30 YEARS OF DELIGHTING AUDIENCEs
Originally from Edinburgh…
… my schoolboy ambition was to play rugby for Scotland or become a professional cricketer. But after three years at University there, I realised I would not make the grade - and decided I should focus on the thrills and excitement of being a Chartered Accountant.
This I did, qualifying with Ernst & Young in London. My first step into commerce was as the Finance Director of a Scottish & Newcastle Breweries’ subsidiary, which was building a golf course in the South of France.
I then worked for Exxon Mobil for seven years, working in fifteen different countries including New York, West Africa, Paris, Turkey, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Australia and New Zealand.
In my early thirties, I decided I was not a Big Company man and taking a years’ salary as a redundancy package, I set up on his own in Richmond, Surrey, acting as a Business Adviser, Mentor, Non-Executive Director, Chairman or Corporate Financier, buying and selling companies and raising investors monies. And this is what I have been doing for the last thirty years, working with over 1,000 companies in the process.
I am currently a Director of Sunningdale Corporate Finance Limited (www.sunningdalecf.com), a Partner in JFP Strategic Planning (www.jfpstrategic-planning.co.uk) and a Director of the rugby club, London Scottish, where I have Investor Relations responsibilities, helping to raise over £7 million from over 160 investors over the last dozen years.
I also carry out Group Mentoring sessions for the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, am the Business Columnist for the River Tribe Magazine, and an Ambassador for both The Victoria Foundation, a Richmond based medical charity and the Scottish Business Network (www.sbn.scot).
Finally, I am in the process of writing my first business book with the working title “25 Quotations to help you run your business”.
My passion for speaking…
… started early on in my career when I discovered I had a flair for being on stage. Over the last 30 years, I have been a regular business speaker, speaking coach and Master of Ceremonies at conferences, seminars and networking events. I am also a Member of the Professional Speaking Association (PSA) and my intention is to keep delighting audiences far and wide.