Accelerating Experience

Achieving Benefits

The right mindset is essential for lasting high-performance

Supporting and stretching your leaders

We don’t turn up, dispense wisdom, then disappear. Instead, at the outset we agree the goals and the lasting effects we’ll leave behind. Then we establish the relationships required to reach them as quickly as possible. To improve performance. To generate growth. To create new opportunities.

Real results, real value

We’ve helped clients create hundreds of £millions of extra value. Every client is different, but what doesn’t change is the way we challenge, stretch, and support your top team. Our mentoring approach to consulting inspires and readies leaders to deliver more and raise performance in a way that lasts.

We have a reputation for challenging and inspiring CEOs and their top teams to enhance their business leadership and deliver outstanding results.

But don’t take our word for it. With our Clients we’ve been proud winners of 9 prestigious awards since we formed in 2005, including recently:

 

 

Creating value - Case studies

21 successful acquisitions

Business challenge

  • Preparing to do an MBO
  • CEO and 3 Exco members all to Exit
  • Replacements for each needed with credibility to lead the MBO

Accelerating Experience Action

Strategic advisory role, including:

  • Prepared new CEO and FD to lead the MBO
  • Advised CEO re building new Executives into a High Performing Team
  • Designed, delivered two day offsites pa, inc strategy, business development, leadership
  • Mentoring for Executive Team members
  • Accelerated the next layer's transition from managers to leaders

Result

  • 21 successful Acquisitions
  • Sales up from £52 to £146m in 6 years
  • Commensurate growth in EBITDA to £17m
  • CEO named EY Entrepreneur of the Year, London and SE 2014
  • £170m Exit in 2016, PE return 2.8x

Endorsements

“Strengthening the business leadership capability in our executive team has been a key component in our growth story.”

Patrick Gallagher, CEO, CitySprint

EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 Business Services – London / South East


“To us, investing in management teams is mission critical for sustainable business success. Accelerating Experience’s contribution has generated extra value and de-risked this MBO. We are delighted with the results.”

Nicol Fraser, Partner, Dunedin LLP

Private Equity House of the Year, M&A Awards 2014


View MCA case study


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Delivering complex transition to new owners

Business challenge

  • Business being sold post credit crunch and nationalisation of its parent, Fortis Bank
  • CEO departed and not replaced
  • Huge uncertainty during extended sale

Accelerating Experience Action

  • Advised CEO and HRD initially 1-1
  • Following CEO’s departure, advised Global Management Team for 11 months between exclusivity and completion
  • Advisory support on all people and change activities

Result

  • Retention of key Executives / Management
  • Delivered each of three parallel activities:
    • ongoing business as usual
    • the sale transaction and
    • the top team’s transition to new owners

Endorsements

"Played a key role in ensuring the success of this long complex cross-border divestment"

Frans van der Horst

Senior MD, ABN Amro Bank


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£10m swing in EBITDA from loss to profit

Business challenge

  • New CEO
  • Refocused business strategy, given the shift from print to digital distribution
  • Major transformation including asset sales, headcount reduction, premises move
  • New Executive team, many new at that level

Accelerating Experience Action

  • 1-1 support for CEO
  • Building new Executives into a High Performing Team
  • Strengthening Executive leadership capability individually and collectively
  • Mentoring first time directors to accelerate experience and performance

Result

  • £10m swing in EBITDA from loss to profit
  • Levels of openness and trust much higher 12 months on
  • New organisational culture being embedded
  • Transformation programme completed, now able to focus on high growth areas
  • Business refinanced and recapitalised with £3m additional equity capital raised

Endorsements

"Adopting a creative partnership approach from the outset, working with us (not doing to us) created more thoughtful responses to the issues we faced.

They brought an assured external presence during a period of high change, creating a more secure environment for our transformation. This programme was aligned with organisational objectives throughout, and ensured a faster pace of delivery in a lasting way".

Zillah Byng-Thorne

CEO, Future PLC


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Building a high performing global team

Business challenge

  • New global Subsea division, with stretching performance targets
  • New EVP (Subsea), new Group CEO and new corporate structure
  • New Executive team, many new to the organisation and in disparate locations
  • Business strategy to share, implementation and re-organisation to plan
  • Collaborative leadership style to replace command and control of the past

Accelerating Experience Action

Advisory role including:

  • 1-1 support for EVP
  • Top team alignment around new vision and 3 year plan
    • Smoothing the path
    • Ways of working
    • Capability increase (communicating and delegating shared responsibility)
  • Building new Executives into a High Performing Team

Result

  • Objectives, roadmap and key performance indicators to deliver the business plan agreed with all Executive members aligned
  • Ways of working together agreed
  • Shared understanding of selves and each other, including actions to create a High Performing Executive Team
  • Core communications to cascade and engage next tier in business plans and core targets

Subsequent drop in oil price by 70% brought a change of business strategy and group re-structure

Endorsements

"Provided the Leadership support and Facilitation to allow the new Subsea organisation to meet its agreed goals and objectives. Accelerating Experience’s engagement was one of the key enablers in our success".

Tony Duncan

Senior Executive VP and CEO, Subsea McDermott International Inc


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Maintaining success on the global stage

Business challenge

  • Continuing as the best in the world is not a strategy it is an ambition
  • British Triathlon is central to success across all sports following major Olympic success
  • Delivering world class sporting success and inspiring mass participation are paramount
  • Implementing rapid culture change to deliver projects and change faster to maximise participation
  • Focus for culture change is to embed the sport as a business with a commercial mind set throughout
  • Maintaining maximum funding for the sport

Accelerating Experience Action

  • Providing a practical combination of business and sports knowledge and skills, sharing extensive leadership experience
  • Creating a cohesive high performing team
  • De-risking projects by full inclusion of stakeholders
  • Restructuring with minimum impact
  • Upskilling the management teams

Result

  • Major international events delivered with increased TV coverage
  • World class coach development programme driving quality of coaching and increasing participation
  • Doing more with less within current funding levels
  • Creating strong succession plans

Endorsements

"Chris’ challenging and supportive style of consulting fits perfectly with the transformation need in the Sport. Strengthening the breadth of business leadership across British Triathlon has increased the cohesiveness of the top teams driving towards one common purpose, overcoming barriers quickly and effectively, delivering lasting value.".

Jack Buckner

CEO, British Triathlon Federation


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