about me
I lead a creative tech consultancy - mmstudio.
A fusion of culture, art, tech & commerce.
Basically me and the people I partner with in my network. Why? So the artist can also be present.
My experience and value lies in the intersection of art + technology. A balance of high level creativity, designing & shipping cutting edge products & tech alongside continuous commercial growth.
As an artist and technologist, I move between the multiple worlds and ecosystems merging the skills and experience from each to delight and solve problems for all. This allows me the freedom to pursue unusual directions while being flexible yet focused to the brief and the client need.
My creative practice is at the intersection of photography, vision, algorithms and GenAI to explore the nature of connection and intimacy in this digitally filtered world.
Why work with me?
As a leader you need to understand your customer, hit head & heart with your strategy and your teams so you deliver something that scales for your business and delights your audience. This is where I can help. Storytelling is at the heart of everything I do.
What I offer
CPO: A C-suite level executive. Leading large digital growth and transformation programmes working across product, design, technology, data, operations, change, people, programme teams. Customer experience, product strategies & commercial growth strategies across multiple revenue lines.
AI / Machine Learning: Worked for 20+ years, in various iterations of machine learning and LLMs, primarily in the visual / photo / search space. Working as a creative, designing Ai enhanced experiences - designing search, personalisation and recommendation engines across text and image using semantic web, machine learning algorithms and LLMs.
Creative: Customer Experience, Brand, Photography, Marketing, Visual Strategies, Event Curation & Programming.
Partnership
I work fractional, advisory, small and large engagements, solo or with teams. I work with a network of SMEs across all operating disciplines to fill gaps.
I am looking for projects who want to build and scale their company and open to the right perm CPTO / CGO opportunity.
Where I focus
0->1 and fast scaling companies
B2C, Culture, Creative, Media & Travel industries
Product, Services, Experiences at intersection of art and commerce
Making art and telling stories
artistic practice
I am award winning visual artist and photographer with an MFA from Monash University.
My practice connects photography, Visual GenAi, computational photography, poetry, mashing up narratives through virtual photography, staged narratives and portraiture. My work explores intimacy and connection in our digital interfaced and filtered world.
My work intertwines between image + poetry performed in the light of a serendipitous moment. Conversations real and imagined with the people, friends, encounters, travellers, lovers and loves who enter, transform, stay or disappear. Nomadic documents with no fixed time or place.
Chief product officer
Previously: I led the digital product portfolio across 9 brands in 11 markets: Vogue, GQ, Conde Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, World of Interiors, House + Garden UK, Allure, Glamour, SELF. I was also responsible for all digital commerce platform technologies - Vogue Storefront AD Shopping and Affiliate.
At Condé Nast, this included the Met Gala and Vogue World livestream, launching Vogue’s new Storefront, Runway app, Architectural Digest Designer Directory, Conde Nast Travelers’ redesign content and commerce affiliate platform.
Before Condé, I redesigned Photobox / Hofmann e-commerce platform and studio, Telegraph Travel publisher commerce, Mr+MrsSmith website and app and many more projects inbetween.
Industry leadership
Photoworks UK - Trustee, Board Member, Advisor
PhotoVogue - my team manage the platform with the PhotoVogue Editorial Team.
From 2008 - 2014, I was Co-Director of SheSays London
Where is Mel?
I am a nomad, even before the term digital nomad was coined. I am based in London, made in Australia and frequently on the road. I work from London or remote and can be found in Melbourne, Phuket, New York, Madrid and Munich.
philosophy
Beauty exists within complication, in life and love, those delicate and ultimately confusing spaces in-between. Where the answer is not yet known, and you have to brave everything and let the story unfold with the essence of serendipity and the spirit of adventure.
My passions in creativity, play and work have always been binary but not black and white - that space in-between - belonging & freedom, self & other, masculine & feminine, reason & emotion, humans & machines, creativity & algorithm, digital & real, mind & body, art & science.