For the past 22 years, Richard has been a Director of the consulting firm, Stokes & Jolly Ltd, with offices in the UK and, recently, the US.
He coaches senior leaders; facilitates senior group processes; delivers keynote addresses; runs senior development programs; and works on a diverse set of consulting assignments.
His clients are located in a broad range of geographies and industries, and he has consulted with leading companies in 41 countries. His main focus is working with professional services firms, creative industries, banks and private equity firms on external projects around more effective client relationships and internal projects around strategy, leadership, resilience, organizational change and succession management.
Recent assignments include:
Coaching three contiguous global heads of a magic circle law firm over the last 15 years, facilitating Exco meetings and delivering leadership and client relationship programs for partners
Delivering the global client relationship program to help senior client leaders at a big four professional services firm build trusted advisor relationships
Facilitating the Exco of a big four accounting firm to explore the future of professional services and how they should evolve their business
Helping the leading commercial property firm in London to ensure a smooth transition from the founder to the next generation of leaders, including the selection of the new CEO and the retention and development of the entire senior team
Working with the internal diversity team at a US law firm to embed inclusion and equity into the culture and working practices across the firm
Working with the leading UK wealth management firm to develop its Exco team members, clarify the behaviors needed to drive success in the next phase of its growth and help the next level of leaders develop these capabilities
Running an annual ‘Mini-MBA’ program for a global advertising agency to help its senior managers develop greater commercial awareness to build more strategic, embedded client relationships
Working with the Exco of one of the largest global asset management firms to build more collaboration across boundaries within the firm
Helping a private equity firm develop the capabilities of its emerging leaders at origination and board membership
Running programs internationally for a global insurance firm to develop personal and organizational resilience amongst its executives at a time of major industry change
Academic Role
Richard recently joined the faculty at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern where he lectures on leadership, power and politics. He has been a core faculty member at the London Business School (LBS) for the past 22 years during which time he has consistently been one of its highest rated, most innovative and award-winning teachers. He has taught at Columbia Business School for 13 years and over 20 other business schools around the world.
Across his time in academia, he has taught core organizational behavior and leadership courses, electives on organizational change, power and politics, and inter-personal dynamics as well as on flagship Executive Education open programs and custom programs for more than 75 LBS global clients in the UK and across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, focusing on leadership, organizational change, culture, power and politics, team dynamics and building resilience.
Richard has also been identified as one of the most entrepreneurial course creators having created two, highly successful electives (‘Paths to Power’ and ‘Inter-Personal Dynamics’); student field trips to UK, France, Peru and Mexico; and the London Core Application Practicum consulting program for technology, media and telecoms, and government, healthcare and the third sector. He has also designed, launched and co-directed two Executive Education open programs, ‘Professional Services: Strategic Client Relationships’ and ‘Leading Change’.