Proud dad to five children, new grandad in 2022 and a lifelong engineer always motivated to mend things that need fixing. It’s dawned on me that I’ve been working with elements of sustainability all my life and now it’s time to put them all together.
I’ve spent my career working in consumer goods businesses large and small and I’ve been lucky to work with and learn from some inspiring people learning how to manage and lead supply chains from farm to fork, moving to live and work here in Dorset over twenty years ago. Small businesses are at the heart of our community and it turns out that I really enjoy helping others succeed which is why four years ago I chose to work for myself, sharing thirty years of experience for the good of firms and their founders.
Last year I co-founded Maia with Jo Wren, a marketeer and Yuval Salomi, a chartered accountant and together we help small businesses grow in a resilient and sustainable way by considering their impact on people, planet and profit. Our focus is on Food & Drink in the South West of England, a vital sector of the local economy and a huge opportunity for improvement. We are part way through our own sustainability journey and in many ways we are learning as we go – this race is a marathon, not a sprint.
I’m always keen to see individuals achieve their potential and running my own business gives me the freedom to volunteer with this aim in mind so I’m currently an Enterprise Advisor at a local school, a member of the Dorset LEP Skills Panel and a mentor at the Institute of Engineering and Technology helping aspiring engineers to achieve professional status.