Karen is an established and respected senior leader in healthcare and leadership development. She is accustomed to working at a national level and playing a key role in the development and delivery of current and future leadership initiatives. In her roles as Managing Director of the NHS Leadership Academy and Director of Leadership at the King’s Fund she has established a deserved reputation and track record for success and is regarded as an authoritative source on leadership in health.

Karen has a wide portfolio of experience and skills to offer organisations, systems and senior leaders and their colleagues. She has the ability to understand, critically analyse, creatively address and respond to complex issues and then to skillfully manage the business process from planning to delivery. Adept at communication and people skills Karen presents as a formidable ally for change and development.

Karen understands the key issues and challenges faced by the public sector today. She has steadfastly remained true to the values of public service and these in turn underpin her own belief systems and behaviours.

As an accomplished facilitator of both small and large groups where there are difficult issues to face Karen is skilled in offering challenge and questioning so that fundamental problems are addressed and resolved. Karen is skilled in providing support to Boards and senior teams helping them to think creatively about seemingly intransigent problems, guiding them through a process of exploration, understanding and the development of practical and workable solutions. Equally as powerful and effective Karen works well on a one to one basis to offer development on personal leadership issues and real work dilemmas.

She is a proven strategic thinker with a track record of significant input and contribution at local, regional and national levels. Her expertise and knowledge in leadership development has led to frequent invitations to speak on national and international platforms and advise other international health systems on their leadership development.

Francis is an experienced strategy and organisation development (OD) professional. He has led the European Leadership Consulting Practice and the European Corporate Restructuring and Change Practice for a global consulting firm. Dealing regularly with business restructuring and corporate transformation, he has deep expertise in strategy setting, organisation design, leadership effectiveness and culture change.

Francis has held positions within both the financial services and manufacturing sectors, living and working in the UK, Belgium, Sweden and France. Since 1996 he has consulted in North America, the Middle East, South East Asia and Europe, operating at Board and top team levels.

He has worked with a range of organisations and leaders across sectors, including: PricewaterhouseCoopers, HSBC, Shell, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Ernst & Young, the British Red Cross, Arup, B&Q, United Utilities, Philips, Cadbury Schweppes, Coors Brewing Company, World Vision, British Telecommunications, Bayer, BBC News, SES Global, the NHS, Zurich Financial Services, Eon, the Peak District National Park Authority and the Prudential.

Author of The Dynamics of Change (Routledge: London & NY), Francis has published, consulted and lectured on strategy, systems thinking and business transformation.  He is currently Managing Partner of Blue Grain, an organisational effectiveness advisory firm. Francis holds a PhD in Organisational Behaviour from the Department of Systems Science, City University, London

Simon has been a development professional, coach, consultant and facilitator for over 15 years. He has a particular interest in the overarching architecture of development approaches, as well as design and implementation, working with clients to knit together the development experience with the strategic needs and direction of their organisation.

As a partner at the global people and organisation consultancy, Korn Ferry Hay Group, he led the health and local government consulting practice at Kory Fer ry Hay Group for 3 years before leaving corporate life in 2018 to work as an independent consultant. Simon’s career started in the NHS, where he worked in a number of operational roles before moving into the organisational development area. He has extensive experience and expertise in personal and organisational development, particularly in public sector organisations – but with design and delivery experience across other sectors.

Simon has worked at chief executive level, with executive teams, operational and frontline teams, through to frontline staff at ward or store level to support them in making change they want to make in themselves. He has worked extensively with people from all levels and from all professions – and on a one to one basis, development programmes of up to 100 and larger conference events.

Before joining Hay Group, Simon’s career included roles at The King’s Fund, the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, NHS England, Mars Confectionery and The
Terrence Higgins Trust. In his consulting career, clients have included NHS England, NHS Leadership Academy, Post Office, National Air Traffic Services, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, Reebok International, BP, Cambridge Assessment, Diageo and Warner Brothers Music amongst others.

Simon’s MSc in Organizational Behaviour is from Birkbeck College (University of London), and he is an accredited coach through The School of Coaching and The University of Strathclyde.