About

Most people come to me with a version of the problem. Not the real one.

The real one is usually hiding somewhere between what they want to bring to the world and what the world actually wants from them. My job is to find that gap and close it. Sometimes that's a positioning reset, sometimes a launch, sometimes a comms reframe, sometimes a full brand system. The shape of the work depends on the shape of the problem.

Founding story

After 25 years of working in agencies and for clients, I took a step back to see what had actually moved the needle for me. The projects that stayed with me. The relationships. The joy. The answer turned out to be one word: fascination.

For me, fascination is a specific thing. It's past interested, past curious, but it stops before obsession. Obsession is usually what got my clients stuck in the first place, and I need to care about your problem without putting on the same blinders.

I can tell pretty quickly in a first conversation whether it's going to be a great collaboration, because I start leaning in. When I'm just fascinated by a client and their problem, I go the extra mile. I'll text you at 23:00 with a new idea. If it doesn't fascinate me, I'm not the right person for the work, and I'll say so.

That's the filter. It's also the name.

The differentiator

A client once called me a corporate therapist, and I've kept the phrase because it's more accurate than "brand strategist."

My job is partly to understand your problem better than you currently do, and partly to make you feel understood while I'm doing it. Those two things have to happen in that order, because challenge without listening is just opinion, and listening without challenge is just venting. The work is the bit where those two meet.

What I believe

Strategy that can't be executed isn't strategy.

A plan the team can't run is a document, not a direction. The test isn't whether it's clever — it's whether it survives Monday morning.

Brand is a decision-making system, not a logo.

Every person in the business is making brand decisions every day, whether they know it or not. The brand's job is to make those decisions easier, faster, and more consistent.

Clarity beats creativity every time.

Creativity without clarity produces noise. Clarity without creativity still moves the business. Both is the goal — but if I have to pick, I pick clarity.

Alignment is the multiplier.

The gap between a good strategy and a great outcome is almost always alignment — founder, leadership, and team pointed the same way. Without it, nothing compounds.

How I work

Clients at previous agencies have described the work as "an extension of the team," "a sharp eye for detail," and "always willing to go one level deeper." That's the operating mode I bring to every engagement, now independently, under Just Fascinated.

Career

Just Fascinated

Founder, Strategy Director

Resoluut (Makerstreet)

Managing Partner & Strategy Director

The Valley (Assist)

Head of Digital

Mobtzu (The Valley)

Mobile Strategist

Service2Media

Creative Director

2waytraffic (Sony)

Design Lead & Project Manager

Let's talk

Tell me where things are getting stuck.

One honest conversation is usually enough to know whether there's a problem worth solving together.

Start a conversation