## **Approach** **How can leaders govern effectively when human judgment collides with social complexity and technological change?** To address this challenge, I’ve intentionally layered and aligned my work across academia, policy, and practice. **Academia sharpens governance thinking.** My research spans two streams focused on governance. The first investigates how identity and inequality shape legitimacy, resource access, and value creation. The second examines how technologies shape what markets regard as legitimate, what communities accept as true, and how institutions plan for the future. Together, these streams strengthen my ability to recognise when governance systems are drifting from their values and how leaders can respond with integrity and foresight. **Policy is where decisions shape governance.** As a non-executive board member in the public sector, I contribute to strategic oversight and public accountability by challenging assumptions, reframing discussions, and identifying blind spots in governance processes. It's also about translating values into direction so that institutional decisions generate positive long-term social, commercial, and environmental outcomes. **Practice is where governance evolves.** Here, I test new models, develop tools, and experiment with structures that help organisations navigate complexity. This work combines innovation and stewardship, translating ideas into practical systems that make institutions more adaptive, ethical, and future-ready. ## **Academic Roles** - **(2022-Present)** **Lecturer in Strategy**, University of Edinburgh Business School (UEBS). Investigate how leaders make governance decisions under conditions of uncertainty, cultural conflict, and moral tension. Three Best Conference Paper Awards from the European and American Academies of Management. - **(2022-Present)** **UEBS Course Organiser.** ESG-focused teaching reaching 200+ students annually. Recipient of three Excellence in Teaching Awards since joining the School in 2022. - **(2023-Present)** **UEBS Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability Committee Member.** Driving sustainability through curriculum, research, operations, and accreditation. - **(2025-Present)** **Improving Policy Leadership Co-Lead.** Awarded £41,499 from the Wellcome Trust-funded InFrame Project to capacity building designed to help more academics contribute their expertise to governance in the public sector. ## **Policy Roles** - **(2024-Present)** **Non-Executive Board Member**, Student Awards Agency Scotland. Oversight of £1B+ in funding for 180,000+ students. - **(2024-Present)** **Non-Executive Board Member**, Historic Environment Scotland (£100M+ public body). Oversight for 300+ properties including Edinburgh Castle, which attracts 4.5M+ visitors annually. Chair of the People Committee. Member of Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee. Board Champion for the Climate Action Plan. - **(2019-2022) Multicultural Queensland Advisory Council Member**, Queensland Government. Advised the Minister for a $2.3B AUD portfolio on state-wide social cohesion strategies and co-led the Council’s submission to a Parliamentary Inquiry into Hate Crimes. - **(2017-2021) Advisory Council Member**, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Provided ESG guidance for a $1B AUD public media organisation. - **(2017-2020) Chairperson**, Global Shapers Australia Charity. Led the rollout of a nationwide financial governance framework supporting 7 city hubs and 250+ members. ## **Practice Work** - **(2021-2022) Consultant**, Inclusive Blockchain Governance & Sustainability. Designed decentralised governance models that reached 2,000+ users and supported $1M+ USD in sales. - **(2015-2018) Founder & Managing Director**, CYALA (Council for Young Africans Living Abroad). Led leadership programmes for 800+ youth from 20+ countries. Built a volunteer team of 30+ to support scalable, multi-city operations. - **(2014-2015) Co-Founder & CEO**, Funetics. Raised $40K AUD in seed funding from Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company. Laid foundations for a subsequent startup that raised $1.5M+ AUD.