 He won a scholarship to King Edward VII School and went on to Sheffield Polytechnic where he became a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Management and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.After moving to Devon in 1980 he attained the Diploma in Company Direction at Exeter University.His career has been in industry, with over 30 years at Board level of which the last 20 were as Managing Director of Dartington Crystal, prior to his retirement in 2000.