Current Situation

Chairman of the Forum   5th August 2006 - 31st July 2007

Operating as Northwood Management Services from an office in Addlestone.

Available for contract work as Project Manager,  IT consultant,  Direct Marketing consultant or anything similar that pays.

Specialist in the field of Database design and development, particularly Customer or subscription based.

Bureau facilities for Database Management,  personalised printing, fulfilment and mailing.

Database analysis, cleaning and conversion including PAF cleaning, MPS checking etc.

Background:

Left Woking County Grammar School for Boys and declined the chance to go to university in favour earning money instead.  Later had a re-think and tried to get a company sponsored degree course.  During this quest I was fortunate to be offered a Computer Programming trainee place at British Aircraft Corporation without the statutory degree, courtesy of exceptional aptitude test results.

Trained and progressed through DP department as Senior Programmer and Systems Analyst,  included being responsible for the transferring of all commercial systems from the ICL 1906s to the IBM 370 system.

In 1977 I was invited to set up an IT department for a fast expanding Mechanical Handling company based in Staines.  This was progressively expanded to become the Management Services Division.  In 1983 the group started a manufacturing operation in Swindon and were pressured to move the headquarters there.  Myself and two other of the original Directors were not willing to emigrate from Surrey and so I agreed to commute for a year to transfer the operation and set up the new site,  then bow out.

In 1984 I joined Rowe & Pears whom I knew from the ICL 1906 days at BAC and later Plessey,  in their Project Management software company Computerline, as Software Development Manager.   It was here that I first encountered Messrs. Baker and Champion.   I was to manage the 'PlanTrac' development in the UK and France (sorry Southern Europe) whilst Walford Pears sought to conquer the States. Professional differences led to my resignation on 16th October 1987 (the day of the hurricane)

In February 1988 I set up on my own trading as Northwood Management Services.  A large proportion of my early work was for Rod Baker in Project Management training and consultancy under the Mogador Management banner. Rod had combined with Pippbrook Software to take over 'The Mill' in Dorking as their base.  Two of the principals of Pippbrook Software were Dick Davies and Bill Barham.  My involvement with Pippbrook grew throughout the next few years mainly in the design and project management of the customer implementations and continued until the eventual demise of the company.

In 1996 moved into a shared office in Weybridge undertaking a lot of bureau type operations for mainly marketing agencies.

In 1999 acquired present offices at  the Old Fire Station in Addlestone.