Helping organisations to thrive by helping leaders to thrive
Board, advisory and executive mentoring services that enable you and your business.
New: Leadership Transition Programme
Stepping into a bigger leadership role is exciting.
It is also a transition that can be harder than it looks.
The expectations are different. The decisions carry more weight. Relationships change. You have to lead people who may previously have been your peers. And the things that made you successful in your previous role may not be enough for the one you have now.
The first year is an opportunity to establish how you will lead — and the impact you will have.
I help leaders make that transition successfully.
A year to think, learn and lead differently
The Leadership Transition Programme is a one-to-one programme for executives who are stepping into a significant new leadership role.
It combines a structured leadership journey with individual executive coaching and mentoring.
The structured programme provides a framework for thinking about the fundamental challenges of leadership.
The individual sessions give you somewhere to work through the issues that arise in your actual role — the decisions, relationships, dilemmas and challenges that no leadership programme can predict.
The framework gives you the map.
The coaching helps you navigate the terrain.
Three dimensions of leadership
The programme is built around three fundamental questions.
Lead yourself
Who do I need to become in this role?
Leadership starts with understanding yourself: your strengths, assumptions, values, habits and blind spots.
It also means recognising when the behaviours that made you successful in the past are becoming constraints.
Lead your team
What does my team need from me?
Your success increasingly depends on the performance of others.
How do you build trust? Create accountability? Develop people? Delegate effectively? Have difficult conversations? Create a team that can challenge you rather than simply follow you?
Lead your organisation
What does the organisation need from me?
As your responsibility grows, you have to see beyond your immediate team.
You need to understand the wider system, create alignment, influence stakeholders, make decisions with incomplete information and focus the organisation on what really matters.
Eight sessions
Over the course of the programme, we explore eight fundamental aspects of the leadership transition.
1. Purpose and priorities
What really matters?
2. The transition
What does this role require of me?
3. Leading yourself
Who am I as a leader?
4. Leading your team
What does my team need from me?
5. Trust and influence
How do I lead when I don't have all the answers?
6. Letting go
What am I still doing that I shouldn't be?
7. Leading the organisation
What does the wider system need from me?
8. The leader I want to become
What's next?
These aren't lectures or conventional training sessions.
They are structured conversations designed to help you reflect, challenge your assumptions, experiment with different approaches and turn insight into action.
Driven by your agenda
Not everything important can be planned. That's why the programme also includes individual coaching and mentoring sessions focused entirely on you and what is happening in your role.
A difficult conversation.
A decision you can't quite make.
A relationship that isn't working.
A team member who isn't performing.
A board meeting that didn't go as expected.
A question about what you should do next.
These sessions are deliberately unstructured.
You bring the issue. We work on it together.
Sometimes that means coaching — helping you find your own answer.
Sometimes it means challenge, perspective or drawing on my own experience of leadership.
And sometimes it means simply having the space to think.
Why me?
I've spent more than 20 years working in and around senior leadership in international education and technology businesses.
I've been a CEO, chairman, board member and adviser to leaders and investors. I've experienced the opportunities and pressures that come with taking on greater responsibility.
I'm also a trained executive coach, which brings a different perspective to the relationship.
The combination matters.
I don't believe leaders need another person telling them what to do.
But I do believe that having an experienced, independent person to think with can make a significant difference.
Someone who can ask the question you haven't asked yourself.
Challenge an assumption.
Offer a different perspective.
Or, when appropriate, share something from having been there before.
Who is it for?
The programme is designed for leaders who are:
about to step into a significant new leadership role
in the first year of a new role
moving from functional leadership to broader organisational responsibility
moving into a CEO, Managing Director or comparable role
taking on responsibility for a larger or more complex organisation
It can also be valuable for organisations that want to give a newly appointed leader independent support during a critical period of transition.
The programme
12 months | One-to-one
The programme includes:
Eight structured leadership conversations
Individual executive coaching and mentoring sessions
Reflection and practical experiments between sessions
A confidential space to think through the challenges of your new role
A flexible approach that adapts to what is happening in your role
Ready to think differently about your new role?
If you're stepping into a significant leadership role and would like an experienced thinking partner alongside you for the first year, let's talk.
There is no obligation to commit to joining the programme.
Let's have a conversation about what you're facing and whether I can help.
Enabling leaders of organisations in transition
Markets are changing faster than ever. Technology is reshaping industries, organisations are adapting to new ways of working, and leaders are expected to make increasingly complex decisions.
Whether you're strengthening your board, leading organisational transformation, developing your leadership team, or navigating your next stage of growth, experienced perspective can make all the difference.
I work with boards, CEOs, investors and senior leaders to help organisations grow and adapt.
About You
My clients are typically organisations facing moments of opportunity or change.
Boards seeking independent governance, strategic oversight and constructive challenge.
CEOs leading growth, transformation or organisational change.
Investors and founders evaluating opportunities and supporting portfolio companies.
Leadership teams building the capabilities needed for future success.
Senior executives looking for an experienced mentor and trusted sounding board.
Much of my experience has been in education, technology, information services and other knowledge-intensive businesses, but the leadership challenges are universal: building capable organisations, making sound strategic decisions and developing exceptional people.
Experienced Board Member, Adviser & Executive Mentor
I help knowledge-intensive organisations grow through leadership, people, and strategy as markets evolve through digital transformation.
Over more than 20 years, I have led and advised international businesses in education, information services, and technology, partnering with boards, CEOs, investors, and leadership teams to navigate growth, transformation, and organisational change.
Today, I combine board leadership, strategic advisory work, and executive mentoring to help organisations and leaders realise their full potential.
What I do
Non-Executive Board Member
Providing independent governance, strategic oversight, and constructive challenge to organisations navigating growth, digital transformation, and changing markets.
Strategic Adviser
Supporting CEOs, boards, founders, and investors with strategic decisions, organisational development, and growth opportunities in knowledge-intensive businesses.
Executive Mentor & Coach
Working with senior executives and emerging leaders to strengthen leadership capability, decision-making, resilience, and personal effectiveness.
Consulting
Helping organisations align strategy, people, and execution to deliver sustainable growth in rapidly evolving environments.
Experience
My executive career has been centred on enabling organisations to grow by unlocking the potential of their people while adapting successfully to technological and market change.
Leadership roles have included:
CEO, Sanoma Learning – Europe's leading provider of learning materials for schools.
Chairman, Infinitas Learning – A leading European provider of educational courseware.
Chairman, ILT Education – A leading provider of special educational needs and literacy solutions.
Board Member, Kognity – An innovative provider of International Baccalaureate curriculum solutions.
Chairman, Ovivio – Europe's leading software provider for childcare centres.
Alongside these roles, I have advised leading investors active in the education technology sector, providing strategic insight into markets, businesses, and leadership teams.
Executive Education
Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching, Henley Business School
Organizational Design for Digital Transformation, MIT
Private Equity and Venture Capital, Università Bocconi
Artificial Intelligence, MIT
Disruptive Innovation, Harvard
Strategic Marketing Management, Judge Business School, Cambridge
Leading Change & Organizational Renewal, Harvard Business School
Leading the Effective Sales Force, INSEAD
Finance for Senior Managers, London Business School
My Approach
Successful organisations are built by people.
Technology creates opportunities, but sustainable growth comes from leaders who can build capable teams, make sound decisions, and create organisations that adapt and thrive.
My role is to bring an independent perspective, ask the right questions, and help leaders and boards make confident decisions that create long-term value.
About Me
My fascination with learning began in science. I hold a PhD in Bioinformatics, and throughout my career I have remained deeply interested in how people and organisations learn, adapt, and grow.
While my executive career has focused on leading international education and information services businesses, my work today increasingly centres on supporting leaders themselves. Through mentoring and coaching, I help experienced executives and emerging leaders develop the confidence, judgement, and capabilities needed to succeed in an increasingly complex world.
Let's Talk
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