Great People: Introducing Mark Cooling

It's Mark Cooling! Another Great Person to add into the mix.

He's our Product Delivery Lead, and the person responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of MyNavy.

Join in as he takes you on a whistle-stop tour of his experience, his interests and his love of a Premier Inn breakfast.

Oh, hi Mark!

Who are you and what do you do?

Hello! I’m Mark, and I’m a Product Delivery Lead. My job is to work with clients to focus on the strategic delivery and enhancement of their digital products. I’m an advocate of agile delivery and I lead multi-disciplinary teams that focus on both new product development and the continuous enhancement of existing products. Everything I do is to deliver value for our clients' users.

How did you get to be here?

I graduated from university with no clue what I wanted to do. My Marketing degree didn’t even have a digital component to it! I simply stumbled upon digital project management through a friend I played football with who had recently started an agency.

16 years and the loss of a head of hair later, I arrived at Great State, where I've been for 5 years. Throughout the course of my career, I’ve pretty much done it all having worked for several agencies in Bristol and previously in the North West. I’ve been privileged to work with a huge variety of organisations and individuals that have helped to shape the way I see our industry, experience that I use today to help our clients succeed.

What are you working on right now?

Amongst other things, I’m currently overseeing the delivery of our first project working with Defence Digital and their digital foundry. I’m seeing a new approach to digital delivery within Defence that’s ambitious and challenges the preconceptions of what can be achieved. Things like adopting agile frameworks and delivering value to users at pace and in a way that’s both scalable and sustainable. It’s a refreshing approach, supported by a growing community of experts. There’s plenty to learn but it’s an exciting challenge.

How do you know when you’ve produced something great?

A large part of my role is to steer a steady ship and enable others to shine. Every person in a team adds something unique to the dynamic and output. The only way to deliver quality products is for everyone involved to succeed, both individually and collectively. If the team is proud of the work they’ve done, I know we’ve produced something exceptional.

What excites you about your work?

I truly believe that a big part of personal success in this job is tied in to helping others to succeed. Providing them with the best support I can and the conditions for success and improvement are critical aspects of what I do. I love working with new people, developing relationships, working out how to motivate them and helping them to maximise their potential.

What excites you in life?

I love the outdoors. Anything from mountaineering and trail running, to simply spending time exploring new places with my family – I even enjoy reading about it. I find that when I’m out in nature, particularly when I’m on my own, I’m able to step away from the pressures and stresses of a busy lifestyle and do my best thinking. Next up, buying a van so that we can go on more adventures!

I also particularly love a Premier Inn breakfast, sorry, but I won’t apologise for it.

What is the future of tech looking like to you?

The tech industry is so exciting right now, things are accelerating to the point where yesterday’s vision is already a reality. At its most simple, we work with clients to solve problems and create memorable experiences for their users. Augmented reality is challenging the perception of what those experiences can be and how they can be delivered. It’s a fascinating topic and has so much potential utility in almost all aspects of life.

Ask a question back. What do you want to know?

Did I stutter???

If you don’t get the reference, we can never be friends 😉

Want to grab a Premier Inn breakfast with Mark and discuss Delivery? Get in touch.