I started my career at a full-service design agency in my hometown of Cheltenham.

Joined at 16 as a young apprentice, juggling college and client work, I learned fast — and on the job. I designed for the likes of Kraft Foods (Terry’s Chocolate, Dairylea), Triumph Motorcycles, Efteling Theme Park, and a host of local SMEs, councils, and Cheltenham’s two most prestigious schools — Cheltenham College and Dean Close.

Back then, design didn’t end with a “Publish” button. I learned the full reprographics process — taking jobs from sketch to artwork, then onto film sets and printing plates. Every job had to be tight, considered, and error-free. Small mistakes cost real money, and the pressure taught me the value of precision, craft, and care.

By 18, I was handling client meetings and managing my own projects. The team was supportive, but I was given a huge amount of freedom and responsibility — and I absolutely thrived on it.

Looking back, it was a rare kind of learning environment: a boutique agency packed with talent, run by a boss who taught me as much about life as he did about business.

It was chaotic, creative, and totally formative — and I wouldn’t change a thing.

(Cheers Big Col, Simon, and Rich.)

At 20, I packed a bag and headed to Australia with a friend — my self-made gap year to make up for the uni experience I skipped while doing my apprenticeship.

We travelled across the US, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia, but spent the bulk of our time — 8 months — living in Melbourne and Sydney.

While in Melbourne, I landed a job at Paramount Design — a large agency of around 50 people working on high-end campaigns for Adidas, Formula 1, and Westpac Bank.

I was lucky enough to be given a big creative opportunity: shaping the 2000 Adidas sports campaign, which would be showcased at a major launch event in Hong Kong. I poured everything into it — long nights, endless iterations — determined to make it my portfolio centrepiece.

That led to working on F1 creative too, including large-format designs used around the Albert Park circuit for the Melbourne Grand Prix. I watched the race live, with chips in hand, spotting my work trackside.

I learned that Aussies love winding up the Brits, that you earn respect by speaking up — and that even at 20, you can contribute big if you back yourself.

It was an incredible experience, working alongside some of the best designers I’ve ever met.

Some say I got a lucky break. But I know I made the most of it.

‍

After a year of travelling, I found myself back in the UK — picking up freelance and contract work with agencies across Bristol and London.

I worked with Mason Zimbler on Microsoft campaigns, with Superior Creative on the Princess Yachts and Booker accounts, and several others — learning fast, building contacts, and growing in confidence.

My first direct client came soon after: a charter airline and flying school based at Bristol Airport. That relationship grew — and years later, they became my first client for a full software automation project. The start of something much bigger.

At Dolby, I initially joined the design studio, but after a maternity cover and long-term absence in the team, I was handed a big opportunity — to run the studio solo alongside the marketing team.

As luck would have it, Dolby was mid-rebrand, working with a San Francisco agency, and I was tasked with adapting the new brand for the European market. From digital media to print, exhibitions to presentations — I sharpened my design skills across every format.

Then came Dyson. Product launches, deadlines, intensity. I worked on the Car Cleaning Kit, supported the global launch of the iconic DC15 “Ball” vacuum cleaner, and helped craft bold campaigns with national and international reach.

It was high-pressure, fast-paced work — and hugely rewarding. I even had the chance to work directly with James Dyson on an internal comms project for a few days — a rare experience, and a memorable one.

In 2002, I founded Design Pro — a full-service creative agency born from several years freelancing for brands like Dyson, Dolby, WHSmith, and Zurich.

What started as a one-man studio quickly grew into a talented team of designers and developers, delivering brand, digital, and marketing work directly to ambitious clients across the UK.

In the early days, we tackled everything — product launches, packaging, exhibitions, and digital campaigns — for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Our client list included household names, rising startups, and local legends.

As the industry evolved, so did we. The balance shifted from print to digital, and we leaned in. By the mid-2010s, 70% of our work was online — from e-commerce sites to digital platforms, and increasingly, custom web apps built to streamline operations and boost business performance.

I didn’t just want to make things look good. I wanted to build things that worked — strategically, commercially, and technically.

The agency’s evolution mirrored my own: from creative lead to product strategist, from surface to systems.

That journey led to the next chapter — merging with Newicon, a design-led software and innovation agency focused on turning ideas into products, and startups into scalable businesses.

We fused product design with back-office systems, riding the crest of a wave as the iPhone, iPad, and emerging technologies like AR and IoT hit the scene.

Suddenly, beauty and data were equally important — and we positioned ourselves as the innovators.

From Airbus and Thales to Ethicall, Permagard, and a wave of ambitious SMEs and startups, our design thinking and UX-led approach struck a chord. We found our stride and started to scale.

Turning design thinking into real-world outcomes — at enterprise scale.

One of the standout moments of my career came when I was invited to Buckingham Palace for a Royal Reception celebrating the UK’s technology sector.

Hosted by Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, the event recognised the industry’s growing economic impact and culture of innovation. Walking through the gates was surreal. Meeting the Queen and Prince William was unforgettable. It was a proud personal moment — and a reflection of how far both the industry, and my own journey, had come.

By then, I’d spent over a decade blending creativity and technology. I started out at 16 as a design apprentice, half-joking that one day even the design process itself would be automated.

Fast forward, and I found myself working at the bleeding edge of AI-driven automation, Edge computing, Gen-AI, Co-Pilots, and more.

It still blows my mind how far things have come — and how fast — in what, somehow, still feels like a relatively short career.

When I merged my agency to form New Icon, we set out to build something different: a design‑led software company grounded in Design Thinking, UX strategy, and a deep belief that tech should serve people — not the other way around.

As the work got bolder, so did the briefs. We began receiving enquiries from major players — EasyJet, GKN Aerospace, Crawford & Company, among others. Winning Crawford was a turning point: a global insurance giant, and a feather in our cap. We beat out large software firms to lead a best‑in‑class AI project, streamlining claims management across multiple departments. I led the pitch, supported by our talented pod of designers, strategists, solutions architects, and project managers. We won big — and delivered even bigger. One successful project led to many more, and the ROI spoke for itself.

Then came work that pushed the boundaries further:
• A first‑of‑its‑kind mobile app for SRT Marine that reimagined marine communication — doing for boats what Sonos did for home audio (and more).
• Cutting‑edge R&D image recognition projects with Airbus
• Pandemic‑response platforms like MyMaskFit, built with urgency, empathy, and technical confidence.

Alongside growth in clients and scale, we refined how we work:
• Our Agile Architecture process (UX design + rapid prototyping) ensures we prototype fast, test early, and iterate with real feedback.
• Tools like our Innovation Kit give teams frameworks to run workshops, ideate with clarity, and translate ideas into working products.
• We embraced IoT, AI and edge‑cloud composable systems, so solutions are not just beautiful, but future‑proof, scalable and connected.

From frontend user experiences to backend systems migrations, New Icon became known for solving the hard problems — whatever shape they took. Great team, ambitious tech, and the architecture to support it.

Looking back, the Palace reception marked more than recognition of past work — it marked the moment when design + architecture + innovation felt inseparable in my own journey. Because pushing the boundaries, thinking deeply about UX, prototyping early, and building solid software architecture — that’s not a side‑skill. It’s the core of what New Icon was about and what we had built together, as a team.

After two decades of building — first through Design Pro, then Newicon — the business had grown into something I was proud of: a 30+ strong innovation agency delivering ambitious digital products across AI, IoT, and cloud-native platforms.

Alongside this, we spun out Flex Digital — a sister agency focused on helping our clients gain traction in the marketplace. While New Icon built the products and platforms, Flex helped position and promote them. From digital marketing campaigns to go-to-market strategy, it became the missing piece that helped our clients turn launches into real momentum.

But the world was shifting fast. AI was accelerating. Edge computing was going mainstream. And clients were demanding more — real-time systems, automation, connected data, and scalable architectures that went well beyond traditional app development.

To meet that moment and scale further, we made the strategic decision to merge New Icon with Linebreak Group — specialists in Edge AI and real-time operations, backed by experienced leadership from ex-Capgemini leaders with deep industrial tech backgrounds.

After 23 years across two businesses, I exited New Icon through the merger — and now serve as Chief Innovation Officer across the combined group.

My focus today is on where design, AI and deep tech meet — shaping propositions, driving innovation partnerships, and helping enterprise clients solve complex problems using smart, human-centred systems.

I’ve stepped back from day-to-day delivery, but continue to support New Icon’s leadership, business development, and strategic relationships.

This evolution also opened up space — for advisory roles, board-level support, and event speaking, helping founders, startups, and corporates navigate the next wave of product innovation and AI transformation.

Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from the journey so far, it’s this:

Change is inevitable. Progress is optional. But the right team, at the right time, can turn disruption into opportunity.

My passion for design thinking, storytelling, technology and user experience is stronger than ever. But after 23 years building and scaling digital businesses, my focus has evolved.

I’ve lived the highs and lows of startup life — from scaling three businesses (Design Pro, New Icon and supporting Flex), to surviving market shocks, leading teams through the pandemic, and ultimately navigating a successful merger and exit.

I’ve pitched and won enterprise AI work against software giants. I’ve helped marine startups find their voice in new markets. I’ve supported multi-national engineering clients in modernising mission-critical systems. And I’ve mentored founders as they shape their next big move.

The thread through it all?

Solving real problems — through clarity, creativity, and the smart use of technology.

Today, I work as a:
• Non-Executive Director (NED) and Fractional Chair
• Product & Innovation Advisor
• Strategic Consultant to founders and leadership teams

I support clients across product strategy, digital transformation, investor readiness, and team alignment — bringing structured thinking, emotional intelligence, and lived experience to the table.

Some want a thinking partner. Some need someone to challenge the status quo. Others are stuck between MVP and scale. That’s where I come in.

I don’t just sit on boards — I actively shape the direction of businesses, helping them:
• Validate bold ideas with the right process
• Avoid costly missteps in product delivery
• Position more clearly for funding, sales, or exit
• Design teams, systems and strategies that scale

And I’m proud to do it with empathy, creativity, and commercial awareness — earned the hard way.

Whether you’re a startup founder with momentum, a CEO facing scale challenges, or a board looking to inject innovative thinking — I’d love to talk.

Because the next chapter isn’t about what I build.

It’s about what we can build — together.