Building stronger SME businesses in the AI Era
Most SME leaders are buried, unable to get to the critical leadership work: the decisions that drive a business toward significant profit and dynamism.
That is the gap I close.
12 years as MD: transformation, crisis and a successful exit
CFA-trained | Corporate finance & investment consulting, UBS | Goldman Sachs 10KSB
Advisor, operator, venture builder
Where I Can Help
You have no time to drive your business forwards. I work alongside you to improve profitability, build a dynamic leadership team and adapt for the AI Era.
AI Era Transformation
Technology disruption, competitive shifts, market changes. You can see what's coming. We've already rebuilt a business around it.
Building Through Distress, Growth Or To Sell
You can see the business is exposed, or the succession is coming, or the model that got you here has outgrown the leadership running it, and there is still time to reposition before any of it costs you value.
Both require the same thing: clear thinking, decisive action and someone who has been in the room when the stakes were real.
What I Bring
The gap in most organisations isn't the strategy. It's that the leader is too buried in the day-to-day to close it themselves, and nobody's stepping into that space for them.
Twelve years as MD, including rebuilding the same structural weakness I'd already fixed once, taught me to spot that gap from inside it.
Seven years in corporate finance and investment consulting for private bank clients gave me the financial rigour to close it properly.
Work on AI disruption, macro economic positioning and investment thesis development gives me the strategic foresight to position businesses for what is coming, not just what is happening now.
Four ways I work:
Operating Partner: embedded in the leadership team, driving commercial and cultural transformation from inside.
Fractional Chairman / Board Adviser: one to three days per month, strategic guidance, governance, stakeholder relationships.
Strategic & Operational Restructuring: repositioning businesses where the leader can no longer see the business clearly enough to fix it themselves, working alongside specialist insolvency and restructuring partners where formal distress is part of the picture.
Equity Partnership: selective positions where long-term alignment makes sense
Businesses At An Inflection Point
Most businesses reach a point where the model that got them here stops being enough. Sometimes that is visible pressure. Sometimes it is something quieter: the sense that the next phase requires a different kind of leadership at the top.
Repositioning and transformation are the same discipline whether a business is scaling, facing succession or under pressure: the leaders who navigate change well are the ones who act before they run out of options. The leaders who navigate change well are the ones who act before they run out of options.
Not sure where you stand? The Stress Test maps your business against three economic scenarios built on IMF, WEF, Goldman Sachs and Nobel Prize-winning research. Ten minutes. An honest picture.
Evidence
Featured Projects
Featured projects driving strategic clarity, leadership development & commercial repositioning. See the proof that transformation is possible.
Playbook
Practical frameworks from 12 years of transformation & turnaround work. Download the tools, read the insights, learn the methods. Everything here is tested in real turnarounds, not theory from a textbook. Use what works.
TESTIMONIALS
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Gary Chivers, Former Business Partner
“He cares deeply about seeing his people thrive, he is relentless and he is extremely capable. I would happily run into burning buildings alongside Marc, and smash through walls to drag people out.”
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Ed Birks, Director
"Marc possesses an innate ability to cut through noise and identify the truth of a situation. He saw straight through the smokescreen that had been created and took decisive action at speed.
His work helped protect the wider group and significantly reduced personal and financial exposure for those involved. Beyond the crisis, his coaching and lived experience helped me move forward quickly - I've since appointed him as advisor to my business and Chair of the Board."
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Annette Pettitt, Accountancy Firm Principal
“Marc is an exceptional coach and a steady hand in demanding circumstances.
He knows how to guide teams through uncertainty with clear thinking, practical direction, and a leadership style that inspires trust. His impact on an organisation’s ability to adapt and thrive is invaluable.”
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Chris Dunn, CEO of TDA Transitions & Learning
"In your consulting niche you have a lot to pass on - especially that 'first hand' lived experience. That sets you apart. There is no substitute for experience.”
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Jasper Heinrich, Operational Leader
"Marc brought immediate clarity and direction during a period of real pressure. His calm leadership, structured approach, and clear plan gave the team confidence when it mattered most. We faced some big decisions, and his ability to cut through complexity and create clarity made all the difference."
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Tom Canning, Aston Martin Racing Driver
“I’m very grateful for the involvement from Marc and the impact he had on me and my career over these years as well as a relationship for life. I developed more than I could have imagined in almost all areas.”
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Martin Badder, Music Composer & Producer
"Marc is a very special person. His compassion and caring nature shine through in everything he does, and I felt a genuine connection with him. I am thankful for his impact on my journey."
Ready to move forward?
Whether you're under pressure or positioning for what's next, the leader who acts before the gap becomes the whole problem always has more options, lower cost, and a cleaner outcome.
If you're concerned about your business or a client you're advising, let's have a direct conversation.
