Case Studies

Situation

A CEO-mandated strategy pivot had exposed a critical succession gap across senior leadership, with the majority of critical roles carrying no ready-now cover. The talent team understood the problem. What was missing was an outside objective view to test, refine and polish the strategy and interrogate the data to build effective analytics that the board could use, before the window for action closed.

Actions

Engaged as Interim Talent Advisor to run two parallel workstreams. First: translate an existing strategic talent framework into an operational process that HR leaders could own, communicate, and implement immediately — covering process design, communications architecture, and an executive-ready summary for senior forums. Second: analyse a large-scale psychometric assessment dataset across the senior leadership population, producing promote, hold, move, or widen recommendations — senior and executive succession addressed as the priority population.

Result

Active engagement. Talent framework communications launched across major HR and leadership forums. Succession pipeline in design — talent intelligence built from assessment data and visualised into board-ready format across the senior leadership population. Operating in an advisory capacity alongside an already credible internal team: testing and refining the strategy, challenging assumptions, and translating complex people data into clear, actionable intelligence the board can use. Full outcomes to follow.

Situation

A 10,000-person iGaming and tech business, operating across 30 countries and accelerating global expansion, had no structured intelligence on the 300+ senior leaders who would determine whether that growth succeeded. The board was sponsoring expansion — but the pipeline to lead it wasn't visible. Bench strength was thin; the data to evidence it to investors did not exist.

Actions

Built an enterprise talent intelligence system from scratch — without purchasing a new platform. Designed success profiles across competencies, traits, drivers, and agility, then connected them to performance and succession suitability. Built AI-augmented dashboards for monthly board and executive review. Architected the STEP framework — Succession, Talent Development, Engagement, Performance — deployed first to 200 VP-level leaders, then extended to 600 at director level and 2,000 managers.

Result

85% bench-strength coverage achieved across 30 countries and 300+ critical roles. A visible 3–5 year succession pipeline, credible to the board. A 45% improvement in internal succession hire rate — senior appointments made from within rather than sourced expensively from outside.

Situation

A Nasdaq-listed global iGaming and tech enterprise was operating a performance management system that could not meet the governance, integration, or data rigour expected of a publicly listed company. The existing infrastructure was fragmented, inconsistently applied, and lacked the philosophy and strategic framing needed to drive meaningful performance conversations at scale. A complete rebuild was required — simultaneously with the broader talent intelligence programme already underway.

Actions

Led a complete redesign and rebuild of the enterprise performance management system from the ground up. Integrated multiple HR systems into a unified performance architecture. Developed the performance management philosophy and strategy — from core principles through to operational implementation — ensuring alignment with Nasdaq governance requirements. Designed and delivered a communications programme to the whole business. Built and ran a structured training programme for the top 300 senior leaders on the new framework, system, and expectations.

Result

Performance management utilisation improved from 40% to 80% across the organisation. A Nasdaq-ready performance infrastructure in place — with the governance, systems integration, data rigour, and leadership capability to sustain it.

Situation

A fast-scaling iGaming business had doubled headcount but hadn't built the learning infrastructure to match. Engagement was declining, attrition was rising in key functions, and development budget was scattered across external conferences with no measurable return. There was no learning function in place — and no evidence internally that building one would change anything.

Actions

Designed and built an L&D function from zero — functional Skills Academies across Compliance, Operations, Marketing, Technology, and Leadership, each staffed by subject-matter experts rather than generic trainers. Hired and developed function-specific learning managers. Built competency frameworks and career pathways that gave employees a visible development route. Established governance and reporting so the business had data, not anecdote, to track the investment.

Result

Engagement improved from 78% to 84% to 92% over the engagement. Entry-level attrition reduced by up to 40% in key functions. Training completions grew from 1,500 to 30,000 per year as the business doubled in headcount. Compliance completion rates improved 73–92% across functions.

Situation

A 1,000-person iGaming organisation was running performance and bonus processes designed for a business half its size — unscalable, illogical to the managers using them, and actively disconnected from the professional culture the business was building. System, process, and capability all needed replacing at the same time, without disrupting operations.

Actions

Led full redesign of the performance management architecture. Migrated data to SAP SuccessFactors. Worked directly with the CEO, CPO, CTO, and HRD to design the new process, governance model, and management skills programme — and implemented it end-to-end, including masterclass training across all managers, within six months.

Result

Operational costs reduced by 50%. Full delivery within the six-month brief. The contract was extended immediately: the same organisation engaged Martin to design and build the management and leadership capability programme that followed.

Situation

A private equity acquisition meant new owners needed to know — quickly — what leadership capability they had acquired, who should stay, who should be repositioned, and who was ready for expanded responsibility. No structured talent data existed. Senior appointments, succession decisions, and restructuring all had to be made on evidence, not instinct. The timeline was immediate.

Actions

Designed and delivered a structured talent audit of the entire top-50 leadership population using thetalentfactory — a proprietary diagnostic framework assessing competencies, potential, role fit, and succession suitability through an evolved 9-box model with integrated talent cards. Individually interviewed all 50 leaders against the framework. Produced a full diagnostic report per leader and an executive summary mapping the collective picture: strengths, succession risks, and best-fit recommendations.

Result

PE owners and leadership team used the outputs to make senior appointments, drive succession decisions, and inform restructuring. Six months of in-placement and out-placement support followed, alongside ongoing talent strategy advisory through the transition.

Situation

A multi-brand luxury retail group with operations across the US, UK, and Netherlands had no unified view of leadership capability and readiness across its senior population. Growth plans depended on talent mobility between brands — but with no shared intelligence, decisions were made brand-by-brand, on impression rather than evidence.

Actions

Proposed and built a database tracking system for approximately 100 senior leaders across all four brands. Conducted structured interviews and capability assessments across the full population. Completed design, build, and deployment within three months.

Result

Senior leaders across all four brands gained a shared, consistent view of talent capability and succession readiness — enabling mobility decisions to be made on evidence rather than instinct or brand silo. Delivered on time and within brief.

Situation

A 5,000-person multi-site engineering and utilities business had no central learning or talent function, no succession data, and a 16% senior leadership attrition rate that was quietly compounding its growth risk. No infrastructure existed to change it — and no benchmark internally to prove that investment would deliver a return.

Actions

Built the leadership development and talent function from the ground up. Designed a high-performance suite integrating performance management with a leadership competency framework. Created a multi-tier leadership pathway — manager, emerging leader, senior leader. Pioneered strengths-based talent identification and succession readiness development with 500+ senior leaders across the organisation.

Result

Senior leadership attrition reduced from 16% to 6%. An 8% EBITDA uplift — approximately £33m — was CEO-attributed to the strengths-based talent identification programme. A 13% measurable improvement in business performance tracked through leadership capability enhancement.