About

I’m driven by a fundamental belief that bringing groups of people together and learning to understand new languages is the best way to make progress towards better outcomes for individuals, society and the world. Many of the worst situations in human societies arise when different groups don’t understand each other and lack the translation skills required to bridge the divide.

In Parliament I had the chance to observe different political tribes grope towards similar goals while tearing each other to shreds – something that also increasingly characterises more general political debate, especially online.

Working as a consultant to private equity investors, I saw how the world of politics and regulation – a world full of opaque language and shades of meaning – collided, sometimes with brutal consequences, against the binary simplicity of balance sheets and bank accounts, of profit and loss.

Working in the non-profit world, I had the chance to witness all kinds of misunderstandings: between publishers and tech platforms, philanthropists and grant recipients, journalists and activists, and more.

The most satisfying moments of my career have been in bridging these gaps and building lasting relationships. A key example of this kind of work was the creation of the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium. This sees investigative journalists and activists cooperate to pursue cases of cross-border corruption and ensure that justice is done through effective advocacy. In the short time it has existed, the consortium has already had enormous impact through investigations like the Azerbaijani Laundromat.

I now pursue work that addresses what I feel are the biggest threats to democracy,  political stability, and human happiness. For more, feel free to browse selected media below:

• Across the Great Divide
• Fixing Misinformation is a Misguided and Inefficient Strategy
• It’s the Shadow Economy, Stupid (talk at BIL:SF 2017)
• Security Means Nothing Without Freedom
• The Age of Trust is Over – What’s Next?
• Interviews with France 24 and Orange Magazine during the Open Government Partnership Global Summit
• Stunned Open Government Community Searches for Solutions
• American Optimists Face the New Reality for Media and Democracy

I co-wrote a chapter in a book whose title may yet be overtaken by events. You can pick up a copy here.

You can also find different versions of me on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. I write on Medium and on my blog, Never Cruel Nor Cowardly.