Chelsea Peek - CCM Group Ltd and Summit Creative Ltd
Chelsea Peek was the Head of People at CCM Group Ltd - a Kirkby-in-Ashfield based family business for 12 years. Following a period of expansion and diversification into new areas for the company, she has since gone on to found and lead Summit Creative Ltd, still based in Kirkby, which offers print, design and web services.
Chelsea and a colleague at the Summit Creative Ltd offices
We have recently launched Summit Creative Ltd – a print, design and web business which officially launched in February 2022.
Before that, I was the Head of People at CCM Group Ltd. CCM was originally founded as a family-owned print business which had to expand and diversify during the pandemic into new areas which included PPE (personal protective equipment), electric scooters, and smart desks.
Print and design have been my background for so long that I wanted to get back to this once the world started settling down again. We therefore had a restructure of the entire business operations and Summit Creative Ltd was born. This has helped give more focus to all business areas and our brands.
I have been involved with Nottingham Trent University (NTU) for a number of years – I even studied for an Institute of Leadership and Management qualification a number of years back.
In more recent times I have developed a positive working relationship with NTU to advertise our jobs, and we've subsequently taken on a number of candidates put forward by the University in marketing, finance and data analyst role.
Our finance placement was particularly successful as we were able to extend his initial 6-week placement and he has now progressed onto a management accountancy apprenticeship. He's always willing to get stuck in and learn about different parts of the business, and following the recent departure of our Head of Finance, is stepping up to learn about the more senior aspects of the area.
Earlier in my own career, I worked at a large energy supplier and had experience of recruiting graduates and appreciate the impact they can have on a business – this was something I have ensured is part of our recruitment strategy.
For any other business considering taking on placements or degree apprentices, I would say that NTU provides a high level of graduate in terms of their skill set, maturity and work readiness. This has always really suited our business needs.
We're still early in our journey with Summit Creative Ltd, but can certainly see our relationship continuing - we've even taken part in a photoshoot with NTU of our new offices which we all really enjoyed!
2023: Latest updates from Summit Creative Ltd
Colleagues working in the Summit Creative Ltd office
As organisations across the region return to the office and get started on their 2023 to-do lists, at Summit Creative Ltd they are toasting to an incredible first year in business. Since entering the industry in December 2021, the brand has grown from strength to strength, recently noting a “storming few months”.
Summit Creative Ltd have continued to collaborate with NTU in a number of ways, including support from NTU Enterprise, funding through the Enterprising Ashfield project and most recently the Upscaler Programme.
Katrina Starkie, Dryden Enterprise Centre Business Development and Operations Manager, reflects on the working relationship:
Businesses like Summit are so refreshing to work with, they clearly know their stuff but are always open minded to new ideas – which, I suppose, is why they work with NTU as we can help to guide them to new areas and expand their knowledge in the subjects they already know quite a bit about.
For their team we can see rejuvenated ideas and refreshed energy, and this obviously passes to their work and clients. Their spirt of collaboration and curiosity is no doubt what underpins their success.
We look forward to seeing how the company continues to establish itself as a field leader in the region and wish them every success into their second year and beyond.
If you're interested in recruiting NTU students or graduates for your business, please visit our Recruit Students and Graduates pages for more information.
You can also contact us at business@ntu.ac.uk, or on 0115 848 8899.