CLIENTS &TESTIMONIALS
Simon Kayll, CEO Medical Protection Society (MPS)
I first encountered John in early 2018, when I joined his newly formed Vistage group. A Vistage Chair plays many roles, facilitator, encourager, confidant, mentor, coach, coordinator, administrator and more besides and John managed them all well – apart from the one time he gave the wrong address for a meeting!
The Vistage group meetings were always engaging and John managed them with consummate ease. One of the most valuable parts of the Vistage experience is the one to one sessions with the Chair. To ensure this is of value, John invested a lot of time getting to know me and the company I work for, as this knowledge helped him to better understand my working environment and the challenges I face and thus better able to coach. John has a wealth of business and commercial experience and no matter what we were talking about, he invariably had an example which helped shed light and clarity to assist with a way forward. John is also extremely thorough, making notes of conversations and reappraising himself of those notes prior to the next session, he never forgot what I had previously committed to and always held me accountable! John always showed interest in my role and my work and through a combination of experience, understanding of my environment and thoroughness invariably helped me better understand the situations that I faced and how best to address them.
Steve Harding, Global CEO Geometry
I have known John for many years and during that time I have come to appreciate and be impressed by his wide range of skills and experiences.
For me John’s greatest strengths lie in his ability to listen and then provide an honest and straight talking perspective, he never pulls his punches. His approach has resulted in him becoming a great Mentor and Coach to many Senior Executives across a very wide range of business sectors. Personally, whenever I have had a big business decision to make I have always involved John as he never fails to provide an educated and astute perspective…I could not recommend him more highly.
Bruce Gardner, Head of Partnerships, Consumer Brands, Intu Properties plc
I’ve known John for 24yrs, which in itself tells a story. From knowing him as an industry leader, to being an employee in his businesses, to receiving timely and informed advice as a coach and mentor, I’ve learnt and benefited from his support and friendship throughout the years.
One of John’s biggest assets is his network, which in turn becomes your network, whether it’s to benefit your own business, your own personal career or simply to meet other like-minded people.
Mark Robertson, CEO MJCP
I feel very fortunate to be working with John and thank him for encouraging me to take control of my business life and believe in myself again.
John has given me the confidence to make difficult decisions when needed, he has also helped me improve my work/life balance and understand my choices.
From our first meeting, I felt like he was someone I could really trust. I can't speak highly enough of John and the business experience he provides.
Max Malavasi, CEO, Aquapac International
John has been a valuable resource over the past nine months. He has mentored me by listening carefully and then applying his considerable commercial experience to suggest ways forward. He is a good coach. He has sat it on zoom calls with my colleagues and recommended some good options in approaching business challenges and opportunities.
John has a very empathetic and relaxed manner which helps when untangling day to day issues as well as evaluating important strategic decisions. He has proven to be a good rock of calm and good spirits throughout the COVID-19 crisis which has affected our company like many others. Definitely someone you want on your ‘boat’ during a storm. I’d highly recommend him to any small or medium sized business.
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Michael Mann, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Brand Culture
In the 20 years I’ve known John, I’ve always admired how he has grown and evolved business across different sectors and the vast experience he’s gathered along the way. John is clearly extremely commercially driven, but it’s also his ability to simplify the complex, communicate effectively and nurture talent and relationships that helps turn business plans and ideas into a reality. With people always at the heart of his approach, he mentors, empowers and trusts individuals and teams to succeed. John clearly thrives on spotting business angles, making connections and introductions, and this is distilled in his Effective Networking & Referrals workshop. My agency team and I found it gave us a completely different perspective with regards to what ‘networking’ really means, who should network, and how to go about it. A thoroughly enjoyable session resulted in actionable principles for us all to take away, demystifying new business and removing any fear factor associated with it.
Daniel Todaro, CEO Gekko
John is someone every business should have on their side. He's capable of understanding all sectors and appreciating the complexities of your business to identify how best to advise. Through listening with a considered approach, you’ll find working with John quite cathartic.
Dror Levy, CEO Mi Terms
I’ve known John for only 12 months and in that time I’ve changed my career and relocated my family from London to Hove. I’ve moved from a very successful (and stable) CEO role to an (adventurist) entrepreneurial role where I’m driving a new start-up.
It’s been invaluable to have someone that is human but also a very sound commercial advisor at my side when I’ve needed him. These are difficult decisions and what I needed is the balance between a friend, a mentor, and an experienced advisor, and John is just that. Most of all, there is not doubt in my mind as to where to go if I ever need counsel, and this offers reassurance and confidence
Maurice Fleming, CEO Shelton Fleming
John is my rock.
He is always there with positive commercial advice, based on firm business experience foundations. He has mentored me over recent years to encourage my leadership skills with great success. His breadth of knowledge of marketing and other industries is catalysed by his intelligence, morality, and innate perception of how best to tackle an issue. He doesn’t just stop at the advice, continuing check on progress with honest passion.
Dawn Marrs, MD Krow
I have known John for over 20 years and throughout that time he has provided expert guidance and support which has been invaluable towards my own path and personal growth.
John is an excellent mentor who has a wealth of experience and will always be on hand to help support and guide you, whatever the situation. I would highly recommend John to anyone seeking business mentorship.
Alex Young, MD We Are Futures
I have had the pleasure of knowing John for 10 years - both working with him at an integrated communications agency group, and as one of his mentees.
With John's consultative leadership and mentorship at the agency, we rethought, reinvented and modernised a 20 year old group of 3 companies and 200 people - building new business models, creating new differentiating propositions, restructuring around key strategic specialisms, and digitising the delivery processes.
Years on, I continue to enjoy our regular mentor sessions, where I am able to learn from John’s invaluable experience, his wide business networks and connections, and his sharp and practical business brain. All with a nice cup of tea…
