about me

Since 2010 I’ve been part of the leadership team at COOK, the pioneering UK frozen food brand, retailer and manufacturer (www.cookfood.net).

In that time we’ve grown sales from £30m to £130m and our team from 400 people to 2,000. We were among the very first certified B Corps in the UK in 2013 and helped officially launch the movement for better business in 2015. We’ve collected numerous business awards including Retail Week’s Responsible Retailer of the Year, The Grocer’s Employer of the Year and being a Top 100 Best Company To Work For every year since 2012. 

I joined COOK as Head of Communications, becoming Director of Brand & Strategy for five years and then Chief Creative Officer for seven years. In 2025, I moved to being Chief Strategy Officer so I could free up some time to work with other organisations on strategy, culture and brand.

PEOPLE BRAND

Early on, I came to think of COOK as a “People Brand” : people, keeping a promise, for a purpose, through our values, so other people feel moved to choose us.

People brands work from the inside out. Their culture is a clear competitive advantage. The way they bring people together to deliver something special for others means they stand out in their market.

COOK is highly unusual in being vertically integrated: we make our own food; we run our own shops and ecommerce; we operate logistics; we own a brand; and have all the usual central company functions. It means we welcome the full spectrum of humanity to our table. I’m as comfortable working with people on the shop floor, or in our kitchens, as in a typical office setting.

Importantly, I’ve lived the impact of strategy, culture and brand on the day-to-day running and leadership of business. What I do is not about elegant decks and fun workshops - though you’ll get both. It’s about business results and impact. I know and understand what happens when the consultant walks out of the door.

THE THREE THREADS

Over the years at COOK, I was spending as much time facing inwards - working on our strategy, culture, learning and development - as facing outwards, shaping customer comms and marketing.

I came to recognise the power of clearly aligning strategy, culture and brand. The three are inextricably intertwined, yet so often treated as separate disciplines or silos. But when these three golden threads are woven together intentionally, an organisation can attain near unstoppable momentum.

An essential ingredient for creating this alignment are company events and get-togethers. How we gather can be the catalyst for meaningful change. At COOK, our events have become the pillars on which we build our award-winning culture. I curate and lead our events programme and regularly speak outside COOK. Bringing people together regularly to learn, connect and contribute is a simple, powerful tool few organisations make good use of.

JOURNALISM

I spent the first 15 years of my career as a journalist and editor specializing in business and finance. I interviewed CEOs and prime ministers, launched glossy lifestyle magazines and wrote about sophisticated financial instruments. The skills I learned as a journalist continue to serve me well:

  • Getting to grips with diverse, complex subjects rapidly

  • Identifying the facts that matter

  • Developing trusting relationships so people will share their truth

  • Creating and communicating compelling stories

PHILOSOPHY

Before all this I studied for a Masters in Philosophy at St John’s College, Cambridge. Academic philosophy can be arid, sterile territory. I was lucky to find an inspiring tutor and friend, the late Michael Tanner, who oversaw my studies in aesthetics and the work of Friedrich Nietzsche.

AT HOME

I’m married with two children about to fly the nest. I’m a retired rugby player and coach and remain a fan. I like to garden, read, learn and travel. Good food is our family hobby. Early every morning, I do a 15 minute Zoom exercise session with a group of friends. On my birthday I have to do something for the first time (most recently, I visited a Russian spa). I love music and dancing (badly). My personal purpose is to find, shape and share ideas that matter, so that people are inspired to change for the better.

i believe:

* business done right can change the world.

*strategy is a creative team sport: great results follow when the top team is aligned.

*when strategy and culture are in harmony a brand can really sing.

*doing the hard work together has got to be fulfilling, rewarding and fun, otherwise what’s the point?