Why Geordie Consulting?

The North East is a dynamic area brimming with exceptional talent. After spending time working internationally, I returned to the UK, and Newcastle was the natural choice. Having raised my children here, I look forward to enjoying the North East for many more years, and I hope my children will also choose to base themselves here. Establishing a business in this region was a logical progression for me. I am dedicated to continuing the North East’s significant global contribution. Newcastle may be a small city, but it has a history of being a world leader in technology.

My Journey

I have been working in IT and Data Management for over twenty years. At the beginning of my career, I prepared hardware for customer deployments before moving into more general contracts based on business solution delivery. I supported large-scale system migrations predominantly within the UK Public Sector.

My next significant change was in Service Desk Implementation, primarily following the ITIL methodology. As a Symantec Accredited Consultant, I worked with customers to configure the Symantec Service Desk platform to their ITIL specifications, support the delivery, and continue to evolve the solution over time post-delivery. Many of the clients were large multinational enterprises, including some FTSE 100 companies.

This is where my career started to change significantly. I was used to creating SQL query stacks for clients to support their reporting requirements, but I understood that built-in reporting tools often have inherent limitations when customisation or further integration is required. This led me to move away from direct IT involvement and into a more process reporting and improvement role.

As many of you will be aware, this role is heavily reliant on your reporting tools. When I started in the role in 2011, I had Excel and a reporting instance of SQL. By 2015, I was demoralised and ready for a change when a bright and shiny new tool arrived, offering a solution the management team could get behind. Initially, I started working with PowerPivot, then after being convinced to try the new Power BI offering (I had been unimpressed by Power View within Excel). The rest, as they say, is history. I immersed myself in the platform, rewrote and automated all our reports, and transitioned my month-end process from four-plus business days to zero. I would regularly pinch myself at the changes made and how my time could now be spent on process improvements instead of reporting churn.

In 2020, I founded Geordie Intelligence and then Geordie Consulting to share my skills, experience, and knowledge. I loved spending five years doing internal consultancy within a FTSE 100 company, but it was not a long-term option as progression would mean moving away from the North East.

I founded Geordie Intelligence to help people become more data literate. The challenges of 2020 really made it clear just how little knowledge people had about data. I was able to share meaningful data insights and help people come to their own conclusions (remember, just because data is a fact does not mean the opinions inspired must all be uniform). The world would be better if everyone learned a little about data and its use. I believe what happens in the Board Room echoes at home. Data Literacy benefits everyone.

Geordie Consulting was founded to help organisations of all sizes get the most out of their data assets. I utilise my comprehensive process design, delivery, data extraction, modelling, and visualisation skills to offer bespoke consultancy services. My role involves leveraging solutions and ensuring that these solutions are tailored to meet each client’s specific needs and challenges while also being able to be supported by the client. This commitment to excellence has allowed me to provide high-quality consultancy that drives significant improvements in data management and utilisation for our clients.

Outside Interests

Outside of work, I am heavily involved in parkrun. I am the Event Director for Jesmond Dene parkrun and a regular volunteer at Town Moor Junior parkrun. Additionally, I enjoy watching Heaton Stannington play.