I was born in 1955 in Guildford, Surrey but grew up from the age of three in Wales, living in Caernarvon, Aberystwyth and Cardiff as my father's Civil Service career developed.

In 1973 I went up to Christ's College, Cambridge, leaving in 1976 with a 2.1 Honours degree, specialising in the History and Philosophy of Science.

I joined Shell UK Oil Limited in 1976, moving to Lucas CAV Limited in 1978.

In 1980 I got married and moved to Brighton in East Sussex. In 1981 I formed a rock band called the Deckchairs. The band gigged around Sussex for nearly two years, disbanding at the end of 1982.

I joined National Westminster Bank PLC in April 1983, staying at the bank for seventeen very happy years.

After NatWest I formed Purseus Limited, a company focussed on a new and simple architecture for ACH and Correspondent Banking payments. In 2002 I was recruited to lead Simpay Limited, where I worked until July 2005.