Global Investment Advisory

•	Support and lead M&A, private equity, and portfolio management initiatives for midmarket and growth-stage clients, focusing on industrials, technology, and consumer sectors, with an emphasis on enhancing shareholder value through strategic acquisitions and investments.
	•	Direct global investment strategies across the US, Asia Pacific, and Middle East, overseeing deal origination, financing, and portfolio oversight for diverse clients, including midmarket rollups and technology-focused firms.
	•	Provide interim operational leadership to portfolio companies, leveraging extensive experience in operational optimization to improve financial performance and scalability, particularly in challenging market conditions.

Senior Consultant, M&A and Private Equity

Early-Stage Investments

•	Provide strategic guidance to early-stage companies in technology, SaaS and other sectors, structuring investments and supporting operational growth through financial planning, corporate structuring, and market expansion strategies.

Angel Investor / Advisor

Defence Sector Investments

•	Advised defence sector clients on development strategies, focusing on integrating technology and training solutions to enhance operational and financial outcomes.
	•	Cultivated relationships with global defence stakeholders, including NATO, to support strategic growth and investment opportunities in the sector.

Advisor

Defence Sector Transactions

•	Supported defence sector transactions by developing and presenting strategic bids for military training and maintenance contracts in the GCC, securing opportunities to expand client presence.
	•	Collaborated with regional partners to align investment strategies with market demands, ensuring operational and financial alignment.

Consultant

Royal Air Force (RAF)

•	Managed high-value assets (£200M+), leading teams to achieve operational excellence and financial efficiency in mission-critical environments.
•	Gained first-hand leadership and management experience from: 1) combat operations, 2) training delivery, 3) real-time operations management, and 4) defence procurement.

Senior Officer, Pilot, and Qualified Helicopter Instructor

Business Leader & Strategic Advisor | Emerging Technology | Defence & Security | Private Equity & Corporate Finance

Seasoned financial professional, with over 20 years global experience, currently leading on M&A, private equity, and portfolio management - complemented with operational leadership experience across a broad range of sectors. 

Formerly, a senior Royal Air Force officer & pilot, I now serve as an advisor, executing high-value transactions; occasionally, providing interim operational oversight for active investments, across the US, Asia Pacific, and LatAm.

I specialise in structuring complex deals, building consensus among stakeholders, enhancing shareholder value, and driving operational efficiency (when required).

My expertise spans identifying high-potential opportunities, optimizing financial performance, and delivering measurable outcomes, underpinned by strategic insight and operational acumen.

Core Competencies: Deal Structuring | Portfolio Management | Operational Oversight | Relationship Management

Dan Collingridge-Padbury

Ben Ford

Mission Ctrl

Mission Ctrl delivers digital sovereignty for service businesses scaling past $5M in revenue.

Unlike traditional consultants or SaaS platforms that create dependency, we build AI-powered business operating systems that clients completely own and control from day one.

Our Ops Ctrl solution transforms service businesses from selling time to selling outcomes by:

✅ Capturing expertise into systems that scale beyond key individuals
✅ Ensuring consistent service excellence regardless of who delivers it
✅ Growing revenue without proportional cost increases
✅ Eliminating vendor lock-in through client-owned infrastructure
✅ Deploying military-grade methodology with technical implementation

We're highly selective, working with only 2 new clients per month to ensure exceptional implementation and results.

Want to transform your service business from expert-dependent to outcome-focused? Message me to explore if we're the right fit.

Founder & CEO

The Cold Water Club

Founding Member

The Pioneers

Applying cutting edge technologies to help businesses build coherent, systematic and innovative employee experiences.

We design and build people operating systems to create a culture that drives your growth and gives you a sustainable source of competitive advantage

Tech Partner

Commando Development

I've lived and breathed teams and people for the last 10 years in tech, but it's only relatively recently that I realised just how much I learned about high performance and operational excellence when I was in the Royal Marines.

Commando Development blends the kind of cutting edge tech powering the current generation of billion dollar unicorns with ages old military strategy. We empower businesses to build the technical foundations to make the right decisions and operate at the pace the modern world demands.

Founder and CEO

TechVets

TechVets is an incredible organisation whose goal is to build a bridge for veterans into a career in technology. I couldn't be prouder in taking on this advisory role to help accelerate their impact. We're making this bridge stronger and better signposted.

From teaching myself the basics of Python and Linux on HMS Ocean on the way to the Iraq war in 2003, tech has been an incredible journey for me. It took me the best part of a decade to realize it, but so much of what made me successful were skills and values I had learned in the Royal Marines. I will do everything in my power while I'm part of the TechVets community to ensure that people leaving the forces are extended the same opportunities in tech that I was lucky enough to find!

As the world becomes more and more exponential in its pace of change the skills veterans learn about operating in ambiguity and complexity while achieving their mission will be inceasingly important. After all, anyone who's served has had about the equivalent of an MBA spent on their development.

Think about that for a sec. Everything we do in the forces is about hitting the ground running, without a full picutre and making things happen. It's time business saw that value.

Chief Technical Advisor

Tweag I/O

Haskell/Business development

Standard Chartered Bank

Joining the highly successful Standard Chartered Strats team, I've been involved in implementing bank wide, high profile projects in the internal Haskell dialect, Mu.

Quantitative Developer

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Developing robust, high quality Haskell code.

Contract Python Developer

Fynder

Built one of the best software teams I've ever worked with and led them in the development of a Haskell backed web start up.

Developing a middle office reconciliation framework on the Quartz platform.

Contract FX Options developer

I help service business owners scaling past $5M achieve what their competitors can't: complete technological independence while transforming expertise into scalable outcomes.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗠:
Service businesses face a critical choice when scaling:
▪️ Build disconnected "Frankenstacks" of SaaS tools creating perpetual dependency
▪️ Hire expensive in-house technical teams with fixed costs regardless of project needs
▪️ Work with consultants who deliver reports without implementation

The result? Vendor lock-in, escalating costs, and systems that fragment as you grow.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡:
At Mission Ctrl, we build client-owned, AI-powered operating systems that:
▪️ Transform your expertise into systems you completely own and control
▪️ Deliver consistent service excellence regardless of who delivers it
▪️ Scale your revenue without proportionally increasing costs
▪️ Convert your business from selling time to selling outcomes

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗪𝗘'𝗥𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧:
▪️ Military Inspired Methodology: As a former Royal Marines Commando turned software engineer, I bring 20+ years of technical expertise with military precision to business operations
▪️ Client Ownership: Unlike SaaS platforms, you own all code and infrastructure from day one
▪️ Rapid Results: We deploy functional environments in under a day and achieve cash flow neutrality within 4 months

We're accepting only 2 new clients per month. If you're scaling a service business and want a ompetitive edge that drives growth without proportional costs, let's talk.

Co-Founder

Mission Ctrl exists to ease the growing pains of scaling businesses by building custom digital infrastructures that enable internal operations to scale.

We help you build a custom platform that's yours from day one, using the most cost effective and powerful open-source technology available.

We call it Organisational Engineering As A Service.

Launch your business into the future by building a platform to integrate your people, processes and technology.

✅ Free people's capacity to innovate
✅ Implement and digitise process to scale
✅ Harness technology to eliminate repetition

Get in touch if your want us to help engineer competitive advantage into your DNA

taplio

The Battle

Dan Collingridge-Padbury

Ben Ford

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