About me

I'm interested in systems: economic, organisational, technological. And in the gap between how they work and how they could. Closing that gap has been the thread running through most of what I've done.

Since 2019, I've been Technology Director at One+All, a certified B Corporation that's profitable, 100% employee-owned, and growing year on year in Greater Manchester. It's a company with exceptional people and values, but when I joined, its technology didn't match its ambition. Helping to close that gap has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my career, and I'm leading a complete human-first transformation aimed at boosting our impact on people and planet.

Learning from Human

Coming to One+All was also a turning point that prompted me to reflect hard on the years I spent running Human, the digital agency I founded in Manchester with four friends in 2010. Over nearly a decade, we worked on transformation and software projects for brilliant organisations. We built good things and made a real difference. But ultimately, we didn't build a business that could last.

That experience taught me some difficult, necessary lessons about leadership: about the importance of structure, sustainability, and creating space for others to succeed.

How I got here

Before Human, I spent six years as a brand strategist at Design Bridge, working with major clients across London and Amsterdam. That work, helping organisations find and tell their authentic stories, shaped how I think about strategy and culture more than almost anything else in my career. Alongside it, I co-founded PagePlay, one of the first SaaS platforms for website management, which taught me to think in products and systems rather than projects.

A student of management science (my dissertation was on social change and sustainability, back in 2005), I've always believed that transformation depends on clear thinking, human-centred design, and technology that evolves from real needs, not wishful thinking. I try to bring just enough structure through agile methods to make progress inevitable, while leaving room for the craft, care, and creativity that make it meaningful.

Beyond technology

My interest in how systems work extends well beyond software. I read widely across economics and public policy, drawn to the same question in different guises: why do systems that were supposed to serve people so often end up extracting from them instead, and what would it take to change that?

I'm fascinated by transport infrastructure, especially railways, and how well-designed systems can enrich communities and power good growth. I love modern architecture and design. Time and again I'm drawn back to the work of Margaret Calvert, the clarity of gov.uk's design principles, and brands like the BBC that make complex things beautifully simple. I love it when form follows function and the design creates space for people to live and find their own meaning, rather than a style to indulge the designer.

Personal

I'm a proud member of the LGBT+ community. I live with my husband Liam and our adopted children in rural Northern Ireland. I recently became a governor at our local integrated school. These experiences shape my perspective on creating inclusive, supportive environments, whether that's in technology teams or the broader communities we serve.

Country life has been an adaptation for me. I grew up in Liverpool and spent most of my adult life in Manchester. So I feel fortunate now to get the best of both worlds, travelling to Manchester for a few days every fortnight to check in with colleagues. It also allows me to keep in touch with my family and my urban family.

For me, the benefits of social media do not outweigh the harms and so for many years I've almost completely disengaged from it, although I have recently discovered Substack which feels valuable and different. This website is my main way of sharing thoughts and connecting with people interested in ethical technology, systems thinking, and the question of how we make things genuinely better.