Following an honours degree in Economics from Sheffield University, the author spent almost thirty years working for various manufacturing businesses in the UK and overseas. In 1995 he moved to Tatarstan in Russia, leading a team of international consultants at a large automotive company and in 1997 he became an advisor to the UK Foreign Office and the Department for International Development covering Russia until 2002. He subsequently worked as a management consultant on various projects in Russia and Ukraine and since 2001, he has been a member of the Flood Risk Management Committee for Wales. Born in Royal Leamington Spa, the author spent his early years in Canada and has since lived in Switzerland, France, the USA and Russia and has travelled to seventy different countries. He was awarded an MBE in the 2018 Queen''s New years Honours List.