I’m one of those unfortunate people who had to move out of the county I loved to undertake a degree and ended up in land locked Leicester for some 20+ years.

Always hopeful that I could get back home and help local businesses and students to embrace digital technologies. I studied a degree in Mathematics which included a placement year (real world experience) which offered the opportunity to work with some incredible brains at the IBM Scientific Research Centre in Winchester.

Helping them develop algorithms for their image analysis platform. This period with IBM allowed me to get involved in the interpretation of radiological imagery and especially neuro-radiology. This piqued my interest and developed into the undertaking of a Doctorate on Automated interpretation of brain scans and the use of Bayesian inference (a key foundation for Artificial Intelligence) to train and inform neuro-radiologists in the identification and diagnosis of tumours in the brain.

I then continued working within the Education sector heading up a number of large Information Technology and Audio Visual teams leading on significant process improvements, digital innovations and transformations. My swan song was the implantation of a multi-site (university wide) lecture capture solution for remote working for students.

I returned to Cornwall and joined The Cornwall College Group working closely with Software Cornwall and their partnership for the Digital Academy. I’m now relishing the opportunity to continue Unlocking Potentials work with local businesses on the new Digital Transformation Programme.

Aimed at assisting businesses on their journey to embrace digital technologies to help with their digital strategy to grow, create digital value and reach new national and international customers.

What is your favourite gadget and why?

I’m all for using technology (gadgets) to free up my time , make my life easier and allow me to use this “now available” time to do the things that are fun and invigorating. So, some of my favourite gadgets of the moment are my Robotic Hoover (Horatio) and the Robotic Lawnmower (Roberto). The two of them do an amazing job of keeping the lawn “Pitch Perfect” and the house floors super clean and free of sand. Allowing us to spend all our free time doing what excites us most, exploring with our four legged friend, all the incredible places and take in the amazing views that Cornwall offers in abundance.

What most excites you about Digital Transformation?

Digital transformation involves using digital technologies to remake a process to become more efficient or effective and in turn enhancing or improving the customer experience.

Digital Transformation can also be a disruptor, it provides the opportunity for anyone/anywhere to be able to be a player on the international empowering people all over the world to have access to equitable growth opportunities.

It’s also the customer that is generally driving and demanding this transformational change (cannot be ignored). Embracing this 4^th industrial revolution and being a major player within it can provide massive to the reach of businesses in Cornwall and provide exciting new opportunities for those within the community. Let’s make Cornwall lead in this new industrial revolution as they were the 1^st.

What inspires you?

Inspiration comes from many avenues. I enjoy listening to some of the great speakers on Ted Talks and some of the truly inspirational leaders offering their pearls of wisdom, I’m always amazed at how easy it is to continuously learn in this new digital age. I love the way new technologies are being employed by companies to completely disrupt the “status quo” and make people think differently. To be able to come up with a creative solution to a problem somebody is encountering and help them on their journey to develop the solution is a key motivator for me. To make a difference is what gets me up in the morning.

How do you unwind and relax?

Like many in Cornwall, I have always been in love with the Ocean (should have been born a dolphin), there is no better way to spend some down time than immersing myself and feeling the ocean all around me. Be it from an adrenaline rush riding the waves at Gwithian, or relaxing on a paddle board, or kayak around the mellower South coast tributaries The endorphins absorbed from the water help to relax and focus the mind. Ready for another week delivering the exciting Digital Transformation project at Unlocking Potential.