I was bought-up a working-class boy in Birmingham, and moved to Sydney 25 years ago, which is now half a lifetime ago…how time flies when you’re having fun! I love living in Sydney, and firmly believe it is the best place in the world to work, bring up children, and make the most of every day (which usually includes an early morning ocean swim!). Every time I return to Birmingham (and many other parts of the world) I am reminded just how lucky we all are to live in Australia. I love my family (both of them!), I have 2 beautiful teenage girls from my first marriage; the eldest is going to Melbourne University at the end of February. I now live in Bronte with my wife Fiona, Charlie (4.5yrs) and Riley (2.5yrs).

I lived and worked in San Francisco for 5 years, surviving the dot.com bubble, the dot.com burst, the fallout from 9/11, and just about everything corporate America could throw at us. I guess, first and foremost, I am a salesman. It is my sales and negotiation skills, and unrelenting determination that have led me to be the founder & CEO of 4 successful start-ups. I lead by example, know my strengths and weaknesses, and always try to surround myself with people smarter than me.

I have experience in capital raising, business planning, sales & marketing, online retailing and branding. I thrive in leading multi-disciplinary teams, and have built cohesive boards of directors. I have significant experience both as an executive and non-executive director in Australia and the US. I always think outside the square and always strive to innovate, it so much more fun than doing things the old way! But above all else in business, I execute and deliver results…I enjoy getting stuff done!

I founded an online food delivery company in 1999 called SandwichDirect.com. I relocated the company, and myself, to San Francisco in 2000 and merged it with Specialty's Café & Bakery in 2003. I successfully incorporated SandwichDirect’s innovative online systems into a traditional food operation. I returned to Sydney in 2005 but remained actively involved as a member of the Specialty’s board. Specialty’s now has over 40 stores in 7 cities with annual revenue over US$100M and is unique in the retail food industry with more than 50% of revenue being generated online. In 2013 Specialty’s was sold to a publicly listed multi-billion$ food conglomerate.
In 2013, after 7 successful years at Brasserie Bread, I decided to move-on from my ro