About
The numbers tell you what's happening. Rarely why.
I started in finance, moved into marketing and now spend a lot of my time on AI. The question running through all of it is the same: why do some businesses grow whilst similar ones stay stuck?
Where I started
My first jobs were in finance, at a leisure group, a direct marketing agency and a large pharmaceutical company. I learnt how businesses really make money, and how often the reports miss it. At the agency I also saw that people don't buy on logic alone. They decide, then find the reasons afterwards.
Running marketing in a growing business
Then I moved into marketing, and spent many years running it for an international logistics and fine art storage business, with customers from private clients to galleries and auction houses in the UK and the US. The business grew through organic growth and acquisitions, and I was part of a good team that made that happen.
Most of my job was getting the basics right: knowing which marketing paid for itself, judging customers on what they were worth over time and making it quicker and easier to say yes to us.
What I do now
I work with businesses on marketing, pricing, processes and, more and more, AI. Some of that is advice, and some is building the systems that take admin and content work off people's desks. I also built a directory of more than 10,000 Surrey children's activities, mostly to see how far AI-assisted development could go.
I'm a trustee and Treasurer of The Stationers' Foundation, which keeps me close to how boards work in practice.
Away from work
Skiing has been a lifelong habit, and I qualified as a BASI ski instructor because I enjoy teaching it. You can't ski the slope for someone. You can show them the line and be there when they need help, which isn't a bad description of consultancy either.
I'm a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and have spent a lot of time off the beaten track: diving, wildlife in Africa and teaching English as a volunteer in India.
Closer to home I help run a Cub pack, mentor a young entrepreneur whose social enterprise steers young people away from knife crime and have helped with fundraising through Tunbridge Wells Round Table. And my two daughters keep me honest about what success is for.
The Stationers
I'm a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, which has been part of the communications and content industries for more than 600 years. Through its Foundation I help direct funds to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, the communications industry and members of the Armed Forces.
Three things I've learnt
Systems beat effort
Working harder without the right systems just makes you tired. The businesses that grow usually have the plumbing sorted.
Check the numbers behind the numbers
A report can be accurate and still misleading. Ask what it leaves out.
Growth should give you a life
A bigger business that takes over your evenings and weekends isn't much of a prize.
Want to talk?
Start with the Growth Score, or just get in touch.