BLAXLAND CONSULTING LIMITED

𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗰𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗖𝗣 – 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗱-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 

Diane is a senior adviser to private equity portfolio companies.  She helps investors and portcos to deliver robust growth against value creation plans - including via post-merger integration.  She has a sweet spot in Tech-enabled B2B Services including Professional Services in the UK and EMEA.

Her experience includes:

- pre-deal MDD and post-deal operating reviews of portcos - eg for Blackstone, Mercia, Silverfleet, LDC, Rockpool, Foresight
- rapid recovery of post-merger integration and transformation, ahead of an IPO (backed by TPG)
- commercial risk analysis for a PE portco, triggering an exit via secondary buyout (backed by ICG)
- recovery of an off-shore proposition, re-positioning for growth ahead of a merger
- design and global rollout of a post-merger data integration model.

Her skills include P&L management, business strategy, sales, operations, business transformation, and change management – drawing on her experience in startups, scaleups and global business.

Founder

Career Coaching by Diane Blaxland

🚩 How will you know if my Career Coaching is right for you? Five quick signs: 

•	there is a gap emerging between your career and your satisfaction level 
•	addressing the gap is increasingly important to you 
•	there are risks if you do something, and risks if you do nothing 
•	you have some advice, but you want to take a wider, longer term view 
•	talking it through with an experienced executive feels like a good place to start 

#ExpertLeaders #Careers #PersonalDevelopment

Catalysis Advisory Ltd

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗘 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗰𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀:
🔺 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 (𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲)
🔺 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗱-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀
🔺 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗚𝟮𝗖 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗕𝟮𝗚 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵

Business Advisor

Johnson Controls Inc

$5b EMEA region of $20b Business Services division of $40b Fortune100 listed company

Director Change Management, EMEA

Blaxland Consulting

Advising clients on operational and commercial change.

CPA Global

£100m global Business Services company, backed by Private Equity

Director Strategy

Williams Lea

£20m Division of this £1b global Business Services company, part of DAX30 company DeutschePost

Managing Director 

Clifford Chance LLP

£100m+ M&A practice of this £1bn global Professional Services firm

Head Business Development Operations

Blake Dawson Waldron

A$350m international Professional Services firm (now part of £1b Ashurst LLP)

Business Development, Sales & Marketing management

CEO & Founder Expert Leaders™ | Career Direction & CV Coaching | £1B PSF | $40B Fortune100 | PE scaleups | London Business School

I help professionals step into clarity, confidence, and growth - especially when navigating complex career transitions in challenging or unfamiliar markets.

My clients are technically brilliant, ambitious … and many are internationally experienced. They’re often MBAs, engineers, M&A/finance experts, consultants, lawyers, or technology & data/AI specialists. 

They're ready to step into senior leadership, but something isn’t landing. Their pitch isn’t quite resonating. The growth opportunities they seek feel just out of reach.

That’s where I come in.

With more than 10 years in senior leadership - including as Managing Director responsible for 550 people - I’ve led growth, transformation, and turnaround across organisations from under £10m to over $5Bn. 

I’ve advised private equity investors and portfolio companies on operations, building robust solutions to complex problems. 

And I bring that same level of focus, clarity, and strategic thinking into my coaching practice.

My sweet spot lies in tech-enabled B2B services - including engineering, data/AI, finance, legal, and consulting. 

Highlights of my work include: 

▪️Steering post-merger integration for a $6Bn PE-backed global professional services firm, resolving operational failures, client complaints, and transformation across 15 countries.
▪️Leading the recovery of a £1bn NHS Trust’s lab project post-dispute, bringing together investors, clinicians, scientists, suppliers, and engineers to co-create a viable solution.
▪️Delivering commercial risk analysis that identified a -70% risk to a target exit valuation for a PE-backed £100m B2B services firm, unlocking a £1Bn exit in under three months.
▪️Repositioning a struggling new BPO offshore (India) proposition for profitable growth, delivering 50% savings to the client in a new £3m contract while also tripling profit margins.
▪️Rolling out a post-merger Sales/Marketing/Finance integration model for a £1Bn global professional services firm across 30 offices in 20 countries, deployed to 4,000+ staff.

All of that senior experience now feeds directly into my career coaching.

Many of my clients are mid-career or post-MBA, and sense a need to reframe their narrative, sharpen their presence, and navigate a system that may not easily understand their value. 

We don’t just talk. We rehearse. We edit. We test. We build influence from the inside out.

Whether you're preparing for interview, pitching for promotion, or making a full pivot, I’ll help you to tailor your story, build trust, and move forward with strategic clarity.

🎯 Diane Blaxland

MOSAIC

Finance Manager

Recycling Council of B.C.

I care about the environment and creating a more just and sustainable world.  In this role, I:
Build Forecasts
Run Scenarios
Manage the full-cycle accounting process 
Follow Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit and charitable organizations (ASNPO and Canadian GAAP)
Manage and forecast liquidity
Prepare annual budgets in collaboration with the Executive Director
Support process improvement 
Manage External Audit
Focus on growth and external funding
Produce financial analyses and provide strategic advice

Finance Consultant

Other

I am an active blogger on the platform since I joined in 2020 and thus far, I have written my first ebook, Management, Influencing and Finance and this covers an introductory approach to behavioral tactics for mid senior and junior finance professionals. This book was launched in Dec 2021.

I have also written an article which was published by CPA Canada on the importance of financial literacy and why volunteers are needed in this field.

In June 2020, I started the adjunct West Indian Project which showcases West Indian talent within the Finance Industry. It has been a real honor to give persons a voice who aren't on the LinkedIn platform at the moment or for those who have only recently joined. The purpose of the series was to inspire and empower the local finance community. I have written 6 articles under the West Indies Project

Freelance Finance Writer

Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada)

In this role, I provide insight and advice to CPA Canada into matters relating to the local environment as it impacts the finance profession and other matters relevant to CPA Canada and its members

I ensure relevant Professional Learning Development opportunities are available and I'm a positive brand ambassador who facilitates networking opportunities for many CPAs across the globe.

My 2022 goal is to continue to roll out a Financial Literacy Guide to adults, and existing and future entrepreneurs.

Advisory Council Member

Universal Foods Limited

(You can find out more about Universal Foods products on Instagram under UniversalCereals)

I support the future of my company through managing financial operations and utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods such as Scenario Building/Forecasting, Budgeting, Modelling, and Risk Management. I work alongside a great team managing staff and I remain committed to driving transformations and leveraging talent. I also remain fully committed to supporting my company's supply chain

My achievements has been the development of a model that could accurately track, measure, and predict budgeted product line profitability on all products in each market. This exercise solved a US$442K variance on a budgeted profitability analysis that had utilized incorrect product line GP’s. It has been a considerable success because we saved 3 weeks of unnecessary time, headache, broke down mini-silos and the budget season for 2021 went by in a seamlessly easier way.

Another achievement was slashing rejects by 50% by using the Cause and Effect Analysis (similar to the 5 Why's). I have also saved our company approximately $150k through efficient taxation management. Left with an A+ Rating and resigned in Sept 2022,  to pursue a funded MBA overseas

Head Of Department

Children's Authority of Trinidad and Tobago

For this state funded entity, I worked on multiple projects internally and externally for the Central Government (Office of the Prime Minister). These aspects included Budgeting, Budget Defense Meetings, Risk analysis and some aspects of Project Management. I was part of managing finance across the organisation and was involved in strategy development and formulation. This role also saw me understand legal jargon and the wider environment which was necessary to add value in my role as a finance professional.

I enjoyed spear-heading special projects for this child protection agency and learned to manage and communicate effectively cross functionally and vertically. This role also built my love for leadership and strategy which I continue to study today. It will always be one of my more fulfilling roles within the finance function

Mid Level Finance Controller

WGM Group

This role was memorable because it supplied the groundwork to Supply Chain Management and Managerial Finance

This is a small and medium sized entity and so it delved into FP&A a lot more than any job, covering variance analysis and championing of key performance indicators. There was also considerable experience in Board presentations and Financial statements for the subsidiary and the Group in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. We were also directly involved in Tax and GL reconciliations and being point persons for senior audit staff. This is the role that really strengthened me and grew me because it involved management and overseeing the development of the group treasury function.

One of the major successes in this role was being asked to financially manage the Group company and also the satisfying of key internal and external stakeholders. It was here I learnt that Finance was less about Finance and more about the Business

Junior Manager

Digicel Group

Understanding of the telecommunications industry was key in this role and because the Digicel Group is a Global Firm, my focus was more accounting in nature. 

I managed the fixed asset register and was involved in financial and treasury planning. There was also Variance analysis for monthly operating and capital expenditure, forecasting and budget development.

One of the things I remember learning in this role was building relationships, influencing and people management.

Assistant Accountant

Aegis Business Solutions Limited

My first finance role allowed me the ability to see first hand how accounting starts to how it ends, from coding to financial statements to working with auditors and so I did this for numerous small and medium sized clients because our industry was an accounting outsourcing one. 

This role also involved analysis and interpretation of financial reports and tax returns and management accounts. I also worked with auditors on a memorable payroll audit. Other notable experiences was in stock and fixed asset counts, understanding risk as an accountant and thoroughly cleaning up a backlog of accounts for clients who never got the ability to do their accounts. Here was my training for Accounting Standards and Sarbanes-Oxley Legislation.

Senior Accounting Associate

Finance Business Partner | Writer | Geek

I have enjoyed working within small and medium-sized entities for most of my career, which has given me a more significant impact on leading and contributed to my entrepreneurial personality. This experience covers communicating, managing cross-functional teams, board reporting, budgeting and forecasting, scenario planning, risk analysis, technical accounting, and process improvement.

My career has also involved being outsourced at a listed fortune 500 company and working within the public sector. My nonlinear career path has provided a unique perspective.

In 2020, I decided to get serious about writing and wrote an academic paper to help junior finance professionals improve their influence. This white paper was nominated for a Rubery Award in 2022.


PEOPLE CONNECT WITH ME ON:
Finance/Management Knowledge
Engaging and entertaining posts from my experience
Supply Chain updates


BACKGROUND:
I am a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and I hold a BSc. Hons. in Management Studies. I’ve held numerous roles throughout my tenure. In September 2022, I decided to move to Canada to pursue an MBA.

Connect with me if any of the above appeals to you.

taplio

The Battle

🎯 Diane Blaxland

Aliyyah Abdullah CPA

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