About
Strategy was the craft. People were the heart of it.
Helping leaders in transition reconnect with what matters most and build lives around their unique brilliance.
My story
Back to my own centre.
My career spanned strategy and partnerships, from the early days of the internet to nearly two decades as a Managing Director at Accenture, where I helped lead and grow Accenture Development Partnerships.
I was good at strategy. What I loved was the people: the moment a leader sees their situation differently, or two organisations that never trusted each other find common ground.
Somewhere along the way, the executive I had become stopped fitting the person I am. Stepping off the ladder in 2023 was a return to what had always been at my core. I tried on many identities after corporate life, and none fully fit until I recognised the one I had held all along: a trusted partner.
That is the work now. Never just about the project. A peer who shows up as strategist, advisor or sounding board, whatever the moment calls for.
The path so far
A generalist's path.
- 1997 to 1999Andersen Business Consulting, Toronto
Discovering that my strength wasn't code but people, and weaving people, strategy and technology together.
- 1999 to 2001PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sydney
During the dot-com boom, bringing companies from different industries together to build what none could alone.
- 2001 to 2004Accenture, London
Connecting eleven European utilities, and learning that collaboration is something you design.
- 2004 to 2023Accenture Development Partnerships
Building trust between companies, governments, UN agencies, foundations and NGOs, and turning it into partnerships on clean energy, food security, access to medicines and youth employment.
- 2023The Ninth Planet, reborn
Exploring independent life, and discovering that what matters most to me is found in community, helping others reimagine and live meaningful lives.
- 2025Meaningful Work Collective
Co-founding, with Dee Jadeja, a place for meaningful conversations where senior leaders meet as peers to discover and become more together.
- TodayAll of it, growing together
Coaching, leadership development and partnerships, rooted in what matters most.
Current roles and training
Where I belong.
Also home to
Meaningful Work Collective
Discover More. Become More. Together.
A global community of around ninety senior leaders across twenty countries, inside organisations and working independently, who meet as peers for meaningful conversations about work and life.
Visit the Collective →Start here
Every journey begins with a meaningful conversation.
Thirty minutes about what matters most to you, or to your organisation. Bring a question, a hunch, or simply your curiosity.
Book a meaningful conversationOr write to ian@theninthplanet.org