C.V.

SUMMARY:   Award winning, CEO level executive.  Former international chief counsel for global entertainment conglomerate.  15 years NED experience.   Strategist,  innovator, commercial negotiator, multi-stakeholder manager, influencer & lateral thinker.  Early tech adopter & commissioner.  Supporter of the arts and co-founding Chair of a new inclusive literary festival called Primadonna. Co-Chair of Deaf/Disabled charity Attitude Is Everything.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Successfully created and executed:-  

  • recovery plan for struggling IP business, paying down £20m debt; conceiving, running, concluding & reviewing successful services tenders attracting multiple acquisition offers and returning company to profit.  

  • multiple new business opportunities throughout career including conceiving and running the innovative and high profile licensing strategy for the groundbreaking “In Rainbows” project for Radiohead.  

  • multiple international roles, especially new market development including Russia, India & Africa.  

  • multiple governance reviews and NED recruitment.  

  • multiple training and mentoring programmes resulting in the successful development of new businesses and at least 4 mentees picking up Queens honours.  

SKILL SETS INCLUDE:   

Interpersonal skills including;

  • complex stakeholder management, an extensive network of contacts and colleagues across multiple media businesses.

  • Highly experienced chair of meetings. 

  • Regular speaker at corporate events.    

Intellectual capacity;

Running complicated businesses, applying lateral thinking as well as logic.  Understanding complex issues and simplifying them.  Drafting complex legislation in Brussels & appearing before Select Committees at Westminster.

Integrity;

  • Multiple award winning executive including Outstanding Contribution at Women in Music, recipient of Ivors Academy Gold Badge and of the Music Publishers Association Gold Badge.

  • Multiple pro-bono activities across Community Interest groups (Primadonna festival),

  • Charity Trusteeships (Attitude is Everything, Suffolk Artlink),

  • Education (Speakers for Schools), all in the area of accessibility in the Arts.

Independence of thought

The ability to constructively challenge and question the status quo.  Interested in learning and experienced in change management.  Regularly called upon to write and speak on business issues.

EDUCATION  

Bristol University Bachelor of Laws LLB (Hons) 2.2.   Culford School, Suffolk – 3 A’levels, including Maths at grade A plus 13 O’levels  

CURRENT ROLES -  Founder Laffittes Ltd Strategic consultancy, NED roles and Trusteeships.  

2014-2019  MPA GROUP OF COMPANIES – CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER   Ran 3 commercial intellectual property collection societies (MCPS, IMPEL, PMLL) with a joint turnover of £150m, all owned by a not-for-profit trade association (MPA), running monthly Board meetings for each company &multiple stakeholder committees involving over 100 executives in total from across the music publishing industry.  Took a groundbreaking decision to re-tender the businesses and ran the subsequent international tender process.  Attracted unsolicited acquisition bids on each company.  Built, managed and mentored a team.  Reduced cost, drove revenues and managed multiple stakeholders and customers.   

MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) MCPS is a music licensing business with £140m turnover which was dependent on a declining CD market.  Returned to profit & paid down £20m balance sheet deficit  

IMPEL (Independent Music Publishers e-Licensing Ltd) A specialist collection society licensing digital services such as Apple, Spotify, Youtube etc.  Trebled membership, trebled turnover, set up new governance structure.   Supervised deal negotiations with digital services.  Reviewed multiple technical issues relating to the collection, processing and distribution of royalties.   

PMLL (Printed Music Licensing Ltd) A specialist collection society licensing the photocopying of sheet music in schools.  Established what was (surprisingly) a very new business, created multiple new income streams, set distribution policies, reviewed governance.   

MPA (Music Publishers Association) A not-for-profit trade association which ran an ambitious programme of lobbying (creating relationships directly in Westminster & Brussels), events including 900-guest Christmas lunch & monthly social events,  new training and mentoring programmes,  governance & conflicts reviews, setting up sponsorship packages for MPA events, delivering keynotes speeches at outside events, representing the industry in multiple fora and raising the profile of the industry as a whole.

1992 – 2013  WARNER/CHAPPELL MUSIC LTD  (WCM) SVP INTERNATIONAL LEGAL & BUSINESS AFFAIRS   Warner/Chappell Music is the music publishing arm of the Warner Music Group, representing £600m of the group’s turnover.  While at WCM it was owned at different times by Time Warner, AOL, Edgar Bronfman and latterly Len Blavatnik/Access Industries.  Starting as a paralegal, promoted multiple times over 20 years:-

  • Director of WCM’s 27 UK companies & on 7 industry Boards

  • Devised & implemented WCM’s digital licensing strategy, directly negotiating all digital deals with Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Google, Youtube, Deezer etc.

  • Responsible for WCM’s strategy for developing markets internationally.

  • Responsible for finding and managing international sub-publishing licensees throughout the world ex North/South America involving extensive travel. 

  • Ran business affairs teams outside of North America including a 7 person team in London, including all litigation and any external lawyer instruction.

  • Represented WCM and its parent company the Warner Music Group in refinancing presentations, and strategic reviews across 3 changes of ownership.

  • Handled all M&A work, competition reviews liaising with DG Competition.

  • Handled or supervised all negotiations with all WCM UK’s clients such as Radiohead, George Michael, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns n Roses, the Smiths, Irving Berlin estate, the Gershwin Estate and the rest of the WCM varied roster.

  • Heavily involved in working on legislation and Directives throughout this period, including in some cases drafting.  Regular interaction with DG Comp, DG Internal Market representing the Group.

  • Represented WCM, the publishing industry and sometimes the music industry on panels and thinktanks including the setting up of the Creative Apprenticeship scheme and the Copyright Licensing Hub.

  • Created & ran a leaders network for women in the music industry.

1986 – 1992 VIRGIN MUSIC (PUBLISHERS) LTD   Key member of the team at a time of great growth as Richard Branson was heavily investing prior to a sale to EMI.  Company trebled in size during this period. Set up tools and protocols, handled the licensing of music into tv & film, ran international copyright, hosted and organized conferences & produced all sheet music. 

INTERESTS:   Family, music, theatre, film, books, TV, travel, food, swimming, singing, angel investing, mentoring, festivals (attending and hosting).  Co-founder of Pettafiesta, Mekonville and Primadonna festivals.