United Kingdom
Across my career I have built, led, advised and governed organisations in very different settings: founder-led businesses, PE-backed growth companies, FTSE-listed organisations, investment businesses, charities operating in high-risk environments, and public decision-making roles. My latest venture is Arcstone Advisory. Arcstone works alongside founders and leadership teams who are trying to build businesses that are more valuable, scalable and less dependent on the founder. That usually means the business has already become real. There is revenue, clients, a team, momentum and ambition. But too much still runs through the founder: sales, client trust, decisions, delivery, leadership energy, culture or the commercial story. I understand that stage because I have lived both sides of growth. As Founder and former CEO of Inpulse, a workforce analytics business, I scaled the company from inception to 90+ enterprise clients before successfully exiting to PE in 2023. I built it without external funding, where cash discipline, customer trust, focus and resilience matter every day. I have also remained involved post-acquisition, seeing the different pressure that comes with investment-backed growth, governance, integration and value creation expectations. Organic growth teaches discipline. Investment-backed growth tests whether the operating system is strong enough for ambition. Alongside Arcstone, I serve as a Non-Executive Director of Kinrise, an award-winning investment company transforming iconic buildings into unique workplaces, where I provide strategic oversight of people, culture and transformation as the business scales. My earlier operational leadership includes serving as Head of Internal Communications at Aviva UK, working directly with the CEO and Executive Committee on engagement strategy for 24,000 employees, and Head of Brand Engagement at RSA Insurance Group, where I designed and delivered a culture programme across 29 countries. Through Quest, my consultancy practice, I have advised boards and executive teams for over a decade, delivering major leadership, culture and transformation programmes, including large-scale merger integration work. The thread through all of this is simple: How do organisations build trust, make better decisions, grow with discipline, and create value that does not depend too heavily on one person? That is the work I now bring together through Arcstone Advisory.
I work alongside founders and leadership teams who are trying to build businesses that are more valuable, scalable and less dependent on the founder. That usually means the business has already become real. There is revenue. Clients. A team. Momentum. Ambition. But too much still runs through the founder: sales, client trust, key decisions, culture, delivery, leadership energy or the commercial story. That is where value gets created or lost. I know that stage because I have lived both sides of growth. As Founder and former CEO of Inpulse, a workforce analytics business, I scaled the company from inception to 70+ enterprise clients before successfully exiting to PE in 2023. I built it without external funding, where cash discipline, customer trust, focus and resilience matter every day. I have also remained involved post-acquisition, seeing the different pressure that comes with investment-backed growth, governance, integration and value creation expectations. Both worlds teach you something. Organic growth teaches discipline. Investment-backed growth tests whether the operating system is strong enough for ambition. That combination shapes how I advise founders now. I bring a commercially hard-nosed view of what makes a business valuable: transferable revenue, strong leadership, trusted client relationships, clear data, resilient culture, reduced founder dependency and a business that can stand up to scrutiny. But I also understand the personal reality of the founder role. It can be lonely, even when you are surrounded by people. The hardest decisions still come back to you. People can advise, comment and support, but they do not always carry the weight of the call in quite the same way. That is why my work is not generic coaching or corporate consultancy. It is founder-side advisory. Close enough to understand the pressure. Independent enough to challenge the thinking. Practical enough to help turn the next stage into action.
Non-Executive Director | Kinrise (Investment & Property) 2025 – Present Board member of award-winning investment company managing funds and joint ventures, transforming iconic buildings into unique workplaces across leading UK cities. Strategic oversight of people, culture and transformation strategy as the business scales its portfolio of headquarters offices across UK cities. Board Member | Inpulse (Workforce Analytics) 2024 – Present Retained on board following PE acquisition (exit 2023: £2m ARR, 70+ enterprise clients across transport, construction, manufacturing, healthcare, public sector and technology). Strategic oversight and founder transition governance during post-acquisition integration. Oversight of product development culture alignment and senior executive stakeholder relationships.
Inpulse is revolutionising the way organisations engage their people. Our approach puts emotions at the heart of this conversation and emotional analytics as the driving force to build engagement. Inpulse is a key part of this approach. It is a real-time, web-based app which can be used for a wide range of survey options. It offers easy, enjoyable and fast data collection, a great user experience and powerful analytics which does much of the data-crunching for you. Inpulse also gives real-time results which deliver transparency and help stimulate conversations and drive actions. Inpulse is more than just an app though - our engagement specialists can work with you to interpret survey results and shape / deliver practical responses, while our experienced coaches can help you address issues and engage people by getting your culture right, your leadership equipped and your communication focused. For more information and a free trial visit: www.inpulse.com
Quest helps you find and deliver the best ways to engage your people in achieving shared business goals. We are experts in employee engagement and we work with you to create a unifying and inspiring climate that leads to your employees being engaged on your Quest. We deliver: - Engagement Strategy and Insight - Leadership Events & Experiences - Communication Coaching for Leaders and Line Managers - Talking Points for Line Managers and their teams - Integrated Employee Communications - Employee Engagement Surveys Our clients include Allied Irish Bank, Aviva, Deloitte, E.ON, Morrisons, Orange, RSA and Vauxhall. Specialities: Employee Engagement Insight and Strategy, Integrated Employee Communications, Leadership Events and Experiences, Line Manager and Team Development, Coaching for Leaders, Coaching for Line Managers, Employee Engagement Surveys