What do you do?

Jointly lead the innovation and brand offerings within the London office. My background comes from brand (creation/strategy/engagement) and innovation (product/service) hence the fit.

How did you get here?

After teenage illness, Tesco, lorry driving and university, I spent the first four years of my ‘proper’ career in advertising at Ogilvy & Mather and then TBWA before moving into a strategic planning role at Circus and then onto Clear Ideas and finally COI/Cabinet Office/No.10. Taking these 13 years together I’ve worked across a myriad of private and public organisations, and also on general elections...

Why do you do it?

Life is short and people are fun. The challenge for all of us in work is to try and be at our best more of the time and trying to get there with people and teams is something I love pursuing. Through this we get to make a difference to our clients’ business and through this to consumers’ lives. So the making a difference part is also why I get out of bed in the morning.

What have you learned during your career?

Three things: 1. Always treat people as you would wish them to treat you and never be too proud to say sorry. 2. You tend to learn a lot from a few people in this industry so make sure you don’t miss them. 3. The most valuable conversations/moments are often those that happen at the end of the presentation so make sure you keep them short enough to leave room for what really matters.

What do you do away from work?

I grew up in the countryside (Yorkshire and Suffolk) so love relaxing outdoors and especially swimming outdoors. I dabble in a little football, cricket and tennis also but would love to do more of them as I used to. Aside from sport, I’ve recently completed a 9 month coaching course at Ashridge Business School which has changed the way I do lots of things(!) and I’ve also done some coaching work for charity. Finally, I’m sadly also a political geek, a film fanatic and junior chef with foodie pretensions.

I strongly believe...

...that the best thinking comes when people are genuinely enjoying themselves (even when working flat out), and the best moments in life are always unscripted.

I wish...

...commuting would become a pleasure to wake up to!