My Experience and Qualifications

I began my data protection career back in 2003, in the days when GDPR wasn't even a twinkle in the European Commission's eyes. Since then I have worked across a number of organisations and sectors, including local government, higher education, IT, a supervisory authority and a global health insurance company. Consultancy engagements have included a global pharmaceutical company and the Citizen's Advice Bureau.

My experiences have given me the skills to develop and manage compliance programmes covering many different requirements, such as heavily regulated entities, researchers processing sensitive medical data and marketing teams looking to manage their campaigns within the regulations. Each sector and organisation has its own unique challenges, but the data protection principles don't change, so I am always confident of hitting the ground running whoever I work with.

I have accrued a number of relevant professional qualifications over the years, including an LLM in Information Rights Law and Practice from Northumbria University. I also hold certifications with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) - the CIPP/E, CIPM and FIP.

And why Cherry Tree? It's one of my favourite songs by my favourite band (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3l6rPk64d8) and I thought it sounded like a good name for my company. The song's refrain "loose lips sink ships" feels fairly pertinent to data protection work. And have you ever tried coming up with a company name that doesn't already exist on Companies House??!