Career History

Head of Global Training

World Wide Field Enablement, Amazon Web Services

December 2023 – Present

In this role, which incorporates the AWS Executive Centre of Excellence, I now lead a worldwide organisation that empowers our sales force to leverage cutting-edge cloud, data, and AI technologies for business transformation across industries. My role combines strategic leadership, deep technical expertise, and a proven ability to scale global initiatives.

Key achievements:

• Led a major global reorganisation in December 2023, centralising previously dispersed trainers, coaches, and coordinators into a cohesive, global structure
• Implemented standardised operational frameworks that increased training delivery efficiency by 53% while maintaining consistent quality across regions
• Established comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy, significantly improving alignment between training initiatives and AWS’s global business objectives
• Created and deployed integrated data management infrastructure to track and demonstrate training impact for one of the world’s largest technology sales teams
• Scaled multiple generative AI training programs globally, enabling rapid response to market demands
• Spearheaded the strategic development and realisation of the AWS Way of Selling (AWOS) framework and associated sales processes and methodologies
• Designed and launched AWS’s first global AI/ML enablement program, reaching over 10,000 field sellers and delivering measurable improvement in AI solution sales
• Developed and rolled out a robust delegation strategy, empowering team leaders and optimising time management across our now-unified global training organisation

Skills: Global Leadership • Organisational Change • Training & Development • Strategic Planning • Change Management • Executive Leadership • Program Management • Stakeholder Management • Business Transformation • AI Strategy • Cloud Strategy • Digital Transformation • Operational Excellence • Process Optimisation • Data-Driven Decision Making • Sales Enablement • Business Innovation • Cross-functional Leadership • Team Development • Global Operations

Principal, Executive Centre of Excellence (Global)

World Wide Field Enablement, Amazon Web Services

December 2021 – December 2023

The AWS Executive Centre of Excellence provides training, enablement, and ongoing coaching to our most senior sales and business development individuals; supporting them in developing skills to articulate the business value of cloud adoption to c-suite customer stakeholders to create a vision and business strategy to transform their business using the cloud.

I was responsible for designing and implementing global programs for our field-sales teams which drive engagement with customer c-level and line-of-business (LOB) leaders. This supported our sellers to transform the way they articulate the AWS value proposition to customer executives.

Working cross-functionally in AWS, with our CFO Programs, Cloud Economics, Global Executive Marketing, Executive Summit, Enterprise Next, Migration Acceleration Program, and Enterprise Strategist, and Press and Analyst Relations teams, I built thought leadership, mechanisms and programs which allow our global sales force to drive top-down, CxO-led business change through the adoption of AWS.

Key achievements:

• Design and deliver transformational training, enablement, and ongoing coaching experiences to help sellers effectively partner with customer c-suites
• Provide ongoing coaching and mentoring support to training cohorts
• Develop enablement tooling to accelerate the customer outcomes using the cloud
• Publish engaging sales content focused on building c-suite communication skills
• Publish externally facing through-leadership through Amazon PR teams around the world

Skills: Sales Enablement • Executive Engagement • Training Development • Program Management • Change Management • Business Strategy • Leadership Development • Global Strategy • Executive Communication • Thought Leadership • Cross-functional Leadership • Coaching & Mentoring • Strategic Planning • Business Transformation • Cloud Strategy • Digital Transformation • Business Value Creation • Go-to-Market Strategy • Enterprise Technology • Sales Leadership

Head of Experience-Based Acceleration (EMEA)

EMEA Business Development, Amazon Web Services

October 2020 – December 2021

Experience-Based Acceleration (EBA) is a prescriptive learn-by-doing methodology engaging cross-functional and c-suite customer participants, to co-deliver workshops called “parties”, that help customers address blockers to cloud adoption. In this role, I worked with strategists, technology leaders, line of business leaders, executive stakeholders, and Boards in enterprise and global multi-national customers, to create alignment around accelerating cloud adoption to drive broad enterprise transformation.

Leading the EBA function in EMEA, I was responsible for:

• Launching and scaling the EBA business in the EMEA region from a standing start
• Designing and building pipeline automation tools for managing the EBA business in EMEA
• Enabling a cross-functional group of AWS teams including Professional Services, Solutions Architecture, Customer Solutions Managers, and account teams to position and deliver EBA parties to their customers
• Engaging with AWS Migration Competency Partners and developing a partner enablement programme to scale EBA through qualified partners
• Working closely with account teams to develop prescriptive transformation plans for broad organisational change using the cloud
• Transferring the EBA methodology to our customers to allow them to continue to accelerate adoption of the cloud independently

As a result of the EBA methodology, customers change the way they work; legacy siloed teams become cross-functional empowered teams, waterfall project-based focus turns into iterative agile-based execution, and long-lead analysis one-way door decisions become two-way door actions. Customers are unblocked and enabled to deliver cloud-based outcomes at a much faster speed and larger scale.

Skills: Business Development • Cloud Transformation • Change Management • Executive Engagement • Strategic Planning • Enterprise Architecture • Partner Enablement • Cloud Strategy • Digital Transformation • Program Management • Agile Methodologies • Organisational Change • Business Strategy • Cross-functional Leadership • Stakeholder Management • Cloud Adoption • Business Value Creation • Go-to-Market Strategy • Customer Success • Enterprise Technology

Practice Leader - Business Advisory (Global)

Professional Services, Amazon Web Services

May 2019 to October 2020

I led the Business Advisory practice, supporting a global team of Professional Services consultants to position and deliver business advisory products and services to AWS customers around the world. Through the Business Advisory practice, I worked with other Advisory disciplines (People, Governance, and Innovation) to create and scale new customer offerings which helped our customers transform their organisations by adopting the cloud.

I created the Well-Advised framework which is designed to help customers drive top-down appetite for transformation using the cloud; switching away from an IT-silo-led cloud adoption approach, which supports customers to:

1. increase revenue, margin, and profit;
2. enter new markets, create new products and innovate;
3. delight and excite their customers;
4. be operationally excellent, reduce risk, and reduce waste; and
5. strive to responsibly transform the business

Key achievements:

• Created and executed the global strategy for Business Advisory in AWS Professional Services
• Led and supported the development of new Business Advisory offerings as well as scaling and enabling our consultants and AWS partners to deliver the offerings to their customers
• Worked broadly with sales leadership, customer teams, product teams, and partners to accelerate cloud adoption in customer accounts
• Developed early remote offerings for delivery during the pandemic
• Developed the initial narrative and precursor to the Enterprise Next programme
• Worked with over 100 customer teams globally to position the enterprise transformation through cloud adoption message with customer c-suites
• Continued to develop thought leadership which has been published broadly by industry publications as well as through research, consulting, and industry organisations such as the Institute of Directors

Skills: Global Practice Leadership • Executive Advisory • Business Transformation • Enterprise Architecture • Cloud Strategy • Practice Development • Business Strategy • Change Management • Partner Enablement • Thought Leadership • Cloud Economics • Digital Transformation • Enterprise Technology • Professional Services • Business Value Creation • Go-to-Market Strategy • Cloud Adoption Framework • Strategic Planning • Global Team Leadership • Operational Excellence

Senior Consultant - Business Advisory (Global)

Professional Services, Amazon Web Services

June 2017 to May 2019

I worked as an Advisory consultant in the newly formed Professional Services Global Specialty Practice (GSP). Through my work with global enterprise customers in my previous two roles at AWS, as well as my industry experience of governance, risk, and compliance I was able to create new products and services for driving enterprise transformation through cloud adoption, which were specifically targeted at the c-suite.

Key achievements:

• Amalgamated previous published work around the business case for cloud adoption and business value benefits for cloud adoption, and created an updated business case accelerator (BCA) product
• Scaled BCA globally in AWS Professional Services and through 50 migration competency partners through deep training and enablement on the product
• Built thought leadership around the advisory practice go to market including the creation of the principles of the advisory practice and the positioning of our offerings with customer c-suites

During my time in this role, I also became an official AWS Press Spokesperson. In this role, I represented AWS at the Gartner CFO Roundtable in Atlanta, took part in 27 press and analyst interviews, and appeared on stage at AWS re:Invent, AWS Transformation Days, AWS Summits, AWS Execute Forums, and the AWS Executive Summit.

Skills: Executive Advisory • Cloud Strategy • Business Transformation • Enterprise Architecture • C-Suite Engagement • Press Relations • Public Speaking • Thought Leadership • Cloud Economics • Digital Transformation • Enterprise Technology • Business Development • Cloud Computing • Professional Services • Business Value Creation • Go-to-Market Strategy • Change Management • Cloud Adoption Framework • Strategic Planning • Business Strategy

Specialty Practice Lead - Migrations (EMEA)

Professional Services, Amazon Web Services

March 2016 to June 2017

I worked as the Specialty Practice Lead for Migrations in EMEA, building this brand-new Professional Services practice to focus on supporting customers who were migrating typically more than 500 servers to AWS from on-premises and co-location environments. My role was focused on developing advisory capability around the business justification for cloud adoption as well as developing the delivery mechanisms to accelerate adoption.

Key achievements:

• Co-created the first version of the migration cost estimator, a tool for calculating the business case for migration to AWS from on-premises and co-location environments
• Developed the decommission cost estimator, a tool for calculating decommissioning costs associated with migrating to the cloud as well as calculating the cost of potential impairments on the business case such as lease termination costs and equipment write-offs
• Co-authored the initial migration readiness assessment (MRA) criteria for assessing customer readiness and capability for adopting the cloud. MRA is now used globally by AWS and migration competency partners in the early stages of evaluating cloud adoption
• Developed an enablement programme for Professional Services consultants in EMEA on migration topics to drive scaling of this important new business
• Scaled the migrations practice content to EMEA-based partners to drive migration capability in the AWS Partner Network (APN)
• Worked with EMEA-wide AWS partners to develop their migrations capabilities and to train them on AWS migration offerings through partner roadshows and boot-camps
• Working with the commercial teams across EMEA to identify and support customers with large-scale migration projects
• Work with the AWS global Enterprise Strategy team to develop new thought leadership around migrations

Skills: Cloud Migration • Practice Leadership • Cloud Strategy • Enterprise Architecture • Cloud Transformation • Partner Enablement • Business Strategy • Change Management • Cloud Economics • Cloud Adoption Framework • Digital Transformation • Enterprise Technology • Go-to-Market Strategy • Technical Strategy • Business Development • Professional Services • Program Management • Cloud Computing • Business Value Creation • Practice Development

Senior Consultant (UK&I)

Professional Services, Amazon Web Services

July 2015 to March 2016

I worked as Senior Consultant providing AWS enterprise customers with advisory consultancy across a broad range of IT, digital, and organisational transformation topics. With specific focus around cloud adoption through innovation, migration, and modernisation, I assisted customers accelerate business outcomes through the cloud, and built practice capability by creating and scaling Professional Services go-to-market strategies.

Key achievements:

• Developed early thought leadership around the use of a cloud centre of excellence to govern cloud use in organisations. This later led to the creation of the global people and change practice in Professional Services
• Created a re-usable packaged offering for building the business case for adoption of the AWS cloud which is now used globally by Professional Services and AWS partners
• Engaged broadly across AWS service teams, Professional Services, partner teams, solutions architecture, and account teams to position advisory offerings to customers to drive accelerated adoption of the cloud in those accounts
• Worked directly with customer c-suite stakeholders on aligning cloud and IT strategy to business strategy and outcomes
• Led cloud economics and cloud financial management for Professional Services globally
• Speaking on behalf of AWS at customer events including London and Netherlands enterprise summits in 2016 and re:Invent in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019
• Authoring over 50 new re-usable artefacts (including documentation, methodologies, webinars, discovery questionnaires) for use by AWS Professional Services in all global practices as well as AWS partners and customers

Skills: Cloud Strategy • Cloud Economics • Cloud Transformation • Business Strategy • Enterprise Architecture • Executive Advisory • Cloud Adoption Framework • Cloud Migration • Change Management • Business Case Development • Professional Services • Digital Transformation • Cloud Computing • Business Value Creation • Cloud Financial Management • Stakeholder Management • Business Development • Enterprise Technology • Technical Strategy • Go-to-Market Strategy

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer

Chapter Eight Limited

May 2002 to January 2015

Chapter Eight was a specialist IT consultancy focussed on digital and IT transformation; offering its own SaaS based ecommerce, CMS, intranet, extranet, and CRM platform to customers. A PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider, it processed over £125m of ecommerce transactions per year on behalf of its customers including The Coca-Cola Company, Charities Trust, Lyle & Scott, and Aston Villa Football Club.

I founded Chapter Eight in 2002. Our strategy was to target the nascent ecommerce market, providing B2B and B2C clients with all of the tools needed to transact with their customers across multiple channels (online, phone, and third-party marketplaces).

Key achievements:

• Wrote the initial business plan and raised funding from angel and institutional investors in 2002, 2004, and 2006
• Provided advisory consultancy to established companies including The Coca-Cola Company, Gulf Oil International, Charities Trust and The Co-operative Motor Group on digital transformation using our SaaS platform
• Design, implementation and operation of IaaS, PaaS and SaaS offerings for ‘born in the cloud’ start-ups including Ticket Arena, The Gift Experience, SockShop and Shopacheck
• Integration with third party services including PayPal, Amazon Marketplace, PayPoint, eBay, Play.com, Feefo and SLI to provide multi-platform, multi-channel, multi-currency features to our SaaS platform
• The first company in world to simultaneously hold PCI DSS Level 1 certification and Visa Merchant Agent List accreditation
• Led the re-engineering our SaaS platform to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud
• Developing the financial business case model for each of our clients to migrate to the cloud including cost analysis, business value analysis and strategic outcomes
• Planned and led the migration and transformation of over 400 clients to AWS between 2010 and 2015 from infrastructure owned and operated on our behalf by IBM/SoftLayer

Skills: Enterprise Software • SaaS • Cloud Computing • Digital Transformation • Business Strategy • Product Development • Executive Leadership • P&L Management • Startup Leadership • Business Development • Fundraising • eCommerce • Multi-channel Retail • Payment Systems • Cloud Migration • AWS • PCI DSS • Risk Management • Compliance • Enterprise Architecture • IT Strategy • Customer Success • Commercial Strategy • Business Planning • Corporate Governance

Chief Digital Officer (CDO)

Regional Independent Media Group plc (RIM)

November 1998 to May 2002

Regional Independent Media Group plc (RIM) was a £177m turnover, £43m profit media group of over 100 regional newspapers, with magazine and radio interests, new media investments, and contract print. Backed by Candover, Goldman Sachs, and NIB, the group was formed in February 1998 to acquire for £360m the regional newspaper division of United Business Media plc.

I joined RIM to create a group-wide digital strategy which encompassed digitisation of all regional newspaper titles, magazines, and radio interests. Using the go-to-market model I had created in my role at the Leicester Mercury, and scaling it through our 11 operating companies, and 110 editorial and sales teams, I grew the digital business from a standing start to a £5m turnover profit centre by the time the business was sold.

Key achievements:

• Creating a digital strategy and aligning with business strategy to drive value ahead of the sale of the company
• Driving the digital transformation of the organisation through commercial and technology initiatives centred around new Internet products
• Design, procurement and implementation of a new data centre at our Leeds, UK headquarters
• Designing print-to-web content management systems, and integrating them with editorial and advertising systems
• Hiring and development of 110 staff working in data centre, research and development, software engineering, content (including editorial origination, community moderation and safeguarding, and content syndication), sales and advertising roles
• Negotiation of internal ITSM contracts for the ongoing operations and support of the data centre

RIM was sold to Johnston Press plc in April 2002 for £560m.

Skills: Digital Strategy • Digital Transformation • P&L Management • Business Strategy • Team Leadership • Organisational Change • Content Management Systems • Data Centre Operations • Enterprise Infrastructure • ITSM • Strategic Planning • Commercial Strategy • Business Development • Technology Innovation • Project Management • Stakeholder Management • Venture Capital Relations • Enterprise Architecture • Business Value Creation • Change Management

Software Development Engineer

SilverPlatter Information Limited

November 1998 to May 2002

SilverPlatter was an electronic publisher supplying educational institutions and large corporations with fully searchable CD-ROM based databases of information through their ERL search engine.

After completing my degree in May 1998, I was employed by SilverPlatter and asked to work as a software development engineer on the product teams for WebAdmin and WebSPIRS – the first web-based versions of their product line.

Key achievements:

• Creation of the web application software stack for running the products including packaged installations for Windows, Linux, and Unix systems to be distributed to customers
• Development of a JavaScript framework to streamline development of web applications
• Leading the refactoring of the existing code base to use the framework leading to an 84% performance increase on client-side code execution
• Documentation of systems as well as user documentation and development of training for WebAdmin and WebSPIRS

Skills: Software Development • Web Development • JavaScript • Cross-platform Development • Technical Documentation • Performance Optimization • Systems Integration • Project Planning • Web Technologies • Apache • HTML • HTTP • Unix • Linux • Windows

Internet Technician (Industrial Placement)

Leicester Mercury Group Limited

May 1996 to May 1997

The Leicester Mercury Group is a regional newspaper publisher based in the UK and part of the Northcliffe Newspapers Group which at the time was owned by Daily Mail & General Trust plc. I joined the company as part of my industrial placement in the third year of my degree to gain industry and business experience in the then nascent internet and online publishing industry.

Working directly with the Board as part of an IT Special Projects initiative, I designed, developed, and launched the first online regional newspaper in the UK; bringing together core software engineering skills from my degree, as well as business skills to build a sustainable business model which was later replicated across the wider group.

Key achievements:

• Creating a digital strategy and aligning with IT strategy to deliver key business outcomes
• Delivering the first digital transformation of a newspaper in the UK
• Developing print-to-web content management systems for editorial and advertising functions
• Developing the go-to-market offer for newspaper advertisers, encompassing run of site display advertising, as well as classified (jobs, cars, and property) advertising search engines
• Designing, developing, and launching the UK’s first online estate agent web site
• Working with global system integrator Fujitsu/ICL to deliver co-location facilities for our business

Skills: Web Development • Content Management Systems • Digital Strategy • Business Strategy • Digital Transformation • Enterprise Infrastructure • Project Planning • Systems Integration • Business Analysis • Strategic Planning • Web Technologies • Apache • JavaScript • HTML • HTTP