I’m the Managing Director at Fluid, and like many in small businesses, I wear a few hats. My responsibilities broadly fall into three areas, proposition development, client delivery, and company culture. 

On the value proposition side, I’m focused on understanding the common challenges our clients face and design how our capabilities can best solve them. It’s about developing a methodology that our team can follow from an initial conversation right through to delivery and get results.  

For delivery, I try to stay as close as possible to our client projects, not just to meet and greet new clients, but to make sure we’re delivering quality work that aligns with their strategic goals. 

And then there’s culture, which really is everything. Get that right, and everything else follows. A strong culture drives client satisfaction, business performance, and a happy, motivated team that are focussed on delivering value.  

Relaxed, trusting and open. We give people the autonomy to do their jobs in the way that works best for them, whether that means flexible hours, hybrid working, or structuring their days around family life. 

Most of our team have young families, so we recognise that work should fit around life, not the other way round. We trust people to deliver and in my experience, when you show people trust, they naturally want to prove that trust is well placed. 

Culturally, it’s also about putting clients first. We take the time to understand what they’re trying to achieve before suggesting solutions. We have a true culture of genuine curiosity, where we want to find out what’s going on in a client’s business and how we can actually make a real positive impact. Technology is important, but only once you understand the people and processes behind it. 

I actually started out in the auditing field after winning a scholarship at Arthur Andersen which took place in a gap year before I started university.  

After university I then worked in finance transformation at Norwich Union and then spent a decade in consulting with Deloitte, which had acquired Andersen by that point. 

At Deloitte I worked across business process re-engineering, using methodologies like Lean Six Sigma, and working on major technology implementation and assurance. One highlight was serving as Financial Systems Programme Manager for the London 2012 Olympics! 

Those years taught me a huge amount, about technology, business change, and the importance of understanding outcomes before solutions. That thinking became the foundation for Fluid. It led to our current process of reviewing people, process and then technology, in that order.  

What inspired you to start Fluid? 

A mixture of things. I wanted to create a consultancy that genuinely did things differently. I’d seen how large firms sometimes prioritised sales over client value and how people weren’t always treated as they should be. 

During the 2008 financial crisis, I saw partners’ pay rise while staff pay was frozen and it didn’t sit right with me. There was a real sense of unease and unfairness building. I realised there was a better way: a business where clients, employees, and the company could all succeed together. 

That idea – of fairness, transparency, and real partnership – became the foundation for Fluid. 

Definitely keeping pace with change, especially around AI. It’s both an opportunity and a challenge, it’s reshaping knowledge work, and we need to stay ahead of it so we can help our clients navigate it too. 

The trick is to embrace new technology without losing the human insight that makes consultancy valuable. 

What’s been your proudest professional achievement so far? 

Continuing to run a successful consultancy business, keeping Fluid going and growing after a major turning point a few years ago. The business had split focus, part ERP implementation, part the Fluid we have today, and I had to make the tough call to buy out the other shareholders and rebuild the business in the direction I believed in. 

It was a challenging time personally and professionally, but the best people were motivated to stay and go on the journey with me, and we rebuilt Fluid into what it is today. Seeing it go from strength to strength since then is something I’m really proud of. 

I’ve collected quite a few over the years! I’m a Chartered Management Accountant, a Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement Black Belt, a PRINCE2 Project Manager, and an MSP Certified Programme Manager. I’ve also completed ITIL and Information Security Management qualifications, and I’m currently studying for an AI governance qualification. 

But qualifications alone don’t make you effective. The key is to combine theory with practical experience, to know when to apply a methodology, and when to adapt it for real-world results. 

What motivates you day to day? 

Two things: my family and our clients. Being a dad is the most rewarding project I’ll ever have, I wouldn’t change it for the world. And at work, what drives me is seeing the real tangible difference we make. When a client tells us we’ve improved how their business runs, that’s the best feeling. 

Working with good people, doing meaningful work – that’s what gets me up in the morning. 

Any hobbies or fun facts people might not know about you? 

I’m into mountain biking and squash, and I’ve done a bit of paragliding. Before university, I travelled around the world – Thailand, Malaysia, Fiji, California, and more – which gave me a real appreciation for how lucky we are. I also once hiked from Chamonix to Zermatt, climbing the equivalent of Ben Nevis every day for two weeks. That was an incredible experience. 

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would that be?  

Beef Wellington, it’s what I’m planning to make for Christmas dinner!  

To meet more of our incredible team and find out how we can support you to achieve your goals through technology, get in touch today.