I am originally from the UK, and now live in Monchique on a former farm.
After passing my accountancy examinations, I successfully resolved tax disputes, led teams of tax professionals, and dealt with several of the UK’s leading businesses and their accountants, including ‘The Big 4’ accountancy firms in London.
Later, I qualified as a project and programme professional, and as a Programme Director successfully delivered several transformation programmes with budgets of up to £21 million.
After passing the entrance examinations for the United Kingdom’s Senior Civil Service, I worked with Government Ministers to deliver public services to UK citizens. I went on to qualify in Strategic Leadership at Ashford Business School, ranked as one of the leading business schools in the UK and worldwide.
I concluded my career in the UK as Senior Civil Service Director of Customer Services, Debt Management at HM Revenue and Customs, the UK’s tax authority. In this role, I was responsible for overseeing the collection of tax debts from all individuals and businesses nationwide. I led a team of over 6,500 professionals across every major UK city and delivered £42 billion in revenue to support the nation’s vital public services.
In 2019, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appointed me an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Customer Service and Inclusion, the latter for championing disability equality.
I am proud to be a part of the amazing team at Aljezur International School, where we offer a unique secondary school education to children from across the world. I am also an author at ‘The Resident’ which is one of Portugal’s most popular English-language online sources for daily national and local news.