About me

I work with a number of key clients active in education, government and third sector projects. Schools marketing, education marketing and strategy , community engagement, and stakeholder management issues are significant elements of my portfolio.

I have over 25 years’ experience of operating at a senior level in the education and government sectors and have led multi disciplinary teams from public and private sectors in successful, education, tourism, economic development and social regeneration marketing strategies. Recently I have been involved with a growing demand for schools marketing advice and services.

From 2001 to 2006 I was Director of Marketing and Communications for the National College for School Leadership.   I devised and led NCSL's marketing strategy and team that was highly successful at corporate and product level, gaining a reputation for its innovation and quality across publications, PR, events, direct marketing, stakeholder management, and market research and consultation.

Prior to this I was Assistant Chief Executive dealing with Marketing and Corporate Affairs for City of York Council, between 1986 and 2001 when I developed and led the first local authority marketing & communications team in Britain . My success incorporated a series of strategies and initiatives for social, economic, commercial and corporate management campaigns . 

I also introduced a city-wide consultation strategy regarded nationally as a model of excellent practice. It incorporated over 20 methods of consultation techniques including citizens’ juries, customer research, stakeholder audits, resident and business opinion surveys, citizens’ panels and focus groups. 

My awards include those from the Local Government Chronicle heading the "Local Government PR team of the Year" and  a "Cream Award" from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

I have been an adviser to the Improvement and Development Agency (IdEA),  the Local Government Association, Department for Children, Schools and Families, and the Cabinet Office on best practice in consultation, communications and customer service issues. He was Chair of the Society of County and Unitary Public Relations Officers (now LGComms) and  a judge of the  CIPR Local Government Awards .

I have also worked extensively in Slovakia and Hungary and with commercial and governmental organisations from around the world.

Message Turns Into Reality

I’ve nearly changed my opinion about Milton Keynes. To be more accurate it was nearly changed for me. And how it happened is a lesson in communications.

Recently I’ve been working with the excellent Stantonbury Campus in the “town”. A school that is on a sharp upward curve, and much more than a school too with a big range of community facilities and activities.  Anyway, as many people will know, Milton Keynes can be challenging for visitors to get their bearings.  So, in talking about catchment areas and the like, it was interesting to hear talk of “north of the city” and “in the west of the city”.  Had I missed the announcement that it was now the City of Milton Keynes? I recalled that it had bid for city status but thought that it didn’t get the status.

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