John’s most recent executive role was Group Customer Director at Phoenix Group. As a member of the Executive Committee, he was responsible for the development and delivery of an omni-channel customer experience. He was part of the core team who sold Standard Life to Phoenix in 2018 and was involved in a range of M&A activity during his time at Telefónica.

John assumes that people have the best intent and want to improve the areas they are responsible for. He believes leadership is about supporting individuals to perform at their best within the context of the organisation’s purpose and values. Having valued mentoring support himself, John believes that having someone in your corner with the sole purpose of helping you become a better leader is critical. He sees the role of the coach or mentor as encouraging greater self-awareness, providing challenge and offering alternative perspectives – leading to stronger leadership, followership and a better quality of life beyond work.

John began his career in the UK Civil Service in a range of roles, including policy work in Whitehall, before moving into management consultancy, helping organisations evolve their strategy and culture. He later served as CEO of NHS 24 in Scotland before joining Telefónica in 2007 as part of the team that launched the iPhone in the UK. He subsequently became CEO of Telefónica Slovakia and later Managing Director of Sales and Operations at Telefónica Germany.

In 2014, John returned to the UK as Customer Director at Standard Life, where he led businesses in Germany and Ireland alongside the UK customer function. He was part of the deal team that sold Standard Life Assurance to Phoenix Group, leading due diligence on customer data, property and operations. Following completion of the transaction, he joined the Executive Committee at Phoenix Group as Group Customer Director. During his time there, he led the transfer of 3.4 million customers from heritage systems onto a new platform in partnership with TCS.

John is currently Chair of Scottish Rugby Union Ltd and Scottish Friendly Assurance Society. He is also an adviser to fintech companies and a mentor at Global Mentors Group. Previously, he was Chair of Scottish Financial Enterprise Ltd.