A British entrepreneur and lawyer by training, he studied at the Sorbonne and Oxford and practiced law in Paris and London. He arrived in Russia as an employee and fell in love with the country. A turning point came with the 2008–2009 crisis and the collapse of the corporation where he was working at the time.

Unwilling to leave, he set out to find a Soviet brand that could be relaunched. He chose the Petrodvorets Watch Factory—maker of the "Raketa" brand. He had never worn a watch before and knew nothing about the watchmaking industry; Raketa became his first business of his own. Over the course of 15 years, he and his team rebuilt and modernized the entire production cycle, proving that a Russian watch brand could compete on the international stage.