They help drive our mission, which is to ensure our clients get the most out of their systems and technology.
We genuinely want our clients to remain relevant, thrive in a competitive environment and successfully manage the organisational change that goes along with it.
“And now, after 15 years of project managing hundreds of technology projects across both the commercial and non-profit sectors, I know that what drives successful projects is delivering tangible business outcomes – and managing the organisational change that goes along with it.”
I founded Hart Square in 2009 and am often asked why I started the business. It comes down to the satisfaction I get from helping our non-profit clients make the most of their typically limited resources.
My background is in IT, but anyone who has met me knows that I am definitely not a “techie”. My focus has always been the “people” side of a project. That’s why Hart Square is ideal – I get the opportunity to help both our large and small clients to understand the business benefits that technology can deliver and to make sure they are getting the most out of their systems.
I come up with most of my business ideas while I’m running. I have survived both the London and New York marathons, but these days I find it best to stick to halves.
I love all things Italian, so every opportunity I get, I escape to Italy. Or I hop on a plane to visit my family in Melbourne. I’m lucky that I can do the vast majority of my job anywhere in the world!
“One of the things I love about working at Hart Square is how we empower clients to formulate the ideal strategy for their business, and then to make that strategy a reality on the ground. It’s intensive and exciting, and you can see it making a difference.”
My background is working as a software developer, starting in the 1980’s writing software for an emerging technology called, ‘Windows’. I have worked in the not-for-profit sector since the late 1990’s where I began as the development manager for a tiny company called Integra where we decided to create one of the first ‘true products’ in the membership and charity space. I then spent the next few years developing a CRM with integrated website solution and implementing it across a huge range of membership and charitable bodies.
In recent years, I have focused on the “human” side of projects in the not-for-profit sector, working on over 100 integrated CRM and website projects. I have been privileged to work with organisations as diverse as Mind, Guide Dogs, the CIPD, RIBA and the Royal Society of Medicine.
I have realised I have two passions when it comes to projects: The first is to help organisations achieve the transformative benefits of the right technology, with the right partners – in effect, to help the organisation to ‘be the best it can be’. The second is to bring everyone along with that transformation, so that the change management element becomes just as important as the technology project.
Outside of work, I have lived in Brixton with my family for over 20 years and spend as much time as possible cooking, walking and reading for pleasure.
“My objective is to enable our clients to survive the transformation they need to go through so that they can prosper in this digital age. That change is all about people and our role is to give them the most appropriate technology to help the people change and flourish in the pursuit of their aims.”
My career has been built from the outset on working with business teams to get the most out of the technology available to them; from designing, programming and deploying systems in the 80s and early 90s, through to running large scale procurement and implementation projects in the 90s and 2000s.
I joined Hart Square at its inception and my role is to make my experience available to our clients, to the technology partners who work with them, and to our team. In each of those relationships the activities and behaviours may vary but the purpose remains the same, to do my bit to enable each of them to be the best they can be, to learn, to grow, to deliver and to achieve.
I’m enthusiastic about the power of technology but I’m not obsessed with it nor am I blinded by high tech.
Our work with non-profits intends to help them to cope with the digital age we find ourselves in, to innovate, re-invent and remain relevant. The pace of change we’re seeing is unprecedented and can be frightening; a huge part of our role is to help our clients maximise the impact of the investment they make in technology over the long term.
I’ve been a passionate supporter of a number of charitable causes since my student days and I care deeply about issues such as protecting the environment, supporting native indigenous populations, and preserving our fragile planet for future generations.
“Over the last few years, I’ve earned a bit of a reputation as “fixer”, helping to launch new organisations and events; restructuring businesses; redesigning membership schemes and their value propositions. I’m relishing the opportunity to share my experience and insights with a wider range of organisations.
I will also ensure that Chase25 and TechSmart NFP remain the must-attend dates on the non-profit calendar and our digital sites and newsletters are the go-to resources for all things best practice.”
Over the last 25 years, I have worked across a range of membership bodies, charities and trade associations, including the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, AXELOS Global Best Practice, the British Retail Consortium, the Law Society of England & Wales, the NHS Confederation, NHS Providers and University of Exeter Guild of Students. Pretty much every variety of a membership body!
I get my kicks out of fixing things, and throughout my career have tried to make membership schemes be the best they can, deliver for their customers and use technology to deliver great services. My passion is events, having run the biggest legal conference in the UK in the last 20 years… if you can manage an event with 16 FBI agents scrutinising everything you do, and two protest marches outside the building, you can run anything.
That’s why Hart Square is the perfect place for me – I get to run great events and get to work with our clients to develop their businesses to be the best they can be. How exciting!
In my spare time, music is my obsession, and you will see me in my Fred Perry shirt, Dr Martens and a beer in hand, watching some obscure new band… or some ancient old rockers from my misspent childhood.
John O’Brien, takes up his role as Chief Operating Officer from 1 May 2018.
