

David has been a Non-Executive Director for over 25 years and currently sits on the board of two companies: CP Cases, that designs and manufactures bespoke protective cases, and Start and Grow UK, that delivers business support programmes across England. As well as being a Board Advisor for NexGen, he also advises several other start-up businesses. 

David has advised major banks and law firms and has served as a Trustee at Hampshire Technology Centre Trust, the Farnham Maltings and Oakleaf Enterprise, a leading mental health charity. He is a Visiting Professor and Chair of the Advisory Board at the University of Surrey Business School and a Member of the Manufacturing Commission, which advises the All-Party Parliamentary Manufacturing Group.

A Materials Engineer, he started his career in the aerospace industry where he delivered major design and manufacture programmes for customers such as Boeing, Airbus and Eurofighter, and was Head of Design & Technology for a tier one company. For over 10 years he was Chief Executive of the Engineering Employers Federation for London and the South East (now Make UK), and worked with hundreds of technology companies. Today, David is a Member of the National Economic Policy Committee of Make UK and Deputy Chair of their South East Regional Advisory Board.

David Battey

CFO

David is the founder of Lumaca Capital, a consultancy that provides strategic advice to start-up and early-stage venture businesses. He has many years’ experience working in private equity, managing portfolios for investors in the mid-market and small cap sectors. At the start of his career, David trained at PwC and is ACA qualified.

David MacMillan

Board Advisor

David spent 35 years working for his family’s publishing business, both before and after its sale. As well as working in publishing, he has been a broadcaster, worked in The City of London, been an advertising executive, a printer, papermaker and bookseller.

David is particularly interested in helping early-stage start-ups and advises and sits on several business boards. He is also a Trustee of a landed Scottish estate. Alongside his work in the private sector, David has sat on a number of charity boards and today is Deputy Chair of the Royal Drawing School and Chairman of the Hepatitis C Trust.

Coral Ramsden MICB.CBDip

Financial Manager

Coral has worked in the SME market for over 25 years.  She loves understanding what makes a business tick and discovering how she can add extra value to her clients.

Coral is a methodical planner and finds the challenge of working with a fast-growing business like Nexgen really motivating.