Unlocking Value
Unlocking Value is designed to give founders and owners of professional services firms more confidence when they're working toward an exit or thinking about taking on investment.
Across six episodes, our host John Howard speaks with founders, investors and advisors about the moments that define the transaction journey - how to get ready, what to expect and how to succeed.
We cover everything from value drivers and team alignment to investor expectations and life after the deal. You’ll hear from people who’ve sold their firms, taken minority investments, stayed on, exited and started again – and from those who advise or invest in firms like yours every day.
Episodes
34 episodes
Episode 34: Jenny Burns – The Accidental CEO: The Leadership Path She Never Planned
In this episode, John is joined by Jenny Burns, CEO of Magnetic, an innovation consultancy that helps organisations solve complex problems and create new products, services and experiences at pace. Jenny’s career spans more than 25 years across...
Episode 33: Andrew Laird – Where values lead, growth follows: Rethinking how consultancies scale
In this episode, John is joined by Andrew Laird, Chief Executive of Mutual Ventures, a specialist consultancy focused on public service reform and local transformation.Andrew co-founded Mutual Ventures over 15 years ago with a clear but ...
Episode 32: Tamzen Isacsson – The state of consulting today, from the CEO of the MCA
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 stakeho...
Episode 31: Jeremie Guillerme – Turning reputation into a strategic advantage
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 ...
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Episode 30: Jonathan Peachey - When cognition becomes free: What AI means for professional services
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, marketi...
Episode 29: Chris Allinson – First of the Next, Not Best of the Last
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 intersecti...
Episode 28: Adrian Hands - Coffee to Cash: Simple Habits That Keep Professional Services Pipelines Healthy
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 consul...
Episode 27: Emma Flin - How ‘Buy and Build’ Drives Growth and Value in Professional Services
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 Em...
Episode 26: Venkata Nori and Hari Sethalapathy - From Zero Clients to 400 Staff: Building a Global Oracle Consultancy on Trust and Outstanding Service
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 ...
Episode 25: Andrew Brown - Fresh From Exit: How Founder Independence and a Great Team Secured the Deal
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 privil...
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Episode 24: Nick Synnott – The Personal Cost and Payoff of Building a Founder-Led Business
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...
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Episode 23: Rob Garner, Luk Smeyers & Deri Hughes - The Four Forces Shaping Consulting in 2026
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 Visibl...
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Episode 22: Dan Figueiredo - A Microsoft Insider’s View on AI in Consulting
AI is firmly on the agenda for professional services firms, but many leaders are still working out what it really means in practice – for delivery, governance, people, and trust with clients. In this episode of Unlocking Value, Joh...
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Episode 21: Lizzie Meadowcroft – Professional Services Deals from Both Sides of the Table
Lizzie Meadowcroft is part of the value creation team at LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group. She works closely with management teams across the LDC portfolio, supporting growth, integration and development.Before joining...
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Episode 20: Claire Simm – Leadership Lessons from Growing Professional Services Firms
Claire Simm is Managing Director and Global Head of Regulatory Consulting at Kroll. She has built her entire career in professional services, moving between Big Four firms, entrepr...
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Episode 19: Unlocking Christmas – Reflections on our 2025 conversations and what comes next
To round off the year, the show takes a slightly different shape.In this brief episode, John reflects on some of the common themes from conversations in 2025 and says thank you to the guests and listeners who’ve shaped the series. He als...
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Episode 18: Olly Purnell – The Anti-Exit Strategy: Building a Consultancy Designed for Long-Term Independence
In a sector where scaling often leads to external investment or an eventual sale, what does it look like to build a consultancy that grows, stays independent and develops a long-term ownership model for its people?
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Episode 17: Pekka Metsaranta – No Co-Founders, No Roadmap, No Illusions
In this episode of The Unlocking Value Podcast, John Howard speaks with Pekka Metsaranta, founder and CEO of Sisua Ltd, a consultancy known for stepping in to help clients succeed with ...
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Episode 16: Laura Morrill – Game, Set, Growth: An Investor’s View on Resilience, Partnership and Long-term Value
If you’re leading a professional services firm and want to grow without losing what makes it yours, this episode brings clarity to one of the biggest decisions you’ll face: whether to take on investment and how to do it without comprom...
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Episode 15: Tom Burnet – Building With Intent: Lessons on Focus, Client Service and the Courage to Make Tough Decisions
In this episode of the Unlocking Value podcast, John Howard speaks with Tom Burnet, an experienced chair, former public company chief executive and long-time leader across technology, services and people-centred organisations.Tom’s caree...
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Episode 14: Rhys Hefford - Build, Scale, Exit, Repeat: A Serial Founder’s Playbook
In this episode of the Unlocking Value podcast, John Howard speaks with Rhys Hefford, a serial founder who has built, scaled and sold multiple professional services businesses over the past fifteen years.Rhys has launched six fi...
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Episode 13: Marcus Eden-Ellis - The Bid Expert Who’s Turned Selling Into a Science
In this episode of the Unlocking Value podcast, John Howard speaks with Marcus Eden-Ellis, the founder and chief executive of Bid Perfect, a specialist consultancy that helps organisations compete, persuade, and win.Marcus spent...
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Episode 12: Adam Craker - Leading in one of the toughest markets ever and the subtle art of GESHIDO
In this episode of the Unlocking Value podcast, John Howard speaks with Adam Craker, Chief Executive of iqbusiness, one of South Africa’s leading consulting and digital integration firms.Adam has led iqbusiness for more than 15 ...
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Episode 11: Jon Grant - Achieving Premium Valuations in Tech Services M&A
In this episode of the Unlocking Value podcast, we welcome Jon Grant, Tech M&A Director at Clearwater, one of Europe’s leading corporate finance firms. Jon is one of the UK’s most experienced advisors on technology and consultin...
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Episode 10: Andy Strictland - Demystifying Private Equity
In this episode of the Unlocking Value podcast, John Howard speaks with Andy Strickland, Partner at Palatine Private Equity.Andy has spent more than a decade backing ambitious Professional Services founders and management teams, often at...
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