" An outstanding coach "
Career change, promotion, a big new role
Recovering from burnout, wellness, balance
Relationship building, managing conflict
Time, energy, perspective, leadership
Selling, pitching, pricing, negotiating
Strategy, culture, talent, teamwork
No coaching journey is the same. Each client may need a tailored, bespoke approach. Having said that, we have set out below the basics of the executive coaching process.
We start at Discovery, where we meet, see how we fit and agree on intentions, to the Coaching meetings and support and through to Evaluation, where we test the progress we are making together.
The first step is to meet one another, with a short call or meeting, generally about 30 minutes so that we can get a sense of how good our “fit” is. There is no charge for this introductory session. If we both agree that it feels right, we will move on to a discovery session.
We generally spend 2 hours together, away from the office. We might start with a casual breakfast. Together, we will create a safe environment to go deeper on who you are and your coaching goals. We will agree on how it’s best for us to work together, and to move on to the next stage.
The coaching process is about facilitating your learning, performance, development, and well-being, whilst also increasing your self-awareness, collaboratively thinking through the reality of the situation, seeking options to address the challenges, and acting.
Each coaching block involves six to twelve one-hour meetings and intra-meeting support, bookended by Discovery and Evaluation over the course of 3-6 months. The process may involve 360 feedback and promotes self-development to discover solutions and drive sustainable change!
The evaluation stage is about looking carefully at the impact the coaching is delivering. In reality, the evaluation stage is also embedded into the coaching itself. We test how successful we are being, to see if the challenges are being overcome? Are the opportunities being realised? Are you growing?
As we evaluate our progress together we will then take another look at your goals. We might need to change your proposed solutions. You recommit to delivering action that has an impact and solves the challenges at hand.
Over the last ten years, I have supported people through their most important challenges. They were promoted, built businesses, clarified their personal or organisational purpose, navigated through challenging circumstances, got the job they wanted, pitched more successfully, delivered major change, built stronger relationships, aligned on strategy, resolved conflict, built teams, and built a better culture.
I draw on what I have learned during defining life experiences: Co-founding Unity Advisory, coaching others to realise their career goals, building a tech start-up into a successful business, operating as a senior PwC Partner, advising private equity investors on tens of M&A deals, building my own personal resilience, being Unity Advisory’s Managing Partner, helping to drive PwCs operational and commercial excellence, leading on the people and talent agenda for PwC’s largest business unit and helping private equity portfolio companies to drive their own value creation agendas.
And, drawing on learnings from many inspirational people: CEOs, communal leaders, investors, senior doctors, senior managers, great sportspeople, board members, and other Partners.
Given you have gotten this far through the site, I thought I might now share a few of my signature life facts that might help you to get a better picture of who I am.
I am married to Corinne, a magistrate, and we have 4 grown-up children. I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. I emigrated with my parents, brother, and sister at the age of 10 to London. I love sports; I swam nationally, and played county squash and club football and cricket. I still try to make sure I train at least 5 times a week
I didn’t make my Cambridge offer! I studied Economics at LSE and qualified as an ACA at PwC. I made it up to Partner quickly … and four years into a commercially successful start to partnership, I suffered from a painful burnout. Sometimes, life’s most painful moments deliver the biggest transformation. And this is certainly true for me.
My psychological development, my deep meditation practice, and my curiosity about the human mind and body have opened up many new dimensions to my life. I have (begun to) understand compassion, creativity, and inner calm. I better understand how to deal with a noisy mind or with fear when it arises.
My career has been varied. I was a partner at PwC for sixteen years, where I founded the firm’s tech-enabled CFO Office and Insight & Analytics business. I subsequently held several senior roles in the UK firm including Head of Commercial, Chief People Officer for Transaction Services, and Chief Operating Officer for Forensics. I advised private equity investors and their portfolio companies for twenty years. I left PwC in 2024, and I am, alongside my executive coaching work, the Managing Partner of Unity Advisory, a next-generation CFO advisory firm, backed by Warburg Pincus.
I am at my happiest when I am coaching people; helping people to grapple with complex problems, understand themselves better, and grow. And what is my coaching USP? I think differently. I am compassionate. I deliver results.
If you think I might be the right person to help you, please get in touch directly at david@dtadvisory.co. I look forward to meeting you!
