THERE’S NEVER REALLY BEEN A PLAN.
But there has always been a pattern.
I connect people. I spot opportunities. I open doors. And when I see something that should exist, I have a habit of trying to build it.
For more than 25 years, that has taken me across countries, cultures, industries and businesses: from international sales and market development to technology, sport, community and entrepreneurship.
The job titles have changed. The countries have changed. The projects certainly have.
The thread running through all of it hasn’t.
I GREW UP
BETWEEN COUNTRIES.
Born in the UK. Raised in Belgium. Educated in the UK and Spain.
Different countries, cultures and languages have been part of my life for as long as I can remember.
University took me between the UK and Spain. My career then took me much further: working across Europe, North Africa and beyond, building businesses and relationships across borders.
I learned early that being international isn't simply about speaking another language. It's about understanding people. Reading the room. Adapting. Listening. Building trust.
That became the foundation for everything that followed.
BRITISH · BELGIAN · 7 LANGUAGES · INTERNATIONAL BY NATURE
25+ YEARS.
20+ MARKETS.
ONE CONSTANT: PEOPLE.
I’ve built markets, distributor networks and commercial relationships across Europe, North Africa and beyond.
I’ve launched into new countries, negotiated across cultures and languages, grown territories and helped businesses find new routes to market.
One European territory grew from around £100K to more than £2.5M in annual revenue.
Different countries. Different industries. Same thing at the heart of it: people, relationships and opportunity.
20+ MARKETS · EUROPE · NORTH AFRICA · INTERNATIONAL GROWTH
SPORT WAS ALWAYS THERE.
THEN IT BECAME PART OF THE WORK.
I’ve played sport for most of my life. Football for decades. Tennis, running, triathlon and, more recently, a willingness to have a go at almost anything that involves a ball, a racket or questionable decisions about my knees.
But for years, sport was something I did. It wasn’t where I worked.
That has changed.
Today I’m increasingly bringing more than 25 years of commercial experience into sport by building partnerships, audiences, communities, events and new ideas.
As CMO of The Non-League Network, I work around football, clubs, supporters, players, businesses and commercial partners.
With ClubsConnect, an idea became a company and then a live event — bringing sports, social and community clubs together with the businesses that can help them.
And OneMoreGame grew from something I genuinely believe: getting older doesn’t mean you stop playing.
Sport hasn’t replaced my commercial career.
It’s become one of the places where everything I’ve learned comes together.
FOOTBALL · TENNIS · CLUBS · PARTNERSHIPS · COMMUNITY · COMMERCIAL GROWTH
THERE'S MORE TO ME
THAN THE WORK.
Work matters to me. Building things matters. But neither tells you the whole story.
I'm curious. I like learning things, trying things and occasionally throwing myself into things I'm spectacularly unqualified to do.
I've taught languages. Taken photographs all over the world. Tried improv. Played guitar. Sung. Played sport for decades. Completed a triathlon. Started learning new sports at 50. And I'm still looking for the next thing I've never done before.
I also have ADHD. It explains some of the speed, curiosity, ideas, connections and occasional chaos, but it doesn't define me.
I don't really believe in becoming less curious as you get older.
If anything, I'm getting worse.
PHOTOGRAPHY · LANGUAGES · MUSIC · IMPROV · SPORT · CURIOSITY · STILL LEARNING
SOME THINGS
MATTER FOR
DIFFERENT REASONS.
Not everything I want to build is about business.
I've spent much of my life walking into rooms, starting conversations, introducing people and making connections.
But I've become increasingly aware that for some people, simply walking into that room can be the hardest part.
Busy exhibitions, networking events and trade shows can be overwhelming. Noise. Crowds. Not knowing anybody. Not knowing how to enter a conversation. Knowing exactly who you want to meet, but not being able to make that first move.
That's why I'm developing #PatChat.
The idea is to create a network of trained, clearly identifiable #PatChat Ambassadors at events, people somebody can approach when they need a friendly human being to help.
That might mean making an introduction. Walking around the venue together. Finding somewhere quieter. Helping someone join a conversation. Or sometimes simply being there.
It's not therapy. It's not medical support.
It's human support, at the moment somebody needs it.
Because nobody should miss an opportunity simply because walking into the room was harder for them than it was for everybody else.
#PATCHAT · HUMAN CONNECTION · INCLUSION · OPPORTUNITY · BELONGING
I'M 50.
I'M NOWHERE NEAR FINISHED.
If this were a conventional career story, this might be the bit where everything starts to settle down.
Mine seems to be going in the opposite direction.
I'm building businesses. Developing new ideas. Working in sport. Creating partnerships. Meeting people. Learning things. Trying things. And still wondering what else might be possible.
Some of what comes next will be mine.
Some of it will be built with other people.
And some of it probably hasn't occurred to me yet.
That's part of the attraction.
I've spent more than 25 years opening doors. I'm still very interested in what's behind the next one.
WHAT I'VE DONE · WHAT I'M BUILDING · WHAT'S NEXT
WHAT COULD WE
BUILD TOGETHER?
A commercial opportunity. A partnership. A project. An event. A speaking engagement. Or something neither of us has thought of yet.
If you think there's a reason we should talk, get in touch.