I have a longstanding interest in ensuring organisations have the right ownership and governance structures and, in particular, I am a long time enthusiast for the employee ownership business model.
I belonged to the HM Treasury Employee Ownership Advisory Group that helped develop the UK's HM Revenue and Customs approved share incentive plan and enterprise management incentives arrangement. I also drafted the Employee Share Schemes Bill, a successful Private Member’s Bill.
I am legal adviser to the Employee Ownership Association, the voice of co-owned business in the UK and have taken a leading role in promoting employee ownership in the UK. I work with long established employee owned businesses to maintain their structures and with start-ups and growing companies so they may benefit from employee ownership. I also advise on employee buy outs as a succession solution and as a business rescue solution.
I advised the pathfinders that helped make the case for public service mutuals as a way to transform public services and contributed to 'How to become an employee owned mutual – an action checklist for the public sector' (2011) . I was appointed a Cabinet Office Mutuals Ambassador in 2012.
In 2012 I also took on a part-time voluntary role as the UK Government's independent adviser on employee ownership, to help bring this business model into the mainstream of the UK private sector. As the Government's independent adviser on employee ownership, I produced 'Sharing Success: The Nuttall Review of Employee Ownership' (BIS, 2012). This review made 28 recommendations under three key themes: raising awareness of employee ownership; increasing the resources available to support employee ownership; and reducing the complexity of employee ownership.
The UK Government accepted, partly accepted or supported all the Nuttall Review recommendations. An Implementation Group, chaired by Jo Swinson, the Minister for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs took forward these recommendations.
I have spoken at numerous conferences to promote employee ownership including at the Deputy Prime Minister's Employee Ownership Summit on 4 July 2012, the launch of the Government's response to the Nuttall Review on 30 October 2012, a hearing in the European Parliament on employee ownership and participation and at the Australia & New Zealand Employee Ownership 2013 Annual Conference.
I am an associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, a member of the Share Plan Lawyers Group, the ESOP Centre and Tomorrow's Company Research Faculty. I am a BIS Independent Commissioner in relation to a proposed independent Institute for Mutual and Employee Ownership.
On 14 November 2012 I received the Baxendale Fellowship award at the UK Employee Ownership Association's annual conference. In 2014 I was appointed an OBE for services to employee ownership.
Legal 500 2014 says "stands out for his ability to deal with novel solutions, innovation and experience" and I am "highly practical"
Chambers UK 2015 says I am "a very emollient and smooth operator - nothing fazes him"
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