Richard McGarvey
- Specialism:
- Improving Board and Leadership Effectiveness
- Strategic Planning
- M&A Project Management (Buy & Sell Sides)
- Sales and Sales Leadership
- Governance in highly regulated environments
- Developing sophisticated customer service propositions
- Developing advanced communication skills through behavioural science
- Delivering tangible business results
- Track Record: When growth introduces friction or an exit is on the horizon, I help founders and boards establish control, scale value, and de-risk operations.
- Founder & CEO who scaled and exited two financial planning businesses for £2.85m within six years
- Executive M&A Manager at St. James’s Place, leading acquisitions representing £960m in assets under management
- Non-Executive Chair & Board Advisor to regulated financial services, SME, digital, and real estate businesses
- Strategic advisory and governance support for NXS Group, Strada Dubai, Leyland Trucks, and Virtual Non-Execs
- Known for converting founder-led complexity into clear governance, stronger commercial structures, and investment-ready enterprise value
- Offer: I work with founders, CEOs, and boards when the path to scale, investment, or exit feels stalled or exposed.
- Pulled into every operational firefight because leadership roles and governance structures are unclear
- Seeing growth plateau despite having a capable team and strong market position
- Concerned about investment readiness, compliance, or exit value
- Experiencing leadership friction that slows execution and strategic progress
I help you clarify growth strategies, align leadership teams, apply behavioural science, build executable plans, and install compliance, operational controls, and board disciplines that drive accountability. This is advisory work. Direct. Focused. Built for speed.
Try me: richmcgarvey@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/richardmcgarvey - Richard says: “If scale or transition feels heavier than it should, we should talk. Organisations grow. Complexity increases. Execution and enterprise value stall — not because founders or teams lack capability, but because the systems they operate in are no longer fit for purpose. Over 30 years, I have worked as an entrepreneur, corporate M&A leader, Chairman, and board advisor, helping organisations professionalise operations, strengthen governance, prepare for investment, and maximise value through growth and exit. Fix the foundations, and value accelerates.”
- Try me: advice4business.co.uk
The transition to become a Portfolio Executive began organically after successfully scaling and exiting my own two FCA-regulated businesses in 2022. Having navigated the demanding process of turning raw growth into a multi-million-pound exit, I started receiving approaches from other founder-led SMEs and boards. They wanted to understand how to replicate that rigour, professionalise their structures, and achieve similar seven-times revenue multiples. Stepping into the advisory space was a natural response to that demand.
One of my first major milestones in this portfolio chapter was with a luxury kitchen supply and installation company in late 2022. Brought in at a critical point, I worked closely with the CEO and senior leadership team ahead of a proposed capital investment. By rapidly introducing an institutional governance framework, strengthening operational procedures, and implementing actionable growth strategies, we successfully prepared the organisation for investment within a compressed and highly focused timeframe.
A further validation of the model came with NXS Group, where a digital agency needed to transition from founder-led operations to formal investment readiness. Within a short period, we overhauled governance, restructured shareholder options, mentored the C-suite, and opened doors to private equity firms, transforming raw growth into institutional value.
Along the way, I’ve learned that exits and scale-ups rarely fail randomly. They fail predictably when governance is weak, leadership responsibilities are unclear, and operational infrastructure cannot scale with the business. I’ve also learned that behavioural science matters just as much as financial metrics. If leadership teams are not aligned in their dynamics and behaviours, even the strongest strategy can stall before it gains momentum. Fix those issues, and value accelerates.
It’s working for me now because the portfolio model reflects the reality of today’s market. Businesses do not always need the cost of a permanent, full-time executive; they need focused expertise at key moments in their growth journey. By splitting my time between roles such as Non-Executive Chair, Lead Advisor, and Board Mentor across different sectors, I bring an objective perspective to every engagement. That distance allows me to spot blind spots and opportunities that internal teams can sometimes miss because they are immersed in the day-to-day demands of the business.
Looking ahead, I want to continue partnering with ambitious, high-growth organisations where expansion has introduced friction or where significant transitions require experienced leadership to maximise enterprise value. My goal is to build a portfolio of outstanding client success stories, helping founders secure their legacy, supporting boards in managing regulatory risk, and transforming fragmented efforts into scalable, high-value outcomes. That is where I believe I can make the greatest difference.