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.