WHAT I DO
Where I can help
Every engagement is different. But across four decades the work has consistently fallen into one of three areas — sometimes separately, sometimes in combination.
Strategic leadership
Interim and executive roles at senior level, for organisations that need steady, experienced leadership at a moment of significant change — whether that is a planned transformation, an unexpected crisis, or a period of renewal after a long period of stability.
I bring an outsider’s clarity and an insider’s commitment, and I leave organisations in better shape than I found them.
EXAMPLES
CEO, Chelsea Arts Club — a decade of transformation including a £3m restoration, a new 125-year lease and a membership culture renewed for a new generation
Managing Director, The National Gallery Company — restructuring aligned with the Gallery’s core purpose
Interim Commercial Manager, Windsor Great Park
Creative direction
Conceiving, shaping and delivering high-profile projects — events, programmes, campaigns — that express an organisation’s values to the widest possible audience. I work at the intersection of strategy and creative ambition, ensuring that what an organisation produces in public genuinely reflects what it believes in private.
EXAMPLES
— Creative Director, FCO worldwide public diplomacy programme, London Olympics
— Producer, Concert for Diana, Wembley Stadium — 500 million viewers worldwide
— Creative Director, NT Inside Out summer festival, National Theatre
— Producer, World War Z concert by Muse, Horse Guards Parade
Organisational development
Working with boards, leadership teams and organisations as a whole to ensure that values are genuinely lived — not aspirational statements, but practical guides to decision-making, culture and behaviour. This can range from a focused review of strategy and purpose to a longer programme of cultural change.
I am equally comfortable as a non-executive adviser and as an embedded part of the leadership team.
EXAMPLES
— Philanthropic strategy review, The Mercers’ Company
— Olympics legacy advisory, Government Olympic Executive
— Founding CEO, Sentebale — establishing governance and culture from scratch
— Strategy and development, The Troubadour Café
“The organisations I most enjoy working with are those that care deeply about what they stand for — and want help making sure the world can see it reflected in what they do.”
Geoffrey Matthews is available for executive, non-executive and advisory appointments, and for project-based consultancy engagements. Please get in touch to discuss.
geoffrey@marshharrier.com
07887 675669