Bridging Sectors: How Transferable Skills Unlock Value in Insurance and Investment

My career has never followed a straight line. I started out in geology, moved through energy, defence, transport, and government, and today I’m turning my focus to Insurance and Investment. At first glance, those industries might seem worlds apart. But when I look back, I see a clear thread: a consistent record of managing high-stakes portfolios, embedding governance, and using data to drive resilient outcomes. These are exactly the qualities needed in insurance and investment, where innovation and trust must coexist.

Building My Foundation in Energy

In my early years, I worked in the oil and gas sector, where projects often carried a capital expenditure of US$50–60 billion. I evaluated more than 60 offshore and onshore projects across multiple countries, benchmarking costs, schedules, and delivery strategies.

I learned the discipline of data analytics—using statistical models and benchmarks to test project readiness. In one case, I identified an unrealistic commissioning schedule on a major offshore project in the Caspian. The project had a Schedule Index of 0.70, and my team recommended a six-month extension. That advice prevented an aggressive timeline from becoming a financial disaster.

In another assignment, I helped identify savings of approximately £100,000 and two months for a renewables project in Scandinavia through prudent planning and benchmarking. Efficiency wasn’t just theoretical—my projects routinely delivered 30–40 hours under budget against an average duration of 180 hours per assignment. These insights taught me how rigorous data analysis can save both money and time—skills that apply directly to financial services, where performance and capital allocation must be underpinned by hard evidence.

Governance at Scale in Government

From energy, I moved into the public sector, joining the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) in the Cabinet Office. The scale of responsibility was staggering: I was part of the team overseeing £250 billion in Major Government Projects, including infrastructure, defence, and technology programmes.

My role was to provide independent project assurance—in plain terms, ensuring that projects were ready before proceeding through critical stage gates or HM Treasury milestones. In just four months, I coordinated and set up 26 independent assurance reviews. These weren’t tick-box exercises; they were deep dives into governance, delivery strategy, and risk.

The lessons I carried forward were clear: when billions of public money are at stake, governance and assurance must be proactive, not reactive. That same discipline is essential in Insurance and investment, where a single compliance failure or operational weakness can have catastrophic consequences.

Leading Change at Transport for London

At Transport for London (TfL), I shifted from reviewing systems to building them. I managed a portfolio of over 80 technology, engineering, and construction projects, representing more than £100 million in annual capital investment.

I introduced first-line assurance frameworks, governance structures, and risk workshops, ensuring that risks were reprofiled, mitigated, and managed before they became systemic issues. I also mentored seven multi-disciplinary team members, embedding both new and established processes.

Working closely with senior stakeholders at TfL gave me the opportunity to translate complex technical and financial risks into actionable insights for executives. That ability—to communicate clearly and influence at board level—is as important in insurance and investment as it is in transport.

Why Insurance and Investment?

The investment and insurance sectors sit at the intersection of innovation and regulation. They are fast-moving, technology-driven industries where operational resilience and compliance are non-negotiable. In many ways, they mirror the environments where I have built my career: high-stakes, highly scrutinised, and data-intensive.

Here’s how my experience translates:

• £250 billion+ UK Government portfolio oversight → Directly applicable to managing multi-product financial portfolios and capital allocation.

• £50–60 billion oil & gas projects → Informed risk and capital investment decisions that map onto large-scale technology transformation programmes.

• 80+ TfL projects worth £100m annually → Comparable to managing technology upgrades, digital product launches, and regulatory compliance in financial institutions.

• 26 IPA assurance reviews in 4 months → Evidence of building rapid, rigorous governance frameworks under pressure.

These achievements demonstrate not only scale but also versatility—the ability to apply governance, assurance, and data analysis across very different industries, and deliver results that stand up to scrutiny.

Diversity as an Advantage

One of the most important things I’ve learned is that non-linear journeys are powerful. Moving from geology to energy, to government, to transport—and now into insurance and investment—has given me a perspective few others can bring.

This is why I connect with the mission of GAIN (Group for Autism, Insurance, Investment, and Neurodiversity). Just as neurodivergent people bring fresh ways of thinking, so too do diverse career paths. Both show us that unconventional approaches can generate real innovation.

Looking Ahead

As I step into the insurance and investment sectors, I see enormous opportunity. These industries need leaders who can balance innovation with control, agility with compliance, and ambition with governance.

My career has prepared me for exactly that challenge. I know how to manage multi-billion-pound portfolios, how to build governance that prevents failure, how to use data to drive.