Professional Testimonials

I am honoured to have received praise from colleagues, clients, and industry leaders. I have worked closely with all of these brilliant individuals and am grateful for them allowing me to include these comments on my website.

Testimonials from former staff and colleages

Below are a selection of testimonials

"I worked under Paul when he was the Executive Director of Creswell Heritage Trust. I am very grateful to Paul for taking a chance on me. He shared his considerable expertise, and gave me both the support and space needed to develop into my role. Paul led Creswell Crags through the pandemic, a difficult time for many organisations and for many individuals. He demonstrated considerable compassion for each staff member's concerns, whether that be concerns related to our job roles, or personal worries. Paul went out of his way to build people up instil confidence in each of us to carry out our roles. He made sure to thank members of staff for their work, and made us all feel valued. In addition to being a fantastic colleague and manager, he is very creative, with a wealth of ideas to suit many different areas of an organisation. And alongside all of this he brought a huge amount of enthusiasm and drive to motivate the whole team in delivering our work and projects."

Dr Angharad Jones, Curator, Creswell Crags Museum & Archaeological Park

"During his time as Executive Director of Creswell Crags, I found Paul to be a supportive, approachable, and effective leader. His willingness to listen to new ideas and use the strengths of the team around him consistently helped the organisation grow. This openness to listen not only to managers, but also the wider staff team, created an environment in which staff felt respected. This approach has transformed Creswell Crags into a dynamic and constantly evolving organisation, where staff feel valued and therefore strive for excellence. Paul strikes an excellent balance between taking interest in the work undertaken by each department, and allowing each department to manage their work without his excessive supervision or instruction. Paul’s emphasis on bringing the team together and developing plans collaboratively within the Senior Management Team created an extremely rewarding work environment, and I am fully confident that he will continue to utilise these skills in any future role."

Sarah Lee, Learning Manager, Creswell Crags Museum & Archaeological Park

"I first worked with Paul almost 15 years ago at the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum and more recently have had the pleasure of working with him though his role on the MDEM board. Paul is highly experienced in the museum sector, knowledgeable, creative, innovative and entrepreneurial, but above all it is his people and leadership skills that are his stand-out strength. He not only shows this through his motivational leadership of organisational teams, but in the generous support, mentoring and motivation he offers to colleagues across the sector. Paul would be a great asset to any organisation."

Elizabeth Moran, Manager, Museum Development Midlands

"As Curator at Mansfield Museum I employed Paul in the dim and distant past. We have continued to be friends and ours paths have crossed repeatedly . As well as his professionalism, vision and enthusiasm I would highlight his team leadership. Nobody achieves success in this sector without the soft skills needed to lead and inspire a team. He encourages and supports his staff to achieve for themselves and for the organisation. The value of a highly motivated and loyal team cannot be underestimated."

Liz Weston MBE, Former Manager, Mansfield Museum

"Paul is an inspirational leader and well respected cultural sector expert. He transformed the way Creswell has operated and is astute in business planning and sustainability. Unafraid to ask the difficult questions, he works with people to get to the root of an issue and deliver solutions. Paul is a brilliant senior leader in the arts and heritage sector!"

Katie Ann Smith, Head of Museums, Metropolitan Police Museums

"What I think stands Paul out is his true sense of vision. He is prepared to be contrary and break from 'group think' when necessary. As either a leader or a freelance consultant, I'm sure that with Paul you won't hear what he thinks you want to hear, but what you need to hear."

Guy Turton, Director, Morris Hargreaves McIntyre

"I worked very closely alongside Paul at Creswell Crags over many years when Paul was Director. Paul draws on his widespread experience in retail and across a diverse range of heritage projects to deliver clarity of thought and an innovative response “outside the box”. I always admire his thoughtful, measured, enthusiastic and inclusive approach to solving problems, which will be immensely useful to clients."

Dr Tim Caulton, retired Chair, Creswell Heritage Trust (Creswell Crags)

"The Framework Knitters’ Museum was struggling when we appointed Paul to run a museum development project funded by Heritage Lottery. He organised us and developed a team of advisers. Using his own distinctive style he redesigned our galleries, and put the museum on a much more professional basis. Visitor number increased, we won several awards and the museum hasn’t looked back since."

Julian Ellis OBE, former Chairman of Trustees

"Not only is Paul's leadership of a high order, but his warm personality holds the room in a way that is entirely absorbing and appropriate to other's development. He is a heritage one-off and a dynamo of ideas and professional development."

Dr. Nick Winterbotham, Director, Museum Resilient Leadership, Be the Change

"Paul is highly capable, people-focused and very commercially astute, a rare combination which makes him invaluable to any organisation"

Ian Rowson, Chair of Trustees, Framework Knitters Museum