From Fashion Floors to IT Problem Solver

I started in retail fashion, working my way from advisor to supervisor. Became the person everyone called when computers crashed or printers threw a tantrum. Someone had to sort it whilst customers waited, and dealing with remote tech support that couldn't see the problem wasn't in my job description. Turned out I was quite good at it. That led to my first proper IT role at a foreign exchange firm. Six months in: buyout, redundancy. Recruiters told me straight. I wouldn't get another IT job with so little experience. I disagreed.

Based in West London, U.K

The Journey

Two weeks later I was at Thomas Cook. The managers were genuinely surprised at what I'd achieved in just six months at my previous role. That caught the attention of a recruiter at Penguin Random House. I wasn't particularly interested in the interview, but they were persistent. Good thing I went. Six years of transformation projects followed. In my final years there, I brought together End User Computing engineers from three different sites, unifying how we worked and helping mend team dynamics that had been fractured for too long. The result contributed to a profit year during COVID when most companies were struggling. Then Just Eat Takeaway, supporting 10,000 users globally across multiple countries. Promoted to deputy manager before my first anniversary. Over a decade of solving technology challenges and leading teams at enterprise scale. I've seen what works, what doesn't, and more importantly, why.

Here's What That Means for You

Small businesses face identical technology problems to major corporations. The difference? You don't have a dedicated IT department down the corridor. You're expected to be the expert on everything whilst also running your actual business. That's rubbish, frankly. You deserve the same quality of strategic thinking and problem-solving without the enterprise price tag or corporate waffle.

How I Actually Work

My approach: take you where you are, no judgment. Listen with intent, act with logic and compassion. When I don't know something, I tell you straight, then I find out. I'm an advocate for Agile and Scrum principles. Do what you can with what you have, iterate, review, improve. That works whether you're managing a team of engineers or sorting your own tech stack. I collaborate, I ask questions, I seek expertise wherever it lives. Because good technology, like good teamwork, starts with understanding people. The scale changes. The standard shouldn't.

Why This Matters

Growing up London-born South Asian with parents from Kenya, I learned early that hard work, respect and humility open doors. But it's the hospitality that matters most: making people feel seen and heard, asking the right questions to understand what you actually need versus what you think you want, and having the difficult conversations when they're necessary for the best outcome. Whether you're running a team of two or thirty, competing in tough economic conditions, you need someone in your corner who knows what they're doing. Not a consultant who'll disappear after writing a report. Someone who treats your business problems like they matter. Because they do.