Tell us a little more about yourself…  

I grew up on a farm in North Buckinghamshire, and at 18 I left to university. I was somewhat of a perpetual student and enjoyed university so much I went three times! I studied Geography and Archaeology and have a PhD in Archaeological Science from the Oxford University. Whilst at Oxford, I was lucky enough to represent the university in rugby and played in two Varsity matches at Twickenham against Cambridge. 

After university, I lived in and around Weybridge for over 10 years before moving down to a village in Hampshire two years ago, where I live with my wife and our Jack Russell called Bori. Now that I’m too old and broken to play rugby, I spend as much time as I can playing golf.    

How long have you worked at BrightCloud Group?  

I joined in April 2022.    

Describe a typical day in your role.

Typically, I start work at 7:30am by running through my priorities for the day. This might be meetings, admin or preparing a presentation. I will then get into the rhythm of the day, which typically consists of meetings with partners or clients as well as internal planning sessions with the wider BrightCloud Group team. Now the world is opening up again I try to spend as much time face to face with our partners and clients. Remote working is fantastic, but you still can’t beat being in the same room with people.    

What were you doing before working at BrightCloud Group?  

Since 2013 I have been a Client Manager looking after the contact centre and telephony needs of some of the largest financial, retail and private businesses in the UK and globally.   

What would you say is the most rewarding aspect of your role?  

I love the combination of building long-lasting relationships with partners and clients and I get real excitement from seeing them achieve their goals through the work we have developed during the partnership. 

What is your biggest achievement since working at BrightCloud Group? 

I have only been here for 5 months, but so far it has been being the BrightCloud Group lead on a joint partnership with Cisco aimed at helping our SME clients.    

What three words would your colleagues use to describe you?  

Friendly, collaborative and positive. 

Tell us the most memorable moment that has happened at BrightCloud Group whilst you’ve been working there?  

Running through Gare du Nord with our CTO in a last-minute dash to get our connecting Eurostar service back to London.  

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?  

I bought a new Sonos system for our house as I love listening to music. It’s great that I can hear the same (or different songs) in each room I go into. Outside of that, we are just having our kitchen re-done so we’ve bought some cool new appliances and cooking gadgets to go in there! 

What item could you not live without?  

My golf clubs. 

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?  

The shift from technology-led conversations to those driven by business outcomes. Technology now has to deliver in addressing specific challenges; it’s no longer acceptable to buy technology just for the sake of buying technology. Investment needs to provide tangible returns, be those operational, financial or customer experience related. 

If there’s one thing you could change about the industry, what would it be?  

Nothing, I love how fast paced it is. Change drives innovation.   

Who or what has most influenced your career and why?  

Brian O’Driscoll once said “knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad”. I try to approach how I work in this way. A client or a partner might know what a specific piece of technology or service is, but it is my job to help them understand how to best apply it in order to maximise its impact in addressing their challenges.