A graduate in electrical engineering from University College Dublin, Brian began his career designing control systems for nuclear reactors and submarines – a foundation that instilled in him a meticulous attention to detail and a fascination with systems that must never fail. From there, his path took him across Europe and into the world of telecommunications, working on projects that helped shape modern digital communication.
In the 1970s, when most people were still typing letters, Brian had already built one of the first home computers in Ireland – in January 1976 – and even had his first email address the year before. His curiosity for what technology could do, combined with an instinct to simplify complex systems, became the thread that wove through everything that followed.
Brian moved on to a company called ICL and it was during this time that he played a key role in setting international standards for digital communications, helping define how computers would talk to each other long before the Internet was part of daily life. He famously championed the idea of running Ethernet over ordinary telephone wiring – a move many thought impossible – which ultimately became a global standard.
From Paris to Shannon, from Boston to Brussels, Brian’s work always pushed boundaries. He advised the European Commission on competitiveness in telecoms and computing, helped establish the foundations of broadband, and contributed to some of the earliest thinking around Business Process Automation – years before it had a name.
That same mindset led him, years later, to co-found MPS (now Digital Beehive), building software that brought the same kind of structure, reliability, and digital intelligence to contract management that he had once brought to nuclear control systems and telecom networks. The goal was simple: make complex things clear, compliant, and connected.
Through innovation, perseverance, and a touch of humility, Brian has spent five decades making technology work better for people and in doing so, leaves an extraordinary legacy that continues to shape how contracts, and indeed collaboration itself, are managed today.
The Evolution of CCM from Concept to Legacy
The origins of CCM – now known as Contract Bee – can be traced back to a simple but radical idea. That the NEC contract, built on principles of collaboration and good management, could be supported and strengthened through digital tools.
When Brian first encountered the NEC suite of contracts, he immediately saw parallels with the systems thinking that had guided his engineering career. The contracts were designed to promote collaboration, transparency, and proactive management – principles that resonated deeply with him. Yet he also saw how difficult they were to manage in practice. Paper forms, missed notices, inconsistent communication – all of it stood in the way of the NEC ideal.
So, in the late 1990s, Brian began sketching out a digital solution. Working alongside long-time collaborator and co-founder Des Downey, the pair built what would become the first NEC contract management system, an innovation that would quietly transform how projects were run across the UK and beyond.
But getting that first customer wasn’t easy. The idea of managing contracts digitally was still unfamiliar, and many potential clients couldn’t yet see the value in moving away from paper-based systems. But Brian believed deeply in the technology and persisted.
It was Yorkshire Water who ultimately saw the potential and the necessity of what Brian had built. They were managing a complex portfolio of NEC projects and needed a way to ensure consistency, accountability, and compliance across their supply chain. Manual processes were slowing things down and introducing risk; audits were painful, and visibility across projects was limited.
Brian’s system offered exactly what they needed: a single digital environment where every notice, communication, and decision could be tracked, stored, and reported turning the NEC contract from an administrative burden into a live management tool.
When Yorkshire Water came on board, it marked a pivotal moment for the business. Their adoption of CCM proved the concept in a live, large-scale environment, setting a new benchmark for how major organisations could use technology to manage NEC frameworks efficiently and transparently. That success opened the door to the wider industry and gave the fledgling company the credibility it needed to grow.
It was through this work in the infrastructure sector that Brian first met Nick Ives, now Managing Director of Digital Beehive. The two collaborated on a major project a decade ago and quickly recognised in each other the same pragmatic curiosity and drive to make technology truly useful.
When the time came for Brian to consider stepping back, it was a natural decision to approach Nick. With his blend of commercial experience, industry knowledge, and shared values, Nick was the perfect fit to take the business forward. What began as a professional partnership evolved into a strong working and personal relationship – one that has been instrumental in guiding the migration of CCM to Contract Bee, the next-generation NEC contract management platform.
From its earliest prototype to the sophisticated platform it has become, CCM evolved through years of practical insight and user feedback. Each step forward reflected both technological progress and Brian’s relentless drive to make complex things simple. He believed that software should never get in the way of good communication – it should make it easier, faster, and more consistent.
The business model evolved with the technology, moving from simple installations to a fully hosted, service-based approach but what never changed was Brian’s commitment to solving problems the right way. Every new feature, every refinement, began with the same question:
“How can we make this clearer and more helpful for the people using it?”
That question still defines the company today.
The Next Chapter
As Brian steps into retirement, his presence remains woven through every line of code, every process, every principle that guides Digital Beehive. His approach – methodical yet imaginative, precise yet human – continues to shape how the team thinks, builds, and supports its users.
Retirement, for Brian, doesn’t mean slowing down so much as shifting focus. With more time for family, travel, and personal projects, he remains as curious as ever – still the engineer, still the problem-solver, still the quiet pioneer who once wired up his own computer when most people hadn’t even seen one.
For those who have worked alongside him, Brian’s legacy is not only in the software that bears his influence but in the culture he helped create – one rooted in integrity, ingenuity, and genuine care for the people behind the projects.
As Digital Beehive continues to build on that foundation, the story of CCM – and the man who started it all – remains a reminder of what can happen when vision meets perseverance, and when technology serves not just contracts, but collaboration itself.
We wish Brian all of the happiness he has earned as he moves onto enjoy time to travel and tick off those bucket list moments he so utterly deserves to experience.
