Introduction

Hello, Buongiorno, Bonjour, Hallo, Hej, Dia dhuit!

I live in the north east of England. On the coast, about a mile from the beach. This would be fantastic…if it wasn’t for the north east weather. You can’t win them all. But it’s a beautiful place.

Before that I lived in Scotland and Ireland.

Professional

I’ve worked in IT for many years. I’m currently an IT Director and I prefer to work in the SMB space to help lead and mentor teams as the business grows. To prepare them for the next stage. When things get bigger, more complicated and you need processes.

I’ve worked in Banking, Insurance and for a very large Vendor.

I’m very good at crisis/incident management.

I am a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) with ISACA. You can view my certification here.

I’m a full member of the Chartered Institute of IT (BCS).

I once held certified PRINCE2 Practitioner status, but didn’t maintain it.

I hold ITIL Practitioner status.

I’m an active member of UK IT Leaders.

I’ve won awards, but I’m much happier that they just sit quietly on a bookshelf.

Personal

I live with my wife - who I will call ‘Herself’ as privacy for people is important to me. She’s a Physicist but now has a senior role in Risk and Valuation, she loves Excel and numbers far more than me. I think she’s brilliant.

I like sailing, cooking (I’m a very good cook) and travelling. I speak Italian - not brilliantly but I am always improving. After a few glasses of wine I may speak French, I’ve never learned French. I did learn German…I can ask you for a pen, a beer and where the station is. Disappointing.

My favourite place in the World is Rome - and I’ve been to a lot of places.

I like to play Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle, Ukulele and Bodhran - all at an equally poor level. But people are always pleasantly surprised. I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

As a much younger man, I once won a Karaoke competition - this has not improved with age unfortunately.

My undergraduate degree is in Environmental Science and my Masters degree is in Marine Science. I also hold qualifications in Engineering (Mechanical).

I am really good at giving career advice based on the ‘Don’t do what I did’ school of life.

Where to find me

If you feel passionately about something you can find me on Mastodon and LinkedIn. Be like the French, be nice and introduce yourself first.

I absolutely reserve the right to ignore you, block you, or become your best friend.

You can‘t stop me.