My approach to game development blends technical expertise, user psychology, and a deep understanding of immersive learning and engagement. I have 5 year experience in Unity, I led gameplay development at Arti.

Needle  is one of those 'wow' products, it allows for essentially any 'game-like' experience to exported from Unity to the Web - and it's actually useable and performant!

The 3D graphics on my home page are built in Needle, as well as everything on Toybox 3D Blog - Ideas Worth Toying With...

I really believe tools like Needle could transform website heros, product configurators and lead generation tools, if you have any projects in mind, get in touch!

I'm a certified Webflow Web Designer. This site, Arti Languages,  and Toybox 3D Blog were built by me in Webflow.

Data-driven decision-making is as much about deep domain knowledge as it is about analytical skills. The key first step is knowing what data to collect, what user behaviours need to be quantified and why?

My approach to Agile Project Management is pragmatic, results-driven, and deeply informed by my experience across Fintech, Edtech, and Mobile Games.

I value clear communication immensely - so much else rests on it. I aim for clarity, brevity and candour in writing and in person.

The Art of Saying Just Enough - Blog Post on Communication

Many of my most recent projects have been at the intersection of games, education and apps.

I have experience across Azure, AWS and Unity Cloud Services, utilising and building database, speech and content delivery systems.

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My time at UCL Edtech Labs and Arti Languages deepened my passion for Serious Games—leveraging game mechanics to enhance learning, motivation, and retention. I saw firsthand how active recall, learning through failure, and feedback loops drive deeper engagement, making education more immersive and effective. This intersection of pedagogy, psychology, and game design continues to shape my approach to learning technology.

When building the Voice-controlled vocabulary builder at Arti  I dug into the weeds of Azure AI Speech.

Speech synthesis in multiple languages holds unique challenges, for example so called multi-lingual models often don't pronounce non-English words correctly, especially if you switch languages half-way through a sentence.

So to take a simple example, if you want to synthesise "What is the meaning of un sous sol?" - which means basement. One can't rely on a multi-lingual model to identify the 'code switch' instead the text needs to programmatically marked up with SSML and explicitly told to switch to a French model part way through the sentence.

 <speak version="1.0" xml:lang="en-GB" xmlns:mstts="http://www.w3.org/2001/mstts" xmlns:emo="http://www.w3.org/2009/10/emotionml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/10/synthesis">
 <voice name="en-GB-AdaMultilingualNeural">What is the meaning of </voice>
 <voice name="fr-FR-BrigitteNeural" xml:lang="fr-FR">un sous-sol</voice>
 <voice name="en-GB-AdaMultilingualNeural">?</voice>
 </speak>

At Arti driving traffic to our beta app was challenging, Duolingo has driven up the customer acquisition cost in the language learning space since it's IPO.

The Bullseye Marketing framework helped us narrow down to a couple of cost effective channels, in our case micro-influencer referral programmes and guest blog posts.

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At Waverton I project managed and designed a new Cash Management System- it has safely processed > £500M in withdrawals and cut workflow times by 60%.

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I've led many projects driven by complex regulatory change, including:

• The testing program for an equities trading system, driven by MIFID II, with £ millions in daily trade volume.
• Led Anti Money Laundering and Risk integration with Dow Jones’ risk monitoring database.
• Led ESG data-feed project to integrate trading locks in-line with client’s ethical convictions.

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I hold certifications in Generative AI for Software Development and Generative AI with Large Language Models, I utilize LLMs effectively across documentation-writing, refactoring, pattern selection and debugging. That said I use it more sparingly when writing code, because it's fundamentally important that I understand the code in use to stop technical debt down the line.

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I've been solely responsible for implementing dozens of new ETL data pipelines for Major Banks and other financial institutions.

I'm fascinated by the interface between development and design. User Experience is central to all good software.

On the UCL Edtech Labs Programme, I gained insights into pedagogy and user psychology that shaped my approach to learning design, product development and language learning.

I strongly believe in a tools-first approach to game development, frankly, without great internal tooling, projects often grind to a halt later in development when the complexity catches up with you!

Meditation is important to me because it cultivates clarity, patience, and self-awareness. I've practiced meditation for 10 years.

• I facilitate a weekly meditation group with Waking Up Community.
• I volunteer my time as a video editor at Adventures in Awareness - YouTube, which has interviewed leading meditation teachers, scientists and philosophers such as Anil Seth, Rupert Spira and Bernado Kastrup.
• I enjoy writing about meditation and related topics here: Toybox 3D Blog - Ideas Worth Toying With...

Talking about one's own leadership qualities seems slightly conceited! Good leadership is the confluence of numerous faculties, some of which I have, all of which I'm trying to cultivate:

• Self-Awareness: continuously reflects, learns, and improves - low ego.
• Integrity: honesty, transparency and ethical judgement.
• Clarity: communicates a compelling direction.
• Trust: empowers everyone in the team and sets high standards.
• Adaptability: navigates uncertainty and shields the broader team.

I've strived for these virtues in all my work so far - and will continue to do so going forward.

The beauty of the LLMs is that they've read everything, if you can ask the right questions >90% of the time they'll give a great answer. Asking the right questions is easier said than done though.

A good prompt to an LLM often requires far more context than a learner can be bothered to give. Successful AI tutors will operate within limits and workflows set by structured data - i.e. the curriculum.

For example in our voice activated vocab builder at Arti  the OpenAI API is fed data about the learner and curriculum in addition to the user's transcribed response. The LLM uses that data to more accurately provide personalized feedback.

I'm fascinated by educational games... the trouble is, hardly any of them are good! Gamification is seen as the engine of success behind meteoric successes like Duolingo.

The reality is though, streaks, high scores and variable reinforcement schedules are the compulsive (worst) parts of games, not the actual fun!

Avoiding 'chocolate covered broccoli' in educational games was a big inspiration when designing Arti, a language learning game.

Cal Newport's work is a big influence on my approach to work, he has convincedly argued that Knowledge Work is beset with distractions and perverse incentives that degrade productivity and wellbeing.

Deeply understanding of the costs of context switching, distraction and modern work habits has borne fruit in all aspects of my technical and creative work.

Automation so often backfires because along with the inefficiencies, you also throw out responsibility and oversight. Automation is powerful, but not a panacea.

I worked as a consultant for the Change Management team at Waverton across dozens of workflow improvement projects, the best outcomes always balanced efficiency, risk and pragmatism.

For example while maintaining proper controls, the Cash Withdrawal system project managed cut workflow times by 60% and has safely processed over £500M.

I believe concise, clear writing is universally useful - it is a byword for clear thinking.

It applies to coding, marketing copy, negotiation, documentation, collaboration and much else besides.

My first boss helped reshape my conceptions of what education could be. Their polymathic interests led to countless discussions on Linguistics, Big History, Philosophy and the Arts. Learning from someone who could so easily blur the boundaries of disciplines made me see how fruitful and inspiring interdisciplinary approaches can be!

I'm drawn to projects that are cross disciplinary and complex.

Steve Blank has been a huge influence on my thinking about start-ups. His books, like the The Startup Owner's Manual, solidified the principles of the scientific method in early business development.

His maxim that "No facts exist inside the building" - taught a generation of founders to trust their customers, rather than their hunches. The Lean Startup, Business Model Generation, Disciplined Entrepreneurship all took on that torch, but Steve did it first and in my opinion did it best!

I believe great product management starts with deep observation and customer development— immersing myself in user behaviour, uncovering real pain points, and validating assumptions through iterative testing.

My 5 years experience as a Change Management Consultant deeply immersed in this way of thinking, I advised, designed and implemented software and workflow improvements across Operational, Tech, Compliance and Administrative products In the Fintech industry.

In my startup, Arti, I acted as the Product Owner for an Educational Language Learning Game.

At Waverton I led the integration of third-party Foreign Exchange platform within bespoke desktop app (£1B yearly volumes)

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I Led the testing program for an equities trading system with £ millions in daily trade volume, in a complex regulatory environment.

Hampstead Heath is one of my favourite places in world. I run, walk, socialise and occasionally (only if blazing hot) swim there.

Since last year, I also wrestle with brambles there, having started voluntary work with Heath Hands.

Helping the Heath team manage the diverse ecosystems on the heath has taught me an immense amount and is a highlight of my week!

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Video-editing for Adventures in Awareness, a Youtube channel with 13k subscribers and 890k views

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I always follow 'Constraint Driven Design' - this methodology first puts practical limits on what is achievable with the time, resources and skills available. This isn't a constraint on creativity, but is rather an acknowledgment of the complexity of game/level design. In reality once you set your constraints, you just have a smaller infinity in which to operate and clear constraints breed creative solutions and efficient tooling.

For example when designing the levels for Arti , a major constraint was our artistic and design resources, that forced as to adopt a grid based system and reuse and remix existing models. We also focused on creating internal tools that made laying out grid based levels really speedy.

I cofounded Arti Languages  an educational games company based on novel pedagogies and approaches.

My approach to strategic consultancy is rooted in clarity, first-principles thinking, and adaptability. I believe that the best strategies come from deep observation, domain expertise, and a focus on fundamentals

I believe that strong communities are essential for human well-being, yet modern secular society has deprioritized them to our collective detriment.

Mental models simplify complex concepts, enhancing my understanding and decision-making. They provide frameworks that help me navigate and interpret the world more effectively.

A personal favourite is Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by ignorance"

This blogpost Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions (~100 Models Explained) is immensely valuable.

Modern Stoicism, especially Donald J. Robertson’s work, resonates with me because it offers a practical framework for resilience, rational thinking, and emotional balance.

I utilized the OpenAI API as a reasoning engine to help parse and categorise user responses as part of a voice-controlled vocab builder for language learning.

I'm experienced across all aspects of data management.

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I defined the negotiation strategy for 2018 Acquisition of Fintech startup Parrish Blake by Waverton Investment Management.

Outdoor education is important to me because it fosters a direct, immersive connection with nature—something I’ve valued through my voluntary work at Heath Hands and my love of birdwatching

• Currently building Field Guide, a 'nature appreciation app' that augments open source datasets to teach about the natural world in fun ways.

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Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast & Slow  is a humbling book as it reveals how often our decisions are shaped by biases and cognitive shortcuts without us realizing it.

It is a call to slow down (engage "System 2") and continuously question our assumptions, it has huge impact on how I approach problems.

Like everyone else, I'm scrabbling around with LLMs and seeing what sticks! In my work at Arti we tried a number of approaches to improve the output of an LLM, from PEFT to simple prompt-engineering and one-shot inference.

When working with etymological data (about the roots of words) the most effective method we found was simply sense checking the answers against pre-existing structured data, and re-prompting if an error was made.