Mechanical Engineering was my early career path from apprentice toolmaker to shift Engineer at Tremorfa Steel Works in Cardiff.  These years provided me with a very practical solutions-orientated approach to everything I did.  At the steel works a furnace fault could hold up production at a cost of �50,000 per hour - and  as shift engineer I would have to organise my team to rectify what ever problem we had in the most profitable way. 

I wanted more knowledge of 'business' so I left the steel works in 1992 to study a full time MBA.  While attending the MBA course I met ambitious business people from all areas of industry and commerce.  I also realised how important the desk top PC was going to become for small businesses.  This led me to start an IT company in 1993.  This was initially just me, a phone and a desk in Leeds.  Over the next ten years I built the business around designing and developing database applications for small businesses in West Yorkshire.  Demand was such that we also provided complete training and support packages for the PC based networks and software packages.  During this period I learnt how to build a business and develop an organisation as well as acquiring a good understanding of what most businesses want from their ICT systems.

For the last four years I have been working independently as an ICT Consultant in West Yorkshire.  Some of this time I worked for Business Link West Yorkshire and Business South Yorkshire.  I have the TMB accreditation - I was the first independent consultant in West Yorkshire to obtain this.