Saxton Bampfylde Advisory
Leveraging 35 years of leadership experience and industry insights, we partner with organisations going through periods of change, transformation and growth, to deliver insight and services that optimise potential and help to plan for the future.
We work closely with our clients to understand their needs, their culture and the context, providing bespoke advisory services and help them make informed decisions on strategic leadership issues.
Our Advisory Services
Board Review
Corporate governance is now firmly in the spotlight with shareholders and the general public keen to ensure that Boards operate effectively. Meeting public and regulatory requirements can put significant pressure on ensuring that Boards are delivering. Based on years of experience in assessing senior executives and organisations of all sizes and shapes, we have developed a corporate Board Review which give chairs the objective information they need to run an effective board – with the lowest possible intrusion. Our Board Review is structured around detailed discussions with all Board members about how their Board can best develop its collective performance.


Executive Assessment
Our goal in offering executive assessment is to help clients make an informed choice by providing deeper, objective information on shortlisted candidates: how they think, how they approach their work, how they act under stress what motivates them and how they influence and lead. This significantly mitigates the risk of a placed candidate jumping ship, micro-managing, being territorial or not bringing people with them. Our occupational psychologists assess each candidate using a combination of biographical interview and psychometric data. We provide a tailored written report on each candidate and are able to brief the selection panel in person.
Coaching
Our coaching sessions provide a reflective, supportive, challenging - and safe - space in which individuals can talk about what is on their mind, share insights, think the unthinkable, come up with alternatives and rehearse their next steps. It is intended to be a stimulating, enriching and enjoyable experience which supports individuals stepping up into a new role, moving into a new organisation or moving sector.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We are committed to the identification, attraction, retention and development of diverse leadership talent and work closely with our clients to help the design the best strategies to help them achieve this. Whether it is in challenging and removing bias; in sharing our learning; in designing effective strategies to reach, attract and secure diverse leadership talent or in aiding their development, we can work closely with you to help you develop a truly inclusive, organisational culture.
STEP Programme
We seek to build long term partnerships with our clients, helping nurture their upcoming diverse talent, and supporting them in their self-development, interviewing and presentation skills, and networking with like-minded professionals across a range of sectors to which they would not normally be exposed. Recognising that have a pivotal role to play in the development of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background leaders, and particularly those at a point of transition to executive leadership or board level we are proud to launch STEP, a holistic coaching, development and career development programme offering for individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
Benchmarking
We also offer remuneration benchmarking for clients across sectors and at both executive and non-executive level. This gives our clients valuable insight into where they stand against the market and ensures they remain competitive to attract the best talent. Beyond the data, which allows for easy comparison, we are also able to offer insights into any market trends we are observing in the structure of salary and benefits.

Saxton Bampfylde Advisory Team
Cassandra Woolgar

Consulting Team
Cassandra is a Business Psychologist who takes an evidenced-based approach to her work and describes Business Psychology as 'helping individuals and organisations to get the best out of each other, to reach their potential and to perform highly while maintaining wellbeing'. Before joining Saxton Bampfylde in 2018 she was a consultant in Business Psychology and Human Resources, working with a range of corporate clients and NGOs for recruitment, talent identification and leadership development. Cassandra has helped clients to identify the competencies required in roles, assess candidates and explore their strengths, weaknesses and fit to the role and company. She has also helped to identify internal talent, identify areas for development and develop leaders. Previously Cassandra has held research roles at the University of Oxford and Local Council Education Departments and management positions in charities and within the NHS. She has a BSc (Hons) from the University of Bath, an MSc from Birkbeck, University of London.
Dr Jennifer Barnes

Consulting Team
Dr Jennifer Barnes joined Saxton Bampfylde in 2016. Following four years in the consulting team, advising on board-level roles in the high education and arts and culture sectors, she is now an Executive Coach, regulated by the EMCA, and a Senior Advisor. Jennifer works with individuals who are navigating leadership roles, creating a confidential space to reflect, plan, solve issues and expand perspectives and capabilities. Jennifer’s interest in the relationship between coaching and performance started as a competitive swimmer and associate coach. Years later, seeing parallels in exceptional sporting and musical performance, she designed a programme based at the Royal College of Music that brought together physiology, psychology and neuroscience to enhance performance by approaching musicians as athletes, with the same challenges technically and psychologically. Leaders must be soloists as well as a defining member of a wider team, and that duality provokes dynamics that coaching can address to enhance performance. Jennifer's background was initially performance driven in sports and music, followed by leadership experiences in industry and higher education. From 2010-15, she was Pro-Vice-Chancellor and a Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Cambridge, and President of Murray Edwards College (2008-2012). Prior to that, she worked as an academic leader in conservatoires, and was BP’s first Global Director of Education, working with governments, universities and industry.
Pamela Leonce

Diversity and Governance Advisor
Pamela is an Advisor on diversity and governance at Saxton Bampfylde. She has extensive leadership experience having been an Executive Director across housing, health, social care and the criminal justice sector. As the Chair of Inquilab Housing association and a board member of Green Park Housing she brings a wealth of experience in company culture, governance and diversity. Her non-executive roles include: Barclays Foundation Bank, Westfield Shopping Centre and Advisor to Mayor of London Pamela is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a qualified English as a Second Language teacher.
Stephen Bampfylde

Consulting Team
Stephen is co-founder and Chairman of Saxton Bampfylde. He began his career working for IBM and Whitehall, where he spent nearly 10 years before moving into top level executive search. For 27 years he has been involved in the recruitment of executives to senior positions across all sectors. He helped establish the worldwide professional association AESC in Europe and was its international director for a number of years. Outside executive search, he has been involved with the advisory boards of the Business Schools at Cambridge and City Universities, is a Trustee of the Yvonne Arnaud theatre, and is former Chairman of the Guildford Cathedral Council. Stephen read Economics at Jesus College, Cambridge and studied corporate finance at London Business School..
Augusta Bunting

Consulting Team
Augusta has worked in executive search in the UK and Australasia and is now part of the consulting team at Saxton Bampfylde where she works predominantly on board level appointments. Augusta has led on numerous executive and non-executive assignments across the commercial, public and not for profit sectors and is part of the team here partnering with organisations to carry out board and governance reviews. She is interested in the transfer of skills across sectors and how good governance can drive success in organisations that make a difference to society. She has a first class Masters from the University of Auckland.
Eva Beazley

Saxton Bampfylde Advisory
Get in touch
We would be delighted to have an initial conversation and find out how we can help you.
Contact our team on +44020 7227 0800
Email us contact@saxbam.com
Featured

News
Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative Awards – Saxton Bampfylde wins the ‘Making a Difference Award’
Saxton Bampfylde has been announced as the winner in the “Making a Difference” category at the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative Awards (RIDI)! Each year the RIDI awards bring together leading change makers in the recruitment sector to celebrate the very best of disability confident recruitment. This Award highlights those who have excelled in levelling the […]
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Insight
Board Evolution in a Time of Crisis
At the beginning of lockdown Stephen Bampfylde held a series of webinars with Patrick Dunne to discuss the challenges facing boards and the impact of the crisis on governance. These were an opportunity for Patrick to share some of the key themes coming out of his recently published book ‘Boards: A Practical Perspective’ and allowed […]
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News
Saxton Bampfylde wins AESC’s inaugural ‘IDEA’ Award for outstanding contribution to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access in leadership
This week at their annual AESC Global Conference, the global Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) presented its inaugural “IDEA Award” for outstanding contribution to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (or “IDEA”). The AESC IDEA Award was established this year to support the goals of the AESC Diversity Pledge, signed by more than 100 CEOs of leading executive […]
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News
STEP – A new holistic coaching and development programme for diverse leaders
Saxton Bampfylde have been privileged to work with so many organisations who actively seek to diversify their leadership teams and provide development opportunities for their upcoming talent. As leadership advisors, we have a pivotal role to play in the development of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic leaders, and particularly those at a point of transition to […]
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News
Board Talk: Lessons of Lockdown
Here we reflect on our “Lessons of Lockdown” and share our insights on board and organisational purpose, human connectivity and leadership in times of crisis. Interconnectivity Amidst Crisis One of the most frequent human reactions in the face of crisis is to turn inwards. During periods of organisational difficulty, we should do the opposite […]
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News
Life beyond the crisis: how the new workplace might look and how companies will need to adjust
Last month, our HR Leadership Series events were held virtually and we were delighted to be joined by Bruce Daisley – former European Vice-President of Twitter and author of Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat. Bruce shared with us his insights which drew upon his own personal experience and reflections. Prior to the crisis, Bruce had already […]
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News
5 Key Behaviours of Successful Leaders in Digital Prosperity
Strong leadership is vital, both in this time of huge upheaval and as we continue to use digital technologies to move forward and forge a way in the new normal. Leaders in a digital environment have undergone fundamental changes too, however. Gone is the world of command and control: in its place is a leadership […]
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Insight
Humanity at the Heart of Digital Prosperity
Over our near 35-year history, Saxton Bampfylde has supported some of the most successful organisations in the UK and further afield, to identify and appoint senior leaders capable of building confidence and utilising their experience in times of change. During this time, one of the most fundamental changes to stem across all areas of life […]
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Insight
Board Perspectives: Webinar with Patrick Dunne
We were delighted to host a couple of webinars through May with Patrick Dunne who recently published ‘Boards: A Practical Perspective’ which has been shortlisted for the Business Book Awards 2020. This provided a forum for Chairs, across the commercial, public, not-for-profit and education sectors, to discuss the impact of the crisis on governance and […]
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Insight
Leading like never before: what the pandemic paradigm means for leaders
Saxton Bampfylde’s Leadership Services team works as an extension of organisations across the UK to help them appoint and develop the very best leaders. They consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the traits of leadership that will subsequently be most relevant. The regulation sector spans almost every area of consumer and corporate life. […]
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Insight
Shifting Sands: The role of the board in a crisis
Stephen Bampfylde shares his insights and observations specifically focused on the role of the Board and its evolution in the time of crisis.
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News
A Portfolio with Purpose: interview with Benny Higgins
We were delighted to have the chance to talk to Benny Higgins and hear about his self-identified chameleon-like approach to his differing non-executive roles. As he emerges from a very successful and high profile career in financial services, most recently as inaugural CEO of Tesco Bank, Benny’s non-executive portfolio now encompasses public, not-for-profit and commercial […]
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News
Saxton Bampfylde partners with Civil Service to launch new disability mentoring programme REACH
Saxton Bampfylde has teamed with the Civil Service to launch a new mentoring programme designed to help support Civil Service employees with disabilities to maximise their career potential. Mentors participating in the programme are executive level leaders from outside the Civil Service who have either a lived experience of disability or have been involved in […]
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Insight
Paving the Way: The purposeful board approach for the housing sector
Saxton Bampfylde has worked with housing providers in the UK for many years, supporting and identifying senior leaders in executive and non-executive positions to help drive the sector forward. For this report we aim to examine the role of the board in the social housing sector, including the part it plays in delivering for current […]
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News
Board Talk: Interview with Tom Ilube CBE, Founder and CEO of Crossword Cybersecurity
We were delighted to speak with Tom Ilube CBE, Founder and CEO of Crossword Cybersecurity. He reflects on the importance of data security and why the rapid pace of technology change should be considered at board level, and what he considers the successful balance between the executive and non-executive relationship. He also talks about why he […]
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