I am passionate about finding creative solutions to the challenges presented by modern technology and complex operating environments. With a technical background and broad leadership experience, I have helped grow multiple startups into established companies. By implementing secure and resilient systems, based on recognised standards and tailored to an organisation’s unique needs, I create solid foundations that enable great outcomes, serving as a strategic differentiator rather than a cost centre.

I enjoy building and leading agile, cross-functional teams that directly contribute to achieving strategic goals. My success is driven by two core principles:

• Creating Options: Understanding priorities, capabilities, and having processes that aid decision-making to help adapt to emerging opportunities and disruption.
• Communication: Delivering meaningful and consistent messages across all organisational levels to maintain focus on critical outcomes.

Recent Career Highlights:

• Established a platform provider’s first technical operations function, creating teams that delivered core features, maintained resilient systems, and provided critical insights through data analysis, contributing to a successful IPO.
• Created environments that fostered skill development and career progression into senior leadership.
• Scaled a platform provider’s Information Security strategy, aligning with regulatory focuses on resilience and consumer protection.
• Led Operational Resilience and Business Continuity programs, creating frameworks to understand threats and minimise client disruption.
• Served on the oversight board for the setup and launch of Code Clan, Scotland’s Digital Skills Academy, contributing to national digital skills development.

I am always eager to connect with like-minded professionals and explore how we can drive innovation and operational excellence together. Feel free to reach out to discuss potential collaborations or share insights on the latest industry trends.

As someone with a broad range of interests, I’m always curious to see how practices from one group could transfer to another. My time as an organiser for the Lean Agile Edinburgh community gave me plenty of opportunities to connect and share experiences with others. In January 2017, I shared some of my own thoughts on enhancing operational resilience beyond simple business continuity planning.