Institute director, innovation coach and non-executive director bridging business and creativity

I am a Professor of Innovation and Creativity at Kingston University, where I am Director of the Design, Arts and Creative Practice Knowledge Exchange and Research Institute. 

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I also offer evidence-based innovation coaching and training as a freelance consultant, drawing on my book, Leading with Creativity (Cambridge University Press).

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This involves helping clients generate, select and implement ideas through experiments. Whether you are struggling with a specific issue (promotion, imposter syndrome, career change, executive presence) or a general desire to recover meaning and motivation at work, we can find a path forwards - and move from procrastination to action. 

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I bring to this work a background in the creative industries as well as in higher education. 

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What's my story? ​​

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I spent my twenties in the music business, as a member of Passenger (ie: music) and as one half of Grasscut (Ninja Tune, Lo Recordings). I also managed Grasscut, organising European tours, including shows at the Pompidou Centre and Royal Albert Hall, and negotiating sync deals (Google, Mazda, K-mart, HSBC, Nespresso, Boots). 

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During this period, I wrote Different Every Time (Serpent’s Tail 2014), a biography of the musician Robert Wyatt. It was a BBC Radio 4 book of the week and a book of the year in several national newspapers. 

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In my thirties, I went into academia to help ensure that graduates were better prepared for creative careers than I had been myself.​​​​​ I focused on entrepreneurship, later becoming a fellow and non-executive director of Enterprise Educators UK.

 

I also researched the impact of emerging technologies on the creative industries. In Distributed Creativity (Palgrave 2019), written as researcher in residence at Digital Catapult, I examined the impact of blockchains on the creative economy. 

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In my forties, I started working as a coach. 

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​I also keep a foot in industry as a non-executive director of the Featured Artists Coalition trade body. 

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Who do I work with? 

 

I have coached leaders and managers at United Talent Agency and Arts Council England, as well as clients in sectors from healthcare to education to real estate. 

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I have also delivered training around the world from Accra to Amman, for instance supporting cultural leaders from Mexico, music industry managers from the Gulf and creative hub leaders from West Africa. 

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What are my qualifications?

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I hold an MBA, a PhD in collaborative creativity, and LEGO Serious Play, Scrum and PRINCE2 certifications.

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Anything else?​

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I have written for the Guardian, the Independent, the Times and the Financial Times and appeared on the BBC and CNN.

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As well as giving keynotes at academic conferences, I have spoken to industry audiences from KPMG in London to Thomson Reuters in New York.

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My work has been supported by Research England, Office for Students, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Greater London Authority, British Council, Linux Foundation, Institute of Coding, Publicis Media and Blockchain Research Institute. 

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I live with my family in Brighton but also work in London and online. ​​​​​​​​​​

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Outside work, I spend my time climbing (competently) and surfing (incompetently). 

 

Want to chat? Drop me an email.