Episode 32: Tamzen Isacsson – The state of consulting today, from the CEO of the MCA
Unlocking Value Podcast, episode thirty-two In this episode, John is joined by Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), the body representing the UK’s leading consulting firms. Tamzen works closely with firm leaders, government and stakeholders across the consulting profession, giving her a broad and well-informed perspective on how the sector is […]
Episode 31: Jeremie Guillerme – Turning reputation into a strategic advantage
Unlocking Value Podcast, episode thirty-one In this episode, John is joined by Jeremie Guillerme, Partner at Reputation Inc, a specialist consultancy focused on helping organisations understand, build and protect their reputation with the stakeholders that matter most. Jeremie has spent his career advising businesses across corporate affairs, communications and strategy. His work centres on a […]
Episode 30: Jonathan Peachey – When cognition becomes free: What AI means for professional services
Unlocking Value Podcast, episode thirty In this episode, John is joined by Jonathan Peachey, founder of Factory X and former board member at Next 15, where he spent several years leading M&A and transformation across a group of more than 20 businesses spanning consulting, marketing and professional services. Jonathan has spent much of his career […]
Episode 29: Chris Allinson – First of the Next, Not Best of the Last
Unlocking Value Podcast, episode twenty-nine In this episode, John is joined by Chris Allinson, Managing Partner at Yonder Consulting, a firm that helps organisations rethink how they grow and where they compete as markets evolve. Chris has spent his career working at the intersection of strategy, innovation and insight. He describes his approach with a […]
Episode 28: Adrian Hands – Coffee to Cash: Simple Habits That Keep Professional Services Pipelines Healthy
Unlocking Value Podcast, episode twenty-eight In this episode, John is joined by Adrian Hands, an experienced sales leader who has spent more than three decades in roles across technology, SaaS, media and e-commerce. Adrian now works as part of Positive Momentum, a group of seasoned consultants who run their own practices while sharing support, tools […]
Episode 27: Emma Flin – How ‘Buy and Build’ Drives Growth and Value in Professional Services
Unlocking Value Podcast, episode twenty-seven In this episode, John welcomes back Emma Flin, an investment director at Sovereign Capital Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on backing and growing mid-market tech and professional services businesses. Having first spoken to Emma back in episode 3, we were keen to talk to her again and learn […]
Episode 26: Venkata Nori and Hari Sethalapathy – From Zero Clients to 400 Staff: Building a Global Oracle Consultancy on Trust and Outstanding Service
Unlocking Value Podcast, episode twenty-six Hari Sethalapathy and Venkata Subbarayudu Nori are two of the three co-founders of Winfo Solutions, a global Oracle consulting business that has grown from three people with no clients to more than 400 staff across a dozen countries in just 11 years. Both spent years delivering major transformation programmes inside […]
Episode 25: Andrew Brown – Fresh From Exit: How Founder Independence and a Great Team Secured the Deal
Unlocking Value Podcast, episode twenty-five In this episode, John is joined by Andrew Brown, founder of Acuity Business Solutions, a consultancy he built and led for almost 20 years before overseeing its sale to the Scandinavian group Lumera in December 2025. Garwood had the privilege of advising Andrew through the transaction. With the deal only […]
Episode 24: Nick Synnott – The Personal Cost and Payoff of Building a Founder-Led Business
Unlocking Value Podcast, episode twenty-four In this episode, John is joined by Nick Synnott, founder of Create Engage and host of the long-running “Climb in Consulting” podcast. Many listeners will know Nick for his work on marketing in the consulting sector, but this conversation takes a different angle. John and Nick talk about Nick’s journey […]
Episode 23: Rob Garner, Luk Smeyers & Deri Hughes – The Four Forces Shaping Consulting in 2026
Unlocking Value Podcast, episode twenty-three This episode is a little different from our usual format. Rather than a one to one conversation, we are sharing the audio from a recent webinar hosted by Deri Hughes of Honeycomb Consulting Skills Training, joined by Luk Smeyers from The Visible Authority and Rob Garner from Garwood Growth. Together, […]