British Council

Principal Designer

Accenture Song

My role involved leading the Strategic Design practice at Accenture Song Poland, serving clients across Europe and the Middle East; facilitating multinational leadership and client sessions; providing international communications coaching to the local team and leadership.

Senior Manager | Design Lead | Communications Coach

Datacom

My role involved leading the Design & Experience team at Datacom, the largest creative and technology services company in Australasia. I was also responsible for designing and leading coaching and collaboration sessions for senior Government and corporate stakeholders and executives.

Built and scaled the team as a new, multi-disciplinary group of designers, researchers, and artists, working for large Government and private sector clients.

General Manager | Leadership Coach | Creative Facilitator

Solnet (now part of Accenture)

My role was responsible for Solnet's national creative practice. I was also responsible for providing strategic advice and coaching to the leaders and teams of large New Zealand organisations, helping them understand digital transformation and deliver impactful digital products and services. 

Delivered experience and service design work for organisations including MSD, MoH, NZDF, Transpower, Farmers Retail Group, ACC, and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.

Digital Practice Lead | Facilitator | Leadership Coach

Element Digital Consulting

Founder of a strategic advisory and coaching service for digital transformation and communication. Created and led numerous leadership coaching sessions for public and private sector. Advised Government ministries and corporate clients on communication and digital strategy. Mentor to the Victoria University Graduate programme.

Director | Leadership & Communications Coach | Mentor

ClemengerBBDO / Touchcast

Experience and customer innovation coach and strategist for New Zealand's leading brand & digital experience agency Clients included Education NZ, Toyota, New Zealand Post, Spark and many more.

Director of Digital Innovation (contract)

SSL Consulting

Advisor and coach for multinational companies (Microsoft, Sony, 3 Mobile) and executives on digital transformation, digital communication, and creativity.

Lead Advisor | Leadership & Digital Communications Coach

Musician

Musician and session vocalist. Signed to AR Vocal Management. Wrote, recorded and demo-ed for the likes of Guy Massey (Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran), Paul Steel (Empire of the Sun), Groove Armada, Ben Carrigan (The Thrills), Dan Spartacus and many more.

Session vocalist

Ogilvy Public Relations

Head of the UK office and European hub of Ogilvy’s global Digital Influence network; as the strategic lead, I oversaw  delivery of digital experience strategy and design at a pan-European and global level for blue-chip clients  including Volvo, IBM, Grohe, Motorola, Cisco, UPS and Ralph Lauren.

Notable achievements:
- leading the global digital strategy for Volvo's flagship e-car program
- increasing positive engagement across key digital channels for Motorola by 800%
- groundbreaking interactive live video event via Facebook featuring Boris Becker, for Ralph Lauren as part of its Wimbledon sponsorship
- digital planning for Nestle, UPS, IBM and more
- new business wins from Grohe, Cisco & IBM

Head of Digital Influence

One of two people responsible for the digital strategy and experience practice at DigitasLBi. Managed UK & pan-European engagements for blue-chip clients including Lloyds Bank, Sony, Volkswagen, M&S, Starwood Hotels, Orange, Oxfam & British Red Cross

Notable highlights:

- Pioneering converged media campaign for Starwood Hotels across paid, owned & earned media
- Managing digital for the British Red Cross' annual Refugee Week appeal
- Interactive European campaign via bespoke microsite & Facebook apps for Sony Playstation
- New business wins - Orange, Sony, M&S and Lloyds TSB 
- Representative on the first IAB Social Media Council

Digital Lead

Curious about how you can gain greater influence as a Polish executive working with international teams? 
Do you want to unlock the secrets of better collaboration and business communication in English?

I help Polish executives master the skills essential for success in international business. 

My approach is to work 1:1 or with small senior teams. Contact me today via LinkedIn DM or book an intro meeting by clicking ‘Umów Spotkanie’ / ‘Book An Appointment.’

---

Originally from New Zealand, now based in Warsaw, I have lived in five countries and worked in 10, leading senior teams for companies and clients such as Ogilvy, Accenture, and Microsoft. 

This experience has given me a unique understanding of both the Polish and the Anglo-American perspective, and the challenges of working across cultures. 

Polish and Anglo-American styles of business are quite different. Problem-solving, collaboration, and business communication are just some of the areas where cultural contrasts cause issues. 

Many Polish executives have told me they are frustrated at not getting the results they want when working with international clients or colleagues.

The good news is that we can fix this.

I will support you in learning: 
- creative leadership techniques for better business problem-solving 
- skills to communicate persuasively in English
- cultural awareness to easily navigate differences and manage multi-national teams

Coaching will benefit any Polish business leader or executive team working with Anglo-American clients or colleagues, particularly those where English is the daily language of business.

My approach is to work 1:1 or with small senior teams. Contact me today via LinkedIn DM or book an intro meeting by clicking ‘Umów Spotkanie’ / ‘Book An Appointment.’

Specialties: Creativity, Team Leadership, Business Communication, Innovation and Problem-Solving, Strategic Planning, Behavioural Design, Coaching and Facilitation

Kev F.

Man on Fire

Strong companies and projects have vital strategic engines at their core. I help shape these as a strategist and delivery specialist. Actively looking for ambitious teams to work with especially in early-stage technology startups and high-impact public sector reforms. 

Most roles listed below have operated as mid-long term engagements under the Man on Fire umbrella. 

www.manonfire.org

Managing Director

Project Tempest

Lovecraftian horror on the New Zealand frontier. Building an interactive story world with creators from around the globe. 

"… hauntingly lyrical and delightfully strange .... highly original in tone, concept, and execution .... visceral and evocative imagery."- Booklife Prize (Publisher's Weekly)

Finalist in the 2020 Australasian Horror Awards
Shortlisted for the 2021 Shirley Jackson Award
Podcast shortlisted for the 2022 Sir Julius Vogel Awards
Presenter at 2023 Festival of Interactive Narrative
Presenter at 2023 NZ Game Developer's Conference

www.project-tempest.net

Creator

Abuse in Care Inquiry New Zealand

Leading the external communications strategy for New Zealand’s largest ever Royal Commission of Inquiry, into 50+ years of systemic child abuse in state and faith-based institutions, and recommendations for puretumu torowhānui, holistic redress and reforms.
Production management / project delivery for the Inquiry’s final report, one of the most complex documents ever delivered in the NZ public sector.

Principal Strategic Communications Advisor

Totara Learning

Scaling NZ learning tech firm with global presence and hundreds of enterprise customers including Samsung, Amazon, Toyota, US Department of Agriculture, UK National Health Service, Deloitte. Private equity stage of company development. 

Drove new strategic brand positioning working with Head of Brand and 2 x CEOs (Founder and successor) delivering refreshed website, core sales deck, key messaging, go-to-market assets. Immediate uplift in pipeline and conversion, subsequent company sale to leading European investor Tenzing.

Lead Storyteller

Somar Digital

NZ's leading Citizen Experience technology agency. 

Guided CEO & leadership team through a new strategic focus on non-for-profit clients and multi-modal transport, across a 5 year business transformation gaining dozens of government & not-for-profit sector clients, 2 x Deloitte fast 50 placing. Guided successful transition from founding CEO to successor.

Chair

Trinsic Labs

Rapid digital prototyping and value creation. Ongoing innovation lab programme aimed at bringing together diverse teams to tackle compelling problems at speed. 

In-market products include Stakehouse, open-license stakeholder management software for public sector consultations, Divvy, blockchain-based shareholder voting machine for distributed governance, and Scribey, bulk audio transcription tool.

Co-Founder

riders&elephants

Founded by Jeremy Dean, bootstrapping a global ecosystem of leadership & culture practitioners around the Emotional Culture Deck product, used by 400,000+ people across 60+ countries and organizations including Canva, Airbnb, the United Nations, Air New Zealand, IBM, Xero, Netflix, Coca Cola, Amazon, and Mercedes Benz.  

Strategic guidance on every aspect of ecosystem development, go-to-market, efficient scaling, and brand positioning.

Executive Advisor

Runn

Founded by former SilverStripe CEO Tim Copeland. Resource management software for the modern workforce. 

Successfully raised capital and found product/market fit at Series A stage.

Head of Strategy

Xero

Led a worldwide team of problem-solving thinkers and creatives within one of the world’s most innovative companies during hypergrowth stage, while also working to establish a full 80 person inhouse agency. 

Led development of Xero’s first brand platform working with M&C Saatchi Australia, delivering above the line campaigns in all markets. Implemented culture & systems for sustained global growth.

Global Copy Director

The Wellington Chocolate Factory

Year 1 of the most successful artisan food startup in New Zealand's history. Supported co-founders in generating outstanding revenue, debt-free balance sheet, and global media attention, including the world-first Wellington Chocolate Voyage crowdfunding initiative.

Head Of Strategy

I help bold and unusual leaders shape positive change in the world, as a strategist and delivery specialist. 

Strategy | Narrative | Delivery | Leadership

- Open to inquiries about speaking engagements, please see manonfire.org/speaking for more. 
- Delivering Storytelling for Leaders masterclass workshops across Australasia and SE Asia in 2025 - please see www.manonfire.org/s4l for more. 

The value I offer: I'm an experienced senior operator across fast-moving, high pressure environments in both public and commercial sectors. My specialty is solving hard strategic problems where there’s no clear roadmap, discovering new territory with pioneers at the edge of technology, startup growth, and economic development. 

My track record: Highly adaptive to chaos, I'm usually brought in at the 'interesting stage'. I’ve led teams and gotten results for over 20 years, including at the hypergrowth fintech Xero, global e-learning leader Totara, citizen experience agency Somar Digital, NZ housing crisis, Canterbury earthquake rebuild, Abuse in Care Inquiry, multiple successful startups, and (most beloved) the Wellington Chocolate Factory. Formal responsibilities have included Head of Strategy, Board Chair, Principal Strategic Communications Advisor, and Executive Advisor. Beyond job titles, as I said above, hard problems, new trails. 

My lived values: I believe in high-performing, high-trust teams shaped by integrity and first principles thinking. I love forming tight-knit groups who move fast and make good things happen. I have an extensive working history with extremely intelligent, often neurodiverse people who break the status quo. 

My strategic firm Man On Fire is the vehicle for my fractional strategy consulting work. Early stage with global potential is our strength, especially when led by people who see the world differently. Long-term partners include successful ventures in deep tech, leadership development, artisan food, design, games & entertainment, and innovation labs. See more about my work at www.manonfire.org.

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Kev F.

Colin Rowsell

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