Ms Barbara Wilson |

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I'm Barbara Wilson, a business analyst and business editor with a background in business consulting. I'll work with you to ensure your written and spoken business communications are compelling, consistent, and error-free. 

I have over 30 years of experience in industry delivering consultancy and business solutions, including roles as Senior Business Analyst, Business Editor, and Senior Project Manager:

• 3 years in the steel industry and artificial intelligence (AI) research in Scotland
• 14 years working throughout Europe implementing business change projects 
• 15 years working remotely with clients worldwide, delivering business analysis, business comms, and digital transformation programmes 

I have a BA degree in Business with French and German and an MSc in Operational Research (applied maths). I did post-grad research in the field of AI. ​

I work with individuals and teams of people from around the world – Europe, India, the Middle East, Australia, and North America. For many of my clients, English is not their first language.

I specialise in business comms and online content – digital platform content, corporate marketing materials, business plans, investment pitches, case studies, technical documents, video/audio/podcast scripts, books, websites, and blogs. 

Summary: 

• Extensive technical know-how
  
• Effective collaborator and excellent team player
  
• Conscientious with exceptional attention to detail
  
• Comfortable working across multiple time zones
  
• Friendly, versatile, reliable

I'm Scottish, live in the UK, and work remotely with clients worldwide.

• Email:  [email protected]
• Website: www.pensatostudios.com

Pensato Editing Studios

Pensato means "thought" in Italian. And in music a pensato is an imaginary note that is neither played nor heard – a silent note that is simply felt. 

I'll work with you to enhance your creative text and your written and spoken communications, making them clear, coherent, and compelling. But I'll do so as a silent contributor because the creation should always have your voice, not mine.

My role is to bring your thoughts and ideas to life, to ensure they are seen and heard. I'll make sure your text is convincing, consistent, and correct. 

Or quirky when required. 

I understand the business environment and its jargon

​Having completed a BA in Business with French and German and then an MSc in Operational Research (applied maths) in Glasgow in the 1980s, I worked in the steel industry in Scotland as a process engineer and did research into artificial intelligence (AI) for an engineering consultancy. I then spent a few years working in Zürich and a short time in Paris and London, where I taught English. 

​In the early 1990s, I joined a management consulting firm and, for the next 14 years, worked throughout Europe delivering business improvement projects in the automotive, chemical, FMCG, food, energy, and manufacturing sectors. 

In 2008, I began to do editorial work for various businesses, so I decided to retrain as an editor and proofreader. In 2011, I started my own editorial company – Pensato Studios. I now run this as part of Pensato Ltd, which covers business editing and business analysis services.

​I can deliver what you need: on-time-in-full

• ensuring written and spoken corporate communications are clear, coherent, compelling, and free from embarrassing errors
• working with teams of writers from diverse business functions
• editing for non-fluent English writers from a broad range of countries and cultures
• working in Word with track changes, using PowerPoint for presentations and diagrams, and marking up PDFs in Adobe
• creating style sheets or working with your business house style
• offering quick turnaround for urgent work
• delivering to tight timeframes
• always meeting client deadlines
• delivering large, complex projects
• providing voice-overs for audio and video scripts, particularly for clients who are non-native English speakers

Skills

• Business & digital transformations
• Agile & waterfall methodologies
• Requirements definition & management
• Data migration – facilitation & data cleansing
• User acceptance testing
• Business change deployment
• Stakeholder engagement
• Business analysis tools & techniques
• Workshop facilitation
• Business case development
• As-is situation investigation & documentation
• Business process modelling (BPMN)
• Business process improvement
• Lean manufacturing & six sigma methodologies – including Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, Kanban, Poka-Yoke, 5S, Just-in-time, Level Scheduling, "Takt" time, and SMED (single minute exchange of die).
• Total productive maintenance (TPM)
• Toyota production system (TPS)
• Supply chain management
• Project management
• Software: MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Word, MS SharePoint, MS Teams, Zoom, Adobe Acrobat, Lucidchart, Confluence, Slack, Asana, JIRA, SalesForce

Media

• corporate communications
• marketing copy
• business plans
• investment pitches
• digital content
• online learning materials
• business documents
• company literature
• training materials
• press releases
• newsletters
• technical documents
• books
• websites
• blogs 
• video scripts
• audio scripts
• podcast scripts

Clients

• Laing O’Rourke (Europe, Middle East, Australia)
• Robot Mascot (Pitch Agency & Startup Consultancy)
• Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)
• Brand Specials (The Netherlands)
• HITEC Power Protection (The Netherlands)
• BBC Bitesize
• Cambridge University Press
• Palgrave Macmillan
• Oxford University Press
• Association for Scottish Literature
• Macmillan Education
• Haremi
• SPi Global
• Integra
• Axisto Consulting (The Netherlands)
• Business Change Mentor
• Hitachi Consulting
• ABB Turbines (Berlin)
• Coca-Cola Schweppes (Wakefield)
• Ford Transit Vans (Southampton)
• Ford Cars (Halewood)
• Ford Cars (Dagenham)
• General Motors IBC (Luton)
• Hunting Aviation
• Hepworth Building Products
• Brossard
• Grand Metropolitan
• Dale Farm
• Craven's of York
• Sidlaw Packaging
• De La Rue
• British Energy
• ICI Tioxide
• ICI Aromatics
• ICI Paints
• Finidhyn Ltd
• Business bloggers

I also work with independent writers who produce business articles, academic papers, and online content.

Interests

• Music: I play flute and sax in various jazz bands and music ensembles.
• Trail running: 10K, half marathons, and marathons.
• Painting: using oils, acrylics, and pastels.
• I love to cook and also enjoy reading, gardening, and calligraphy.

Qualifications

• BA in Business Management with French and German
• MSc in Operational Research [applied maths: advanced analytical techniques to tackle complex problems and help make better decisions]
• RSA/UCLES Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (ICL, Paris)
• Certificate in Proofreading – awarded with distinction (PTC)
• Certificate in Editing and Proofreading Music (CIEP)
• Certificate in Plain English for Editors (CIEP)

Work experience

• Senior Business Analyst – Pensato Ltd: Business Solutions (present)
• Owner, Editor & Proofreader – Pensato Ltd: Editing Studios (2011–present)
• Business Editor/Researcher – Finidhyn Ltd
• Senior Project Manager/Business Analyst/European Resource Manager – Celerant Consulting Ltd
• TEFL Teacher – Switzerland, France and the UK
• Chef de Service – Gran Café, Zürich
• Postgraduate Research Post in Artificial Intelligence – Strathclyde University and YARD Marine Engineering Consultancy
• Process Control Engineer – British Steel

Testimonials

Barbara has supported me for many years now in crafting business documents in English: papers, presentations, commercial proposals, website content, blogs, scripts for videos, etc. She is fast, reliable and helps me to write better business communications. 

Typically, I write an original document in Dutch, translate it into English and send it to Barbara. She not only improves my English but crafts a better document altogether. Her input inspires me to rewrite my Dutch original and boost its quality. So Barbara acts as my co-writer, not just as a translator/editor. 

Importantly, she is really good to work with as well.

Henk de Jong, Founder & Managing Partner, Axisto Consulting

I have worked with Barbara at Pensato Studios for over 10 years now on a number of different projects – 3 books, several white papers, scripts for podcasts and many general business projects. 

It's always a joy to work with Barbara as you can send her what you think is a good piece of writing and, without fail, she will send back a much better piece of work. 

I'm still amazed at how little I actually know about grammar, punctuation and the style protocols required for a professional publication. That's why I continue to use the great editorial services and general good all-round advice that Barbara provides. 

I can’t recommend the service enough – from getting an important email correct through to publishing whole books.

Andrew Wilson, Managing Director, Finidhyn Ltd

I am thankful to Barbara for her editing two of my book manuscripts for Palgrave and Oxford University Press. 

Her ability to comprehend the subject and to offer suggestions of more than just a grammatical and syntactical nature make her more than another editor. 

Her diligence for detail, promptness in response and focused sense of style make her an ideal editor for high-calibre publishing.

Dr Ahmet Suayb Gundogdu, ​Associate Professor at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University and a senior professional at the Islamic Development Bank

• Editor
• Proofreader

• Non-fiction
• Business & finance
• Communications
• Economics
• Finance

• Business writing
• Project management