After graduating in Law in the late 70s, I worked in the oil/gas engineering industry, mainly in logistics and systems.

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Interesting times took me to Scotland, offshore, Norway, Holland and eventually Libya on what is now the world’s largest irrigation project, where I thoroughly enjoyed the mild African sun 1,000k down into the Sahara, and working in Benghazi next to a tank training camp, with roadside SAM pods during the conflict between Reagan and Qaddafi in 1986!

Following that brief sojourn, I studied for (and happily passed) the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at Cranfield School of Management – currently ranked at #80 in the world, in a market of over 16,000 organisations offering that qualification.

Cranfield changed my life and on graduating I worked for Hoskyns, at the time the preeminent software and services company in the UK which was subsequently acquired by Cap Gemini, one of the world’s largest IT services and consulting businesses.

But ‘big company’ didn’t suit me and in 1990 I formed my own business – a software organisation which I grew to over 70 people based in Surrey and Salem, just north of Boston in the US. The timing was good as Microsoft Windows was new to the market and our skills helped us develop image-based systems for the UK Police Service and ultimately a market-leading Customer Service system (which would now be labelled as Customer Experience Management) which came to be used by dozens of leading brands such as BT Chairman’s Office, Next, O2, WH Smith, Toyota, Hertz, McDonalds and many more. It is now used by over 70,000 complaints handling system users for one of the UK’s ‘big four’ banks.

After 12 hard years I left the business and since then have enjoyed a relatively quiet life, with a few incursions back into business and other activities. I did a 3-year stint in East Lancs around Accrington and Oswaldtwistle as the borough’s ‘Enterprise Facilitator’, helping people convert from ‘employment to enterprise’ by setting up or growing their own business. We helped dozens and dozens of people.

I also worked with the UK’s largest ‘business angel’ company (at the time), connecting high-net-worth people with businesses seeking investment. And I helped a young man set up a marketing agency, sell it and now over 15 years since we met, I’m still involved!

And during all that time, I managed to live in the Czech Republic for 6 years!

But some places get their nails into you, and so it is with Cranfield. In 2019 I was asked to become President of Cranfield School of Management’s Alumni Association (of over 35,000 people across the globe). In that position I sat on the School’s Strategic Advisory Board. I stood down in 2023 after 4 years.

And now, here I am.

I’m a Preston boy (Kirkham Grammar) who now lives in the Borough, and I want to represent the people of South Ribble in a position as MP, for Reform UK. In that position I want to try and represent everybody in the constituency in a fair and equal way.