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Steve Walker

Senior Executive Coach
Goodstone Group LLC
London, UK
Email:  sw*****@************up.com
Phone:  +44 (0)7956 262995

Education and Professional Affiliations
  • and MEng degrees in Electrical Engineering (with management) from Bath University, UK
  • Advanced Diploma in Coach Mentoring, Senior Practitioner from The Oxford School of Coaching and Mentoring, UK

Professional Experience

Steve’s career spans more than 30 years during which time he has worked at senior executive level for multi-national corporations and world-leading brands, as well as starting up new businesses, joint ventures and global brands. A marketer by profession, he has developed and led worldwide organisations of several hundred staff and managed global marketing operations with budgets in excess of $500 million. His career has been characterized by leading organizations through intensive periods of transformation, whether it be change of ownership, new business establishment, re-branding or significant shifts in strategy.

More recently Steve has utilized his leadership and commercial experience to work on an independent basis with senior leaders across a range of sectors in a coaching and consultance capacity. He specializes in supporting leaders to develop their clear leadership purpose and identity, whilst at the same time also helping corporations to build a stronger brand and corporate identity. His particular area of interest is the complex intersection point between the brand/business system on one side of an enterprise and the leadership/people system on the other, where the most fundamental interventions are often required to enhance commercial performance.

Steve now works at Board and senior executive levels in a range of blue-chip corporations and globally-recognised brands as well as some younger companies experiencing rapid growth and significant organizational transformation.

Steve coaches individual leaders as well as leadership teams and believes in taking a systemic approach to leadership development – working with leaders in their broadest professional and enterprise context.  His clients are based at locations across the UK, Europe, the USA and Asia.

Recent Coaching Experience

  • Chief Executive and senior executive leadership team of a UK-based sports National Governing Body to support major organizational transition, leadership skills enhancement and more collaborative and trust-based operating model
  • Head of European Operations for a large Private Equity company to enhance leadership capabilities and prepare for progression to partner
  • European marketing head in a multinational consumer electronics company to enhance “C-level” leadership impact in a complex matrix organization
  • CEO/Founder of a privately owned market insight company that had recently been bought by a much larger global group to support transition into a leadership role in the new parent company
  • Two newly-appointed co-CEOs of a major UK-based charity to support their promotion into the roles, adopting collaborative work styles between them, and handling critical stakeholder relationships with the Board of Trustees
  • The CEO and executive leadership team of a global adtech company to support development of skills necessary to manage a major organizational transformation and outsourcing initiative
  • A senior technology director in a multinational consumer electronics company to work on building more effective relationships with his manager and peers
  • A senior sales manager in a financial services company to develop better internal relationship skills and engage with executive stakeholders more effectively
  • A senior analyst in a private equity fund to develop more effective influencing and interpersonal leadership skills
  • CEO of a major UK-based social enterprise delivering pro-bono marketing expertise (with equivalent value ~$20 million) for charities across the world to enhance leadership impact and network influence
  • CEO/Founder of a private equity-backed technology startup to improve leadership effectiveness in a fast-growing enterprise situation and to enhance relationship management with financial backers
  • Global Head of Transformation in one of the world’s largest container shipping companies to deliver leadership style shift following recruitment from a major international consultancy firm
  • Senior global director of experiential marketing in a globally renowned consumer electronics brand to develop more senior leadership competences following a promotion
  • Two Chief Marketing Officers of separate business units in a global consumer technology innovation business to develop an integrated brand strategy between the businesses and worldwide marketing organizational transformation
  • Senior financial director in a high-profile, UK-based charity as part of a structured leadership development programme
  • Six individual Heads of Country across Europe in a global consumer products company to facilitate transition into new roles following a major organizational restructuring
  • Forty high potential marketing leaders across a variety of industrial sectors to provide mentoring and coaching as part of a structured scholarship programme run by the UK Marketing Academy

Career History

Independent Executive Coach and Consultant (2013-present )
Working worldwide with clients on a coaching and consulting basis to develop leadership effectiveness and brand identity.

Sony Mobile Communications (2010-2013)
Corporate Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer: Member of the executive management board of Sony’s smartphone business with worldwide responsibility for all brand-building, marketing and communications activities. Responsible for a global team of 300 marketers and budget in excess of $500 million. Oversaw the global re-launch of the Sony brand into the mobile communications industry resulting in significant market share and profitability turnaround.

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (2001-2010)
Vice President – Global Head of Portfolio Planning: Worldwide New Product Development responsibility for managing the full portfolio of consumer products with a 3-5 year planning horizon.  Successfully oversaw the fundamental transformation to become a smartphone provider during time of major industry disruption.
Vice President – Global Head of Product Marketing: Part of the team that set-up and established the Sony Ericsson joint venture and assumed worldwide responsibility for developing the core proposition and story of an entirely new brand.  Led to multibillion dollar profit turnaround and establishment of Sony Ericsson as as top-3 brand within the mobile industry within four years.

Ericsson (1996-2001)
Various Sales and Marketing leadership positions: Promoted rapidly through a variety of commercial leadership roles, culminating in becoming the UK Marketing Director for the mobile phone business unit, with Ericsson the second-largest brand in the UK market at that time.

Mobile Radio (1994-1996)
Product marketing and business development in a privately owned startup.

Thompson-CSF (1990-1994)
Started new business development unit seeking new commercial opportunities for French manufactuer in the UK market.