I'm best known for founding Freeserve, the UK's first Billion-Pound internet company. Launched in 1998, it became the largest ISP in just three months, entered the FTSE 100, and was acquired by France Telecom for a staggering £1.65bn in 2001, all in just three years, 1998-2001.
After Freeserve, I held Non-Executive, Chair, and Business Advisory roles in private, FTSE, and AIM-listed companies of all sizes.
I have helped many companies change their propositions to customer-focused ones. Because I've worked in retail, I have great empathy for customer understanding.
I enjoy giving business talks at universities and business events. My talk, "Cut the Cr*P," has received a great reception from audiences because they like the messages and can easily remember what I said: no-nonsense thinking.
I sit on the University of Huddersfield Governing Council and am listed in the Yorkshire Power 100 and the Top 50 Movers and Shakers in the UK Internet industry, Internet Magazine.
It's not every day that you can have the founder of a billion-pound company on your board.
I'm proud that the Queen awarded me a 'British Empire Medal' BEM in her 2018 Birthday Honours List.
