I grew up in the United States and Northern Ireland, studied in Scotland, worked professionally in the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the UAE and the magnificent city of Cairo, and now I live between Egypt and the UK.
As an architect, consultant, author and educator in design management, systems thinking and creative enterprise, I teach about creativity, design, management, innovation and transformation. I am also an RSA Fellow, a Freeman of the City of London, a Reiki Master and an architect of books, buildings and new philosophical realities – doing more than a little globetrotting for speaking and teaching engagements.
In 2024, I founded Glenholme Country House in Luxor Egypt, culminating a construction journey that began in 2012. Located minutes from the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of Luxor, Glenholme is a boutique sanctuary for the discerning traveler, offering curated accommodation, creative residencies, group retreats and custom programming. www.glenholme-luxor.com
Building on this, I founded SOAR Egypt. SOAR Egypt (Solar Observatory & Ancient Resonance) in 2026. SOAR offers immersive learning journeys and celestial expeditions exploring sky, civilisation and human experience. Each expedition explores the enduring ideas of civilisation – drawing on Ancient Egypt as a living source of insight into leadership, wellbeing, creativity and cultural flourishing. www.glenholme-luxor.com/soar-egypt
We certainly live in interesting times. Since I came to Egypt, it has been a journey of cultural heritage, local empowerment and tribal wisdom; of ancient beauty and lived evidence. It is proof of the role that creativity and design, kindness and collaboration, can play in catalysing the wellbeing of a small community – and perhaps one day, an entire planet. Future-facing hope is the name of the game.
Professional Background:
My corporate background spans architecture, interiors, and brand consultancy for industry leaders including Wolff Olins, HOK, RTKL-Callison, Orange, Starbucks. I later transitioned into academia, serving as a lecturer, programme director and research professor in design management at institutions such as the University for the Creative Arts, CBRD Inholland University of Applied Sciences, University of the Arts London, American University of Sharjah, and the German University in Cairo. I continue to publish and present across international journals, conferences, and digita platforms.
My best-selling books on Design Management are read and referenced globally and have been translated into 13 languages They include The Fundamentals of Design Management; Design Management: Managing Design Strategy, Process and Implementation; What Can Design Bring to Strategy; Raising Obelisks: Unearthing a Long Forgotten Ancient Egyptian Invention and Wellbeing by Design.
Personal Background:
The origins of the name ‘Best’ date back to the Medieval Courts, where the troubadours – lyric poets – were granted great freedom of speech. Long before the invention of theatres and newspapers, they were charged with spreading stories of chivalry, acting out news of far-off lands, and singing of courtly love. Dervived from the langue d’oc word troubaire, the name literally means to compose, to discuss, to invent.
Troubadours were trained artists who lovingly crafted words to please and woo their listeners. Their compositions were deeply formulaic; intentionally embedded in metaphysics, intelligence, metaphor and symbol. What a poem appeared to be about on the surface was rarely its only meaning. During the Crusades, this tradition sparked an unprecedented global interest in beautiful objects, elegant manners, poetry, and literature, championed globally by Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Today, ‘courts of love’ and stories of inspiration and beauty are needed more than ever. I believe that the wisdom of love, compassion and wellbeing is the most valuable asset we can share. It is vital in light of the systemic challenges we face and the structural rethinks taking place all around us. We need to put beauty and balance back into our systems.
Of course, history likes balance too. The alternative Old French origin of the name is Beste – meaning ‘beast’ or ‘brutal person.’ Perhaps a thought that can keep the best in all of us entirely grounded.
