I fell into IT by accident after leaving university - I actually qualified as a criminal psychologist! After finishing my studies, I got a job as a Data Analyst at a local finance firm to tide me over whilst I looked for a suitable Junior Psychologist role. During my studies, I had spent hours per week analysing and reporting on data, so this was quite an easy transition to make.
After a couple of months of working as a Data Analyst and still hunting for a Psychologist role, my Mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I put all job hunting on hold and balanced work with supporting my Mum, stepdad and sister through the remaining months of Mum's life.
The company I was working for were exceptionally supportive with the issues outside of work and continued to give me opportunities to progress my career with them. After a small stint as a SQL Report Developer, I moved into a Business Analyst role and that's the point my career really took off.
Over the next few years, I progressed through to Head of Business Analysis & Project Management at the same firm, taking responsibility for a fantastically effective delivery team.
After hitting the 5-year mark at the finance firm, I felt I had progressed as far as I could in my role there - I joined Experian in 2017 as Head of Business Analysis, Process Excellence & Change Management within one of the B2B business units - ultimately working with a really strong leadership team to transform ways of working and embed agility in the business unit I was working in. After almost a year, I was promoted into a group-level role as Head of Agile delivery, taking ownership of Experian's Agile transformation and new delivery approaches.
During this time, I worked with over 40 software engineering teams to refine and grow their capability in delivery. Whilst not always plain sailing, we experimented with a number of Agile frameworks and ways of working, and built a really strong Agile Coach and Scrum Master community to continue the relentless focus on efficiency and value. I saw some great results from our efforts, with clear improvements in deployment frequency, quality and pace.
After 3 years with Experian, I was approached about a new role, heading up the tech delivery and operations function within Frasers Group, Mike Ashley's retail empire. This put me completely out of my comfort zone, after spending many years working in a heavily regulated finance industry - retail is extremely fast-paced and relentlessly value-centric. I joined a tech department which was punching well above its weight in terms of outputs and deliverables.
My role was to ensure the IT teams were always focused on the highest priority items, and to ensure the tech across the estate was working as it should. With hundreds of stores around the world and over 50 websites to manage, it was a mammoth task!
I oversaw some great projects, including the integration of of newly acquired businesses, the complete refresh of the POS technology across the retail estate, the start of the replacement of the core e-commerce platform, the introduction of robotics into the distribution centres/warehouses.
After 18 months at Frasers Group, I moved over for a short stint as Technology Director with Boohoo Group in Manchester. Boohoo Group is a very interesting business, extremely fast-paced and investing in lots of exciting new technology.
During my time with Boohoo, my role was focused on the core technology stack, including the ERP, finance and supplier order management systems. It was a time of huge change in the industry (and in the Manchester tech market in particular), as the impact of the Great Resignation was really hitting in and impacting projects across the board.
In June 2022, I was offered the opportunity to join Ibstock PLC as Chief Information & Digital Officer. I'm currently responsible for all of the tech, data and cyber security across the group - whilst it's still very early days here, I'm delighted to be part of this business and have been warmly welcomed by everyone.
No - and honestly - when I left university, I didn't know that most of the roles I've done even existed!
I'm extremely ambitious and I've been lucky to work for some really exceptional leaders over the years - all of whom have helped unlock opportunities and experience for me.
I've had aspirations to be a CIO for the last 5 years or so, and I have worked tirelessly to refine my skillset and build a strong network in order to help me hit my target. There's also been a lot of luck along the way - chance meetings at conferences with key individuals, strong relationships with recruiters and suppliers opening up opportunities for me.
I've worked hard to create opportunities for others, in the way opportunities have been created for me - I'm currently mentoring 3 people outside of Ibstock and have made a conscious effort to encourage progression in skills and scope of role for my team members.