About
More Than One Career
My career has developed across technology, procurement and supply chain, enterprise transformation, entrepreneurship, event production and research. Running alongside those professional chapters has been another constant: sport.
Born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, with summers spent in Ghana and family roots spanning Ghana and Egypt, Jody is British and Australian. He grew up in the UK, built his adult life across Sydney, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and holds citizenship of both the United Kingdom and Australia.
Stoke — Origins
Stoke-on-Trent — Where It Began
I grew up in Stoke-on-Trent and attended Hanley St. Luke's Primary School in Hanley, where I was Head Boy in my final year. Football began at six — I played for Berryhill, YMCA and Port Valiants, and was involved with the Stoke City School of Excellence.
Rugby entered at eleven, when I began playing at Newcastle-under-Lyme School. I went on to captain the 1st XV in my final year — a formative experience in leadership, preparation and collective performance that has stayed with me.
Sheffield — Technology
Sheffield — Technology and the First Venture
I studied Business Information Systems at Sheffield Hallam University. The course gave me a grounding in data, systems and the practical application of technology to business problems — a foundation that has informed everything since.
After university, I worked across data, systems, databases, manufacturing and tendering. It was also at Sheffield Hallam that I met Richard Giles. We co-founded Gennex together after graduating — my first venture, and the beginning of an entrepreneurial strand that has run alongside my professional career ever since.
Gennex · Co-founded with Richard Giles · 2002
Manchester + Leeds — From Systems to Procurement
Manchester and Leeds — From Systems to Procurement
Roles at AstraZeneca and GE Money marked the transition from technology and systems work into procurement transformation. Both organisations were operating at scale and complexity, and the work required a different kind of thinking — commercial, strategic and organisational.
"Technology did not disappear when I moved into procurement. It became one of the ways I thought about transforming it."
Rugby continued in Manchester, where I played for Broughton Park — an important chapter in my development as a player and as part of a club community.
Sydney — Enterprise
Sydney — Two Careers in Parallel
I moved to Australia in 2007 and hold Australian citizenship. Sydney became the base for a genuinely parallel professional life: I continued my procurement career while co-founding Essential Events Management in 2008.
EEM was built from the ground up in Sydney — developing event concepts, building a network and producing experiences across the city and beyond. The two careers developed simultaneously, each demanding the same disciplines: strategy, stakeholder alignment, commercial rigour and delivery under pressure.
Abu Dhabi — Middle East
Abu Dhabi — The Middle East Chapter
Abu Dhabi brought a new professional context: procurement and supply-chain work in the Gulf, with the complexity of operating across different regulatory environments, commercial cultures and organisational structures.
Alongside the professional work, I played for Abu Dhabi Saracens — a club that brought together an international community through a shared commitment to the game. Sport and professional life remained distinct but mutually reinforcing throughout this chapter.
Riyadh — Where the Strands Meet
Riyadh — Where the Strands Meet
Riyadh is where the strands converge. Aidiation — the procurement and supply chain consultancy I founded — is my principal professional focus, working with organisations across Saudi Arabia and the UAE on strategy, market engagement, mobilisation and long-term value.
Advanced research is underway. Essential Events Management is developing its next chapter with Saudi Arabia as its primary growth market. And competitive rugby continues — a return to the game after major spinal surgery that required patience, structured preparation and a willingness to rebuild from the beginning.
These are not separate activities. They are the same fundamentals applied across different domains.
Research — Looking Forward
Research — Looking Forward
In 2026 I commenced an Executive Diploma in Advanced Research — the next stage of a doctoral research pathway focused on artificial intelligence, enterprise strategy, procurement and organisational transformation.
The research builds on almost three decades of professional experience and earlier postgraduate work. The questions I am exploring are ones I encounter directly in practice: what happens when AI influences not only processes, but strategy, organisational choices and value creation?
Executive Diploma in Advanced Research commenced 2026.
Research & Insights
Sport — A Lifelong Competitor
Sport — A Lifelong Competitor
Football began at six. Rugby entered at eleven and remains the dominant competitive strand today — from Newcastle-under-Lyme School and Broughton Park in Manchester, through Abu Dhabi Saracens, to competitive club rugby in Riyadh.
Following major spinal surgery, I went through a period when I could not walk. The return to competitive rugby on 11 November 2025 was not a metaphor for anything. It was about being able to play again.
Endurance training — running and fitness work — has been part of that return and continues as a regular part of how I stay physically and mentally prepared.
Sport & CommunityDifferent Worlds. Common Fundamentals.
Strategy. Systems. People. Suppliers. Teams. Delivery.