Alan obtained his first degree in English from Oxford University and then spent 10 years in the television industry, primarily as a director of live news programmes for the BBC, ITN and satellite channels. In 1997 he retrained as an Occupational Psychologist, gaining his Psychology degree from the Open University and his MSc in Occupational Psychology from City University in London. Since then he has worked as a business psychologist in both the private and public sectors, specialising in senior assessment and development up to Chief Executive level.