Gerry’s career in international trade and systems thinking informs his approach to technology, policy, and everyday decision-making. After decades of evaluating markets, infrastructure, and incentives, and more recently, following his own experience as an electric vehicle owner, He wrote Blowing the myths on Electric Cars to help cut through noise, fear, and misinformation with clear, real-world analysis grounded in lived experience rather than slogans.
His working life spans almost six decades and reflects the transformation of British industry and international trade since the late 1960s. He entered exporting at a time when communication relied on telex and telegrams, markets were developed face-to-face, and success depended as much on personal relationships and cultural understanding as on product or price.
His career took him across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australasia, the Caribbean, North America, and—on one remarkable occasion—North Korea. A formative period with Bartol Plastics saw him responsible for developing overseas markets for polybutylene plumbing systems, working closely with distributors, engineers, contractors, and government bodies. This included licensing agreements, technology transfer, and the establishment of local manufacturing operations in countries such as South Korea, Malaysia, and New Zealand.
South Korea became a defining chapter in his professional and personal life. He lived and worked there for several years, gaining an insider’s understanding of its business culture, regulatory environment, and rapid industrialisation. It was also where he met his second wife, Dominique (Cho Hye Young), whose linguistic and cultural insight later became central to their joint professional work.
After further roles in financial services and public-sector export development, he joined the Department of Trade and Industry as one of the original Export Promoters, working closely with Government Ministers, British embassies and industry. They later co-founded Korea Connections, a specialist consultancy supporting British companies entering the Korean market.
Now retired from professional practice, he writes independently, drawing on first-hand experience of trade, culture, power, and the realities behind official narratives.
Background at a glance
- Nearly six decades in international trade and export development
- Extensive overseas work across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America
- Long-term professional and personal involvement in South Korea
- Experience in licensed manufacturing, technology transfer, and market entry
- Former UK Export Promoter (Department of Trade and Industry)
- Co-founder of a specialist UK–Korea market-entry consultancy
- 2 years an EV car owner