“You’d look at him and think 'he’s not an accountant', I think people look at me and think that.”

"My advice is to do what you can do in an environment you love..."

Tell us about your role?

I'm Financial Director for the Whisper Group, so I run the finance function across all six Whisper businesses (Whisper, Whisper Cymru, Whisper North, Chapter 3 Graphics, Moonshine Features and East Media).

This includes making payments all the way to reporting into Sony Pictures Entertainment on how we are tracking to target, and forecasting. As we’ve grown, a lot of my role is strategy, working with our CEO and Creative Director in terms of finding new revenue streams, looking how we drive revenue streams and at efficiencies in the business.

What was your journey to Whisper?

When I was 16, my goal wasn't to be an accountant. I sort of fell into it due to the fact I was good with numbers.

I didn't want to work for a finance company and so I applied for a job in London which happened to be for a TV company. It was to be an accounts assistant at Jonathan Ross's production company, I got the job and loved it. I was working on Vic Reeves Big Night Out and Shooting Stars.

I was getting paid to do something I really enjoyed. I was even an extra on one episode of Shooting Stars, and me and my friends could go and watch the shows. I think the whole TV production process is really exciting.

I then worked for a publishing company, worked for Pete Waterman for a bit and then for Optimum who made a lot of Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver shows, like Kitchen Nightmares and the Naked Chef.

I also worked on Dancing on Ice and two series of Hell’s Kitchen at ITV. I was a production accountant and took it upon myself to understand the whole production process right through from concept to edit.

From there I worked on Big Brother at Endemol, where I was running 6-10 budgets and managing tens of millions of pounds. I then went to BBC Sport, which was probably the point that led me to Whisper. While I was there, I worked with Kay Satterley on the 2008 EURO, who now works for Whisper.

When BBC Sport relocated to Manchester, I went to the X Factor as Senior Production Accountant, but soon after I had quite a bad accident and fractured my skull, so I was off work for about four weeks, which is when Whisper contacted me. They were going for the Channel 4 F1 contract. I’d worked with many of them, Sunil, Anne (Somerset), Bethan (Evans) and Kay (Satterley) at the BBC.

I said if they won the contract I’d work with them – and they did! I took a back step to go from Program Finance Manager to Production Accountant. If I hadn’t have had the accident, I don’t think I would have done it. I’m glad I did.

What’s the best bit about your job?

As a kid I was sports mad and wanted to be a sports commentator, but unfortunately I wasn’t that great. I had an affinity with maths and found accountancy quite straightforward so I’ve somehow managed to blend the two. If you can’t do the thing you love the most, my advice is to do what you can do in an environment you love. We work with amazing sports brands and I’ve been lucky to be able to travel also. I go to work and talk about sport, which is what I’d do with my friends at the pub on a Saturday night, so for me it’s phenomenal.

And what’s the hardest thing?

Working for entrepreneurs (Whisper is co-owned by Sunil Patel, David Coulthard and Jake Humphrey). It’s fast paced and quick-turnaround, which can be quite demanding. Nothing is off limits and that can be daunting and high-risk, but it’s also exhilarating and challenging at the same time. There’s nothing better than going into work and every day is new and exciting. I have friends that complain about their work, a lot of them say I can’t work that hard as I never complain about it!

How do you manage the pressure of being finance director?

I have a good team in place and then trust the entrepreneurs that run the business. Once you have that trust it’s always there. In our most recent phase of growth, growing from 70 people to 250 people and from a 20M business to a 60M business, it was about getting out of the day to day and leaving that to my team, which was hard to do at the beginning.

How has the role changed since you joined Whisper as it’s grown?

I’ve gone from doing everything in 2016, when I was the only accountant in the business, to looking into strategic plays or acquisitions or mergers. When we exited the Channel 4 Growth Fund there were four of us in Finance here at Whisper and now there’s 14 of us. The role is now more strategic and forward looking.

What advice would you have for someone wanting to go into finance?

The brilliant thing is that every industry and company needs someone doing finance, so my advice would be to do it in an industry you love. You don’t have to do the job you’re passionate about but do something in an industry you’re passionate about.

Outside of work what do you like to do?

I’m really family orientated, I have four kids and like spending time with friends, which 9 times out of 10 revolves around sport. Last weekend I watched the F1 coverage and cricket coverage that we produce not because I have to, but because I love it.

Tell us about your love of tattoos?

It started at the age of 17, I guess at the start it was about being rebellious and not really knowing who I was. I made some initial bad choices which I’ve had to fix! But, as I’ve got older, it’s become a way of expressing myself and who I am through the art of tattooing.

All my tattoos have meaning. One sleeve is to do with my kids. It includes a skull that everyone thinks is about death, but it’s actually about rebirth. The other arm includes tributes to people I’ve lost, my mum and one of my friends.

The next one I’m getting is of a person with a tattooed face holding an old-fashioned quill and an accountancy ledger, so he looks like a rogue accountant. You’d look at him and think 'he’s not an accountant', I think people look at me and think that. I love that perception and Sunil (Patel, Whisper Co-Founder and CEO) loves it too. When we exited Channel 4 to join Sony, Sunil encouraged me to go into Sony in a shorts and t-shirt and to show my tattoos. He doesn’t make you pretend to be something you’re not and he embraces who people are. He’s been like that since the day I met him and that’s what is great about working for him and for Whisper.