I had my first exposure to logistics during my gap year, working for the automotive component warehousing arm of Smith's Industries, on stock control and telephone sales. After gaining a degree at Queens' College Cambridge and PhD at Imperial College London I joined Ford as a Graduate Trainee in Purchasing and Logistics. I managed UK Material Transportation Operations, changing the ethos of the department from fire-fighting to proactive quality improvement, maintained deliveries through challenges such as the UK dock strike without losing production of a single car. I joined Gefco, then wholly owned by Peugeot Citroen, and led the project teams on major projects including the establishment of the First Private Channel Tunnel Rail Terminal in England; an RDC network with next day JIT delivery, a first in the industry for built up cars; a fleet of over 100 vehicles from vans to artics; and gained third party contracts for example with Jungheinrich. I then established the UK subsidiary of Furness Logistics, a Dutch company, starting the business from my dining room table and building to a £1.5M turnover and profit. Later I became Business Unit Director with Wincanton, my customers including Waitrose, Sainsburys, Flymo, British Airways, Harvey Nichols and Saint Gobain Pipelines. More recently I have carried out consultancy assignments at the Bank of England and Morrison's.

I am now semi-retired from the industry, but maintain a keen interest and am currently writing my second book. I am based in Hertfordshire, UK. I can look back on a happy career which has included every aspect of supply chain management and every commodity from manhole covers to bars of gold bullion.