Purpose-Led Strategic Counsel

Rachel runs a business in private wealth law. We've worked together for eight years - one of the longest relationships in my portfolio.

When we started, Rachel had an ambitious growth strategy: acquiring small firms in her sector to build the client bank, which is where the real value sits in professional services. Over the years she acquired around eight businesses, and each one brought its own set of decisions - the timing, the risks, the terms, and how her business would need to change to absorb what was coming. My role was to think through all of it with her and have the kind of conversation you can only have with someone outside your business.

Then Rachel developed an autoimmune disease that changed how she was able to work. During an acute episode, I stepped in briefly as a Fractional CEO because I knew the business so well. But the deeper value was what came next - the space to think clearly about what this meant for the business and for her. Rachel made the decision to sell. My role over the following two years was alongside her through that process - reviewing the serious buyers, attending meetings with her, working through the terms, and navigating the decisions that would shape what came after.

Ambitious growth. Leading through illness. Selling the business she'd built. Three very different chapters, one relationship - and in each one, the conversation that helped her see the opportunities clearly and act on them with confidence.

That's Strategic Counsel

What you've just read is what purpose-led strategic counsel looks like in practice. A relationship with someone who has run and led a business themselves - as a CEO, through growth, turnaround, and transformation - and who brings that lived experience to an honest, energising conversation about yours. The kind of conversation you can't always have with the people inside it.

It's for the decisions that deserve careful thought. The ones where the stakes are high, the picture is complex, and having someone alongside you who's been there makes all the difference.

How It Works

There are three ways to work together.

An ongoing relationship. Regular sessions that give you a consistent space to think strategically about your business - where it's heading, the decisions you're weighing, and what you want to build next. This is how the deepest and most valuable strategic counsel relationships work, because my understanding of you and your business is cumulative. I know your business, your values, and your context, and this makes every conversation more useful than the last.

A single session. Ninety minutes to work through what's happening in your business right now and come away with clear thinking and actionable next steps. You'll receive a summary of the key points and decisions from our conversation. This is a good starting point if you're facing a specific decision and want to think it through with someone who brings experience and objectivity.

A block of three sessions. For something that needs more time and exploration - a transition, a strategic question with several dimensions, or a period of change where you'd value a thinking partner across a few conversations rather than one. The three sessions give you the space to explore, test your thinking, and come back with what you've learned.

Ongoing strategic counsel is priced based on the rhythm and nature of the relationship - we'll talk about what makes sense during our initial conversation.

Sessions take place online or in person in Brighton & Hove or London.

Is This For Me?

Strategic counsel is for founders and leaders of established businesses - where the foundations are strong and the business is ready for what comes next. I offer a complimentary consultation to discuss whether this is the right option for you.

Choose strategic counsel when you're looking for:

Honest, strategic conversations at the right level - about the decisions you're facing, the direction you're heading, and the things you can't always talk through with your own team.

A thinking partner with lived experience - eight years as a CEO, leading an organisation through growth, turnaround, and transformation. I understand what these decisions feel like from the inside.

Clarity through complexity - when the picture is changing, the variables are many, and you want someone who can help you see the whole thing clearly.

Support through a major transition - whether that's scaling the business, building the leadership team for the next stage, or making a decision that will shape everything that comes after.

A relationship that deepens over time - the longer we work together, the more valuable the conversation becomes, because I know your business, your values, and your context.

If that sounds like where you are, I'd welcome a conversation.