Testimonials
During my career, I’ve had the privilege of working with a wide range of clients to accelerate their success and make a profound impact on their careers and personal lives. I’m inspired by their success and value the partnerships that we form. Below are a few of my clients who have shared their kind thoughts and experiences.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH ROB WAS TRANSFORMATIVE
I cannot thank Rob enough for his incredible guidance and support when I felt lost and uncertain about my professional future. Rob helped me explore new market segments, providing invaluable insight into how I should study each industry and allowing me to make an informed decision about the right path for me.
What impressed me the most about Rob was his thoroughness and attention to detail. He not only helped me explore different industries but also guided me through the investigation of other options available to explore the related markets. His expertise was evident, and his guidance was instrumental in my decision-making process.
His patience, kindness, and genuine interest in my success were truly inspiring. Rob listened carefully to my concerns and provided thoughtful and constructive feedback that helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses. With his guidance, I created a clear and actionable plan for achieving my career goals.
Overall, my experience with Rob was transformative. I feel more confident and empowered than ever, and I am excited to take on new challenges and opportunities as I continue to grow in my career. I highly recommend Rob to anyone looking for expert guidance and support in their professional life.
Divisional CEO
made me step outside my comfort zone
Rob helped me on many levels, from practical tactics for dealing with the sheer volume of day-to-day communication in my new role, to helping me find my place within the organisation. He helped me understand that , in order to become a more effective leader, I had to step back from the day-to-day management of my team and again provided practical help and advice to improve my delegation skills. Conversations with Rob were always insightful and challenging - he made me step outside my comfort zone, particularly in terms of my networking, but always in an encouraging and supportive way.
In short Rob has helped me enormously in my ongoing transition from manager to leader.
Founder and CTO
guided by challenging yet partnering with me
I started working with Rob in an attempt to gain some clarity around my direction, but without a clear sense of what that really meant.
We quickly established momentum, a path, and Rob guided me by challenging yet partnering with me as we delved into different topics. I really value his ability to challenge, to dare me to think of alternative approaches and perspectives. His professional experience was also useful since, at times, he was able to draw on examples to compare to my situations.
The sessions had structure and he proposed options for where we might explore, and often had particular exercises designed to provoke thought. I liked that he required me to drive the direction, but he guided and hence I never felt lost.
I learned a lot about myself and gained clarity I would not have expected really possible.
I highly recommend Rob, especially for those who normally make most of the decisions in their roles, and could benefit from a sounding board that is not afraid to ask difficult questions.
Managing Director, Financial Services
more strategic, more big picture
After 15+ years at an investment bank, it was time for a change, so I found a new role at another IB. During my garden leave, I made one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and decided to contact Rob and see if he could help me do things differently in my new role. Rob helped me reflect on my own areas of competence and how others would see me. He helped me turn the process of moving jobs from a step into the unknown into a process where you are much more strategic, much more big picture and showed that I had much more control over outcomes than I otherwise thought. I now look forward to my regular catchups with Rob as a great opportunity to discuss topics, gain advice, think differently, and set a plan for the next leg.
In sports, without a coach, it’s normal to learn and reinforce bad habits. Most people do. The same goes for your career. In sports, though, it’s inconvenient, but it’s a big deal in your career. So everyone needs a coach…like Rob.
Director, Investment Bank
rob asks the difficult questions
I never cease to be amazed by his consistent energy. He has a real passion for helping people develop everything from dealing with a tricky conversation to making major life-impacting decisions. Rob asks the difficult questions and, in return, expects some real focus and thinking to unearth both challenges and opportunities. Through working with Rob, I've crystalised some emerging ideas about my future career and feel like I have a much clearer sense of direction. Through the application of some tools and approaches, I understand the framework of my motivations and drivers much more holistically. Rob is a wonderful listener, and I felt he really navigated through our sessions in a way that focused on helping me develop a longer-term strategy whilst responding to situations and events as they occurred.
I thoroughly enjoyed all my sessions with Rob and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for an executive coach to truly partner with them to achieve their goals.
Technology COO, Global Investment Bank
a great asset for your career
The focus for my work with Rob was when I transitioned to a new firm, team and role. He helped me in so many aspects, including:
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Prioritising and organising my thought process to set up a strategic business plan.
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Helping me identify different leadership styles so I can be versatile and adaptable according to the situations.
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Giving me some practical and simple pieces of advice that I can implement - from being more emotionally aware to combating a sense of being overwhelmed.
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Helping me resolve conflicts and getting people on my side.
Thanks to Rob, I was successful in the MD promotion process. Rob is a great asset for your career, and I am fortunate to have had an opportunity to work closely with him!
Managing Director, Sales
a great sparring partner
I recently started in a new role as CEO. A new function for me in a completely new industry. Rob helped me to develop coaching goals that matched my ‘Jobs to be done’ so that we could really track my progress concretely. Rob is very good at keeping us structured and always bringing us back to the goals. He has a very pragmatic approach and is very hands on, also taking part in some of my internal meetings so he could see me 'in action'. Rob is able to ask the right questions and is a truly active listener. He is able to combine active listening with offering concrete advice and suggestions. He is a great sparring partner and I really appreciate his diligence in getting to know me and the organisation so we can always pick up where we left off. His coaching has been invaluable to me so far and I look forward to continuing our work together.
CEO, Family Office
Rob is an excellent listener and trusted sounding board
Working with Rob has been invaluable. Rob’s industry experience and deep understanding of the challenges faced in my role was instrumental in helping me to set realistic objectives. Rob is an excellent listener and trusted sounding board. I felt I could have a very open and honest dialogue with him.
Rob strikes the right balance of challenging me, brainstorming ideas, and offering insights and tools. Since working with Rob, my confidence has grown significantly, and I am speaking up more, this has increased my visibility and relationships with senior colleagues globally - they now seek out my views and opinions. I am also delegating to my team more successfully, which means the team has become more effective, efficient, strategic, aligned and pulling in one direction.
Working with Rob and achieving all of these goals meant I met my overall objective of promotion.
Chief Operating Officer, Investment Bank
a trusted sounding board
My original goal of working with Robert was to take stock of and reflect on my current leadership style at work and more generally, how could I increase impact. However, as the coaching program started, I took on a new, more senior role in a new country. The coaching before, during and now ongoing since that move helped me focus on how to ready myself to be as impactful as possible in a new role but also leave the old team in a strong position as I transitioned out. For me, what was critical here is that Robert pushed to understand the specifics of the organisation and my thoughts to provide clear, actionable feedback. As I have continued to work with Robert now, he acts as a trusted sounding board as I think both about specific business issues or more broadly my career.
MD, Fintech
a far better level of self-awareness...concrete positive changes
I started working with Rob with the objective of improving the performance and culture of my team, and enhancing the quality of communication with my peers. This may sound vague but there were specific issues that needed fixing and Rob was instrumental in both helping identify what they were and helping me make practical changes. In particular, his ‘stakeholder insights’ were particularly valuable as they helped me realise the gulf that existed between how I thought I was perceived and how I actually was perceived. This formed the basis of a series of constructive sessions over many months.
What I found particularly valuable was that Rob has just the right balance between open-ended questions, and specific, actionable advice – as well as taking the time to really try to understand the feedback I’d received from others and help me understand it. I completed the series of sessions with a far better level of self-awareness and having put into place several concrete positive changes in my engagement style.
I’d recommend Rob to anybody who is determined to make a change and to engage constructively.
Chief Technology Officer, Blockchain
helped me open my eyes to a different way
Robert very quickly helped me identify the areas in my work that I wanted (and needed) to develop. This led me to work towards new ways for me to assess and improve my working relationships from the very first session. I appreciated the honest and helpful feedback from Robert and the way he helped me open my eyes to a different way of viewing and developing my working relationships in a new structure and with a new role. Each session gave me plenty of food for thought and the feedback from Robert made a lasting impression that I will continue to utilise in my career development. Thank you!
Chief Curator, ZSL
Helped me peel back the layers and reset my perspective
I came to Rob initially to help deal with issues with transatlantic team dynamics that I knew I was, in part, contributing to but was unable to identify exactly how. After thirty years of acquired experience, the layers of good and bad experiences had combined into a prejudging of problems. This prejudice can be beneficial in speedy resolution of issues because they are familiar, but in my case, they also came with some cynicism that was blocking or even preventing issue resolution. Rob was able to help me peel back the layers and reset my perspective on the issues. He also helped me ensure that sufficient time was devoted to bringing the team with me despite us all being under severe time pressure to deliver business growth.
Chief Financial Officer
helped me have an immediate positive impact
The coaching helped me transition into a new organisation, one with a different culture and way of doing things and have an immediate positive impact through quickly building credibility. This was achieved through practical and actionable ideas, insights and tools that could be used with my team and key stakeholders. Rob was particularly helpful through challenging my approach when dealing with stakeholders from different backgrounds and who may have different motivators. Rob is a confidential sounding board and coaching helped me build my confidence to motivate and influence others.
Chief Operating Officer, Investment Bank
I now feel I have clarity and direction
I began working with Rob at a time of major change in my career and I did not have a clear sense of what I was looking to achieve from the coaching. However, I quickly garnered significant value from Rob’s ability to tease out of me areas I wanted to focus on, brainstorm on those ideas, and reign them back in to define specific goals. His manner is always amiable and professional and he is direct, while still allowing me to drive the objectives of the sessions. After just a few months, I now feel I have clarity and direction on what I can, and want, to achieve. I value Rob as a sounding board and trusted business partner.
Company Treasurer, Financial Services
Implement new strategies that has resulted in significant improvements
Working with Rob has been an invaluable experience. Rob has helped me identify and implement new strategies that has resulted in significant improvements to my confidence, communication and visibility with senior colleagues globally. I am speaking up more, communicating proactively and effectively delegating to my team. Rob has challenged and guided me throughout the sessions, his significant industry experience was instrumental in helping me to set realistic objectives.
Chief Operating Officer, Investment Bank
a pathway to more impactful communication and a framework to become a more effective leader
The coaching sessions with Rob have been a fantastic experience. Rob is an excellent listener and can provide very thoughtful input and guidance. Even more importantly Rob has helped me to raise my own self-awareness. This self-awareness is a crucial precondition to enable conscious change, development and growth. I personally benefited from nothing less than developing a pathway to more impactful communication, a framework to become a more effective leader, and strategic options for the business I run.
Managing Director, Investment Bank
the coaching will enhance business outcomes for my organisation going forward
I found these sessions to be extremely beneficial; they were both thought provoking and outcome driven. Rob was an excellent sounding board regarding specific challenges that I was facing, but the approaches and strategies that we discussed had an emphasis on the longer term and are things that I can definitely utilise in my role going forward.
Speaking to someone with vast industry experience, yet completely impartial, added a really unique perspective to the conversations. Not only did the sessions improve my personal skill-set, but there are clear examples of how the coaching has/will enhance business outcomes for my organisation going forward.
I have been introduced to a number of mentors/coaches over the years and have never had positive outcomes, this was the complete opposite and I would highly recommend Rob to anyone interested in coaching sessions whether that is individuals with specific objectives or organisations who are looking to develop their individuals.
Director, Financial Services Recruitment
supporting me in brainstorming for alternatives and ways of doing things better
I have really appreciated Rob’s way of helping me to articulate and give meaning to the thoughts I had about what I wanted in my career. At no point was he judgemental or trying to reach conclusions for me, but rather, he was supporting me in brainstorming for alternatives and ways of doing things better. His insights and advice on the banking industry were invaluable and he was able to understand the context and why I was raising specific questions or was having specific concerns.
Research Director
has challenged and guided me throughout
My coaching sessions with Rob coincided with an expansion in my role, responsibility and the opportunity to take my career to the next level. The sessions have enabled me to set directed goals to achieve my personal targets. Rob’s deep understanding of the industry helped us quickly establish a strong rapport. The coaching focused on enhancing my gravitas and executive presence, building and deepening relationships so that I am more effective at managing senior stakeholders. Rob has challenged and guided me throughout the experience, and he has helped me to develop the framework to become a more effective leader.
Executive Director, Trading Operations