Doing
Commercial success in engineering and technical firms requires far more than transactional sales — it demands strategic direction, cross-functional collaboration and adaptable commercial acumen.
Yet, my primary research in UK engineering SMEs reveals persistent challenges:
🤷🏻♀️ Isolation in a fast-moving market: Commercial talent is often left to figure it out alone in a competitive industry.
🙇🏻♀️ High demand, low support: Wide-ranging responsibilities coupled with a systemic lack of L&D to support individual and collective growth.
🙋🏻♀️ Unconscious similarity bias: Reactive recruitment reliant on gut instinct and prone to hiring 'people like us'.
🔮 The AI shift: AI rewriting the working week — reprioritising human connections over reporting and forecasting.
🤦🏻♀️ Internal friction & stereotypes: The daily frustration of aligning technical teams with market opportunities, and proving commercial functions do far more than make pretty pictures and go out for free lunches.
I support, strengthen and synchronise commercial talent across technical organisations — from early careers and technical switchers through to established executives. Grounded in rigorous academic research and high-performance engineering experience, I provide advisory insights, development programmes and a connected community that give commercial professionals the clarity, skills and backing to look beyond outdated stereotypes and lead with confidence.
How do I work with technical organisations?
🫱🏼🫲🏻 With Commercial Leaders
Delivering evidence-based advisory, executive coaching and capability diagnostics to help build, maintain and grow sales and talent pipelines. To complement this, I curate community events bringing together like-minded leaders for peer support and challenge in a psychologically safe environment.
🫴🏻 With Transitioning Technical Talent & Early Career Professionals
Supporting graduates, engineers and technical specialists moving into commercial roles through independent 1:1 mentoring — avoiding manager-as-mentor conflicts of interest. I host peer community events to help future leaders build their own connected networks.
🙌🏻 With L&D Specialists & HR Leaders
Designing resource-conscious, evidence-informed capability frameworks tailored specifically to the realities of technical environments. I deliver bespoke training, workshops and CPD resources to build practical commercial acumen across technical and commercial disciplines.
What do you get out of working with me?
You get informed, but independent opinions. It's difficult to work in a team and on a team. It’s my job to keep up with the latest leadership, commercial and skills developing thinking so you don’t have to.
You’ll benefit from my research, experience and knowledge, without committing to costly permanent hires. I’ll hit the ground running, and bring two decades of know-how with me.
You can tap into my network of trusted suppliers, collaborators and associates. I’ve been networking, on and offline, for more than a decade. I know good people.
How do I work?
It depends on the nature of your project. You can opt for one-off audits and consultancy sessions, or agree fixed term contracts and retainer agreements.
I live and work on the Oxfordshire/Northamptonshire border, but have travelled extensively for business, and work regularly as part of remote teams. My team post-pandemic is fully remote, but we regularly travel to Oxford, London and beyond to work with clients. I’m (nearly) always on the end of the phone/email/Google Meet for you however you prefer to work.
The best thing to do is send me an email or book a completely free, no obligation call to get to know each other. If I’m a fit for you, we can work out the logistics.