Creating environments where teams can truly excel is what gets me jumping out of bed in the morning. I have spent the last decade or more in agile delivery product delivery and ways of working transformation.
While I have a technical background, I’ve always been drawn to transformational work, I like to create alternative ways to proceed and spot patterns and issues. I enjoy making things happen by turning thoughts into action, following through, and making the corrections necessary to stay on track. I am inspired by the future and what could be, and I like to inspire others with visions of the future.
My focus has long been on how the work gets done. That’s because I think we should be laser-focused on impacts and outcomes, not in spite of it. “Building the machine” of amazing, empowered people, with the right ways-of-working, supported by technology has always felt like the way to have the most impact. It has leverage.
This currently means that a lot of my time is spent thinking about and experimenting with product management practices and the idea of being product-led in collaboration with agile ways of working. My focus here also includes tooling and automation and being data-led. It also encompasses approaches that come out of the design thinking / user experience world. I have spent a lot of time trying to create environments where people are able to do great work.
Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, I’ve lived and worked around the world for more than 20 years, my global experience has shaped my perspective and approach.
When I’m not immersed in my latest project, you’ll find me exploring the outdoors through running, hiking, skiing, scuba diving, and paddle boarding.
The Story So far…
2024
Radical Product Thinking: Vision Setting course from Pendo
2023
Making sure I don't neglect team level practices with Professional Scrum Master I certification from Scrum.org.
2022
Certified SAFe® 6 Release Train Engineer, Scaled Agile, Inc.
2021
Co-founder of a startup selling experiences as gifts. After initially being delayed by covid we ultimately failed to get the business off the ground. I learned a lot.
2020
Preparing to tackle strategy, governance and funding with Certified SAFe Lean Portfolio Manager, Scaled Agile, Inc.
2020
I took on the Lean-Agile Centre of Excellence role leading the agile transformation where I have been helping Etihad make agile the defaut way of working. We have grown from a handful of teams on a single train to 40+ tams over six trains.
2019
We go live with the fruits of our agile labors with the new Etihad.com website, self-service hub and the rollout of the Adobe Marketing Cloud digital marketing tools.
2017
My first formal learning on Design Thinking with Design Thinking for Innovation from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
2017
Jumping into agile at scale with Certified SAFe 5 Program Consultant (SPC), later upgraded to SAFe 6 Practice Consultant.
2017
I became a Dad again!
2016
We implement the first team of agile teams (or release train, if you prefer) as we scaled up to deliver a wider digital program including the new website and marketing tools implementation.
2015
I took on the web support and development teams at Etihad and we implement Scrum. My agile journey has formally begun.
2014
Seconded from Etihad Airways to lead the IT department of AirSERBIA following Etihad’s equity investment. Stabilized the team and the environment, tackled key risks and built pipeline of strategic projects.
2012
Learning how to build things when you know what to build and how to build it with PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner.
2012
I got married!
2012
Ready for our next adventure we moved to Abu Dhabi and we have been delighted to call it home ever since.
2012
I joined Etihad in a delivery role, bringing me back home to IT after my adventures in Ariba / Accenture.
2010
I wanted a single page web app runner's pace calculator with a clean interface and social sharing. So I built one. The site design has been updated a couple of times but myrunpace.com is still going.
2009
One last attempt at hanging on to my geek-credentials before I really leave the technical track behind I took Linux / Unix Systems Administration from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
2009
I moved to Prague. Prague is a great city to live in and I enjoyed it immensly.
2009
I continued my speaker and leader journeys with Toastmasters in Prague with Bohemian Toastmasters, including serving a term as Club Secretary.
2009
I joined the Ariba consulting business which was sold to Accenture while I worked there. The highlight of my time there was the time I spent in continous improvement which gave a foundation in Lean that become very useful later on.
2008
Solidifying my banking domain knowledge to better serve my customer with the Investment Administration Qualification (IAQ) w/ Exchange Traded Derivatives.
2007
My first formal 'ways of working' learning with ITIL Foundation Certificate (V2). Later upgraded to 2011 edition.
2007
Looking to improve my public speaking I went looking for a Toastmasters club. There wasn't one in Hangzhou so myself and some fabulous colleagues set up a company club. I was the founding President.
2003
I moved to Hangzhou, China for what would turn out to be six years. I loved living in Hangzhou I had so many amazing experiences, met some great people and it changed my perspective on a lot of things.
2000
Graduated from Northumbria University with BSc, Computing for Industry. This was a computer science degree, with an emphasis on real-time systems.
