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What is your background?

Similar to most engineers, I definitely got hooked on the idea of becoming an engineer from playing with Lego when I was younger. I initially studied product design engineering then found myself hanging around to do a PhD in Materials Engineering, so I will gladly bore you to tears about why titanium alloys are the best. Ironically, I thought Architecture wasn,t an option as I didn,t want to spend a whole 7 years in university…

I have recently been working as a senior consultant in R&D Tax Credits for the last few years, found myself involved in digital transformation projects and here I am today, ready for my next challenge at Optimat.

What are your professional interests?

I try to learn everything (except biological stuff, that can make me a bit queasy if I,m honest). I just get fascinated by random technologies and I guess that’s why I enjoyed working in the R&D sphere so much. I used to think I was a bit of a ,jack of all trades, but a very wise individual described it as a ,growth mindset, and I,ve been using the term ever since.

Process improvement is definitely a passion of mine (as sad as that might seem) I love to look at how things work and find better, more efficient ways of doing things, although sometimes that does mean I spend 100 hours on a project to save 5 minutes every time (It,ll pay off eventually, right?).

What do you like to do outside of work?

I am a big fan of international rugby and the inevitable rollercoaster that is Scotland’s hopes of success in almost every tournament. I love to travel but I am notorious for thinking something is only a few streets away, or that it’s only a small island and we can definitely walk that far, much to the frustration of anyone I,m travelling with. I,m told I am surprisingly creative ,for an engineer who worked in tax, and love playing around on photoshop and illustrator (other brands are available).

What are you looking forward to most about working at Optimat?

I,m looking forward to working more with public sector organisations, I really love that I,ll be involved in developing initiatives to help support innovation, business growth and economic development. The range of projects and ability to learn from in-house expertise is also something I,m really excited about.

Who would your top three dinner party guests be and why?

Oh, good question. I would go as far back in my family tree as I could and invite one of them, find out all about what their life was like and treat them to foods they probably never got to try. Nigella Lawson, as I,m sure she,d have great anecdotes (and could hopefully help in the kitchen). I guess Walt Disney would be my final choice as he has somehow built up an empire around a fictional mouse.