David Wortley’s Journey Through Technology, Leadership, and Change
Every transformative journey begins with a spark, sometimes small, sometimes unexpected, but always powerful enough to shape a lifetime. For David Wortley, that spark emerged in childhood through a fascination with travel, movement, and the evolving world of technology. What began as a young boy’s love for steam trains eventually grew into a career committed to understanding, applying, and advancing the technologies that connect people and improve lives.
Across the decades, David’s path has taken him through academic excellence, leadership roles in telecomms, entrepreneurial ventures in presentation technology, and pioneering positions in digital innovation. Whether adopting emerging tools like virtual reality and video conferencing or establishing the Serious Games Institute as an international hub, he consistently moved ahead of the curve, driven by curiosity, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to progress.
Today, his work bridges motivation, digital health, immersive tech, and lifestyle medicine, making his journey not only impressive but deeply relevant in a world shaped by rapid innovation. This article invites readers to discover how each chapter of his life contributed to his vision, resilience, and influence.
A Journey Sparked by Curiosity
Tell us about your early life, education, and career journey?
I was born in Boston, Lincolnshire in 1949. My father was a carpenter, joiner, and undertaker, and my mother was a housewife. We lived in a council home in a small village called Wyberton. My grandfather was a gang foreman on the railways, and his job gave him free railway passes for his family, which meant that as a young boy, I was able to travel by rail to many different cities in the UK. This gave me a love of travel and steam trains. I used to watch the steam trains on their way to London from our landing window at home, and my ambition as a young boy was to be a train driver.
At the age of 10, I passed the entrance exam to go to Boston Grammar School and, at the age of 17, won a Post Office Telecommunications Scholarship to go to Birmingham University to study Electronic and Electrical Engineering. At university, I played soccer for the 1st team, who were one of the best university teams in the UK. I also ran a mobile discotheque in my final year and set up the “Progressive, Underground and Rock Society.”
After graduation, I chose a career in middle management at the Post Office Telecomms, while most of my peers went into research. In 1974, I won another scholarship to study management at what is now De Montfort University and gained a distinction in the postgraduate DMS course. After spending a year as a management tutor with what is now British Telecomms (BT), I decided that I was too entrepreneurial and ambitious for BT and planned a move to prepare me for running my own business to exploit the convergence of telecomms and computing.
This led me to join IBM as a marketing executive in 1979, and I had significant success selling mid-range computers to large corporates until, in 1984, I was ready to set up my own business, initially as a strategic technology consultant but later evolving to become one of the best-known and most successful presentation graphics companies in the UK, and founder of the National Presentation Network in partnership with Prontaprint, with over 100 retail franchise customers.
I have always been an early adopter of disruptive technologies, including digital imaging, the internet, video conferencing, virtual reality, and immersive technologies. I have a passion for technology and humanity and won government awards for social enterprise projects designed to use technology for community social and economic development. In 2006, I became the Founding Director of the Serious Games Institute at Coventry University, establishing the SGI as an international centre of excellence before I left to go back to being self-employed in 2011, focusing on gamification and enabling technologies. In 2012, I published a book called “Gadgets to God” which charted the changes of technology in my lifetime and forecast the impact of AI on business and society.
Leading with Purpose Today
What is your current role, and what do you enjoy most about your work?
I am primarily a self-employed motivational speaker doing a lot of pro bono work around future technology and digital health and wellbeing. I am a Non-Executive Director of the World Lifestyle Medicine Education Services (WLMES), which is the commercial arm of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM), a Vice President of the International Society of Digital Medicine (ISDM) founded in China in 2016, and a Director of the Health and Wellbeing Technology Centre at IORMA Global Futures.
A Career Milestone to Remember
What has been your proudest professional accomplishment?
I have received many awards for enterprise and innovation, but my appointment as a Vice President of ISDM in China and an award for outstanding contribution to their international development is one of the top memories.
Rising Strong Through Adversity
What is one major challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
My biggest challenge was losing my business and my home as a result of circumstances beyond my control. I had been self-funding the delayed start of a government project I had won an award for when the property earmarked for the HQ of the project was taken off the market at the same time as the 9/11 attack on New York, which led to my main customer at the time, HP Media Solutions, stopping the virtual classroom project that was my main source of income.
This led to the project collapsing and a growing debt burden. I was determined to survive and found myself taking on manual night-shift work in a frozen food warehouse while still trying to do consultancy work in the daytime. I managed to overcome these physical and mental challenges by believing in a better future and recognising that the people I worked with in the warehouse, including refugees and asylum seekers, were far worse off than me. I eventually managed to get a full-time job as a project manager at De Montfort University, which was the start of my journey to where I am now.
Staying Ahead of the Curve
How do you stay ahead in your industry?
By investing in new disruptive technologies and constantly learning to use the technologies that are shaping and will shape our future in the areas of digital health and wellbeing and immersive technologies. I do not just make presentations about these technologies, I actually use them in practice to understand their potential.
Guidance for the Next Generation
What advice would you give to young professionals aiming for success?
Believe in yourself, develop a healthy lifestyle, and try to practice what you preach. Learn something new every day and be true to yourself.
Conclusion
Through each phase of his journey, David Wortley has shown that true leadership lies in the courage to adapt, the willingness to learn, and the determination to contribute meaningfully. His ability to navigate setbacks, pioneer new technologies, and uplift communities demonstrates a career shaped not only by skill, but by unwavering belief in the future.
His roles across global organisations and his focus on digital medicine and wellbeing illustrate how innovation can be used to improve lives on a broad scale. Even after decades of experience, he continues to explore emerging technologies with the same curiosity that defined his early years.
As readers reflect on his story, they are encouraged to take forward the lessons of resilience, lifelong learning, and purposeful ambition, values that continue to guide David and inspire many across the world.
Website: https://davidwortley.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.wortley1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwortley/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwortley/
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