Executive coaching
Executive and leadership coaching for senior leaders, emerging executives and ambitious professionals navigating greater responsibility, change or opportunity.
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David Villa-Clarke BEM, MBA
Executive coaching, leadership development, mentoring and speaking.
I work with senior leaders, with the organisations that employ them, and with ambitious young adults. Confidence, influence, and the judgement to use both.
Executive coach, TEDx speaker, author, and Chief Executive of the Aleto Foundation.
David Villa-Clarke BEM, MBAExecutive coach, speaker and mentor
Leadership Excellence AwardFinalist, The Power of a Man Awards 2026
British Empire MedalNew Year Honours 2017, for services to charity
TEDx speakerTEDxSquareMile, and TEDx Abuja this September
Executive MBACass Business School
AuthorThe Power of Mentorship, Bristol University Press, 2027
Organisations David has worked with
My philosophy
Talent is everywhere. Confidence, access and opportunity are not.
Capability gets you the job. Confidence and influence decide what you do with it.
Most people do not stall for lack of capability. They stall because nobody showed them how the room works, or because the opportunity was never visible to them in the first place.
I have worked across financial services, media, education, healthcare, energy and elite sport. I have also been on the other side of it. University was not an option for me, and I worked my way up without the network that usually comes with the job.
Read my story
How I can help
Four ways of working together
Every engagement starts with a conversation to root out the obstacle. My approach is tailored to the individual, rather than an off-the-shelf package.
Leadership & talent development
Bespoke programmes, workshops and facilitated experiences designed to develop stronger leaders and higher-performing teams.
Explore leadership developmentMentoring & diverse talent
Helping organisations design mentoring programmes that create access, opportunity and measurable talent outcomes.
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Case study
Advancing Career Skills at Johnson & Johnson
Four workshops for the African Ancestry Leadership Council. Afterwards, participants put themselves forward for stretch assignments and promotions, spoke up more in senior meetings, and sought out mentors and sponsors.
Read the case study
Before you enquire
Is this the right fit?
Coaching only works when the fit is right. Take out the guesswork and read on to discover whether this is right for you.
Likely a fit if
- You hold real accountability for a team, a P&L or a transformation, or you are about to
- You are technically strong and under-recognised for it
- Your organisation is serious about developing leaders, with a budget attached
- You want to be challenged rather than agreed with
- The work between sessions matters to you as much as the sessions do
Probably not a fit if
- You are looking for a one-off motivational session
- You want a coach who will validate decisions already made
- You want a standard training course at the lowest available price
- Coaching is being used in place of a performance conversation nobody has had
- You need CV writing, recruitment or outplacement support
Enquiring on behalf of a son or daughter?
Next-generation mentoring is a separate pathway, and the question is a different one. It suits young adults who already have ability and ambition, and who would benefit from someone experienced helping them navigate university, early careers and the move into professional life.
How next-generation mentoring works
David is back on the TEDx stage at TEDx Abuja this September, talking about mentorship and the ceilings people set for themselves.
Speaking enquiries
Speaking & facilitation
From TEDx stages to boardrooms, classrooms and leadership teams
Keynotes, conference hosting and panel facilitation for corporate events, universities and foundations. Each one is written for the audience in the room.
In their words
He taught me clarity of purpose when operating at C-level, which helped me communicate with greater authority, manage key stakeholders more effectively and bring greater focus to decision-making. I could not recommend David any more highly.
Ben, Global Editorial Director
Next step
Start with a conversation
Thirty minutes, no preparation needed. The first thing I work out is whether this is a good fit.