I qualified as a Chemical Engineer (cum laude honours) in 1984 and worked for Mobil Oil. There I dealt with process control software on an oil refinery and developed programs to monitor and control the performance of various chemical reactors.
In 1986 I joined the research staff of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College developing chemical process simulation software and computer based training for chemical plant systems - part of the group that I worked for was subsequently turned into an independent software company Process Systems Enterprise Limited.
In 1989 I broke my links with the chemical industry when I left to become second in charge of IT for Macfarlanes - a leading City law firm. At Macfarlanes I oversaw a controlled migration from IBM mainframe based systems to client server based LAN systems using Netware and Oracle. I provided technical decision making for the firm and helped to modernise and improve both the front and back office systems on which law firms rely.
In 1995 I left Macfarlanes to take overall control of IT for Thompsons Solicitors - the country’s foremost personal injury law specialists. At Thompsons I oversaw the merger of two firms and revitalised the firm’s IT strategy, concluding with the introduction of a state of the art workflow based case management system to allow the firm to react quickly to proposed changes in the legal system whilst maintaining profitability.
In 1999 I left Thompsons to set up an independent consultancy drawing on my experience - Workflow Consulting Limited.