Meet the team

John spent three decades in commercial, retail and offshore banking before joining HM Revenue & Customs Criminal Investigation where he worked for over a decade as a Specialist Financial Investigator. For the last 18 years, as a Fellow of Teesside Business School, he’s also lectured on Criminal Finance to all branches of UK Law Enforcement and has travelled the world delivering training and technical assistance as a highly respected Subject Matter Expert.

The creator of the experiential learning platform, view360global and Director and CEO of Cognitas Global, Lawrie is a qualified Learning & Development Practitioner and has worked as a Subject Matter Expert in over 40 countries. He is also a certified member of both the Institute of Strategic Risk Management (IRSM) and The Security Institute (MSyI), and holds an L5 Award in Corporate Risk and Crisis Management.

Lawrie draws on 30 years in the Metropolitan Police, where he latterly specialised in financial investigation and economic crime. This has enabled him to work with clients including international aid organisations and foreign governments, designing and delivering training on national and transnational crime as well as designing and delivering diverse projects across all sectors for 60+ countries.

Shaun spent three decades as Detective in the police before retiring in 2017. This included 18 years as a Financial Investigator playing a pivotal role in global investigations of money laundering, counter terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking and fraud. As a certified Learning & Development practitioner and Kirkpatrick New World Model Evaluator, he’s also spent the last three years designing and delivering blended training programmes for organisations across the world.

A qualified graphic designer, Nicola brings a wealth of management experience to her role as the leader of our design team. Before joining Cognitas in 2020, she worked for many years as a Studio Manager in a successful architectural practice. This gave her valuable experience in business and marketing and a talent for finding solutions to even the most taxing of design challenges.

With over 18 years of experience in design and development, he brings a wealth of expertise to the table. Willy’s passion lies in crafting beautiful and functional designs, coupled with writing clean and efficient code.

Rob initially worked for us as an intern while studying graphic design. After graduating he joined the Cognitas Global team full-time and has since become an integral part of the design team bringing his flare and passion for design to all tasks he undertakes.

Michael is a passionate video producer and editor who is skilled in capturing, editing, and enhancing visuals for compelling content, including professional lighting and sound recording. He holds a BA in Content, Media & Film Production from Met-film School and a Diploma of Education in Audio Production from SAE Institute. Detail-oriented and proactive in ensuring project quality and accuracy, Michael is dedicated to creating impactful visuals that resonate with our audiences.