About me - and Hong Kong!
I’m struggling. How on earth can I cover the brief: “My life away from the UK, including career path” in 300 words? OK, let’s try...
After Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, I studied Quantity Surveying at Salford University. After graduating, John Laing Construction took me on, and I studied to be a Chartered Surveyor. With MRICS after my name, I moved to Wimpey Construction and took my first overseas post, drafting contract claims in Oman. Singapore was next, where I became General Manager.
I returned to the UK but found myself looking overseas again. I accepted a role in Dubai, overseeing construction projects across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain - until receiving a call from Hong Kong! Moving to HK as Head of Projects for an international building façades contractor, my patch covered China - yes, all of it - Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, with up to seventeen projects active at one time. Quite a challenge!
So, what am I doing now? Having worked on construction mega-projects in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and China, I decided to start a consultancy business.
My mission, my passion, is to reduce conflict and disputes within the construction industry. To do this, rhConsult Limited offers a niche service which identifies off-market and unfair terms and conditions in construction contracts and works to remove or reduce these potentially business-destroying risks.
Why Hong Kong? Despite recent, mostly peaceful protests, life carries on. There’s a palpable buzz in the city, day and night. It has a beautiful, incomparable skyline. East meets West, not least in HK's cuisine where dim sum, hot pot and fast food coexist with haute cuisine. Parts of Kowloon could be mistaken for China; parts of Hong Kong island present the cleanest, most modern city in the world. I can walk from my house to three beautiful beaches. Or follow tree-lined hiking trails in the other direction.
80% of Hong Kong is green; not many people know that!
It’s a unique blend of dreams and opportunity, skyscrapers and technology, beautiful nature, diversity and culture. It draws you in and seduces you until you want nowhere else.