Hello! Who Am I?

I’m a business consultant, non-executive director, lecturer and public speaker who’s excited by and loves sharing ways that creativity and new technology can help businesses succeed.

With a technology background and over 30 years of experience starting and growing businesses, I bring a practical “been there, done that” approach aligned with academic integrity.

A Teaching Fellow at Coventry University since 2016, I lecture on entrepreneurship, innovation and marketing. I also deliver programs to business owners and leaders on behalf of the University, including “Made Smarter: Leading Change in Digital Transformation” (for the manufacturing sector) and “Help to Grow” aimed at high-growth SMEs.

I’m the founder and director of a digital marketing agency and a non-executive director of several SMEs, including FSB, Federation of Small Businesses, where I also serve as Deputy Chair of UK Policy and leads on Net Zero, regularly meeting with leading decision makers to develop policy solutions to create a better environment for SMEs to thrive as well as a regular on regional and national media as a spokesperson for small businesses.

Outside of work I’m a keen runner, cyclist and adventurer and an advocate of active travel, you can find out more on that side of my life and the adventures I enjoy with my two children on our “A Little Adventure” blog and YouTube channel.

I received an MBE in 2017 in recognition of services to the economy and community.

Ian ODonnell MBE portait

Why this blog?

It’s my musings on experience in all aspects of my life, from business leadership to wild camping and cycling with children.

Hope you find it interesting and I would love it if it inspired a reader to start a business, get more active or go on an adventure.

Unhurried – The Joy of Cycle Touring

Unhurried – The Joy of Cycle Touring

This little film sums up perfectly the joy I find in cycletouring. It’s also inspired me to do the The John Muir Way another cycle tour to add to the list!

Politics – Solving Division with Technology

A fascinating video about technology & politics & the use digital tools to help bring consensus rather than division was recently brought to my attention by Rich Bishop. Has anyone else had experience of this? I would love to look at how we can bring this...

Interview on YouCanTri Podcast

I had the chance to chat to Penny Wilkin from You Can Coaching about my life in cycling, the joys of cycle commuting and family cycling and sharing a few tips along the way. Take a listen to Episode 30 to hear my conversation with Penny.

Free at point of use, how very British!

My musings on the wider story of the recent happenings at Little Stoke parkrun.I Love parkrunBack on the 17th November 2012, I turned up at Memorial Park in Coventry, bar code in hand, to run my first 5k parkrun, trying to find some way to keep fit as I just didn’t...

Why voting is important

This stat caught my attention from the Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 2013 report produced by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/monitoring-poverty-and-social-exclusion-2013:“the proportion of pensioners in poverty is at...