Hello, I’m Richard Hughes-Jones.
Over my twenty two years career, I’ve been a chartered surveyor, strategy consultant, HM Treasury civil servant and lead a turnaround in a scaling Data & AI business. For the last 10 years, I’ve been an executive coach working with founders, CEOs and executives in high-growth businesses, the investment industry and progressive corporates.
I write a monthly newsletter called The Future Of Leadership which is read by 1,376 readers. You can also find me LinkedIn and the platform formally known as Twitter. I occasionally update Instagram with personal stories that usually involve me climbing up, or skiing back down mountains.
Get in touch if you’re interested in working together.
The Early Years
Graduating from the University of Sheffield in 2001 with a degree in Geography & Politics, I began my career in economic development, focusing on real estate and infrastructure and qualifying as a Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS). I joined the Strategy team at Deloitte Consulting in 2006.
From 2008 to 2012 I was seconded from Deloitte to HM Treasury to the Equitable Life Payments Scheme Team, established by the Government to design and deliver a £1.5 billion government programme to compensate 1 million policy holders who lost sizeable portions of their pension as a result of the Society’s collapse in the late 1990s.
I was the first member of a team that grew to approximately 20 people. As Head of Operations I played a central role in forming the Programme Management Office, Senior Management Team and early Board. I led the procurement of a £20m annual IT delivery contract. I experienced leadership at the highest level, briefing Ministers and senior officials weekly, within Treasury and in Parliamentary debates in the House of Commons.
New Beginnings
After my HM Treasury Secondment, I took a five month sabbatical from Deloitte. I embraced my dream of leaving it all behind to go and live in my trusty Volkswagen campervan in the French Alps for the winter. There’s more about my skiing and climbing adventures on my no longer updated personal blog onefootinlagrave.
Returning to Deloitte in 2012, I was the Business Account Manager for a £70 million annual revenue account. Coordinating the account and Partner Executive Group crystalised my understanding of leadership at a senior corporate level.
Through Deloitte’s partnership with the London Business School, I supported the design and delivery of an incubation programme for technology startups founded by MBA students. I joined the Deloitte Social Innovation Pioneers programme, set up to support high performing social enterprises to grow and become investment ready.
I left Deloitte in September 2013 to set up my own venture focused on helping startup and high growth businessess scale.
Interlude, and finding my calling
Eighteen months into my entrepreneurial journey, I found myself facing an altogether different challenge. Diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer at the beginning of 2015 I journeyed for 3 years through several operations, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
From 2018 onwards I began rebuilding my business. I worked for a 60 person data science business located around London’s Silicon Roundabout. Reporting directly to the two co-founders and CEO, I was a member of the Leadership Team and played a central leadership role in restructuring the business and culture.
I lectured on the London College of Fashion MBA programme and MA Fashion & Entrepreneurship course, teaching business modelling and fundraising. For the Centre for Fashion Enterprise, I coached dozens of early-stage founders as part of their Fashion Technology Emerging Futures programme, a £5 million programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
I also took on a Non-Executive Director role at a startup Direct To Consumer sustainable lingerie business. At it’s peak, it employed 10 women in it’s production studio in Hackney, London and boasted a large social media and customer following.
I’m now in full remission from my illness but continue to bring that experience to my coaching, helping clients deal with uncertainty and build resilience with empathy and compassion. I am fortunate to do a job I love and work with people who inspire me every day. From startup founders to scale up leaders, private and public market investors and progressive corporate leaders, I’m humbled by the extent to which people let me into their lives, share their experiences with me, and allow me to support them on their personal and professional journeys. Coaching is more than a vocation; it’s an ongoing journey of learning and self-discovery, in service to others and myself.
I live just outside London with my partner Tamzin and our young son Leo. When I’m not coaching, you’ll find me avidly reading, squeezing in some miles on my road bike or at the local climbing wall. Fascinated by markets and investing, I run my own modest investment portfolio with a double percentage digit allocation to digital assets. I’m most proud of my sneaker collection, including my unworn pair of Adidas NMD HU Pharrell Human Races, my two pairs of Virgil Abloh Nike Air Max 97 Off-Whites and my Adidas Originals X BAPE 84 BAPE® Low ‘Fresh Forum’ sneaker and digital twin NFT.