Meet the Team
SVGC Digital Directors:
Dr Andrew Dixon
Focussed on continuously transforming the business to respond to the market, driving and delivering great outcomes to our clients, benefit to employees, value to shareholders and opportunities to partners and associates.
Passionate about working collaboratively between small businesses, small with large and collaborative technology pull-through from academia into delivery.
CEO
Dr Andrew Dixon
SVGC Staff Profiles
At SVGC we’re proud to be a small business formed of experienced, highly qualified people operating on a national platform. Our team collectively has vast knowledge of strategic planning, public sector decisions, innovative technologies, data science and agile working methodologies.
Get to know Dr Andrew Dixon, our Managing Director, who is passionate about working collaboratively between small and large businesses and utilising technology pull-through from academia into delivery. Our “national platform” includes Andrew’s roles chairing the Small Business Forum for the Institute for Collaborative Working and vice-chair of the TechUK Defence & Security SME forum. Andrew is also an external examiner for the Cranfield University Battlespace Technology course.
Andrew’s focus is on continuously transforming the business to respond to the market, driving and delivering great outcomes for our clients, partners and associates.
What are your ‘must haves’ to start the working day?
My day always starts with a few cups of tea and breakfast is definitely my most important meal of the day. Before the day gets going, I usually catch up with the latest events with Starship development in Boca Chica, Texas via the YouTube daily update. It's amazing to watch the evolution of the largest launch vehicle and orbital rocket ever made … and Elon Musk’s approach to keeping it simple; learn by doing is something I really relate to.
What’s your proudest work achievement to date?
That’s a tough one. I’m fortunate to have had a few. Helping to fundamentally shift the land platforms market through some policy changes whilst working in the MOD to create a more level playing field; delivering market engagement to improve procurement success through Niteworks across a range of projects; management of chunks of Skynet – future military satellite programmes both 20 years ago and now; working on the Nuclear Deterrent; and working with the Institute for Collaborative Working to promote small business collaborative engagements.
But I think my proudest work achievement is happening now with FCDO Services at Hanslope Park, where we are working in an innovation collaboration to enable the transfer of large volumes of digital public records to the National Archives – supporting democracy through transparency. Amazing!
What do you love most about what you do?
People have said to me in the past, that as a small consultancy we surely can’t make much difference. That couldn’t be more wrong. I love that we help the public sector to make the best decisions with the limited funds that it has available. They get better capability, and achieve more because of our intervention and support. The public sector making better decisions, more effectively and more efficiently leads to lives saved, taxpayer money protected and better services to the public. It’s a huge privilege to be providing the service that makes such a difference.
What does your typical working day look like?
Blimey. They can be long days. Running a small business like SVGC can be challenging, with many balls to juggle and such rapid turnaround on bids and proposals. I am fortunate to have an amazing team around me who make it happen.
I still deliver some of the fee-paying work myself, which is important to me to stay in touch with the ground truth of delivery, and maintain close working relationships with key clients.
My working days usually start quite early with a mixture of company business, client work, lots and lots of calls. We talk a lot with partner companies and clients to ensure we keep in touch with both delivery and opportunities.
When you hit a wall workwise, what do you do to help overcome the hurdle?
Change the subject and do something else for a while. If that doesn’t work, and it's late, I will often go to sleep and somehow have the answer in the morning. The odd round of golf helps too. I’m also a keen sailor and time-permitting, it's surprising how problems seem to get resolved when you’re sailing past the Needles!
Julia Campbell
Julia has 20 years of experience of commercial and managerial roles across the defence and security sector. Her role within SVGC is wide ranging involving: contract management; personnel development; recruitment; insurance and financial governance. She has previously held senior commercial roles in both Thales and QinetiQ.
Chief of Staff
Julia Campbell
SVGC Staff Profiles
At SVGC we’re proud to be a small business formed of experienced, highly qualified people operating on a national platform.
Our team collectively has vast knowledge of strategic planning, public sector decisions, innovative technologies, data science and agile working methodologies. Get to know Julia, our Chief of Staff and Head of Commercial.
Julia has 20 years of experience of commercial and managerial roles across the defence and security sector including senior commercial roles in both Thales and QinetiQ. Her role within SVGC is wide ranging and here she describes more about her day-to-day with SVGC.
What are your ‘must haves’ to start the working day?
Earl Grey Tea. If there is no EG tea the day is doomed! I’ve recently started doing Wordle – which is now right up there with the Earl Grey. And, although I have yet to completely fail to get the daily Wordle, it’s a great example of a there always being a new learning experience just waiting for you!
What’s your proudest work achievement to date?
Being part of the development and evolution of the business is a real privilege, to share in the SVGC success story so far – especially as we are celebrating our 25th anniversary this year. Within this, a common challenge for some evolving businesses can be the introduction of huge amounts of process – and we’ve managed to retain our efficient and pragmatic use of them, and not ‘process ourselves out of business’. It’s also really wonderful to see the current recruitment drive that reflects how hard the team have worked to deliver on current projects whilst also being named on a number of significant new frameworks in the last two years.
Oh, and of course, another source of pride is retaining my very serious job title of ‘Director of Fun’!
What do you love most about what you do?
That every day really is different – I’m not ‘just’ a project manager, or responsible for business development, there is so much that my role entails – as described below.
What does your typical working day look like?
My role is so large and varied that ‘typical’ isn’t the best word. I am one of the directors of the company and the commercial manager for the business; and, I also look after HR, training, recruitment and insurance. Sometimes I’ll be working on contract management and negotiation, another hour and I’ll be considering personnel development and recruitment, and then perhaps grappling with some insurance issue or dealing with financial governance.
In a nutshell, I ensure all the bills are paid, the staff are happy, our customers are delighted and the chickens are fed.
When you hit a wall workwise, what do you do to help overcome the hurdle?
I go and make tea (can you see a theme here?!) If it is really bad, I might go for a little shuffle - my code for going for a run - around the village that I live in, as that can help enormously.
Tony Klein
Tony’s career has covered many aspects of delivering solutions and consulting services into defence, security and intelligence. His highlights include establishing Quintec which became a leading supplier of systems engineering and integration skills to MoD and leading defence contractors. After its acquisition, he was appointed VP for Consulting and Engineering within Thales. He lead Detica (BAeSystems Digital Intelligence) defence business and expanded its propositions into Defence Intelligence, CIO and Special Forces communities. He has also worked in leadership roles in QinetiQ and Olive Group in Dubai; and has a PhD from Bristol; an MBA from London Business School; is a Chartered Engineer; a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and Chair of Trustees at Rodborough Academy Trust.
Non-Executive Director
Tony Klein
SVGC Staff Profiles
At SVGC we’re proud to be a small business formed of experienced, highly qualified people operating on a national platform. Our team collectively has vast knowledge of strategic planning, public sector decisions, innovative technologies, data science and agile working methodologies.
Get to know Tony Klein, our SVGC Digital Non-Executive Director. Tony’s career has covered many aspects of delivering solutions and consulting services into defence, security and intelligence. After a short spell developing simulation software, he established Quintec which became a leading supplier of systems engineering and integration skills to MoD and leading defence contractors. After its acquisition, he was appointed VP for Consulting and Engineering within Thales. In 2006, he joined Detica (now BAeSystems Digital Intelligence) to lead its defence business and expanded its propositions into Defence Intelligence, CIO and Special Forces communities. A spell leading QinetiQ’s technology solutions BD and sales preceded a move to lead the solutions delivery business of the Olive Group in Dubai where he oversaw the delivery of major safety and security solutions to protect critical national and industrial infrastructures for clients across EMEA. Tony has a PhD from Bristol and MBA from London Business School, is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and Chair of Trustees at Rodborough Academy Trust.
What are your ‘must haves’ to start the working day?
Coffee and completing the Times crosswords!
What’s your proudest work achievement to date?
With my wife, Sally creating two wonderful children (now adults) who are achieving things way beyond whatever I could dream of doing.
What do you love most about what you do?
Variety, and working with amazing people in delivering effective, robust solutions to demanding customers.
What does your typical working day look like?
Oh boy, how about: fixing some fencing that has blown down after a storm; chain sawing a tree that’s fallen down over the lane; meeting with the Headteacher of the school where I am Chair of Governors to allow him to test ideas (which he already knows the answers to) and being a sounding board for him; leading a project assurance review of a major government project on behalf of the Cabinet Office; having a chat with Julia Campbell or colleague at ISS Aerospace; taking a walk on the South Downs; planning a long walk to follow in the footsteps of my Father.
When you hit a wall workwise, what do you do to help overcome the hurdle?
Step back; write an email - but don’t send it for 24 hours; phone a friend!
SVGC Digital Core Team:
Paige Bunker
As our Data Scientist, Paige is passionate about data science and how powerfully it can be used to solved intricate problems. She also has a real love for coding; “I could create new scripts and debug them all day!”
Data Scientist
Paige Bunker
SVGC Staff Profiles
At SVGC we’re proud to be a small business formed of experienced, highly qualified people operating on a national platform.
Our team collectively has vast knowledge of strategic planning, public sector decisions, innovative technologies, data science and agile working methodologies. Get to know our newest recruit Paige Bunker, Junior Data Scientist.
What are your ‘must haves’ to start the working day?
Definitely a cup of tea and something toasted with marmite & butter. I also like to read the news & twitter to wake myself up and catch up with the world.
What’s your proudest work achievement to date?
A data science algorithm I built for my previous employer was officially published internally. The algorithm was used to determine representative customer use types for more realistic product analytics and testing. It had a big impact and was used for multiple programmes, saving millions of $ in testing.
I also presented at the SWE Europe International Conference. This required me to really push myself out of my comfort zone and present to a large audience from multiple companies.
What do you love most about what you do?
I love seeing the effect data science has on real world problems and how powerful and useful it can be in so many applications.
I also found a love for coding over the last few years, I could create new scripts and debug them all day. The combination of continually learning new functions & libraries and trying to make them work with the data science algorithms and analysis is a great challenge.
Overall I love problem solving, data science provides the method but coding is also part of creating the solution.
What does your typical working day look like?
I start the day by going through any unread emails, then I’ll either go straight into picking up a critical task I was working on the previous day or I’ll check my ‘to do’ list. I generally like to pick tasks depending on how many continuous hours of free time I have (without meetings/calls) as once I get stuck into a more complicated task I like to keep focus on it until I complete it or reach a good stopping point.
When you hit a wall, what do you do to help overcome it?
It always depends on the type of problem. If it’s a code that I can’t debug, sometimes it’s best to leave it and come back with fresh eyes the next day. When it’s a problem that is project direction specific I’ll always reach out to others for their thoughts. Sometimes the issue can be solved through research, so I’ll spend some time scouring the internet for alternative options and people with similar problems to my own.
Ian Stephenson
Ian is a highly experienced software and solutions architect with over 20 years working in the defence industry He has a diverse set of skills and experience taken from commercial product development and military research. Ian is leading our technical approach to developing and delivering digital transformation solutions.
Software and Solution Architect
Simon Walker
Technology Programme Manager
Simon Walker
SVGC Staff Profiles
Simon is greatly experienced in digital programme management and consulting across systems and software engineering, with over 30 years of experience working across digital security, mobile and e-commerce technology in both private and public sectors. Beginning his career at BAe Systems writing software for aircraft, Simon has since worked for both large and small companies including Fujitsu, Thales and Quintec as well as leading major projects and programmes for the MoD and Transport for London.
Simon has a formal background in IT software and hardware systems and has also been the Technical Director of an Innovation Centre; a successful Bid Programme Manager; and is a highly accomplished technical programme team leader and strategy lead with experience in delivering business transformation through change management.
It goes without saying that we are thrilled to have Simon join the SVGC team. Welcome, Simon!
Get to know him better here:
What are your ‘must haves’ to start the working day?
I like to start my day the way I suspect many do – a cup of strong English Breakfast tea, and a run with the dog – she’s a black Labrador called India. Then, I’m mostly all set.
What’s your proudest work achievement to date?
I feel fortunate to say that it’s hard to choose - I’ve worked on such a variety of exciting and innovative projects in the last 30 years: from writing software for the RAF’s Tornado jets and delivering their first Link 16 training package, to running a Technology Innovation Centre, managing a strategic paper project for the Army Board, to project managing the design and build of rugged computers to be used in harsh conditions – which are the places computers do not like to go!
But, if I have to choose the one that makes me smile the most, it would be when I ran a portfolio of Oyster card projects for my client, Transport for London. Being responsible for successfully putting the Oyster system onto the ‘Boris Buses’ (the new Routemaster bus) is my small claim to fame!
I’m also incredibly proud to have served as an Army Reservist in the Royal Signals for over 25 years. Right from being a cadet at university, to have taken command of both a reserve squadron and a regiment in my ‘spare time’. The rewards over the years have been immeasurable.
What do you love most about what you do?
I absolutely love running projects and programmes because I enjoy delivering something that works and see it in service. It is very satisfying to be able to see the tangible results, especially when – for example, on projects like Oyster card - so much is involved in making a project like that a success, there are so many moving parts and different aspects that all need to come together, and so many people benefit from the outcome. It is immensely rewarding to see the result.
What does your typical working day look like?
I’m really excited to be working for SVGC as it combines so much of what I have enjoyed throughout my career to date and when I’ve been happiest at work. Having variety in the role is important for me in a typical day: managing and monitoring a variety of technical projects from proposal through delivery and into service – which combines being client facing as well as liaising with many stakeholders, internal colleagues, contractors and suppliers. Supporting the business development and even delivering training, workshops and so forth. With less of the technical hands-on delivery that I once did perhaps, but still understanding the technology and coordinating and managing the experts who are undertaking that delivery.
When you hit a wall, what do you do to help overcome it?
Yes; and as we like to say in the Army – ‘no plan survives the first contact’. Not even the best laid plans work out perfectly. So, it’s fair to say that usually I go out for a run and a think – often with the dog. Although, as a rider of both motorbikes and horses (not at the same time!), those hobbies also can provide a different diversion that helps solutions mentally materialise. Something else I enjoy for getting out of ‘work-mode’ is drumming – for a start, it’s a legitimate way of making a lot of noise and releasing stress! It also suits my personality of the guy at the back driving the team forward; the drummer sets the tempo for the band and that suits me well.
Anthony Wynne
Senior Data Scientist
Anthony Wynne
SVGC Staff Profiles
At SVGC we’re proud to be a small business formed of experienced, highly qualified people operating on a national platform. Our team collectively has vast knowledge of strategic planning, public sector decisions, innovative technologies, data science and agile working methodologies.
What are your ‘must haves’ to start the working day?
Coffee, bacon, and eggs. Either walking the dog or reading some technical books/ papers before work in the morning.
What’s your proudest work achievement to date?
My Patents that made it into production, it’s wonderful to see an idea come to life. My contributions to scientific publications and knowledge. Commercial systems that I have built, I recently found out that the last automated Business Intelligence/ Machine Learning system I helped create was named ANT after I left, which makes me smile to think of them still working with ANT and maybe blaming ANT when things are not working!
On a personal level, persisting for many years to overcome a career gap and gain funding to return to a STEM career after a period of childcare and running small businesses. It took many years of persistence to get the funding, I was lucky enough to discover the Daphne Jackson Trust and I met some incredible scientific mentors.
What do you love most about what you do?
Creating new systems, or making discoveries. Many of my previous inventions came from observing anomalies in the data and pursuing them, so I enjoy coming across these edge cases and asking why? I enjoy the process of turning ideas into new products or systems. Participating in the evolution of technology and working in high-performance teams.
What does your typical working day look like?
Right now, due to the stage of my main project, there are often back-to-back meetings. I enjoy leading a team to build something new. But, I look forward to getting back into blocks of focused coding that will distil into a new system or product. I enjoy in-person events and conferences and I am looking forward to more of these in the future. I normally do some work on my own data science projects from around 10 pm to Midnight which are my most productive/ creative hours when the house is quiet and there are no interruptions. I would happily work until the early hours if I didn’t have to go to work the next day.
When you hit a wall workwise, what do you do to help overcome the hurdle?
Go for a walk and remember the advice from a good book I read several years ago called ‘The obstacle is the way’. The book points out that most obstacles are in fact opportunities for a discovery that most other people have been avoiding.
Mahin Ali
As an applied maths graduate, Mahin enjoys translating real world problems into mathematics, statistics and machine learning problems. He also loves how data science can help businesses to better understand their needs and steer the direction of better decision making.
Mahin Ali
Data Scientist
SVGC Staff Profiles
At SVGC we’re proud to be a small business formed of experienced, highly qualified people operating
on a national platform. Our team collectively has vast knowledge of strategic planning, public sector
decisions, innovative technologies, data science and agile working methodologies.
Get to know our Data Scientist, Mahin Ali.
What are your ‘must haves’ to start the working day?
Nothing gets me in the right mindset to start the day like a 10-minute meditation session followed by a bowl of oats with peanut butter, a kiwi and a cup of coffee! I also have a work/focus playlist on Spotify that I use to help me build momentum for productivity in the morning.
What’s your proudest work achievement to date?
A couple months after university I was hired by a large waste management company, as their first data scientist as somewhat of a “data science guinea pig”. I pitched a predictive modelling solution to my boss and the CTO which was approved and made into a top objective regarding digital transformation for the business. It took hours of research and I developed a war chest of proof-of-concept machine learning models. I like to think that whilst they have changed how I think about waste and sustainability, I have changed how they think about data.
What do you love most about what you do?
The thing that draws me to data science is the complexity behind developing predictive modelling solutions.
The technical side appeals to me primarily since I am an applied mathematics graduate and I enjoy translating real world problems into mathematics, statistics and machine learning problems. As for the non-technical side, I enjoy the challenge that comes with communicating with a less-technical audience to better understand business needs and letting it steer the direction of my predictive modelling, piecing together the final solution over time.
What does your typical working day look like?
What I like about being a data scientist is that my day can vary depending on where I am with a project. I’ve found that some days I will be very social and find myself talking with stakeholders to figure out how I should approach a problem, whereas other days I will need to block out my schedule to hyperfocus on getting that technical work done.
When you hit a wall workwise, what do you do to help overcome the hurdle?
When it feels like my progress has been hampered, I see it as a sign to reframe my way of thinking and approach the task from a different angle.
For me this usually means taking a short walk followed by a journaling session regarding the work at hand and a common outcome of this is that I tend to define the task slightly differently after a break which opens up a new avenue for me to investigate and ultimately overcome any obstacles that are acting as a barrier to my productivity.
Ryan Cronk
Ryan has vast experience of IT systems and loves to improve processes, solve lingering problems and implement workflows that improve the day-to-day life of single users or a whole user group.
IT Service Manager
Ryan Cronk
IT Service Manager
SVGC Staff Profiles
What are your ‘must haves’ to start the working day?
Coffee and a decent breakfast are a must. Then chasing the kids around for an hour before my eldest starts school.
The walk to my son’s school and back is a couple of miles. The journey there is filled with questions about Sonic the hedgehog, if he is faster than superman, or would he beat the Teenage mutant ninja turtles in a fight?
The way home is quiet, I tend to use this time to enjoy some fresh air and get my mind right for the working day.
What’s your proudest work achievement to date?
While I worked for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), I was extremely fortunate to be part of the team that rolled out and managed an upgraded call out service. This service linked into HM Coast guard and enables the public to get help along the coast or out at sea.
The RNLI is a charity that receives no government funding and is the primary lifesaving capability along the whole of the British Isles, so every penny must be accounted for. Seeing the difference the upgrade made to the efficiency of the service, and how it enabled volunteers to go out in the middle of the night in storms to save people's lives was fantastic, even if I was only a relatively small part of the huge upgrade.
What do you love most about what you do?
I have an extremely busy brain, so I need variety in my day-to-day work.Thankfully IT Service Management is such a varied world that what I do professionally allows me to channel this busy brain into something productive.
ITSM is primarily concerned with ensuring users are receiving the maximum value from their services and there are so many ways to approach this within that framework.
Ultimately when I know I have made improvements to a process, solved a lingering problem or implemented a workflow that improves the day to day for someone else or a whole user group, I can log off for the day knowing I’ve made someone’s work life a little easier.
What does your typical working day look like?
I tend to start the day with a coffee, and then hit shuffle on my Spotify library. I’ll take some time to look at yesterday’s to-do list and see what is left on the list from the previous day.
Then I look at my calendar and work out what calls I have and work out what is best to focus on as a priority for the day.
Obviously, no two days are the same and so that can go out the window after the first call of the day, but I like to approach everyday with the best intentions!
When something grabs me though I am relentless I will hammer away at something until it is finished.
When you hit a wall, what do you do to help overcome it?
When I’ve exhausted all options, I will usually put it to one side and ignore it until the following day. In my experience coming back to a problem with some time to reflect on it will usually enable me to come at the issue from another perspective or be a bit more creative.
I train, teach and compete in a martial art called Brazilian Jiujitsu. While training it is impossible to think about anything else. This is perfect for completely clearing my mind, I can then approach a problem the following day as if it is brand new.
Occasionally I will take a break and play guitar for 20-30 minutes and let my subconscious beaver away in the background while I run through a couple of songs I’m writing or learning. I’ve found this can help to reset my mind and I can attack the problem again.