IT Experience
My BSc and PhD are in Computer Science; my thesis work was Human Computer Interaction. This interest grew out of my early life experiences which focused heavily on the satisfaction of the end user. As my education grew, I saw how good design, which was customer focused, could make every aspect of development more successful. The goal should never be for a developer to simply complete a series of lines of codes without ascertaining whether it would help or hinder the clients' ability to use it.
At Loughbourgh (pronounced Luff-burr-a) University, I became the US equivalent of a tenured professor. Life changes, and I married an American, moved across the pond and joined the world of private industry. As a C-Level executive, I used my experience to work with global partners on successful technology implementations, sustainable processes and groundbreaking projects. The client list includes BT, Biogen, Dow Chemicals, Dowty Aerospace, GEC Marconi, HP, KTM (Kearney, Trecker, Marwin), Lucas, Mars, Microsoft, Nokia, Norsk Data, Unisys and the BBC. I was also an advisor to governments and was a European Union Expert.
In over 25 years of IT knowledge acquisition, I have spent many years giving back, both as a full time academic, a part time academic and a commercial trainer. I have successfully put together multi-million-dollar projects with international partners and then managed both the projects and my team’s contribution. These projects have been in digital networks, telecommunications, data acquisition, cataloging, HCI and usability to name but a few.
In 2011 I became a joint US/UK citizen.
Publications
There are over 100 publications and presentations which I have either authored or coauthored. Most are cataloged in the British Library. I have spoken at international gatherings in such places as Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, USA and the UK. In the past I have played a major part in running international business conferences in Europe and the USA. A trained presenter and public speaker, I am happy giving an after-dinner speech, selling access to my latest project or training professionals on cutting edge technology.
Officially my field of expertise is in computer science focused on digital network technology and usability, yet I was an early adopter of digital information working with BBC, the British Library, CERN and JANET. A founding member of the European Association of Cognitive Engineers, I also worked on many projects including the setting up of the UK’s HCI Center for small to medium business and the Electronic Library. Among my projects, I have worked on elevators, bar codes, fermentation control, process management, image processing, graphic displays, handheld input devices, information management, sports modeling, business services, doctor support services, dental services, knee surgery, battlefield communications, sexual assault tracking and many other projects.
I was honored to be recognized by my peers when I was the recipient of an ACM award for Leadership and Dedication.
Philanthropy
Since my high school days, I have been a volunteer. I have sat on multiple boards of directors for non-profit charities; I have been the founder of several charities and have found myself volunteering at many fund-raising events. In the UK I was a school governor which is a team of volunteers who are responsible for running the school almost as a business. These responsibilities included the hiring of staff and the educational standards of the teaching staff.