From September 2000 till June 2003 I served keycom plc as non-executive Chairman. Keycom is now the market leader in the provision of telecommunication services to University students. In the teeth of the telecoms and dot-com downturn keycom plc  made dramatic progress and raised several tranches of investment along the way. It is listed on OFEX. I was supported by experienced non-executives and felt that we were  able to significantly contribute to the success of the Company while managing the transition from "owner managed" to "public company - board led".

Over the last few years I have also been involved in couple of start ups as Chairman. Quest4Insight ltd is an organisation which allows me to continue my life long interest in individual and team effectiveness. It is a group of four like minded individuals with complementary strengths that work  with top teams and top individuals to improve their effectiveness. We can also deploy electronic meeting assistance which can dramatically improve the cost effectiveness of groups of people. For the confident  Chief Executive or Chairman it provides an unique way to transform the effectiveness of the board.

In July 1999 I started to work with The Convergence Group plc as a consultant and later was appointed Chairman. It is a privately held company and operates in the UK supporting an organisation - Silk Route Systems EEG - a Luxembourg operation. I am also a Director of Silk Route Systems which was set up to offer competitive telecommunications in Greece. This again entailed working with an entrepreneur who was also in this case the source of the initial working capital. This project has seen many twists and turns as the Company's sought to rise finance as the Telecoms bubble collapsed. 

In June 1999 I joined Future Integrated Telephony plc - an AIM listed company - as its first non-executive following a major shareholder led change of the Board. I was primarily responsible for mapping out a growth strategy to take advantage of the changes taking place in the telecommunication market place. We raised £8.15m by way of a fully subscribed rights issue. During 2000 and 2001 the company was badly hit through a failed joint venture, problems with a supplying carrier and poor management. The Board acted to try and resolve the situation but eventually had to put the company into Administration.  I continued to support the Administrator KMPG and the company was successfully sold out of administration in March 2002. During the last nine months of its life I was spending a couple of days a week, meeting creditors, dealing with suppliers and talking to Institutional Investors.

When I left ntl I was approached by a small company that was about to list on OFEX. This was a publishing business with a unique business model - Woolfall plc. I served as Chairman until  2001. This was a sharp learning curve for me and involved supporting a man and wife team that were running a company in very tight cash flow situation. The Company then diversified, with my full support, away from areas where I felt I could continue to add value - so I left on amicable terms.

In the early 1990s I started to think about what I wanted to do after my executive career had run its course. I wanted to enjoy a variety of business situations and be able to influence others to improve their personal effectiveness as well as the success of their companies. The role of non-executive seemed to fill the bill. I realised that most of my executive experience has been with American organisations so I set out to gain the Diploma in Company Direction from the IOD.