About
Michael has started two businesses on his own, both by accident.
The first was a microbrewery, which developed from a home brewing hobby that got completely out of hand and moved into commercial premises. While holding down a full-time job, he handled every task required in a brewery, from sales to pubs and shops, brewing beer, dealing with the excise arm of HMRC, and figuring out processes to sell beer online and ship it safely. He is very proud that his beer won an award from CAMRA and was featured in the UK’s Good Beer Guide. From the brewing trade, he learned that taking a business from an idea to revenue is a hard road to navigate, and he did not want to navigate it on his own again.
The second business was becoming a self-employed consultant in 2018. After taking redundancy from a large corporation, he landed a small three-week project to tide him over while he found a new job. That project grew, led to other projects, and he became so busy he didn’t get around to finding another job. After a couple of years, he decided he didn’t want another job. That meant he needed to address the precarious nature and limits of being self-employed, which were exacerbated by the IR35 reforms. Reflecting on this and the lessons from the brewery, he decided a franchise business offered the best balance of independence, support, and scalability.
Michael joined Valenta as a franchisee in 2021 (Managing Partner) and became Managing Director for the UK in 2024. Prior to joining Valenta, he had been an independent consultant for a little over three years with recurring work as a customer friend to a government client on a major space programme and other projects helping private sector companies bid for public sector work.
Michael has had an accomplished career in sales, procurement, and delivery. He is a Telecommunications Engineer by training, and his technology experience covers space-based networks, software, optronics, and artificial intelligence. Michael’s sales management experience includes blue-chip companies, SMEs, and government organizations.
Before consulting, Michael spent well over a decade in industry (Airbus D&S and General Dynamics Mission Systems) in operations, technical sales, and leadership positions.
Michael has an MSc in Space Science and Technology and a BSc(Hons) from the Open University. He also has an HNC in Telecommunications Engineering from the Royal School of Signals. He lives in North Wiltshire.
