After 28 years as a surgeon, I left clinical practice at the end of 2019 to develop new drugs to combat pancreatic and liver cancers – diseases I previously treated with a knife. I started working as chief executive officer (CEO) for one company and chief medical officer (CMO) for another, and have since set up two companies of my own, one in my native Wales and the other in the USA. Despite working pro bono, I am happier than ever. I also take delight in acting as a consultant to anyone else looking to develop new cancer therapies as all efforts to find new approaches to assist patients is a worthy cause. I thoroughly enjoy this facilitatory work.

I spent my Fellowship studying advanced techniques in liver surgery at several different institutions in Paris and applied these to my practice for more than a decade. I passed these on to my trainees, first in the UK and then in the USA and so my Fellowship indirectly benefited many surgeons, and consequently patients globally.

As important as learning new surgical techniques was the formation of a network of contacts, and in many cases friendships that still exist today. The adage that "it is who you know, not what you know" is certainly true in business.