Background and Career Journey

David Tetlow grew up in a family deeply rooted in the UK steel industry. His great-grandfather, grandfather, and father all worked in steelmaking around Manchester, which shaped his early outlook. If the industry had survived, he believes he would have followed them into it. Instead, as the industry collapsed in the 1980s, his family moved frequently with his father’s work. They lived in Manchester, Kent, Scunthorpe, and Cardiff. This instilled resilience and adaptability from a young age.

Encouraged by his father to pursue higher education, David studied Engineering at the University of Nottingham. There, he developed a strong interest in sustainable infrastructure and renewable technologies. He went on to complete a PhD in Applied Energy Engineering, specialising in renewable energy systems and efficiency optimisation. Alongside his studies, David worked part-time in telecoms sales and bought and renovated properties to support himself. These early ventures were an early indication of his entrepreneurial mindset.

Graduating in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, David initially struggled to find a stable role. He spent two years teaching secondary school maths before returning to academia. At the University of Nottingham, he became known as a reliable project deliverer. He was skilled at coordinating complex UK and EU-funded R&D projects across multiple partners. However, he became disillusioned with the university culture, pursuing funding and publications without driving technologies to market. This experience reinforced his conviction that engineering innovation should go beyond theory. He believed it should be taken “to the top of the tree”, all the way to commercial impact.

This period also brought significant personal challenges. The sudden loss of his mother and the responsibility of raising two young children further clarified his priorities. He wanted meaningful work, trust-based partnerships, and the chance to build solutions that mattered in the real world.

From 2017 onward, David worked increasingly with external partners, including Paul Kerby of PAK Engineering. Their collaboration grew through projects such as Project Welfare. In this work, David’s organisational strengths and Paul’s technical focus complemented each other. By 2020, disillusioned with the bureaucracy of local government and academia, David joined Paul full-time. Together, they set out a clear vision. They would select promising technologies and build a structured project portfolio targeting key industries. From there, they would guide each technology through readiness levels, step by step, until it reached commercial viability.

That philosophy underpins Global Solutions Ltd today. David, as Operations Director, ensures projects move from idea to delivery. His role is to align stakeholders, manage complex partnerships, and keep initiatives on track. The goal is always to build technologies that are not just clever but scalable, repairable, and impactful.

In addition to his work at Global Solutions, David volunteers as a mentor through a government-sponsored programme. He supports aspiring engineers and entrepreneurs as they develop their careers and bring their own innovations to life.