INTRODUCTION
I’ve been running a business in Guernsey for over 10 years. Before that, I was embedded in the finance industry in various senior roles.
In that time, I’ve sat on island boards, supported charitable causes I care about, got involved with local sport, served on a douzaine and watched the Channel Islands economy go through a period of unusual complexity.
I’ve had insights about most of it, and now I’ve decided to share that insight. Not because I’ve suddenly become braver, but because I think the conversation about island economies, small business leadership, and community-embedded governance is too thin, and I’m in a position to add something to it.
WHO I AM AND WHAT I SEE
Accountant, non-executive chairman for CI Co-op and NED for Sark Shipping. Community, sport, business and charitable involvement in Guernsey. These things together give me a vantage point that isn’t common. I’m not an economist, a politician, or a journalist. I’m someone who runs a business, sits in boardrooms, gets involved in island life and cares deeply about the place where I live and work.
What I see from that position is an economy that has real strengths but clear vulnerabilities and a public conversation that tends to flatten both into something too comfortable to be useful.
WHAT THIS BLOG WILL COVER
I’ll write about the Channel Islands economies as I observe them, not as press releases describe it. About what governance actually looks like in small organisations serving real communities. About running a small professional services business: the operational detail, the leadership challenges, the things that work and the things that don’t.
I’ll also write about the community side of island life — the charities, the institutions, the people doing quiet, essential work that doesn’t get enough visibility.
I’m not trying to be provocative for its own sake. But I’m also not going to sand the edges off everything I think in order to avoid discomfort.
AN INVITATION
If you’re a business owner, a professional, or simply someone who cares about what happens to this island I’d welcome you as a reader. I’ll be publishing regularly. I’m also on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook if you prefer those formats.
This is the start of a longer conversation. I hope you’ll be part of it.