Phil was educated at Durham and Oxford Universities. He has had a varied career working in the public, commercial and education sectors before coming in to executive search. He has worked in sales and marketing in the manufacturing and IT services sectors, spent a decade working for a non governmental body in the public sector, and more recently as a Director at Hartpury College in education. He also was a professional rugby union player, having played for Bath and England and gained 38 caps for his country.