John Whelan MBE

I am an Executive Coach who helps leaders, gain a deeper understanding of their strengths, deal with organisational politics and develop their all-round leadership and performance and that of the team and the business.

I have over 30 years’ experience in large business in the Telecoms, Technology, Space and Defence Sectors. I have held enterprise level leadership positions and worked with leaders at Executive Committee and Board level. I have designed and implemented leadership development, coaching programmes and performance management systems. I have a deep understanding of what creates high performance and strong leadership and how things can sometimes go wrong for the individual and the business. 

I have been a Board member and Pension Trustee Director and have strong operational business understanding. I am known for connecting very quickly to the business environment, the individual issues and their implications for business performance and supporting individuals to optimise their contribution. 

I have coached senior leaders in Company as part of my senior HR roles and now coach independently. Coaching assignments have included CEOs and top teams engaged in new strategy development, divisional leaders transitioning into new/promoted positions, FTSE Directors implementing change and senior functional directors seeking career coaching. I have coached clients from across sectors in Banking, Infrastructure, Technology, Defence and Professional Services.

I have a pragmatic and operationally grounded approach, I connect and build trust quickly and combine a client centred coaching philosophy with mentoring based on my experience of what works and doesn’t in leadership and business.