What do you do?

I initially joined Cooper Parry as a Strategic Adviser in the summer of ‘22, working closely with our CEO, Ade Cheatham and the broader Leadership team with a major focus on supporting the execution of our ambitious growth plans. On 1 February 2023, I joined the firm as a Partner to lead our CP Deals business which comprises our lead advisory, transaction services and transaction tax businesses. Frequently working with businesses seeking Private Equity backing. My role is to lead and grow the Deals business alongside the firm’s broader growth plans, as well as looking for opportunities to broaden our advisory services.

Why do you do it?

Always a great question. I suppose having been in professional services for thirty-five years (previously as a partner at Deloitte and more recently Alvarez & Marsal), I recognise that I’ve always loved growing businesses as well as developing the people within those firms. Helping them achieve their ambitions and realise their full potential is wonderfully rewarding.

During my time at Deloitte, I was fortunate to have spent five years as the Global Leader of one of Deloitte’s five businesses, Financial Advisory and at Alvarez & Marsal was responsible for strategy and growth for the EMEA Region for four years during which we trebled the size of the business. When the opportunity at Cooper Parry came along, I couldn’t resist the chance to work with such a highly successful and ambitious team. The vision is bold. The culture is ground-breaking. And the next few years look set to be seriously exciting. I was delighted to be asked to join Cooper Parry as a Partner to lead the growth of our Deals business leveraging all the experience from my previous roles.

What kind of projects have you been involved in?

I’ve been lucky enough to spend my entire career working with exciting clients both in the UK and globally – as a Relationship Partner, as well as advising clients on numerous M&A transactions. As a result, I’ve been exposed to countless different types of clients, sectors and, importantly, different cultures. As an example, I started my career in London with Arthur Andersen (later became Deloitte) in 1987 in audit. I was fortunate to join the “high growth” business team and one of my first clients was WPP Group which was created by Sir Martin Sorrell in 1985.

Over the almost 20 years I was involved with WPP, I saw the group grow exponentially through numerous acquisitions (large and small across literally every country in the world) to become the world’s largest marketing services group. I feel very proud to have been involved in supporting WPP on this breath-taking journey.

What’s on top of your bucket list?

A very long list unfortunately. I’m trying to find more time for my family as well as my passions which include skiing, cycling, boating and classic cars. However, top of the list is the goal that has so far eluded me: to become fluent (almost) in Spanish. This is mainly to avoid being ridiculed at home! Que sera sera, as they say.