Starkhorn

Directing large-scale PE backed IT integration projects across multiple countries, standardising operations, streamlining processes, and managing complex IT infrastructures to achieve significant cost savings and efficiency gains.

Collaborated with C-suite executives on IT due diligence, post-merger integration, and the creation of scalable operating models, delivering measurable synergies and enhanced portfolio value.

Developed and executed bespoke IT strategies for private equity clients, ensuring alignment with business goals, operational scalability, and long-term growth through innovative technology solutions.

Offering consultancy, fractional support, and expertise in M&A, Divestments, Outsourcing and Private Equity.

Founder

Age UK

Non Executive IT Director - Digital and Technology

Jardine Motors Group trading as Lancaster

Spearheaded IT due diligence for a £300m transaction, enabling the seamless sale of Jardine Motors to Lithia & Driveway.

Supported the £400m acquisition of Pendragon PLC, integrating IT systems to establish Lithia UK, driving operational synergies.

Achieved £1m+ annual savings by centralising telephony systems, enhancing customer service.

Designed and executed a cybersecurity framework, achieving a NIST CSF maturity score of 29.

Chief Information Officer

Mothercare

As Head of IT Service Delivery & Infrastructure, I led seamless IT service delivery across 150 UK stores, franchises, head office, e-commerce, and warehouses. Aligning IT with business objectives, I enhanced efficiency and drove innovation.

Head of IT Service Delivery & Infrastructure

IT Service Delivery Manager

IT Technical Services Manager

IT Technical Support Manager

VisitBritain

Technical Support/Infrastructure Analyst

2nd Line Engineer at VisitBritain

Fractional CIO | IT Strategy for High-Stakes M&A | Faster M&A, Smoother Exits | De-risking IT & unlocking value | Author

If IT isn’t creating enterprise value, it’s destroying it. Most firms still treat IT as a cost centre. Growth-focused companies can’t afford that mistake. I help CEOs, CFOs, boards, and investors turn IT into a value-creation engine — accelerating deals, de-risking operations, and boosting EBITDA.

Proven Results

✓ £1.6m in savings within 18 months across 10+ countries
✓ Seamless IT integrations in £300m+ and £400m+ transactions
✓ 40% fewer outages across 150+ retail locations
✓ Cybersecurity resilience with NIST maturity scores above industry benchmarks

Why Clients Choose Me

✓ Fractional CIO flexibility — strategic leadership without full-time overhead
✓ Interim CIO firepower — execution in high-stakes transformations
✓ Board-level insight — translating IT complexity into clear business impact

Whether you’re scaling a mid-sized firm or leading a multi-country enterprise, IT should fuel growth, protect assets, and support scale. If it isn’t, it’s silently eroding value.

I am currently accepting 2 more clients in 2025 (Fractional, Interim, or Advisory).
DM me or book a call to explore how IT can become your competitive edge.

Daniel J. Jacobs

Sally Henderson, your High-Stakes Leadership Mentor

Leadership & Mentoring Expert

Sally Henderson, High-stakes Leadership Mentor

“Sally is much more than a coach or a mentor; she is a personal and professional accelerator.”
Jackie Stevenson, Chief Growth Officer EMEA, IPG

How you lead is the difference between success, mediocracy, and failure

- High performers need a new type of leadership mentoring
There is no time for meandering self-reflection. Leaders are looking for a partner to quickly guide them to the right decisions in high-stakes situations.

- High-stakes means it matters
The stakes are high when the pressure is on to succeed: a new role, the arrival of a new CEO, or a team or business change. 

- Master your leadership how
I developed The REAL Method to challenge the assumption that high performers truly understand their own roles, leadership qualities, and ambition.

- From reflection to results
Combined with my personalised mentoring and practical advice, The REAL Method gives teams and individuals the clarity and leadership tools to excel.

Ready to master your leadership how? 
Choosing the right leadership mentor is essential.

If you’re ready to be challenged and supported in equal measure, get in touch.

High-Stakes Leadership Mentor

The Marketing Society

Member

The Marketing Academy

Delighted to be paying-it-forward, supporting the important work of The Marketing Academy through coaching senior marketing leaders on the Fellowship Programme

Marketing Academy Programme - Fellows Volunteer Coach

WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership )

Design Business Association (DBA)

Invited to join the expert register to develop and retain top leadership talent for creative agencies

The Career Company

I built this premium recruitment and career development consultancy from scratch and quickly established the business as a market leader in the Design, Brand and Innovation Consultancy markets.  

Our mission was to provide the highest levels of service, integrity and results to clients and candidates alike.  We ensured company and career compatibility across values, culture, commercial needs and longevity.

Founder & CEO

Stanton Marris

Supported a best practice, shared learning and coaching programme within the NHS as part of the management team (NHS Live)

Associate Management Consultant

Network - Career Consultants

Head of Design and Brand

As a high-profile executive team or C-suite leader - what's the difference between success and failure for you and your business?

The answer...how you lead.

As an established High-Stakes Leadership Mentor, I work with top Executive Teams and C-suite leaders going through significant change via The REAL Method toolkit to deliver powerful leadership outcomes in a real-world business context.

I’m not a classic coach. You will not go on a journey of “facilitated self-discovery”. 

Instead, I will help you find answers fast by offering advice, support and direction. I use my straight-talking Yorkshire roots to cut to what really matters. My clients love this breath of fresh air in a world full of jargon.

Early in my career, I ran a successful London headhunting firm. Fifteen years ago, I gave it up to solve the most common problem in senior leadership.

I developed my programme called The REAL Method to challenge the assumption that high performers truly understand their own role, leadership qualities and ambitions.

Clients include Accenture Song, AllBright, Coca-Cola, Forbes, The IPA, IPG, M&C Saatchi, MSQ, NatWest, Nestlé, Next15, Octopus Investments, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sweaty Betty, The Social Element, VEVO

For great professional growth you need the right person to ask you the right questions fearlessly.

I will swiftly guide you to the right solutions with clear counsel and actions to make your ambitious goals real.

Drop me a message sally@sallyhenderson.co.uk 

“Sally is a great mentor - high energy and impact. Helped us as a team understand our own and each other's motivations which can only help make our relationships stronger.”
Marg Jobling, Chief Marketing Officer, NatWest Group.

“Sally takes the time to really get to know a team and to understand what motivates them as individuals. Her programme encourages a high level of honesty and feedback is used as a powerful tool to get to the heart of team challenges."
James Holding, Head of HR, Group Supply Chain, Nestlé

“Sally is so much more than a coach or a mentor, she is a personal and professional accelerator!  We have worked together on two major transitions – the post-sale integration of our business into fully owned status & my personal transition to corporate EMEA c-suite.”
Jackie Stevenson, Chief Growth Officer EMEA, IPG

Find out more: https://www.sallyhenderson.co.uk/

The High-Stakes Leadership Mentor

Trusted expertise in driving leadership and business success for prominent brands and senior leaders.

My passion lies in creating the techniques, models and ideas to help senior teams and leaders to perform at their highest level; especially when the stakes are high. 

A ‘third lane’ for leadership development.

The Real Method™ fills a crucial gap in leadership development - a ‘third lane’ - that goes beyond classic coaching or traditional mentoring. 

To excel as a high-performance team or leader is non-negotiable. 

Executive teams and senior leaders come to me to get the practical and emotional toolkit needed to re-frame their mindset, to give them a clear perspective and the ability to perform even more effectively.

The results are proven and powerful. 

If your executive team and key senior leaders are ready to further accelerate high-performance leadership, we should work together.

taplio

The Battle

Daniel J. Jacobs

Sally Henderson, High-Stakes Leadership Mentor

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