Expert Profile: Mo Binitie - Product, Digital & Transformation Specialist

A generalist with particular interests in product, and transformation consulting, Mo began his career with EY before leaving to pursue an MBA at Oxford. As a freelancer, he’s worked at start-ups, scale-ups and major corporates and his portfolio includes several NED roles. 
 

We talked to Mo about his wide ranging project experience, the vital role of storytelling in transformation contexts, and how there are always many roads to the river…! So let’s begin:
 

You started freelancing early on in your career? 

Yes! I’d been in transaction advisory with EY in West Africa. It was standard strategy work, very finance-heavy - and after a few years I was looking to broaden my options. I moved to the UK to do my MBA at Oxford, and I started freelancing - initially, to pay off my loans.

I love the range of projects. The chance to experience different approaches and business cultures. If you have a great connection with a client, that can open doors for the future - but if there isn’t a good fit / things aren’t working, you can part ways cleanly. You’re never stuck. 

And the flexibility is good. I’m an NED for a few companies now, and freelancing means I can create the space to invest fully in these roles. Plus I can give myself time to develop my own ideas - I have a couple of digital products on the go right now (I’ll keep you posted)!
 

You started a green financing venture while you were at Oxford?

Yes - with a classmate. The plan was to keep freelancing and build the business in parallel. Then Trump reneged on US commitments to the Green Climate Fund…so we took the decision to wrap up mid 2020. 
 

I joined the lettings software provider Goodlord - I’d already worked with them as a freelancer - and I spent the next 18 months getting my teeth into product operations. Next up was a contract with a PE-backed industrials conglomerate - I was part of a major transformation programme, supporting the management team across digital transformation and acquisition analysis workstreams. 
 

Tell us about the range of projects you work on?

I’m a generalist. Sector-wise I’ve covered everything from industrials to healthcare to NGOs. And my product operations experience gave me a thorough grounding in tech development and product processes so TMT, product and digital transformation are naturally sweet spots.

I’ve done a lot of 4-6 week CDD intensives. Longer pieces tend to be in transformation contexts. I’ve done a fair amount of post-acquisition commercial work for PE firms - everything from cost management transformation to kick-starting strategy implementation while there’s a transition to new management. 

Right now I’m working with client on a service transformation piece, helping them understand their current customer experience and the routes they can take to improve it. 

You have a preference for really hard jobs and tough challenges?

I do! I have ADHD, so all-consuming projects suit me well - I actually enjoy the 3am emails that come with PE contracts! And transition and transformation contexts are great, because they’re super-complex - you have to keep a lot of different perspectives in mind, keep a lot of plates spinning. 
 

There’s a strong social impact theme running through your career too - where does that come from? 

Most of my clients back at EY were corporations and PE funds.

Long story short, I’d just finished a project with a resources giant and I was reflecting on the work - how even though it had been been successful, and we’d made some huge savings for our client, ultimately it wouldn’t have a particularly noticeable impact. Which started me thinking about exploring different contexts: ones where the skills I’d built might make more of a difference. 

I chose Oxford for my MBA because they have a great reputation for social impact. And my first freelance project post MBA was an NGO merger - building a social impact metrics dashboard to assess value add across their new stakeholder matrix. It was really interesting - different to anything I’d done previously, and I definitely felt like my input was both impactful and appreciated!

In finance and PE you’re paid well, but you’re disposable. I still enjoy working in these contexts, but it feels good now to be able to have a mix - to split my time between corporates and non-profit / impact work. 

You’re an NED at several non-profit housing associations? 

I am! At Newtide and Brighter Futures Housing Association. NED roles are a great way for me to contribute to organisations whose work I really believe in, and develop myself and my network from different angles. I did a LOT of Board preparation work early on in my career, and it’s great to now be on the other side! 

I applied for Newtide - a subsidiary of the housing association Flagship - because I’d had adjacent experience with Goodlord. There’s a strong digital component to Newtide’s rent collection operations, so my digital / product background comes in extremely handy. 

Brighter Futures does fantastic work with homeless people, as well as providing end-to-end support for people with complex needs and mental health issues. There’s a powerful personal connection for me here.  I was lucky. My dad’s a psychiatrist, and I was diagnosed early with ADHD. It hasn’t been a constraint for me. Other people haven’t been so lucky. 
 

What are the biggest challenges facing supported housing providers?

Funding is an obvious issue. Local finance is often not enough to maintain people who need 24 hour care. Staffing is an issue too. It’s a tough, tough job. 

And once people are ready to move away from supported housing into buildings where they can live fully independent lives, the buildings often just don’t exist. And they aren’t even close to being planned. Again, it’s a funding issue. We have a long way to go. 
 

What advice would you give to clients working in transformation contexts?
 

Prioritise storytelling

I’ve worked on many projects where the change management / comms plan is there on the slide deck, but it goes out of the window during implementation. 

Firms often fall back into the mentality of well, I’m paying you, so you’ll do what I say - we don’t need to explain or justify. Big mistake. You need actual buy-in across the organisation. It’s not enough to give instructions - people need to understand. 

So prioritise storytelling. Take the time to take people on a journey. And focus on pulling together a team of committed, happy people - you’ll be far better placed to reach the outcome you want. 
 

Remember that ‘there are many roads to the river!’

It’s a Nigerian saying. And I think it’s really useful. No plan, no matter how good it is, is going to work out exactly as it’s meant to. You can’t forecast everything. 

Growing up in Nigeria, a place where things often wouldn’t go to plan (or even close!), made me a very flexible thinker! Because the UK has a broader context of relative stability, it can, I think, lead to a more rigid approach - to life, and to work. 

We’re less willing to let go of something we think should work. Less willing to accept that sometimes things are out of our control, no matter how hard we work, no matter how well we’ve accounted for all of the variables. Less willing to accept that it’s no-one’s fault - there’s no-one to blame. 

I think we have to get better at accepting when something isn’t working, stepping back, refocusing on the end goal and thinking ok, so what’s a different route?

Side-note: I went home last year and it struck me that, having been in the UK so long, I’ve lost some of my flexibility - it’s something I’m working to get back!
 

What’s your advice for people who are thinking about going freelance? 
 

Talk to people

Try to get a real sense of the specific rhythms of the space you want to freelance in. Some of my friends are IT project managers - they literally never have off-seasons. That’s completely different from strategy, which is all peaks and troughs. 
 

Build a community with other freelancers

Freelancing can be lonely - you’re a company of one, and there can be a lot of rejection. It can be easy to internalise that rejection, to take it very personally. 

Connecting with other freelancers and building up a community helps you to realise that you’re not alone - that there are other people who understand the highs and lows, people who’ll support you, offer reassurance, different perspectives - people you can collaborate with and learn from!

Invest in relationships when you’re on a project

A lot of the follow-on opportunities will come from the people you work with - not necessarily the people you work for. Other freelancers, client staff you’re working closely with - they will be your biggest source of referrals. Get to know them!

Choix connects the buy and sell sides of consulting, providing fair and transparent choice for all. If you want to talk to us about a project, or you’re looking to connect with our network of high quality freelance consultants and experts, please email hello@mychoix.com