Thinking Partnership

The hard decisions you are making alone.

At this level, you cannot show uncertainty to your team, your board, or your family. The situations that keep you up at night stay with you. This is a private engagement for senior finance leaders who need someone who has actually sat in that chair.

Let's talk Limited to 6 clients at a time
Is this for me?

For the finance leader who needs a thinking partner, not another opinion.

You are a senior finance leader. You are good at your job. You have been doing it long enough to know that the hardest decisions are not about the numbers. They are about the politics, the timing, the relationships, and what you are willing to risk.

You do not need someone to tell you what to do. You need someone to think it through with. Someone who has been in that chair and has no stake in what you decide.

You have been passed over for the CFO title

You have been doing the job for over a year. Nothing has moved. You are not sure whether to push, wait, or leave.

You are in a toxic situation

The boss, the culture, the politics. You cannot tell if you should stay and fight, go quietly, or do something else entirely.

You are negotiating compensation

A new role, a promotion, an equity conversation. You have no one to sense-check the number with who actually understands your market.

You are considering a pivot

A new sector, a fractional role, a board seat, your own thing. You do not know if the hesitation is wisdom or fear.

You are second-guessing a decision

You made a call and you are not sure it was right. You need someone to help you think it through without judgment.

You cannot say it out loud anywhere else

Not to your team, not to your board, not at home. This is the one room where the real situation can be named.

What this is

Not coaching. Not consulting. A thinking partner.

The format

Two to three sessions a month

Private video or voice calls. 60 to 90 minutes. We work through real situations, not hypotheticals. Between sessions, async access for situations that cannot wait.

The approach

Clarity before tactics

Most people jump to what to do. I start with what you actually want, what you are afraid of, and what you have not said out loud yet. Once that is clear, the path usually becomes obvious.

The difference

I have been in your chair

25+ years across global businesses like Dentsu, WPP and Publicis. I am not going to give you a framework. I am going to tell you what I would actually do, based on having navigated the same terrain.

What this looks like

A real situation. A real outcome.

This is an anonymised account of a real engagement. The details have been changed to protect confidentiality, but the arc is real.

Senior Finance Director, UK. Four years running the full finance function. Never asked for the CFO title.

He had been doing the CFO job for four years. The title had never been raised, not because it had been refused, but because he had never asked. A mix of hesitation and a quiet sense that it might not be on offer anyway.

We worked on two tracks simultaneously. The first was internal: building the clarity and the language to have the conversation with his CEO. What he wanted, why it was the right time, and how to frame it without it feeling like an ultimatum. The second was external: starting to build his presence on LinkedIn so that the market knew who he was, not just the company he worked for.

Within weeks of showing up consistently on LinkedIn, two unsolicited opportunities came his way. Headhunters started reaching out. The external validation changed something internally too. He stopped waiting for permission.

He now has two live external conversations and is preparing to have the internal one. For the first time in four years, he is negotiating from strength.

Why me

I am not a coach who studied finance. I was the CFO.

25 years. Dentsu, WPP, Publicis. I have sat in the same chair you are sitting in right now.

I know what it feels like when your boss is the problem and you cannot say it out loud. I know what it feels like to be running the full finance function and not have the title. I know what it feels like to be thinking about leaving but not being sure if you should.

I have been through all of it. So when we talk, I am not going to give you a framework or ask you to fill in a worksheet. I am just going to tell you what I would do if I were in your situation. Because that is probably what you actually came here for.

Dentsu

Group CFO

Finance leadership across international markets.

WPP

CFO

P&L ownership, board engagement, regional oversight.

Publicis

Finance leadership

Years across the world's largest agency networks.

Fit

I do not work with everyone.

I work with finance leaders who are serious about where they are going next, and are ready to do something about it. If you are looking for someone to tell you what you want to hear, this is not the right fit.

This is not for you if
  • You are early in your finance career
  • You want someone to validate decisions you have already made
  • You are looking for generic career advice
  • You want a coach who will give you homework and check-ins
  • You are not ready to be honest about what the real situation is
This is for you if
  • You are a CFO, Finance Director, or VP Finance
  • You have a specific situation you are navigating right now
  • You want honest input, not reassurance
  • You are ready to act on what comes out of the sessions
  • You understand this is a private, confidential engagement
Let's talk

Limited to 6 clients at a time.

A short call to understand your situation and whether this engagement makes sense. I do not take every enquiry. If it is not the right fit I will tell you directly. Senior finance leaders only.

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