Strategic Leadership Programme

Starting out as a civil engineer responsible for large infrastructure projects, William became fascinated with the people side of business. Now a qualified business psychologist, and executive coach, he aims to bring a refreshingly practical approach to culture, people and performance. Over the last 10 years, he has worked with leaders and managers in organisations like British Airways, the Met Office, Bombardier, the NHS and multiple local authorities. He also spent time supporting SMEs and start-ups as well as working in the Middle East with one of the world’s largest food producers. As a result, he can relate to a wide range of people and organisational contexts. 

Credentials: 

• Member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and holds the Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential 
• Lecturer with Henley Business School, teaching on its Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching (PCEC) programme 
• Holds a Team Coaching Certificate from the Academy of Executive Coaching (AoEC) 
• Holds a foundation certificate in Nancy Kline’s Time to Think coaching method 
• Recently interviewed for the book Coaching with Research in Mind on utilising psychometrics with coaching, as he aims to strike a balance between practical ‘rules of thumb’ and the latest evidence-based research. 

David is an inspirational Executive Coach and Leadership Mentor with two decades of experience in people development. He is a Law Graduate (LLB), a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and he holds an MA in Coaching and Mentoring, a post graduate diploma in Criminology and an MA in Organisational Management and Economics. 

David has worked with colleagues at all levels in organisations in sectors including petrochemicals, telecoms, IT, banking and finance, construction, aviation, higher education, ministry, transportation, security, military and customer service. He has a motivational and supportive coaching style. 

With more than 30 years in policing, his career has involved strategic planning, performance delivery, security management, risk management and disaster recovery. He is an accomplished strategist. David has extensive experience of operating at a strategic level in public, private and third sector organisations, both in the UK and internationally, bringing a broad spectrum of knowledge, awareness and expertise across a wide range of subjects and disciplines. 

With more than 10 years of business consulting and professional service experience, James has developed a well-rounded and practical perspective on strategic development and human capital development at all levels and cross-industries both nationally and internationally.  With a focus on innovation in strategy development, James is a certified 'exceptional trainer’.  He has a diverse background in business management, innovation, strategy development, organisational development, recruitment and operations. 

During his role in recruitment, James applied advanced psychometric techniques and personally assessed over 1,000 candidates for client’s businesses, as well as his own. Combined with coaching, this has given him an advanced experience of dealing with the human psyche and obtaining optimal results for human capital and organisational development. 

James has a very approachable manner, with valuable real-world experience as an employer and a senior consultant to a wide-range of industries and organisations.

Dr Victoria Smith-Collins, Managing Director of Smith-Collins International, is one of our most experienced trainer-facilitators and coaches.

Victoria has over 20 years of academic and corporate experience that spans international markets.  She has trained/supervised academic programmes up to MBA level (including delivering lectures, tutorials and dissertation supervision). Victoria has also worked extensively with the Chartered Management Institute, delivering programmes, examining and verifying assessment work.

Victoria specialises in leadership and management development, with a focus on strategic leadership, consumer psychology (the subject of her Ph.D), organisational development, and change management. She has worked internationally for 13 years, where she has worked for an international training institute and has headed the Learning and Development function at one of the Middle East’s largest regional banks.

Whilst at the training institute, Victoria grew and developed a number of professional UK based programmes (including those from CMI and CIM). Before moving to the bank, Victoria took on a senior business development role which primarily involved consulting with key clients (cross-sectors) and partnering with them to understand their development needs and tailor programmes to fulfil those needs.

Dr James Fowler is a lecturer in strategy and the Deputy MBA Director at Essex University’s Business School. He was formerly a regular Officer in the Armed Forces where his appointments included running the language wing of the Defence College of Intelligence and Security and advising the Royal Engineers’ training and development team. In his academic career James has published a series of books and journal articles in the field of business and management history. Alongside his academic work he is also frequently in contact with business via consultancy and executive education. In those capacities he has advised and worked with Brusov University, the TALE - Haven Gateway Partnership, Transport for London and the c2c rail franchise.