This month marks a huge milestone as we celebrate five fantastic years with our Principal Technical Consultant, Tom! In his time at Answer, Tom has taken on some of our most diverse and complex challenges.

From joining us straight from the NHS to work on the national pandemic response, to now providing technical assurance for the Ministry of Defence, his journey has been incredible. We sat down with him to chat about his career, 3D printing, and why Guest Services at Alton Towers is the perfect training for a consultant.

Happy 5-year anniversary, Tom! How would you describe your job in just three words?

Diverse, Unpredictable, Enabling.

Your journey here has certainly been diverse. Can you give us a summary?

After 14 years in the NHS, I joined Answer as a technical consultant, diving headfirst into the national pandemic response. I cut my teeth within NHS Digital and the NHS Business Services Authority before embracing a "lone wolf" consultant role back in an Acute NHS Trust. Now, I'm in my Ministry of Defence era and grappling with offering technical assurance rather than trying to fix the problems!

Going way back, what’s one career milestone you’re most proud of?

Landing my first full-time professional job with the hospital web development team after 12 months temping on their IT service desk. Hard to believe I wooed them by introducing them to the fact that you could build a website in CSS and not have to use tables for consistent layouts!

What’s the best thing about working with your team at Answer?

Our architecture capability has a broad range of experience and talents. I love that we all know where we feel comfortable and we’re not afraid to stand up and ask the stupid questions in front of everyone.

What’s the most unusual job you’ve ever had?

Guest Services at Alton Towers. Growing up within a 5-mile radius, it’s a rite of passage for the locals. Dealing with everything from escorting VIPs to becoming first responder security when guests start fighting. Perfect people management skills for the consulting lifestyle!

How do you like to spend your spare time when you’re not 3D printing cookie cutters for your wife’s business?

I like to run a few 5ks a week. I started the NHS Couch to 5K app 5 years ago and have kept it up since. If I'm not doing that I’m usually walking the dog.

What's your biggest personal goal for the rest of 2025?

Run a 10k. Not an actual race but just on my own. The last time I did one was back in 2021 and it was more of a mental challenge than I thought. I’d like to get one in the bag.

What’s a fun fact about you that might surprise people?

In my teens I played Trombone in a local youth jazz band and swam competitively at district level. Just at the same time as discovering beer… needless to say that beer ultimately won out.

If you could swap jobs with anyone for a day, who would it be?

Fatboy Slim. There’s something appealing about the power of the DJ and being in control of the energy of a massive crowd. It’s totally out of my comfort zone, which is why doing it for one day is enough to scratch that itch!

And finally, what's your favourite place you've ever travelled to?

Yllas, Finland. This was 5 days out in the “Lapland” wilderness. It was peaceful, calm, and my daughter got to see Santa. Not to mention the unfiltered Northern Lights every night.

A huge congratulations to Tom on five incredible years. His expertise, humour, and can-do attitude are a massive asset to the team. Here's to the next five!