Helping growth plans and deals perform across West and East

When WGSN bought Stylesight, its biggest competitor, I led the integration in Asia-Pacific. The two teams had long been rivals, winning clients from each other rather than growing the market. The most important work came in the first three months: designing the organisation and choosing the leaders to run it. It was a bumpy ride, but we got back to consistent forecasts and solid growth, took the new WGSN into new categories, and over three years tripled the business, including the acquisition, on better margins.

In 2020 Yimian Data became Ascential's first acquisition in China, part of a plan I led to build scale there. Bringing a doubtful board with us took patience. We integrated it into Flywheel, and in three years it grew six-fold into profit. Alongside the earn-out, I looked for bigger problems the founders could take on, and helped where I could. In 2026 I led its sale to NIQ. The founders now bring me into their next venture, and that means a lot.

In 2021 I found Intrepid, a Southeast Asian ecommerce services business, and led its acquisition for Flywheel. Soon after, the market dipped and the investment case came under pressure. I worked alongside its leaders through some hard decisions: a leaner organisation, tighter thresholds on client deals and a renewed push for new business. After I led its sale to management in 2024, its Chair and CEO kept me close. The business has grown more than tenfold in five years, and I now help them think about what's next.

By 2015 WGSN's China business was growing but too small to stand alone, and depended on CTIC, its government-linked partner. The economics pointed one way, and I made the case to our board to commit fully: a JV, WGSN China, and a second company, Coloro. It took patience on both sides. When China's investment rules blocked Coloro's planned structure, we faced a really difficult problem, and found another way that worked for everyone. Both are still growing, and I'm grateful to remain on both boards.

At WGSN, from 2020, we listened closely to what clients needed, matched the product to it, went to market consistently and were honest with the executive team about when revenue would land: the business grew 6x in three years. With Yimian, from 2022, we started from nothing and built credibility with the right clients on a product good enough to earn their trust: within two years Southeast Asia was 20% of Yimian's business. Both times, the difference was precision and patience.

Ascential wanted to test events in China, the world's largest fintech market but a walled garden, where only a government partnership could deliver scale. In 2017 we announced Money20/20 China with the Hangzhou and Xiaoshan governments; I led those relationships. The first edition drew 3,000 people and strong speakers. Then peer-to-peer lending changed sharply, the partners never fully aligned, and 2018 was the only edition. What I took from it: speak up sooner when either side's expectations can't be met, and understand what a market is really built on.