My interest is managing things, whether it’s knowledge, Sparknow or the golf club where I like to spend some of my free time.

I’ve worked across a range of industries: energy, finance, software, government, transport and development and led Sparknow knowledge assignments in most of those. I’ve recently participated in a life-changing assignment in Darfur that focused on the use of knowledge in a humanitarian crisis. I’ve also run advisory and due diligence projects for leading venture capital groups.

I was one of the early adopters of knowledge practices back in the 90s, recognizing the value of a discipline that facilitates the integration of merging companies and straddles business development, communications, HR, marketing and risk management.

Prior to Sparknow I spent 25 years in the City – as senior manager corporate finance, oil & petrochemicals with a Middle East focused bank and vice president research and marketing with Zurich Financial Services. I cut my corporate teeth during the dotcom era helping a knowledge management software company to re-engineer its business into new product development.

I am member of the Expert Advisory Panel of the Online Information Conference London and Hong Kong and of the Institute of Directors. And from time to time I get called on to chair conferences and give lectures and presentations.

I come to Sparknow with a background in corporate identity and brand strategy. As you’d expect, I’m a big believer in the power of imagery and graphics; I see them as essential to any serious branding or communications programme.

But the branding arena is so dominated by graphics and advertising agencies that many programmes don’t get much beyond marketing collateral. They fail to engage employees – particularly those on the front line, the very people who have to deliver the brand promise.

That’s why I’m excited about the approach we’re developing at Sparknow. We’re coming at things from a different and complementary perspective – one that looks at issues around branding, culture and engagement through the lens of stories and storytelling. I think it’s the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

Outside Sparknow I’ve worked quite a bit with Wally Olins, first at Wolff Olins and later at Saffron Consultants where my clients have included Apollo Tyres, Knight Frank, Lloyd’s of London, Mondragon, the National Housing Federation, Swiss Re and Thomas Miller. I started my career at Sotheby’s where I was an expert in silver and objects of vertu.

Outside of work, I’m an obsessional collector of photographs, a bit of a film buff and a keen gardener.

My area of interest is organisational communication, with a focus on change and stakeholder engagement. I have worked both in management roles and as a consultant. Organisations I have supported include JP Morgan, PA Consulting Group, ABN AMRO, HSBC, BP, Staples, Syngenta, ING Bank, Royal Mail, The Institute for Global Ethics, MLA London and the BBC. I have been associated with Sparknow since 1998..

I have designed and delivered engagement programmes that focus on large networks of stakeholders and opinion-makers, seeking to find concise methods of channelling and sharing information and interests. My expertise also includes setting up member-based networks, shaping events and facilitating workshops. I have extensive experience of how communication teams are run, having restructured, hired and developed the capability of communication functions over the last ten years..

As a Swiss national raised in Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe, I am bilingual in English and French with a doctorate in comparative and English literature from Oxford University and a management diploma from London Business School. I am an active alumnus of these organisations. I have a keen interest in flying small planes, coaching children’s football, exploring modern art and parenting my young son.

I have 16 years’ experience in the finance sector (1981–1997) and 14 years in knowledge management strategy & implementation and narrative approaches to organisational strategy, research & development (1996–now).

My roles in the finance period of my career included:

• Director of Research, Education & Statistics at the London International Financial Futures Exchange
• global MD of a financial futures brokerage
• chief operating officer for a capital markets business
• chief knowledge officer for an investment bank
• membership of the founding FTSE steering committee
• a period on the Financial Services Tribunal
• a term on the boards of LIFFE and the SFA.

I founded Sparknow in late 1997.

At Sparknow I am leader of the change practice, responsible for method and the research programme and director of design for large and more complex programmes of work such as:

• the research programme into knowledge transfer for the London Development Agency
• development of the knowledge strategy and vision for the Islamic Development Bank
• development of a narrative practice for the knowledge management department at the Asian Development Bank.

I have published on narrative, knowledge transfer, knowledge & change management and am an external examiner in knowledge management for the College of Estate Management.

I have a degree in Modern & Mediaeval Languages from Cambridge University and Postgraduate Certificate in Working Groups from the Tavistock Institute.

I migrated to change communications from an initial career in advertising and PR with the agency Valin Pollen. I won two significant awards in the UK in the late 1990s for change communications with Diageo and the charity Mencap. Other clients with whom I have worked include UK Government Departments, GlaxoSmithKline and a UK technology company, Steljes. I worked as a Sparknow associate on a well-regarded 18 month project for UBS addressing risks and cultural barriers in the global legal and compliance function.

My interest in story began at a very young age at the feet of my grandmother. Since then, story has been central to my life and work. British born, I trained at the Jamaica School of Drama as an actor/teacher and now work as a screenwriter, storyteller and consultant.

I’ve been a professional storyteller since 1994 and was a guest storyteller on BBC’s GLR for three years. I’ve also performed at many international storytelling festivals including the prestigious National Storytelling festival in Jonesboro TN, USA.

I’ve been working as a consultant in the corporate sector since 1996, designing narrative tools, facilitating workshops and creating stories for a wide variety of organizations. My work in the field of diversity and inclusion was amongst the first to use narrative techniques to celebrate differences and create honest, open spaces for dialogue.

The first of my many projects with Sparknow was a commission to find the story of their first big futures project. Since then I have been part of the pioneering Sparknow team who have been using the transformational power of story to help organizations harness the knowledge of their people.

I’m a BAFTA member and part of a BAFTA nominated team of writers. My work has been commissioned by all the major British TV broadcasters.

My work at Sparknow draws on my background in theatre. I like to create events that engage people’s hearts, minds and bodies – with the right balance of humour and seriousness to be fun and memorable as well as practical and meaningful.

Recent projects include facilitating a weirdly wonderful new way of running Euroboard meetings for Bayer Schering Pharma in Berlin, and developing an internal communication programme for Royal Mail. I regularly run communication and presentation skills courses for senior managers at BASF in Germany, in English and German.

My past work includes:

• innovation and creativity training for Orange plc
• communication training for psychotherapists at the Tavistock Centre in London
• storytelling projects with homeless people for the Big Issue Foundation.

I teach improvisation at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London where I am also a member of the audition panel. My work as a theatre director and writer includes the stage plays ‘100’ and ‘Food’, both of which won the Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Festival and toured extensively in the UK and internationally. I have directed productions at leading British theatres including the Young Vic and Soho Theatre in London, and the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.

I am passionate about sustainable solutions and the role that co-operative enquiry can play in achieving them.

I am an active member of the UK Sustainable Development Panel, providing input and feedback to ensure that the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) can provide ‘robust and authoritative advice’ to Government. I have also published a number of articles on the subject of sustainability.

I am currently facilitating a series of local Carbon Conversations grounded in co-operative enquiry – six meetings aimed at reducing participants’ carbon consumption.

I am also an experienced and creative writer and researcher with knowledge and skills gained from working in exchange-traded derivatives and in the field of sustainability where I specialize in the built environment and waste management. I have identified a number of industry trends and emergent opportunities in both environments through my commitment and passion for horizon scanning.

I have a Masters in Environmental Technology from Imperial College and a degree in Politics, Philosophy and History from Birkbeck University. My PPH included courses on ‘Human Rights in Global Politics’ and the wittily entitled ‘Man and the Machinic’. The latter introduced me to the concept of ‘reverse adaptation’ and the inherent issues of large inter-connected systems.

I am a communications consultant and designer. For over twenty years I’ve helped many different kinds of organizations to understand themselves better, and project this understanding as a corporate brand.

I’ve worked across sectors, from education and government to professional services and the social economy. What connects my clients is their need to communicate a rich and complex proposition to many different kinds of people.

I hold that all communication should be life enhancing. We should come away from it feeling better, with a greater awareness of what is being communicated and the motivation to do something. But it can’t be a one-way street – we can only be inspired by something that connects, in a fundamental way, with our interests and preoccupations, our hopes and aspirations. Good communication is thus exemplified by conversation; a lively negotiation between what I want to say and what you want to hear.

I love the whole process of communicating, from trying to get a sense of ‘who’ is talking, and what they need to say, to whom, through to the crafting of words, type and images to express that personality and articulate those messages.

Above all, though, I’m fascinated by the human aspects of communication. The more I understand about it, the more respect I have for our extraordinary, wonderful and often contradictory species!

I trained as an artist before moving on to work within the business and cultural sectors. I have created professional artist development programmes, built bridges between different stakeholders, done fundraising and marketing, and exhibited contemporary artists.

I found a home with Sparknow curating knowledge for MLA London and the Audit Commission. I’ve also done the research for a head office relocation, analysing how to create one business culture.

A day curating knowledge for Sparknow can involve lots of different activities including:

• developing and adapting research methodologies
• recording: audio & photography
• notetaking, fieldnotes and blogs
• planning keywording/tagging principles
• capturing and analysing stories
• keeping abreast of relevant developments through desk research: libraries, social media, etc
• developing databases and adapting them as technology and social spaces change
• bridge-building.

Currently, I am co-writing a book, Imaginative Muscle, with Victoria. In it we are bringing together Sparknow’s work to illustrate the importance that place, belonging and presence have for 21st century businesses and how heritage and the significance of cultural objects for leadership, business strategy and employee engagement.

In September 2010 I will be starting a professional doctorate at the University of Manchester in Museum Studies investigating hidden objects in public sector collections, working with UCL Contemporary Projects, Leeds City Museums and Galleries and Lambeth Palace – another book in the making.

My illustrious career as a novelist was tragically cut short by it being so underground it never quite got off the ground. Luckily, my extensive background in cooking up half-baked literary concepts led to a love of research and editorial roles. Currently publishing 16th-century ballads under pseudonyms such as Anon, I spend the rest of my time conducting research for Sparknow.

I’ve conducted research and analysis for the ADB Beyond publication and written case studies for a number of Sparknow’s projects. I am currently contributing to the research for Muscle, a forthcoming book by VIctoria and Julie.

I was part of the original Sparknow team. One of my earliest roles was as the curator and audio guide of the prestigious but little-known Sparknow museum, which was showcased at the Shed Event of March 2000. Exhibitions included the semiotics of advertising as well as a rotating art collection before the museum shut its doors for the last time in 2005.

My side–projects to my work with Sparknow include studying for a BA in English Literature and integrating myself into the vibrant performing arts culture of the University of York. Recent reviews have hailed me as 'Drama department debutante' and 'Impressive minor character'

What fascinate and engage me are the powerful conversations that allow individuals to move forward from an issue and to find resolution through good listening.

I have had a very varied career, beginning in sound direction at the BBC World Service. That led to management training in-house and then to freelance facilitation and workshop design. I have developed an interest in social media and now use my broadcast skills to make films for non-commercial and commercial community websites. All of these roles are about stories in some shape or form – hearing and retelling those stories to create effective outcomes.

I have always enjoyed facilitating and moderating conferences and through my social media contacts I began interviewing delegates at various events and posting these up on attendant websites. I developed this service to incorporate recording and filming at conferences and that experience has led me to being commissioned to make short films for organisations such as the British Council and commercial groups including T M Lewin and BAFTA.Working as an associate with Sparknow over nearly a decade I have learnt a great deal about workshop design and have facilitated many prestigious events.

When I was at University (Keble College, Oxford studying English) there were two kinds of lecture that I remember: the ones where something extraordinary happened; and the ones where the professor told us a story. A story, I discovered, is always better than a lecture if you want people to retain information. As for extraordinary events- Alfred the Great’s preface to Gregory sticks in my mind because a huge butterfly fluttered across the dim study and settled on my tutor’s shining bald head. It was mid-October. He didn’t pass comment, so we didn’t say anything.

After Oxford, I studied acting at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and I’ve been a professional actress for the last 14 years. I have worked in Theatre, Radio, Television and Film from Budapest to Broadway to Sao Paolo and have taken my experience as a performer into the corporate world where I have helped develop and deliver training programmes with, amongst others, The Law Society and HSBC. I also have professional experience as a screenwriter for the BBC, a teacher, theatre director, copywriter (for web and print) and running Brighton Dome Youth Theatre.

I have the rare privilege of doing what I love for a living. I like playing with my two young sons, New York City and Twentieth Century popular music.

Three days before I retired early at 50 back in 1998, the phone rang...

‘Hi, it's Victoria, I need some help.’

Sparknow had been born, Victoria had two carrier bags full of receipts and a single invoice, and she did not quite know what to do with the paperwork!

Well, that was almost 13 years ago and I'm still here. What followed was no different to most new business ventures but it's been a bit special to see Sparknow grow over the years in structure, relationships and a client list of alpha names to be proud of.

I have often heard our people saying ‘What next’... knowledge management, knowledge transfer, storytelling, narrative, change management, business narrative, involvement tool, product development and so on...

I don't recall hearing the phrase ‘where next’... but the Caribbean, Washington, Manila, Geneva and many more interesting places all followed. So did Darfur in 2010!

Those changes of direction, in product design and delivery evolved and Spark went where the client needed our help most.

I've just kept my head under the parapet and toiled away making sure all that boring stuff around financial reconciliations, corporate governance and quarterly VAT Returns are correct and submitted on time.

I retired in '97 with the words ‘don't need to work, don't want to work, won't work’ ringing my ears. Have I regretted it? Absolutely NOT!

I am an editor, knowledge manager, writer, facilitator and organiser of things. I work to nurture environments that help people form networks, build on their experiences, communicate effectively and connect with the knowledge they need to achieve their goals.

As editor of Knowledge Management magazine (now Inside Knowledge), I got excited about the possibilities KM offers and met some the field’s most creative minds. I took writing and community-building to Aon where I supported business development and engagement teams, introduced and facilitated post-bid debriefs, and was incessant in the pursuit of clarity in communication.

Joining Ernst & Young as its first knowledge broker, I worked with sector, service line and account teams across the EMEIA Financial Services Organisation. I helped groups and individuals build and strengthen communities, surface and share their insights, and take the weight of EY’s knowledge to our clients.

I can probably talk about knowledge work for hours and am a little obsessive about keeping things practical and simple. I am harsh but fair with a red pen, and am at my happiest when I find balance and rhythm in words.

When I'm not doing any of the above, you'll find me filling itunes with new music, trying to do nice things with my camera or running around the commons of south London.

I have worked in the design industry for over twenty years and my background is in client services and design management. I have experience of working on many different types of creative projects, from new product development and retail design to brand identity and design innovation. I believe that creative thinking is a powerful tool - it can bring people together and solve problems as well as envision new products, brands and services.

I am fortunate to have worked with some great thinkers and designers at Wolff Olins, Saffron, Interbrand, 20/20, The Partners and Seymour Powell and have set up client services teams within three of those businesses. I have worked on projects for British Airways, BBC, BhS, Mars, Nando's and Unilever.

My job at Sparknow is to create a plan for the project and manage the project so that it meets its aims, objectives, timings and budgets. I act as a contact point for the client and project team and keep things on track.

Outside of work I enjoy going to exhibitions and playing tennis, and I am studying Museum and Heritage Studies at Brighton University.

I recently left the British Council where I spent two decades combining my passion for working creatively with other cultures and bringing them together. I achieved this by developing projects in the arts and education in two countries, as Assistant Director Sao Paulo and Head of Arts, Brazil and as Assistant Director Oman.

My research into innovation and the public sector led to working as the Commissioning Consultant for Innovation Support to develop ideas and concepts in new cross-cultural projects.

I am an experienced facilitator and led several workshops at the British Council in the UK and overseas on idea generation and transforming ideas into business plans.

I first worked with Sparknow in Oman where Victoria led a workshop at Sultan Qaboos University on The Role of the Librarian in a Knowledge Society (2001). I also co-authored the report of the proceedings.

I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.