CAREER HISTORY

• Partner and Master Coach, Institute of Executive Coaching
• Director, Organisational Leadership with Bid Pty Ltd
• General Manager, Human Resources with Vodafone Network Pty Ltd
• Human Resources Director with Pirelli Cables Limited (United Kingdom)
• Group Human Resources Manager with Pirelli Cables Australia Limited
• Employee Relations Manager with ICI Australia Operations Pty Ltd
• Personnel Manager with Pirelli-Ericsson Limited
• Personnel Officer with Colgate Palmolive Pty Ltd

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Executive coaching, organisation and team development and group facilitation to:
  - Align leaders and their teams with the business strategy
  - Integrate values, leadership and culture with strategic objectives
  - Develop the effectiveness of senior management teams

BACKGROUND

It's the combination of pragmatism and high energy that enables Des to engage executives and leadership teams in developing their capability to deliver significant business results. He quickly develops trust and openness with his clients through his practical, engaging and solution focused approach.

Having worked in the corporate arena for the last 30 years Des brings a wealth of experience from working with senior executives over the last ten years aligning business strategy, culture, leadership and values and prior to that as a Director in both Australia and the UK. He is highly effective at customising best practice in organisational, leadership and team development to meet client’s prioritised needs and agreed outcomes. 

For example, Des recently worked with a senior management team, initially focusing on clarity of accountabilities and alignment of individual and team performance measures. Then with the aid of 360° feedback, the team engaged in the development of constructive mindsets and behaviours to support the achievement of their business goals and objectives. In this instance, Des then embarked on coaching and facilitating the team to deepen the quality of their debate to enhance their problem solving and decision making.

One international finance client engaged Des with a divisional leadership team over an 18 month period during a significant off-shoring project. This assignment involved the development and alignment of the culture and leadership with the post-project strategic outcomes achieved through team coaching and facilitation with individual, team and organisational diagnostics.

When clients engage Des to work with them on their Values he takes a ‘Whole System’ approach: aligning individuals’ values with their behaviours; aligning the organisation’s actual & espoused values with the organisation’s systems and processes; aligning individual behaviours with the organisation’s systems; and aligning individual values with the collective values.

With a number of clients Des has successfully raised senior teams’ awareness of individual and collective behaviour patterns that take place in the team dynamic. In some instances this has involved the use of team problem solving simulations supported by a group behavioural diagnostic. Confidential one-on-one qualitative structured interviews with members of the senior team and/or Des observing the team working together on real business issues and then providing feedback to the group can also be used to enhance awareness of the group dynamic.

With another organisation, an Executive Coaching assignment with the chief executive has integrated business planning facilitation with the executive team and aligned the chief executive’s leadership of each member of the executive team for individual and collective achievement of their business targets.

Des successfully works at Director and General Management levels with a wide range of clients across the banking and finance sector as well as media, technology and retail industries. His personable style and ability to draw out the key issues makes him a much sought after facilitator and executive coach.

Clients Des has worked with include: Asian Development Bank; Citigroup; GrainCorp; HBOS Australia; Hunter Water; KPMG; NAB; Perpetual; Premier Media Group; QBE Insurance; RTA; Sydney Opera House; Westpac; and Woolworths.