Peter Proud is the Founder and CEO of Forrit, a digital technology company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. Before founding Forrit, Peter was Head of Digital Strategy for Europe at Microsoft.
Prior to this, Peter was one of the founding Partners of Accenture Interactive, as Managing Director of Strategic Accounts and Partnerships providing integrated marketing, technology, and analytics solutions for the digital world. Before joining Accenture, Peter was at Microsoft for 15 years as a Senior Director managing accounts for some of the world’s leading household names and was integral in establishing Microsoft’s ‘One Microsoft’ initiative.
A passionate advocate for the digital technologies industry, Peter is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde’s Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, and the University’s first Inspire Entrepreneur in Residence.
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
Without doubt, my morning walk. I tend to walk two miles in the morning to work and then two miles back. A healthy lunch is important to me too – Vietnamese food is my go-to, healthy, and low in calories! I eat with members of the team, customers, or partners, and we talk about what’s happening in their world both in and out of work.
What’s been your luckiest break?
Being asked to join Microsoft in 1996 was a big moment. I was invited to join the team on a sailing trip on the West Coast of Scotland. During the trip, I was told there was a role at Microsoft that they wanted me to apply for. Being invited to sail was part of the hiring process!
What’s your best failure?
Our product launch about two versions ago was my best failure. We’d designed it for developers and not content editors. That experience was invaluable and led to the successful development of our current offerings. Lesson learned – understand your clients’ needs as much as you can.
What is the best investment you’ve ever made, either financial or time?
Our Graduate Apprenticeship Programme has been a huge success that I am very proud of. There’s a skills shortage in software globally, which we are helping to fill. Our apprentices have done tremendously well in both their studies and careers.
Which podcast or book would you recommend others to read/listen to, and why?
I highly recommend the autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, followed by the essay he wrote, called The Gospel of Wealth, which is a rags-to-riches story of how he went from a weaver’s son to the richest man in the world. The other book I like is the Steve Jobs story. Jobs said you can get a lot wrong if you get the product right. At Forrit, we live by this – building a quality product is key.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
I would tell my 21-year-old self to be yourself. As Oscar Wilde famously said, everyone else is taken. I spent an inordinate amount of time in my early career suffering from impostor syndrome. I never felt I was good enough, and I constantly feared that I would fail. This rarely happened, but confidence took a long time to come.
Who or what has had the single biggest influence on your working life?
There have been several people who’ve helped define my career. My early stint at RMA Sandhurst taught me the importance of treating everyone with mutual respect. Dr Neil Holloway at Microsoft had a massive impact on me, giving me the confidence to be myself. Then John Waddel, our Chairman at Forrit, who taught me what I needed to know about corporate finance and raising cash, which was a huge blind spot.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
I am inherently shy but hide behind a larger-than-life persona to mask this shyness.
If there was one thing you could change about your career, what would it be and why?
I would have made a move to Seattle to be part of Microsoft’s headquarters earlier as one thing I learnt in business is that if you’re not at the table, you’re often on the menu. Get the ear and sponsorship of senior executives as early as possible. This helps you stay key and current.
What does success look like to you?
Success to me is giving more than you take.
