Ian has been an independent consultant and coach for more than 25 years. He specialises in coaching, innovation, and leadership development. He has undertaken projects for organisations as diverse as Barclaycard, Boeing, Boots Healthcare International, Santander and the Church of England and has been an advisor to the UK Government on Education Policy. Prior to establishing his own business, Ian built and ran Barclays' innovation unit in the early 1990s. The team worked with external clients including ICI and Shell, and also undertook internal projects in retail and wholesale banking. Prior to this his career had spanned relationship management in the Natural Resources team, the development of the Strategic Planning function for the Markets Division of BZW and the design and development of Electronic Banking Department. He was responsible for introducing coaching into Barclays.

Ian and his wife Hilary established Bright Field Consulting in 2013 and presently work with more than 100 state and independent schools in the UK. In one project, described by The Times as "unique", Bright Field is enabling nearly 100 future women leaders by helping them develop their personal brands and marketing themselves more effectively in order to secure promotion. More than 25% of the cohort have won new roles. He is a Trustee of Multi-Academy Trusts in Peterborough and Romford and is also a Trustee of the Church of England Diocesan Board of Finance in Suffolk. He holds a BA (Econ) from Nottingham University, and an MBA from Henley Management College. For his work in education and elsewhere he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2005, and is also a Fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs.