Training & Employment Background
More detail specifically on my business activities may be found on the Consulting Services pages.
Undergraduate Training: Philosophy and Mathematics, Plus a Little Psychology and Computer Science
In 1987, I started undergraduate studies at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, thinking initially that I would pursue a combined degree, or 'double major', in Political Science and Computer Science. After changing my major a couple of times (done routinely and in some ways even encouraged in US universities), I wound up finishing Summa Cum Laude (highest honors) in 1991 with a degree in Mathematics and Philosophy, with extra coursework in computer science, psychology, and other areas. It was an interest in nonlinear dynamics which kept me in mathematics, while a passion for problems in mind and cognition kept me in philosophy. The flexibility of the mathematics department at Willamette enabled me to tailor my studies so I spent nearly the whole second half of my degree immersed in chaos theory, while research grants for independent study allowed me to spend the equivalent time on the philosophy side focusing on questions about mind. The remainder of my time was taken up with fencing, biking, political and environmental activism, and ensuring I could pay the bills with an assortment of competitive scholarships and national awards. (My parents elected not to support my university studies, so I was entirely responsible for meeting the full costs of tuition, room and board for four years.)
PhD and Post-Doctoral Work: Philosophy of Mind, Plus a Little Cognitive Neuroscience and Computation Theory
After a short time in research at the Pentagon, I went on to the University of Edinburgh under a British Marshall Scholarship, where I began searching for ways around the conceptual conundrums which seem to separate mind from matter. During this time, much of the hyperbole which had originally surrounded my interest in chaos theory dissipated, and I like to think I started to take a more balanced view of nonlinear dynamics. I also revisited my former interests in computation theory and started learning more seriously about information theory. With my spare time occupied mainly with two martial arts (karate and kobudo) and becoming enamoured with Scotland, I dove into my academic studies and completed a PhD in Philosophy of Mind a little less than three years later. In 1994, I began postdoctoral work at the University of Glasgow's Department of Philosophy, where, as Gifford Research Fellow, I began revamping the PhD dissertation into Kluwer Academic's book Mind Out of Matter (ISBN 0-7923-5103-7), gave a public lecture series, tutored in logic as well as general and moral philosophy -- and met my fiancee. I became an Honorary Research Fellow of that Department upon my departure.
Working as a Research Scientist: Artificial Life, Machine Cognition, Artificial Evolution, Plus a Little Quantum Decoherence
I accepted a post with BT's Artificial Life Group (later re-deployed as the Future Technologies Group) in August 1996, joining the group officially in January 1997. For the first half year, I 'teleworked' from Scotland, but after she qualified as a veterinary surgeon, my fiancee and I relocated to England in Summer 1997. In 1998, I was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce. Later in the same year, my fiancee and I were married and spent a few weeks in Australia on honeymoon.
My work at BT evolved and developed from an initial focus on cognition, novel computation, and artificial life, to encompass evolutionary theory and later, strategy and business development. The research work is summarised in the mulhauser.net Scientific Research pages.
Moving Toward Business Strategy
I became involved with the BT Group Strategy & Development Strategy Mobilisation programme in January 2000, worked for several months on corporate venturing as a result of that, and spent a very brief stint on a project for BTopenworld Strategy before taking up a secondment in BT Wireless Strategy. In November 2000, I moved to the role of Manger, Strategic and Commercial Development for BT Retail's Indirect Channels. Finally, from April 2001, I moved to a role developing strategic business relationships for BTexact Technologies; from the start of 2002, I became responsible for setting up and running two of BTexact's partnering programmes, one in Security and one in Mobility.
Independent Consulting
By September 2002, the variety of life outside a large corporate enterprise was beckoning loudly, and I resigned my position with BTexact Technologies. I founded Mulhauser Consulting, Ltd. to apply my skills in business consulting and analysis for the benefit of a wider and more diverse range of clients than I encountered in the telecommunications industry. I have tremendously enjoyed the variety of working independently; the section of this site on Consulting Services includes a great deal more detail.
Counselling and Coaching
In addition to founding Mulhauser Consulting after leaving BT, I also took a year out to complete an intensive one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling. Now a qualified counsellor/psychotherapist, I maintain a small private practice in addition to my consulting work. More recently, I have integrated principles from counselling as well as from business to develop Personal Coaching and Executive Coaching services. Not only do both these types of work represent in some ways a return to the human core of experience which originally drove my PhD research, but it has also shed a whole new light on my conceptualization of the business world. I did not undertake counselling training specifically to achieve benefits in business, but in retrospect I realize that I probably learned more that was relevant to the psychology of business by studying counselling and working in counselling than in any single business role I have ever had.
The most publicly visible result of my counselling work is the site CounsellingResource.com, which also includes a slightly different perspective on my personal background. My coaching services are available at the dedicated subdomain coaching.mulhauser.net.
Beyond Work
Outside work, my few bits of spare time are spent mostly with my wife and include activities such as walking, training at the gym, martial arts, and a renewed interest in photography. I maintain an active interest in management and social issues, and I am an active investor in a number of sectors, using listed derivatives to hedge risk in a primarily equities-based portfolio.
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