Highly experienced and versatile consultant with a successful track record of providing professional services in both IT support and training roles, recognised by a succession of long contracts and extensions as testament to a strong focus on customer service and the ability to get things done.

Also a Published author with a book, many articles and regular contributions to web sites including regular columns. Nominated England correspondant for ESPN for World Cups and Euro Championships.

CAREER HISTORY

OASYS-IT Ltd 1988 - Current
An independent consultancy providing IT training, long term support and project management services.

Founding Director
Delivered a series of long term and short term contracts for a variety of leading organisations that include:-

Stonham Housing Association
Invited, initially on a three month contract, to deliver a training program to managers and subsequently asked to roll it out across the UK to over 2,000 people in 300 locations whilst also establishing and managing a Help Desk over a 6 year period for England\'s largest provider of housing and support for vulnerable people.
- Delivered an innovative PC training program on the roll-out of IBS Open Housing software to managers via a specially equipped coach that was driven to each venue.
- The Project (SWIMS) won the Wolce ILT Solution of the Year award in 2003.
- Identified a PC-phobic attitude and lack of basic IT skills amongst both staff and management and persuaded the Project Manager to extend the scope of the project to provide additional support until new skills were bedded in.
- Became an integral part of the project SWIMS team and the de facto Help Desk supervisor, successfully training two employees to provide cover.
- Rewrote the training manual and then embarked on the second phase of the project to roll out a Contact Management module. Also delivered basic PC skills to all staff across the country.
- IITT Freelance Trainer of the Year finalist
- Provided ad hoc training to clients and staff during the interregnum as the parent company, Home Group closed the Stonham Head Office and transferred the SWIMS operation to Newcastle.

Intermediate Capital Group
Invited by a highly profitable specialist investment firm and fund manager of buyout debt, serving institutional investors, financial sponsors and management teams of mid market companies, to act as the interface between technology and management and support an absent Operations Manager for the move from Threadneedle Street to Tower 42.
- Replaced Manager and hired a team to move the server and reinstall it at the new site, successfully overcoming problems arising from a wet room on the floor below.
- Persuaded management to upgrade server, provide a new network and security, and introduced new email and applications that fundamentally changed the company culture on IT and networking.
- Established an effective support desk in the new offices and enabled a smooth hand-over to the outsourced network providers.

Cap Gemini, Ernst & Young
Contracted to deliver a change management project rolling out in-house software.
- Provided IT support, documentation and training for a series of office moves following company merger, acting as 1st-line trouble-shooters for the IT environment.
- Successfully completed contract and then asked to manage a Support Desk during the migration from Lotus Notes to MS Outlook.

Granada Media
Invited by a former colleague to provide support on a busy helpdesk at the LWT building on the South Bank.
- Provided IT support for Windows, Office, and Novell systems during a series of extensive office moves and reorganisations, audits and a MS Exchange roll-out project.

AON Insurance
Invited by former colleague to deliver similar services whilst the company went through an IT out-sourcing project.

Swiss Reinsurance
Invited, following takeover of M&G, to restructure all the floors in the Head Office and deliver a complete floor restack that included planning, cabling and supervision of staff.
- Replaced Project Manager and undertook the year long restructuring project.
- Integrated systems and provided desktop support during migration and delivered training for MS Office applications and Lotus Notes migration.
- Stood in for IT Manager during a nine month absence delivering in-house software projects and managing Y2K contingencies.

Mercantile & General Reinsurance
Invited by a former colleague to join the Help Desk and support several in-house software packages.
- Managed a major migration project from IBM mainframe to Lotus Notes and Novell to Windows NT.
- Following the departure of the bulk of the IT Department on the announcement of a take over by Swiss Re became the only person with knowledge of the in-house systems.

Lloyds of London
Contracted to support new in-house software and then invited to join the roll-out team after the project fell behind schedule.

Barings
Recruited on a rolling contract that lasted 6 years, initially as help desk support and later to introduce AmiPro via PCs to replace existing WP system. Also managed a number of floor re-stacks and helped in the set-up of an electronic trading floor.