Staff Spotlight: Laura Spearing - Driving Growth Through Relationships, Energy and Expertise

At Forbes, relationships sit at the heart of what we do - with our manufacturers, our customers and our colleagues. Our commercial Business Development Manager, Laura Spearing truly embodies that sentiment.

Laura's story with the Forbes Group goes back to 2002, when she joined the sales team at Forbes Rentals, our B2C pillar. From there, she moved to London and into recruitment, managing a portfolio of high-profile accounts;  experience that shaped the way she builds client relationships to this day.

In 2016, after maternity leave, Laura came back to the Forbes Group, this time as Business Development Manager for our commercial business, Forbes Professional. Since then, she's helped grow our commercial reach, strengthen partnerships and spot new opportunities across the business.

A natural relationship builder

Laura pairs deep product knowledge with a real interest in people. Whether she's catching up with a long-standing customer, talking to a manufacturer or developing a new opportunity, she brings the same warmth and energy to the conversation.

That approach has helped Forbes Professional grow its footprint in commercial laundry and commercial dishwashing, and Laura also lends her support to our expanding AV and TV business.

Her extensive product knowledge means she can talk confidently with customers and partners about what they actually need and point them towards the right solution.  Laura is exceptionally well organised, great at listening and earning trust as well as building relationships that last.

Taking Forbes Professional to the industry

You'll often find Laura running the Forbes Professional stand at industry exhibitions. For her, these events are about far more than showing off products,  they're a chance to meet customers face-to-face, deepen manufacturer relationships, spot new trends and introduce Forbes to people who haven't come across us yet.  It's in these settings that her ability to connect with people really shines and helps to bring the Forbes Professional brand to life. 

Balancing business and family life

Outside of work, Laura is a busy mum to two daughters, and two little dachshunds. Her husband, Wesley Spearing, is Forbes Professional's Customer Care Manager and  between them they're adeptly juggling fast-moving commercial roles and a full family life. At the same time, Laura will also jump at every social occasion that is presented and will always sign up for volunteering and fundraising events that we arrange for our charity partnerships.

A valued member of the Forbes team

Ask anyone who works with Laura and they'll tell you the same thing: she's simply a delight to work with. She brings positivity to meetings, enthusiasm to projects, and a sense of momentum to everything she touches.

Kevin Herring, CEO, says:

"Laura is one of those people who lights up every room she walks into. Her enthusiasm, product knowledge and ability to build genuine relationships have made a real difference to Forbes Professional. She has a fantastic understanding of our customers and manufacturers, and she's always looking for ways to develop the business and take us forward. Most importantly, she's a brilliant colleague and a pleasure to work alongside."

More than two decades after first joining the Forbes Group, Laura is still making her mark; bringing together experience, commercial instinct and a genuine love of people. 

Her story says a lot about what makes Forbes special: people who know our business inside out, believe in our customers, and bring their own energy to help us grow.