Middlesbrough, England, United Kingdom
As Operations and Marketing Director at Bondgate IT, I help businesses simplify complexity, improve service delivery, and grow with confidence. With more than 23 years in the IT industry, I’ve worked across every layer of an MSP, from technical support and service desk to strategy and board-level leadership. That ground-up experience fuels how I lead today. I oversee the day-to-day operations of our technical teams while also driving the marketing strategy that has significantly raised Bondgate IT’s brand awareness. Through a focused and consistent message, we've positioned ourselves as a trusted partner for organisations across the UK. This visibility has opened exciting doors for our leadership team, including national press coverage, strategic partnerships, and speaking opportunities on some of the biggest industry stages. In 2025, I had the privilege of delivering a keynote at IT Nation Connect Europe, the continent's largest MSP convention. My session, Unlocking MSP Efficiency, explored how service leaders can apply the Theory of Constraints to boost team performance, reduce bottlenecks, and finally move beyond the firefighting. Sharing that message on such a respected platform was a milestone moment and one I continue to build on in my writing and consulting work. Every month, I publish Damo’s Digest, a newsletter followed by hundreds of MSP leaders looking to grow with intention. I write about practical strategies that help owner-led businesses build operational maturity, improve margins, and develop confident leadership teams that don't rely on heroics. I also hold an MBA with a focus on leadership and the development of apprentices and future talent. That academic foundation informs how I coach, hire, and develop the next generation of IT professionals. I host the Tech Tribe Middlesbrough chapter and regularly contribute to conversations in the GTIA and IT Nation communities. Outside of work, I’m a lifelong WWE fan, a He-Man nostalgist, and a firm believer that good operations aren’t about perfection, they’re about strategy, leadership, clarity, and culture.
Elected to serve on the UK & Ireland Executive Council of the Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA), representing member perspectives and contributing real-world insight to help shape the future of the IT channel. This role focuses on peer-led community leadership, vendor-neutral collaboration, and strengthening the conversations that support sustainable business growth, leadership development, and shared learning across the UK & Ireland technology community.
As the Community Leader for the Middlesbrough and Tees Valley chapter of The Tech Tribe, I bring together MSP owners, leaders and technical professionals from across the region each month to share challenges, exchange experience and strengthen our local industry. The role is about creating a space where people can speak openly about the realities of running an IT business. Every meetup focuses on practical conversations: operational bottlenecks, leadership hurdles, service delivery improvements, security incidents, hiring difficulties and the wins that deserve to be celebrated. My job is to guide the room, encourage contribution and connect people who can help each other grow. The aim is simple. Build a trusted local network where MSPs can develop, support one another and raise the standard of our region’s technology community.
As Operations and Marketing Director at Bondgate IT, I lead the strategic direction of the business across service delivery, operational performance, and brand development. My focus is twofold: ensuring operational excellence across our MSP functions and positioning Bondgate IT as a recognised authority in cybersecurity, compliance, and SME IT strategy. I oversee our technical operations, project teams, and compliance practices, while also acting as a virtual CIO for select clients in regulated and high-stakes sectors. On the marketing side, I’ve built a thought leadership engine that connects with decision-makers and drives brand visibility. This strategic positioning led to Bondgate IT being contacted by a national broadcaster to contribute to a prime-time documentary on the rise of cyber crime and its impact on UK infrastructure and small businesses. I regularly publish insights via bondgate.co.uk and my newsletter Damo’s Digest, covering MSP operations, leadership, and service transformation. I also delivered a keynote at IT Nation Connect Europe 2025 on unlocking service delivery efficiency through the Theory of Constraints. Internally, I’m proud to have mentored Bondgate IT’s Service Delivery Manager into a confident, development-focused leader. This cultural shift has improved apprentice performance and accelerated growth across the team. Key Skills: MSP operations and team development Strategic marketing and brand leadership vCIO consulting and board-level guidance Cybersecurity and compliance (DSPT, ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials) Thought leadership and community engagement
My initial task at Bondgate was to transform the service desk and operations team to ensure client satisfaction is achieved through service operational excellence. Great leaps towards this were quickly achieved in the first 4 months through standardisation, documentation, and rapid process improvement. During the first six months improvements had been made to service delivery reducing response times and increasing same day resolution of tickets whilst increasing supported endpoints by ~50%. During the Covid19 pandemic I mobilised the team to provide high levels of support from home and introduced 1250 new supported users to our services with little to no negative impact. People strategy, I have designed and deployed a people strategy to recognise, reward, and provide the correct remuneration for the team. This includes designing and defining a full 1:1 and appraisal system to develop and support the team. I am a member of the board working with the leadership team to develop and assign budgets and annual objectives.
Managing the business. Lead generation, Sales, Finances, IT Services. DamienHarrison LTD is a Middlesbrough based photography company specialising in telling people's stories. I love photographing weddings, portraits, and landscapes.
MSP Service Black Belt speech centred on transforming MSP service delivery through the application of Lean methodologies, derived from the Toyota Production System. The core message focused on driving customer value by eliminating waste, optimising processes, and empowering teams. The speech emphasised that Lean is not merely about eliminating waste but fundamentally about creating value for the customer. It highlighted the importance of understanding customer needs and expectations to ensure that every step in the service delivery process contributes to a positive customer experience. Key aspects of the speech included: Customer-centricity: Stressing the need for MSPs to adopt a "customer-first" culture, aligning teams to minimise friction for customers and ensuring that all activities are geared towards flowing value to the customer. Waste elimination: Identifying and addressing the "8 Wastes" to improve efficiency. The speech detailed various forms of waste in an MSP context, such as defects, overproduction, waiting time, under-utilised talent, unnecessary transportation, inventory, motion, and over-processing. People empowerment: Highlighting the significance of psychological safety, team development, and servant leadership. The speech drew upon Google's research on team effectiveness, emphasising the importance of psychological safety, dependability, structure and clarity, meaning, and impact. Process optimisation: Discussing the implementation of Lean principles to create flow, establish pull, and foster continuous improvement. The speech advocated for mapping the value stream, streamlining processes, and using tools like Kanban boards to visualise work and manage ticket flow. The speech drew inspiration from "The Goal" and "The Phoenix Project," using analogies and real-world examples to illustrate how MSPs can adopt Lean practices to enhance their operations, improve efficiency, and deliver greater customer value.