Real Executives. Real Results.
Every person on this page was exactly where you are now. They had decades of corporate experience, the ambition to do something different and no clear path to make it happen.
Here's what happened when they found one.
Nick Crossley
Former CEO, Turtle Bay Restaurants
The situation: After leaving a demanding full-time executive career in hospitality, Nick took time to reset... then realised he had no idea where to start building a portfolio career. He'd expected inbound approaches for NED and advisory roles but quickly discovered they weren't coming.
What they did: Nick joined the Accelerator in September 2025. Within weeks, he'd repositioned his LinkedIn profile, launched a reintroduction strategy and started generating inbound conversations.
The result: By mid-November, just eight weeks in, Nick had signed three paid board advisory roles and had a fourth in advanced discussions. All paid, all at his target rate, with a three-month review structure built in. He'd exceeded his original goal of two roles by Christmas before the programme was even halfway through.
"What you guided me to do has yielded some really powerful results very quickly... far faster than I thought it was ever going to happen. I thought I'd be grinding until Christmas before getting any traction."
Janet Markwick
Former Global VP Commercial Operations, Young & Rubicam (WPP)
The situation: After leaving WPP, Janet planned to build a portfolio combining non-exec roles, advisory work and consulting. Instead, the interim work she'd taken to bridge the gap kept consuming her... three days a week became four, lasted years and the NED ambition slipped further down the list each time. She knew if she didn't change her approach, she'd repeat the same pattern indefinitely.
What they did: Janet joined the Accelerator and made the deliberate decision to prioritise her portfolio rather than letting interim opportunities crowd it out. She rebuilt her LinkedIn positioning, established consistent visibility and applied the cohort accountability to keep her focused on the work that mattered rather than the work that was easiest.
The result: Eight weeks in, Janet has secured two paid advisory roles and two paid coaching engagements, with a £100k pipeline of fee proposals in active discussion and a paid international keynote in Brazil booked. More importantly, she's started believing what she was previously cynical about... that a genuine portfolio career, structured on her terms, is actually possible.
"Having somebody else on your shoulder makes the difference. I work with chief execs and tell them to deal in reality... but I needed someone doing that for me too."
Tim Richardson
Former European Sales Director, Harsh Environment Electronics Industry
The situation: After 35 years in corporate sales leadership, Tim had set up his own company but found himself trapped in commission-based contracts... trading time for money instead of leveraging his experience. He knew he wanted to build something different but didn't have the confidence or the stepping stones to reposition himself from a field sales role into strategic advisory work.
What they did: Tim joined the Accelerator and fundamentally repositioned his approach. When a French manufacturing company approached him about UK market entry, instead of defaulting to a traditional monthly retainer as a country sales manager, he and Adrian structured a strategic consulting proposal... positioning Tim as a UK market entry partner rather than a pair of boots on the ground.
The result: Tim landed a five-figure consulting project worth nearly five times his Accelerator investment... from a single engagement. The contract includes an ongoing £3,500/month fractional position to oversee implementation, with further expansion opportunities across the client's wider group of companies. He's now building a niche helping international manufacturers enter the UK defence and electronics market.
"I could have been in danger of going down the route of 'what's a monthly retainer, how can we structure something?' The work we'd done together helped me position myself differently. This is my chance to do it a different way."
Steve Goodwin
Former Managing Director, Kinetico UK
The situation: After 26 years at Johnson Diversey and four years as MD of a £13m water treatment business, Steve was made redundant in a European restructure. He'd picked up some interim work but had almost no traction finding NED roles... despite registering with listing databases like Nurole and Dynamic Boards, none of them covered his target market or offered any support with the actual process of securing appointments.
What they did: Steve joined the Accelerator and built the foundations... LinkedIn repositioning, outreach strategy, reintroduction approach... while finishing an existing interim commitment. The moment that role ended, he activated the system. Within one week of getting started, he landed his first paid NED appointment.
The result: Seven days from activation to a signed NED role... a paid position helping a US-based company enter the UK market, combining governance responsibilities with a growth partner role. Steve now has the first building block of the two-to-three role portfolio he's targeting, with outreach to new contacts not yet even started.
"I've had not a single regret and I can't recommend it highly enough. It will pay for itself time and time again... both personally in your development and motivation, and professionally in the roles you'll get."
Mark Rattley
Former VP Sales and Head of Strategic Programmes EMEA, SAP
The situation: After leaving a 30-year corporate career, Mark spent a year doing consulting and interim work... driving revenue for global clients but earning half his corporate salary, working six days a week with no loyalty or belonging. He'd expected his network to deliver opportunities, but quickly discovered how fast you become irrelevant once you step out of the corporate structure.
What they did: Mark joined the Accelerator and overhauled his approach entirely... shifting from trading time for money in operational consulting roles to positioning himself as a strategic advisor to SME founders. He learned to qualify opportunities ruthlessly, say no to work that pulled him back into execution and build a pipeline of advisory engagements that matched his skills to founders who genuinely needed them.
The result: Mark now holds three paid advisory roles with companies ranging from a 200-person global software firm to a US-based startup expanding into Europe. He's billing 20+ days a month, is actively coaching founders on sales strategy and go-to-market plus, most importantly to him, is present for his family for the first time in 20 years. His own measure of success: the work-life balance he sacrificed throughout his corporate career is now non-negotiable.
"I'm in a very different place than I was 12 months ago. The gift I've got now is I'm in the present. Forget being paid, forget everything else... that's the thing I've achieved."
Andrew Mair
Former Director, BT
The situation: After a long corporate career that culminated in a director role at BT, Andrew knew he wanted to build something of his own... but couldn't decide when to take the leap. The challenge wasn't confidence in his experience; it was timing the move and having a structured way to transition without trying to do it alone.
What they did: Andrew joined the Accelerator shortly after transitioning out of corporate. He deliberately committed to a cohort-led approach rather than attempting to build a portfolio through his network alone, focusing on advisory work rather than fractional sales roles that would have pulled him back into execution.
The result: 10 months on, Andrew has built a paid advisory portfolio that reflects exactly what he wanted... commercially valued engagements where he's treated as part of the management team rather than brought in to do the work. He now declines recruiter calls (his personal benchmark of success), is more present for his family and is already referring other senior executives into the programme.
"I could never be where I am today as a single person working on this on my own. Being part of a cohort accelerates you much faster than anything you'd do alone."
