About me

I live in Hanwell, in West London, with my wife, daughter, son and two cats.

I grew up mostly in a village called Grafham, in Cambridgeshire; but also in Voorhees, New Jersey for three years. I was born in Wales, and I support Wales when they're playing England at rugby.

My career in advertising and media has developed through working in data and measurement, used to understand the effects of marketing.

Data helps advertisers connect with customers, and it can make experiences more valuable, but individuals should own and control their data; and organisations should respect individuals as human beings, and empower them. The data that individuals intentionally reveal to an organisation should be many times more valuable than the data about those individuals that an organisation collects itself. I'm a fan of Doc Searls, who wrote The Intention Economy, and who runs Project VRM.

During the first of my ten years at Croud, I was also working on my own new business: a personal data management platform called Magic Myne. Technically, it was like a tracking blocker, plus personal digital analytics, data storage and choice. Starting with iOS, we were attempting to correct the imbalance in data control between organisations and individuals.

Before Croud, I worked for the BBC, for a brand agency called Corke Wallis, for a digital marketing agency called Harvest, and for a market research agency called Millward Brown. I have an English degree from the University of Cambridge.

Growing up, all through school and university, and for a few years after, I used to do a lot of acting; and until I started work I always thought I wanted to be an actor. For a few years I performed with, directed for, and helped to run Theatre in the Square, in North London. I haven't done any dramatics since 2012, when I co-directed Six Dogs and a Goldfish.

Directed and produced by Paul Dixon, [email protected]