Experience

Abacus Solutions drives Lottery Everywhere

• United Kingdom
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 1 - 100 Employee

• CTO

  • Mar 2014 - Present

  Abacus Solutions has offices in the UK, the Netherlands and the USA. Abacus was established to work in partnership with lottery organisations and their suppliers to open up new retail sales channels for existing lottery games. With impressive speed to market and high levels of security, Abacus bridge the gap between retail and lottery and are fast becoming the gateway of choice to connect consumers, retailers and lotteries in the global market Head hunted in 2013 to turn a concept system into a full production model and release to the market as well as re-vamp the businesses entire internal infrastructure. Designed and implemented a new platform using best of breed hosted solutions for a new transaction engine. Managed a team of developers and business specialists to bring the concept to reality. Designed and implemented a new Agile working methodology across the entire company, breaking down barriers between business silos and streamlining the entire process. Defined business and development roadmaps to ensure the product set was kept relevant in a changing market and new services and products were brought on board. Provided the technical expertise in both infrastructure and security concepts which allowed the business to pass a full government audit of the solution. Researched and recommended new technical solutions to the business. Implemented new solutions and processes to streamline the internal business operations. Sat on the operational management board for the business. Show less



Servoca Plc

• United Kingdom
• Staffing and Recruiting
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Group IT Manager

  • Mar 2011 - Mar 2014

  Servoca plc delivers a wide range of specialist recruitment and outsourcing services to clients in both the public and private sectors. With 20 offices across the UK the firm is constantly looking at new markets areas within its sector. Employed as Group IT Manager with an initial task to review the status of the IT infrastructure and personnel and recommend sweeping changes to the board. Key Deliverables Negotiate a new contract for the deployment of a new Wide Area Network linking all the companies’ sites. Once deployed the new network increased system up-time to 99.999% Review the entire IT infrastructure and provide recommendations to the CEO to bring it in line with best practices Improve service delivery across all business units through the use of Helpdesk technology and best practice. Project managed the implementation of a new centralised data management system for all business units. Review the corporate disaster recovery plan and backup structure, implementing changes to ensure efficient delivery, and reduced time to recover the network in the event of an outage Provided motivation and direction to an IT Department which had “lost its way” Provide a group wide IT budget review with a view to streamlining business partners and contracts with the overall aim of reducing costs. Show less



Brixton plc

• Head of IT

  • Dec 2003 - Feb 2010

  Brixton plc are the leading specialist owner of industrial and warehouse property in the UK. It owns and/or manages more than 19 million sq. ft. of industrial warehouse space located predominantly in the South East of England and primarily around Heathrow and West London. Employed as the Senior IT Manager with the initial task to review the strategic direction of the company’s IT infrastructure and implement new business processes to improve business performance. Responsible for building a team of 5 direct reports to provide information and communication systems for all corporate functions spanning 5 diverse locations within the UK. A key member of the Senior Executive Team. Key Deliverables Built and led a team of 5 IT professionals, including mentoring, goal setting and performance reviews. Reduced IT operational costs by 33% through the review and management of the supply chain. Performed due diligence during the successful £200m acquisition of a large competitors business. Responsible for the project management of the IT integration teams during the merger. Increase customer retention rates (equivalent to £5m per annum) through the implementation of transparent access systems for customer service department Improved efficiency through the whole business using departmental forums to identify bottle necks and weaknesses. Reviewed and re-defined the company network and physical access security policy. Defined the IT road map for future development and allocated time and resources to multiple business focused IT projects with tight SLA’s Managed the companies IT budget of £1.5m-£2m Show less



Crystal Clear

• Northamptonshire

• Director

  • Sep 2003 - Jul 2009

  Crstal Clear was a retail outlet in Northampton town centre that I purchased in 2003. I ran the business with my Wife who looked after the front of house side of the business whilst I managed the stock control, ePOS and web conectivity side of the business. We expanded the business into another unit based in Kettering and ran the two shops sucessfully for nearly 6 years. Crstal Clear was a retail outlet in Northampton town centre that I purchased in 2003. I ran the business with my Wife who looked after the front of house side of the business whilst I managed the stock control, ePOS and web conectivity side of the business. We expanded the business into another unit based in Kettering and ran the two shops sucessfully for nearly 6 years.



Angel Group

• Head of IT

  • Dec 2001 - Dec 2003

  The Angel Group is a dynamic and influential leader in urban development and accommodation provision across the UK and Worldwide. With its headquarters in London and offices throughout the UK and Europe, the Angel Group’s diverse portfolio includes residential housing schemes, retail-related investment projects, commercial offices, hotels, training centres and leisure developments. Headhunted in 2001 to set up a new IT infrastructure to assist the company with bids for several £100m projects. Responsible for building a team of 5 direct reports to provide a new IT infrastructure across multiple sites within the UK and Northern Europe. Was instrumental in the change control of key business deliverables through the use of the new infrastructure. Project was brought in 15% under budget and well within time to produce the bids. Key Deliverables Responsible for the set up and management of business discussion groups with Heads of Departments to successfully improve the perception of the IT department which aided in the business take up of the new systems and infrastructure. Build and led a team of 5 IT professionals Project managed the internal teams and the 3rd party supplier’s setup to support the new infrastructure. Reduced operational costs of the business by 25% through the review of data flow around the business. Responsible for the creation of a new supply chain to manage and support the new infrastructure. Managed the teams who implemented a nationwide Wide Area Network which improved data flow around the company and reduced travel costs by 40%. Show less



Man Financial

• IT Manager

  • Jan 1998 - Dec 2001

  Man is a world-leading alternative investment management business. With a broad range of funds for institutional and private investors globally, they are known for performance, innovative product design and investor service. Employed to aid the review of the European IT department, as well as liaise with the American offices to build a global IT policy. Responsible for building a team of 25 reports to provide business critical support for trading floors in London and Paris. Key Deliverables Communicate complex technical solutions to technical staff and senior management. Managed the support and build for an ever changing infrastructure in the high pressure environment of a trading floor which required 24/7 up time. Reduced IT Operational costs by 25% through the review and renegotiation of supplier contracts Managed the companies London IT budget of £10m-£15m Set up a centre of excellence for electronic trading in London through constant negotiation with suppliers and developers. Once completed used the knowledge to consult with counterparts in North America to aid installation and setup of their networks. Performed due diligence on various networks when the company expanded through multi million pound acquisitions. This included the project management of the successful integration of disparate systems onto the network and ensured there was minimal disruption to the business. Defined the IT road map for future planning of complex network systems to ensure zero downtime. Responsible for the set up a new IT helpdesk and monitoring the SLA targets for support calls. Show less



The 5th Dimension

• IT Manager

  • 1995 - 1998

  The 5th Dimension is a multi media company specialising in the production of 3D animation for the TV industry as well as design consultancy for top names within the retail industry. Employed as IT Manager to provide direction to the network support department and act as an external consult where required. The 5th Dimension is a multi media company specialising in the production of 3D animation for the TV industry as well as design consultancy for top names within the retail industry. Employed as IT Manager to provide direction to the network support department and act as an external consult where required.



Hunting Engineering

• Support Analyst

  • 1987 - 1995

  Hunting Engineering were a heavy engineering firm who specialized in MoD contracts. First role after leaving school supporting the network environment for circa 1000 users. Hunting Engineering were a heavy engineering firm who specialized in MoD contracts. First role after leaving school supporting the network environment for circa 1000 users.