About me

Those who know me refer to me metaphorically as 'Jack.'

'Jack of all trades,' that is.

"A jack of all trades, master of none but oftentimes better than a master of one."
Robert Greene 1592

My special gift is to turn my hand to anything. Literally. From crafting flutes from the bamboo in my garden to leading corporations on tax rule compliance.

Art was my vocation, and I secured a BA Honours at the University of Ulster in 1995. As part of my thesis, I created an interactive Virtual Reality installation, which was no mean feat given the technology of the day. This combination of Art and Technology helped me secure my first post-graduate job at 'The Computer Film Company' (now Framestore), where I helped deliver Special Effects for the movie industry.

At the same time, I co-founded a club night in London's East End. I focused on combining contemporary art and ground-breaking AV technology, to create real-time visuals that could accentuate the music and manipulate the mood. We called this artform, Environmental Engineering! I was invited to the Institute of Contemporary Art and regularly exhibited there throughout the '90s, eventually working full time in both their live arts and Exhibitions departments.

I have an entrepreneurial mind and an artist soul, so it made sense to carve out a career for myself in business and operations within the Arts, film and advertising sector. I still do this today and have worked for best-in-class agencies like M&C Saatchi, Ogilvy and Publicis Groupe UK.

I'm an energising and visible leader, fortunate that the incredible talent I lead wants to come along for the ride. To such an extent that many have followed me across roles. But then, fun and creativity are my primary drivers. I enjoy what I do - and, in turn, create an environment of enjoyment for those around me.

My two professional worlds: creativity and entrepreneurialism, joined forces again when I developed an in-house creative agency model and rolled this out for world-leading blue-chip clients, including KPMG, RBS, TalkTalk, and Pernod Ricard.

Today, I'm co-founder and COO of Tall, an end-to-end business transformation consultancy, which leverages my strong suits across creative delivery, operations, innovation and leadership.

We know we need to adapt to evolve. To be able to change. And to reinvent ourselves when necessary. And so, that manifesto which I've shared with the businesses I've served for so much of my career to-date, I now apply to everything I do and will continue to do into the future.