The founding director of Pantheon, Jennifer oversees all the practice’s advisory work at board and executive levels. An experienced coach, she is also part of the team that delivers Pantheon’s offering to clients.

She partners with CEOs, senior executives and their teams as they drive for higher levels of performance and navigate change and uncertainty. She balances a focus on results with reflection, theory with truth, and challenge with support. Recent engagements have involved coaching executive teams, coaching for first Board appointments, transitioning to CEO and the executive team. She has a systemic approach to change and her work includes the latest research in practical neuroscience, behavioural economics and positive psychology.

Background: Prior to her coaching work, Jennifer held partner and senior executive level roles in global technology and professional service firms. She brings working internationally with multi-national organisations with different ownership structures, including high-growth and private-equity backed ventures. She brings deep experience in global financial services, digital and infrastructure, having led and delivered cultural change and coaching programmes in Australia, India and Europe simultaneously.

Education & Qualifications: Jennifer holds degrees in International Business and French from Aston University and Financial Services from the University of Manchester. She has numerous ICF-accredited coaching qualifications including executive, systemic team, stakeholder (Marshall Goldsmith), workplace and leadership and she is a certified practitioner of evidence-based diagnostic tools such as Hogan, MLQ360, GLA360 and TEIQue. She is a Certified Business Psychologist through the Association of Business Psychology and a TEDx speaker on executive adaptability.

She is from North Wales and has a keen interest in the levelling up of society and business. She lives with her husband, four children and a menagerie of animals.

Gaëlle is an experienced leadership assessor and coach, who brings deep experience in talent selection and development in the Insurance sector. She has worked extensively at both board and senior executive levels across leadership assessment, coaching, executive search and HR.

She is fluent in English and French and has lived and worked in Singapore, London and the US.

Until recently, Gaëlle led the Leadership Assessment Practice at Sheffield Haworth, the executive search and talent advisory firm. A keen promoter of DEI, she was a founding member and leader of the Neurodiversity support group at Sheffield Haworth. Prior to that she spent close to twenty years working in Board and executive search. After an earlier career in law, she moved into HR with roles including working with Aegon as International HR Director of Direct Marketing Services in the US and with AXA in Singapore.

She holds an MA in Business Law from the University of Grenoble. She is BPS trained (Level A & B) and is qualified to use a range of instruments including Hogan, where she is an advanced assessor. She is a certified executive coach (PCEC with Henley Business School).

Lucy is Client Manager at Pantheon Leadership. She is responsible for supporting the business in the establishment, growth, and delivery of the Pantheon Leadership advisory offerings. She works with clients to deliver an agreed programme and to identify and resolve key organisational and leadership issues at a senior level in the organisation. She joined the firm in December 2023, having previously worked at FTI Consulting in the Industrials and M&A team.

Lucy is a Certified Hogan Practitioner, holds a MSc. in Organisational and Social Psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a BSc. in Psychology from Durham University.

Originally from Norfolk, Lucy is dedicated to supporting charities close to her heart, as well as championing gender equality in business. In her own time, she immerses herself in the world of music, lending her voice to a choir in the city.

Carrie specialises in coaching and board evaluation, blending a strategic focus with practical results. She is passionate about supporting executives and board members increase in confidence and resilience in the context of personal, organisational, and market transition.

In working with executive leaders and teams as well as in her board work, she blends empathetic insight, a keen interest in her clients’ success, and practical knowledge gained from working across a wide range of sectors and organisations.

Carrie has partnered with clients across a wide array of sectors and ownership structures. This includes start-ups, multinationals businesses, and not-for-profits. She is energised by supporting clients embrace the joint challenge of creating growth strategies and building the infrastructure to support that growth. She understands the growing area of neuropsychology and uses this extensively in her work with leaders and boards to help them understand themselves, their reputation, and how unconscious triggers can undermine their impact. She uses psychometrics, 360 feedback and other methodologies to fully understand a client’s profile, motivations, and values.

Background: Born and educated in the United States, Carrie began her career in banking, working with Chemical Bank, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She then moved into strategy consulting, where she founded and led various centres of excellence in the financial services sector.

Education & Qualifications: She has an MBA from UCLA and a BA in Economics from Wellesley College. She is an accredited executive coach with additional specialization in board and team dynamics. She is also accredited in numerous diagnostic tools such as MBTI II, FiroB and the Hogan Leadership Suite.

Alex is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist with extensive expertise in executive assessment and development. Highly relationship-focused, she has forged long-term partnerships with numerous leadership teams, addressing critical talent challenges across various organisational levels. Beyond her financial services experience, Alex has worked with diverse sectors and business types, including startups and not-for-profit organisations. She has particular expertise in helping businesses hire and develop the right talent to drive transformation.

Until recently, Alex was a Partner within the Assessment and Succession practice of a global organisational consulting firm, where she supported many FTSE 100 companies with their talent strategy and assessment needs. Driven by her passion for innovation and technology, she also served as the Director of IO Psychology – EMEA for a behavioural insights startup, leveraging data science and AI to enhance diversity. Before entering consulting, Alex began her career in media and advertising at McCann, specialising in employer branding and communications.

Alex earned her BSc in Psychology from University College London and her MSc in Occupational Psychology from City University, London. In addition to her Chartered status with the British Psychological Society (BPS), she is a panel member of the BPS Best Practice Standards in Assessment Working Group. Alex is accredited in numerous diagnostic tools, including MBTI, FiroB, Saville Swift and Wave, and the Hogan Leadership Suite.

Ali is an Occupational Psychologist and accredited Master Executive Coach with 30 years of consultancy experience. For the past 20 years, she has coached senior and board-level executives, amassing over 3,500 hours of coaching across various sectors and in many countries. Her leadership experience and psychological expertise enable her to help clients achieve lasting change while addressing key business and leadership issues. Ali has an engaging style and uses warmth, humour and candour to connect with clients and enable insights.

Ali works deeply with clients to foster self-awareness and true transformation and is particularly experienced in enhancing confidence, impact, relationships, communication, presence, and authority. She has supported leaders in all situations including working on identified development areas, transitioning into a new role, preparing for promotion, first time CEO, returning to work following a career break (e.g. for parental leave, burnout, bereavement), managing overload, career acceleration for high potentials and many more. 

Ali aims to help clients have tools and strategies for use beyond coaching along with a deeper understanding of themselves and renewed ways of thinking and leading.

Ali began her career as a market research consultant, designing and delivering qualitative and quantitative surveys for the financial, technology, automotive, retail and media sectors.  She then retrained as a psychologist and executive coach, working for a talent management consultancy on change, assessment and leadership development programmes before becoming Head of Coaching.  She then established her own coaching consultancy.

Ali is a Chartered Psychologist with a degree in Social Psychology from Loughborough University, an MSc in Occupational Psychology and a Higher Education Certificate in Counselling and Counselling Skills from the University of London.  She is a Master Executive Coach with the Association for Coaching and is accredited in a number of personality psychometrics including Hogan Suite, MBTI, OPQ, Strengthscope, EIP (Emotional Intelligence). She also uses 360 tools.

Outside of work, Ali lives in Guildford with her partner, daughter and two high-maintenance rabbits and loves travel, comedy, animals and the outdoors.

A business psychologist, Caroline specialises in executive assessment for selection and development and prides herself on providing the evidence clients need to make the right people decisions.  Her assessments often form part of management due diligence, as well as succession planning, individual development, and candidate selection.

Background: Caroline began her career as a Consultant at KPMG. She founded her own consultancy, Laidlaw Associates, advising boards on potential hires as well as on the development of current incumbents. She brings a breadth of sector experience in both listed and private equity environments, having worked extensively in financial services, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, retail, and digital technology. She is also comfortable working in multinational settings, where she has spent significant time across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas.

Education & Qualifications: A Chartered Psychologist, she has an MA in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in Occupational Psychology from London Guildhall University.

Outside of work, Caroline is mum to two (feral) boys and is passionate about travel. Recent trips with her kids include hiking in the Amazon jungle and a journey down the Mekong in a very small, wooden boat.

Gabi is an executive coach, who also brings deep experience in leadership assessment. Gabi helps leaders and their teams to understand their collective and individual strengths and operate at their maximum potential.

As a coach, she combines her natural empathy with strong business insight allowing her to work effectively across a broad range of commercial contexts.  Her clients are often business leaders who are going through a role transition, setting a new direction, or facing particularly difficult challenges and her approach is based on understanding both the organisational context as well as the personal growth objectives of her clients.  She builds deep relationships, and challenges and supports her clients enabling them to develop self-awareness, build resilience, unlock potential and perform better.

She brings experience in a wide variety of sectors, including financial services, consumer goods, life sciences, telecoms, engineering, manufacturing, professional services, retail, and education. She has worked internationally across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

She began her career in 2003 as a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting.  Most recently she was at MWM Consulting, a Board consulting and executive search boutique in London where she gained extensive experience in board-level appointments and leadership assessments across a broad range of functions and sectors.  She is London-based but works globally and has extensive international experience. 

She holds an MA (1st) from the University of Edinburgh, has graduated from The Meyler Campbell Mastered Business Coaching Programme (accredited by WABC, EMCC, AC) and is an EMCC Global accredited practitioner.  She is also certified to use the Hogan Psychometric tool.

Helen is an Associate at Per Ardua Associates within the Consumer Financial Services & Banking and HR practices and also supports Pantheon Leadership. She joined the firm in 2020 and executes on assignments at Executive and Board level for the firm. In addition to her search work, Helen acts as a DE&I Leader for the firm working on all Per Ardua’s DE&I initiatives, both internally and externally. This includes long term succession planning, tracking of data and research into pertinent diversity issues within financial services.

Having studied Literature and Film at university, Helen is an avid reader. For her sins, she is also a long-suffering supporter of Watford FC!

Helen is a business psychologist, leadership consultant and executive coach. She has over twenty years’ experience working with senior and executive-level clients in multi-national organisations across a range of industries and geographies. She takes a systemic approach to change and has a passion for supporting individuals deepen their self-awareness, overcome challenges and operate at their best.

A highly experienced leadership assessment specialist, Helen brings extensive experience leading executive assessments that inform executive selection and development. She balances academic rigour with commercial pragmatism and sensitivity. She seeks to create assessment experiences that equally benefit candidates and their organisations.

In addition to her work with organisations, Helen also works in private practice, with a focus on meaning and purpose, life transitions, anxiety and wellbeing.

Background: Helen began her career in sales management in consumer products sector, before transitioning into dedicated talent and leadership development roles, first in investment banking and then with broader array of sectors as a consultant and business psychologist. She is also part of the INSEAD MBA executive coaching faculty. Currently based in the UK, she has lived and worked across the UK, Europe and Asia. She loves travel, yoga, sea swimming and attempting to learn new things.

Education & Qualifications: She is a Chartered Psychologist in the UK and a Registered Psychologist in Australia. She holds a MA in Psychology from Edinburgh, an MSc in Organisational Psychology from London Metropolitan, an MA in Psychotherapy from Leeds Beckett University, and a diploma in Counselling Psychology. Her interest in the biological basis of personal change has led her to study Nutritional Medicine and Applied Neuroscience, both of which she integrates into her practice.

Jacqui is an executive coach, mentor and leadership consultant. She focuses on the practical applications of neuroscience innovations, particularly as they relate to building resilience, improving inclusivity and overcoming unconscious bias. She has experience in developing and delivering leadership development programmes for large multinationals as well as facilitating board offsites and retreats.

Background: Her career has focused on leadership development, behavioural change and culture, beginning in law and HR in both the technology and consulting sectors. She later joined Merrill Lynch as FVP of Leadership and Development for EMEA, later adding Diversity and Inclusion.  Then, as Managing Director for EMEA at The Neuroleadership Institute, she built the organisation’s geographic and team presence across EMEA into a £ multi-million organisation, working with leading financial services organisations globally. Previously a board member of UK Government body ‘Opportunity Now’, she helped found The 2% Club, a women’s network for the top 2% of women in business in the UK.

Education & Qualifications: She has a doctorate in Existential Philosophy, specialising in executive anxiety, making meaning during times of change and career transitions. She has a Masters in HR strategy and top teams, studying with leading neuroscientists. She presents regularly at global conferences and has been a guest lecturer at academic institutions including Cranfield, IE and London Business Schools.  She has authored numerous publications, including ‘Executive Advantage: Resilient Leadership for 21st Century Organisations’ and is a regular contributor on leadership with publications such as Harvard Business Review, People and Strategy magazine and the NLI Journal. 

Jacqui lives in Bath with her husband and two golden retrievers.

Jamie is the Managing Director of Per Ardua and Head of the Banking and Consumer Financial Services’ Practice.

He joined the firm in 2009 to establish the Banking and Consumer Financial Services’ Practice and became the Managing Director in 2018. In addition to running the business, Jamie focuses on searches at Board and senior executive level across senior business leadership and functional roles in Banking and Consumer Financial Services. He is also a member of the Board Practice.

Jeannette is a Non-Executive Director, Coach, and academic.  She has extensive experience working with Board and Executive level leaders around the world, bringing her extensive coaching and other experiences to bear. She is recognised for her commercial, practical approach, as well as her personal warmth and build trusting relationships.

She enjoys seeing people flourish, supporting them to increase their impact, improve their performance or redirect their careers. Her clients describe her as direct, honest and able to grasp their situation quickly and help them identify new ways to approach their issues.

Prior to her portfolio career she spent 30 plus years in the financial services industry as an executive and then as a consultant.  Her executive career included roles in Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Bank of America across numerous functions including Finance, Corporate Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Regulatory Compliance and Technology. She then spent 10 years in consulting, latterly at FTI Consulting where she built the Governance, Risk and Regulation practice and led the EMEA wide Financial Services practice. Throughout her career Jeannette has been involved in start-up companies across numerous industries as an investor/advisor.

Jeannette was born and educated in the United States, and moved to the UK in 1984, where she has remained.

Jeannette earned her BS in Commerce and MS in Accounting from the University of Virginia. In 2017 she completed the Harvard University Corporate Governance course. She earned her executive coaching accreditation from the Academy of Executive Coaching and is accredited as a Senior Practitioner of the European Mentoring and Coaching Confederation.  In addition, she is a Senior Associate of the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership where she leads on the High Impact Leadership course.

Jessica is an executive coach, facilitator and trainer. Over the last twenty years working at the executive and board levels, she has supported individuals enhance their leadership capabilities and their teams work more effectively together. Jessica’s area of particular focus is supporting her clients build personal resilience to lead during times of change and uncertainty. She also helps her clients grow in confidence, improve their ability to operate through influence and hone their strategic thinking capabilities. She has a track record of working with multinational organisations across ownership structures in a range of sectors including asset management, banking, consumer finance, insurance, consumer goods, and media and entertainment. Her style is described engaging, thought provoking, challenging, fun, pragmatic and able to get to the central issue quickly.

Background: Prior to becoming a coach, Jessica worked as a consultant in HR Services with Accenture focused on sales support for software and other outsourcing solutions. She began her career as an occupational physiotherapist, working with corporate clients in a diverse range of sectors.

Education & Qualifications: Jessica holds a Masters in Ergonomics from University College London, which included a focus on organisational psychology, and a BSc in Physiotherapy from the University of East London. She is an accredited coach (ACC and IFC) and is also trained as a coach supervisor. She is licensed to use numerous psychometric instruments including Hogan, NEO PI-R, FIRO-B, MBTI, Belbin Team Roles and the Strength Development Inventory. She also regularly employs 360-degree feedback where appropriate.

With 19+ years of experience, Katherine is a professional psychologist and organizational leader with a unique combination of consultancy delivery and strategic operational experience. She has designed and delivered assessments in the context of recruitment/selection, redundancy and development, including defining behavioral profiles and competencies, designing bespoke ‘day-in-the-life’ assessment/development exercises, personality profiling, interviews, training senior assessors and stakeholders and facilitating calibration discussions.

Katherine has previously held Functional Director level roles at global talent management consultancies, leading teams through acquisition and re-structure. She has held client-facing consultancy roles in some of the leading global talent organizations. Within these roles, she has partnered with both public and private sector multi-national clients across a range of industries, including energy, finance, media, FMCG and pharmaceutical. She has held prominent roles in global Centers of Excellence, leading the development of best-in-class leadership assessment solutions.

Katherine has an MSc in Organizational Behavior from Birkbeck University, as well as being a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD). She is a qualified TUOA/TUOP test user, practicing in tools including NEO-PI, OPQ, Wave Professional Styles, Hogan HPI/HDS/MVPI, PAPI3+, 16PF, Emotional Intelligence Profile EIP3 and Korn Ferry solutions including Leadership Architect, 360, Leadership Styles & Climate, Emotional and Social Competence Inventory (ESCI) and Leadership Potential. She is passionate about understanding the ever-changing role of leaders and has appeared on podcasts, discussing leadership behavior in the workplace. She has been part of a CIPD Recruitment Conference panel discussing the impact of Covid on recruitment, and she has led a global webinar discussing ‘Hiring in the Future World of Work’.

Katherine lives near Petersfield, Hampshire with her husband, two sons and lively puppy. She is a keen crafter, turning her hand to lots of different creative pursuits, with a particular love of calligraphy.

Kim is supporting the development of Pantheon Leadership with coaching and advisory services to boards and executive teams. She brings over 30 years’ experience coaching on strategic change/transition, culture change, interpersonal and group dynamics.

Her style combines curiosity, challenge and commercial pragmatism with psychological expertise to support transition and change. When coaching individuals and teams, she aims to create a high-quality thinking environment, to explore patterns of behaviour and ways of working, enabling fresh perspectives and insights to emerge.

Background: Kim began her career in consulting, before moving into HR and organisational development in investment banking, FMCG and Retail. She established her own consulting practice in 2004 working across a variety of business sectors and ownership models including FTSE 100, private equity, start-up/founder-led and family-owned.

Education & Qualifications: Kim holds an MSc in Systemic Team Coaching from Middlesex University) and a BEd (Hons) in Education & Psychology from Birmingham University. She is a certified Gestalt and Psychodynamic coach, an accredited practitioner in Family and Organisational Constellations, Appreciative Inquiry and Time to Think Coaching, and is also certified in many well-recognised psychometric instruments, including Hogan.
In a pro bono capacity, she sits on the council of a national charity within the performing arts sector that supports professional dancers in the progression and development of their careers.

Kim is based in the UK and lives in the Chilterns area with her husband and two children (when she is not travelling to places on her bucket list or surfing in Cornwall).

Liz specialises in executive assessment, coaching and team dynamics, getting to the heart of leaders’ behaviours and offering practical and business relevant advice. She blends curiosity and empathy with a focus on deep insight to help leaders support their people and grow their business.

She has worked with Boards, Executives, and new leaders to improve agility, manage change, implement priorities, drive growth, and lead in uncertainty. International consultancy and a previous career in military intelligence has helped Liz develop deep expertise in supporting individuals and teams to perform at their best, particularly when under pressure. Her executive assessment experience spans 15 years, working with blue-chip firms in Europe, the Middle East and Australia. She works with top teams to build the right team, drive the right culture and develop the collective ambition and cohesion that drives winning outcomes.

Born and educated in the United Kingdom, Liz had a first career in military intelligence. She moved into human capital consulting working for Hay Group in London and Sydney and then joined Korn Ferry Advisory as a global account leader and executive assessor. She founded her own leadership business working with top teams in financial, defence and technology sectors and central government.

She has an MA in Economics and Philosophy from Edinburgh University and is a graduate of Officer Training for the Royal Air Force. She is accredited in numerous diagnostic tools with additional specialization in executive assessment and team dynamics and is a mental fitness coach.

Michael is a master coach, a facilitator and trainer with a deep background in psychology, organisational development and organisational change. Based on the East Coast of the US, he supports Pantheon’s work in the US and Bermuda. He brings experience working across numerous sectors including financial services (banks, insurance and reinsurance), advertising, energy, public relations and beverages. 

Over close to 30 years, he has worked extensively at the executive and board levels as well as with rising stars in small, medium and large-cap organisations globally. As a facilitator, he has also supported teams devise new strategic plans and organisational structures, resolve conflicts and build team cohesion.

Background: Prior to setting up his own practice, Michael worked in leadership, delivery and relationship management roles with organisations including ITT Corporation, Bankers Trust Company, Development Dimensions International and Wilson Learning. Michael has authored several books, been an adjunct faculty member at two graduate schools, and provides pro-bono coaching support to WeSpeak andThe Honor Foundation, which supports US Special Forces transition from the military.

Education & Qualifications: Michael has been certified a Master Corporate Executive Coach by the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches and holds additional certifications from The Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching programme, The Coaches Institute, the School of Coaching Mastery and The Gestalt International Study Center. He is certified to use numerous assessment tools, including Hogan.

He has an MBA from the University of Connecticut and a BA in Psychology from the University of Hartford. He has diplomas in industrial management and organisational behavior, and advanced certifications in organisational change and development.

Nana is a Chartered Psychologist and coach, who specialises in the design and facilitation of leadership development programmes. This includes supporting clients with individual and team coaching, as well as talent assessment. She has an interest in leadership topics related to women and minorities, as well as the evolution of leadership. Clients say that she brings combines perceptiveness and insightful challenge with energy and a focus on results.

Nana has a wholistic approach, drawing on several disciplines, including positive psychology, psychosynthesis, systemic coaching and constellations, Gestalt psychology, neuropsychology, role-play, and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). She uses 360 feedback and a wide range of psychometric and diagnostic tools, as appropriate. She supports her clients cultivate better self-awareness, system awareness and authenticity.

Background: Over her career, she has worked with large-scale global clients, in-house and as an external leadership consultant. She founded her own leadership advisory firm, Castlegate International, in 2011. Previously, she oversaw Standard Chartered’s learning and talent agenda across the Middle East.

Education & Qualifications: Nana holds a BSc in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in Occupational & Organisational Psychology from the University of Surrey. She is a Member and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Founding Member of the Special Group in Coaching Psychology. She is a Principal Member of the Association for Business Psychology. She was certified as an executive coach by the Neuro-Leadership Group and has a post-graduate certificate in Psychosynthesis Leadership Coaching. 

On a more personal note, she is Ghanaian by descent but made her home on the somewhat cooler shores of Britain as a teenager. She is married to James and had her first child in June 2022. Embracing life wholeheartedly, her interests are many and varied, but her thirst for travel and adventure is never quenched.

Natalie is the Executive Assistant to Jamie Risso-Gill, Managing Director and Banking and Consumer Financial Services Practice Leader; Simon Hearn, Chairman; Jennifer Jones, Director of Pantheon Leadership, Per Ardua Associates’ Leadership Advisory business; and Executive Assistant to the Pantheon Leadership Team.

She joined Per Ardua in 2013, supporting across all assignments within these Practices and organises industry events on the company’s behalf. She began assisting Pantheon Leadership, which focuses on assessment and coaching at the Board and C Suite level at the beginning of 2018, when it was established.

In 2022, she was promoted to Team Leader of the Executive Assistants.

Natalie is proud to have completed the London Marathon and has an Art and Design Foundation Diploma from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design.

Paul is a certified coach with a focus on organisational change, resilience, culture change and developmental assessment. This includes the use of psychometrics and psychoanalysis. He works with corporate, academic and professional sports clients and has extensive experience working with a wide array of sectors including retail, manufacturing, legal, logistics, construction, transport, technology, financial services, housing, education and defence.

Paul marries an evidence-based approach with commercial pragmatism and has a clear focus on delivery and client satisfaction. His ongoing academic work allows him to remain current with leading research and techniques in his client work. He is passionate about exploring ways in which potential is identified and unleashed within individuals, teams and organisations.

Background: Paul moved into leadership consulting after an earlier career in multi-channel customer operations and HR in the financial services sector, during which he was awarded USA‘s prestigious  Stevie Award for global HR Executive of the year, relating to his HR strategy work, He has also worked as a Visiting Professor in the areas of Business, HR, Leadership Resilience and Wellbeing at several UK universities, including international campuses in Europe and China.

Education & Qualifications: He has a PhD in Leadership and Organisational Change from Birmingham City University, where his research focused on evidencing the connection between leadership behaviour employee engagement and organizational performance.

Paul enjoys family life, travel and a variety of sports, whether watching, coaching or playing, including golf, football, cricket and generally tries to stay fit.   

With 25 years understanding of advising senior management and deep c-suite experience, Richard is passionate about using his expertise to challenge and support other leaders.

As a coach, Richard creates space for leaders to do their best thinking and be at their most resourceful. Understanding the pressures and complex stakeholder needs at the top of organisations, he is experienced in coaching established and aspiring c-suite leaders.

As an advisor, Richard supports Chief Executives and Boards with expertise in leadership, culture and people strategy, standing by their side as they navigate complex change.

Richard’s most recent leadership role was as Chief People and Sustainability Officer at Brewin Dolphin, a FTSE250 plc and leading wealth manager. He joined in 2015 as Group HR Director, partnering with the CEO to build a new leadership team and create a culture of high performance and engagement. In 2020 he took on responsibility for sustainability strategy, leading the Group’s environmental commitments.

Previously, Richard was Group Talent Director at Lloyds Banking Group and EMEA Head of HR at Bank of America. He has interests in the arts, museum and charity sectors, and has served on the executive leadership team of Southbank Centre.

Richard qualified as a coach via the renowned Meyler Campbell Mastered programme and is accredited by the EMCC. He has a degree in politics from the University of York, fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has completed the Business and Sustainability Programme at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership.

Richard is an executive coach with over a decade of board-level experience. He combines a creative approach with a focus on practical outcomes. He supports chief executives, boards, senior leaders and their teams to deepen trust, accountability and high-quality thinking. He aims to build working alliances founded on warmth and respect.

He brings extensive experience operating globally with both large-scale corporates and start-ups across a range of sectors, including financial services, marketing, engineering and entertainment. He has also worked with HM Government and at the highest levels of the judiciary and military. This diverse portfolio allows him to bring perspectives and lines of inquiry that prompt fresh thinking with clients.

He often runs large-scale leadership development programmes and has co-authored a bespoke instrument, the ‘Team Health Check’ to assess and improve eight critical aspects of team high-performance. Originally a BAFTA-winning film director, Richard also works with senior leaders on their presence and strategic aims. His clients include Barclays, Deloitte, Disney, eBay, HM Army, McKinsey, Mars, Standard Chartered, The Cabinet Office, Siemens, Tate & Lyle and WPP.

Background: Previously a film director and screenwriter, Richard directed a Hollywood western and won 15 international film awards, including the Best Single Film BAFTA. He was formerly co-director of Central London Samaritans and has served as a Chair and Trustee of numerous fast-growing charities. This includes the first Chair for the charity ‘The Listening Place’.

Education & Qualifications: He has an MA in Classics from Oxford University, Postgraduate Diplomas in Advanced Executive Coaching Gestalt Coaching and in Systemic Work. He is a qualified coach supervisor and is fluent in MBTI, Hogan and 360 approaches.

Sarah specialises in leadership assessment and development, where she has spent the last 17 years working with talent at Director-level and above. She also brings experience designing, delivering and facilitating large-scale assessment projects as well as adjacent projects in areas such as succession planning, competency frameworks, performance management, board effectiveness.

She brings experience in a wide variety of sectors, including financial services, consumer goods, life sciences, telecoms, engineering, manufacturing, professional services, retail, and education. She has worked internationally across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

After an early career in advertising, Sarah moved into the leadership advisory sector and spent 12 years with Korn Ferry and Hedrick & Struggles. She established her own consultancy, The Talent Room, in 2015.

She holds a BA (Hons) in Business Management from the University of Brighton. She is BPS trained (Level A & B) and Lominger certified. She is qualified to use a range of instruments including MBTI, OPQ, MQ, Hogan, WAVE, Firo-B, Bioss LPA, CPP, Decisions Dynamics, Learning Agility, in addition to a variety of ability tests and 360 feedback tools.