Track record
Most senior roles since 2007 interim or fractional. Organisation, mandate, outcome. The detail is a call away.
- Travis Perkins Interim Group Director of Software Delivery, 2021 to 2022 · FTSE 250, £4.9B revenue, reporting to the CIO · unified all group brands under a single software delivery function for the first time; led the Ukraine crisis response: all 100 colleagues kept safe, business continuity maintained throughout
- Abcam Interim VP Global Engineering, 2018 to 2019 · AIM-listed life sciences, £260M revenue, £10M budget, 100 to 200 people including suppliers, reporting to the CIO · created the first unified technology portfolio; AWS migration and contract renegotiation cut IT operating costs 40%; delivery on the sole sales channel restarted, contributing to the return of double-digit growth after a stalled fifth year
- ESFA Interim Head of Agile Development, 2014 to 2015 · led a 150-person cross-supplier team delivering the digital Apprenticeship Service, which went on to distribute £2.7 billion a year in levy funds
- GDS, Cabinet Office Agile Coach, 2013 to 2014, early GDS under Mike Bracken · coached Exemplar teams including the replacement of paper driving licence counterparts for 40 million people; authored governance principles adopted across UK government
- HMRC Interim Head of Agile, 2016 · RCDTS, the post-Aspire digital transformation; led the agile delivery teams through their delivery managers, coached the programme and product managers, introduced DevOps
- Cognizant Director of Delivery, 2021 · Fortune 500, Microsoft Business Group · designed the agile delivery proposition for the newly acquired New Signature business, then left for the Travis Perkins group mandate
- CyberSafeSchools Interim CEO, 2022 to 2024, through Speirs Downs Ltd · SaaS cyber safety provider helping UK schools meet DfE and NCSC cyber security standards
- Speirs Downs Ltd Research and governance, 2024 to 2026 · authored CHART (OSF, SSRN); co-founded beò; ICAEW Regulation & Conduct Board from July 2026; BCS ICT Ethics Specialist Group Treasurer and lead author of its evidence to the Commons Education Committee; co-chaired the opening session of the BCS IT Leaders Forum Annual Conference and Symposium, London, 5 October 2026 (Steering Group member)
- Earlier career Six years at SunGard (Sherwood International, now FIS) designing global insurance platforms deployed across four continents, including a 50-person pan-Asian programme for New York Life · JP Morgan · American Express · BBC · Barclays · Tesco · Sky · The Guardian · Royal London · Ordnance Survey · Guidewire (The Co-operators) · RBS · AXA Direct Swiftcover · Applied Systems · Standard Life · News International · Abbey National
Two mandates in detail
At Travis Perkins (FTSE 250), as interim Group Director of Software Delivery, I brought together all the group's brands under a single software delivery function for the first time, building capability across UK and Ukraine operations. When the Ukraine conflict began, all 100 colleagues were kept safe, business continuity maintained throughout. The board needed someone who could manage geopolitical risk, stakeholder communication, and operational resilience simultaneously.
At Abcam (AIM-listed, £260M revenue), as interim VP Global Engineering, I owned delivery, engineering, and operations across the UK, China, the US and the EU. Abcam had delivered double-digit growth for four consecutive years but was stuck entering its fifth. I created the business's first unified technology portfolio, enabling prioritisation of high-value projects (the stack under the shopfront barely changed, the rails did): Oracle ERP integration, and an AWS migration and contract renegotiation that together cut IT operating costs by 40%, and technology partnerships for the Chinese market as we built out the China IT division. Double-digit growth came back, with delivery restored on the only route to revenue.
Interim, fractional and permanent
Two kinds of mandate I take on: an enterprise-wide transformation or programme director role that needs an owner (digital operating model, supplier and portfolio governance, ERP integration), interim or permanent; or a Chief Digital Officer, Digital Director, COO or CIO seat in a public-interest organisation. Interim engagements typically run 6 to 18 months, full-time or part-time, with executive accountability. Fractional engagements suit organisations that need senior technology leadership without a full-time hire. Permanent roles at Group Director and VP level are in scope where the mandate is right. All three start the same way: a 30-day diagnostic. What's actually broken? The technology, the team, the governance, the stakeholder relationships, or all four. I report to CIOs, executive teams and boards on technology risk, investment, and delivery.
Discuss a mandateWhen AI governance is in scope
When a mandate runs into AI governance, I bring a tested instrument rather than a vendor's checklist. I authored CHART, a framework for evidencing the meaningful human oversight the EU AI Act requires. It is openly published; the commercial engagement runs through beò, separately from the interim work.
About CHART