Hello! Thanks for visiting, it's nice to meet you.
I help businesses to be more successful through a better understanding and use of marketing and technology. I love bringing people together to build friendly and collaborative communities.
After going to Cardiff University and studying Physiology and Pharmacology, I decided that I needed to see the world. Luckily my parents had placed me on snow with a pair of skis at the tender age of four and so the lure of the mountains was strong.
Italy beckoned and after travelling out to the Northern Alps, I lived and worked in the Piemonte region for two seasons. (In between was a brief stint working for Astra Zeneca in London but soon realised that fresh powder, bartending and Barolo were more fun).
I then switched the alps to Asia, spending time living on Thai islands, exploring Malaysian jungles and experiencing the culture of Singapore and Hong Kong.
Following the path of my round the world ticket, Sydney was the next stop with a plan of seeing the whole of Australia, NZ and further afield. Eleven months later, still in Sydney I thought I had better come home.
Joining Smith & Nephew in 1996, I worked my way up to the Senior Management Team in the UK, looking after a host of brands and contributing to the global web team. I successfully launched their new brand in the UK.
I left Smith & Nephew in 2007 setting up Theappleofmyi, having recognised the importance of connecting marketing and technology.
In 2009 I founded the tech and digital community in the city of Hull. Ten people in a coffee shop has grown to over one thousand members of Hull Digital. In 2009, 2010 and 2012 I ran the Hull Digital Live (HDLive) conferences bringing world class speakers to the city from Google, TechCrunch, the BBC, Rapha and Berg.
A 2012 report commissioned by Wykeland and the City Council identified me as the person to engage with to bring the vision of a tech workspace to the city.
The C4DI or Centre for Digital Innovation now stands proudly in the flourishing Fruitmarket area of the city. It provides a world-class co-working space, offices for creative and digital businesses and helps businesses innovate.
I speak regularly on the radio and at events, evangelising about the digital community and opportunities for Hull and the digital sector. I have been featured in local and regional publications, judged the first Digital Awards and continue to connect and encourage the people within the tech community.
I mentor people and businesses and have a number of director roles including being a board member of UK City of Culture 2017.
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” - Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple
I love what I do. I love helping people achieve something meaningful.
I have recently launched The Remarkable Business Show. I speak with people, brands and companies doing something different and challenging the status quo. The guests are authorities in their chosen areas.
I ask them about what they are doing, how they've succeeded and they tell their story, in their own words. We look at lessons they have learned and how their knowledge and experience can help you.
It's accessible, authentic and useful. I promise not to waste your valuable time. You can listen here at remarkable.fm
Outside of work, I'm a keen cyclist. A perfect day would be 100 miles riding in Majorca, Tuscany or the Alps. I strongly believe in looking after the mind and body. Life is way too short not to. As Mahatma Gandhi said,
“One man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole.”
I am an avid reader, writer and rely entirely on Apple products* to remind me what to do. I love products, brands and software that make me smile and solve a need.
*Ok, ok, I’m testing an Android Phone - a OnePlus 3T… gulp, it’s rather good!
I am a big believer in action and not just talk. Initiative is scarce and hence valuable. If in doubt, just do it.