You’ve grown fast.
Now things that used to work, don’t.
Groveworks works with ambitious, scaling businesses to build the leadership and talent infrastructure that growth depends on.
Leadership feels inconsistent. Succession is a conversation everyone's avoiding. Performance processes exist — but barely anyone takes them seriously. You know something structural needs to change. You're just not sure where to start.
The person behind the work
I'm David Whitson-Black. I've spent nearly twenty-five years inside organisations building the infrastructure that growth depends on — most recently across a PE-backed professional services group that grew from 200 to over 9,000 people. I work with CEOs, executive teams and People leaders who know something structural needs to change — and want someone who has done it before, at scale, under pressure. Groveworks is how I do that work independently.
Most of the organisations I work with are experiencing one or more of these. If any of them resonate, we should talk.
Does any of this sound familiar?
You've scaled fast — and the leadership model hasn't kept up.
What worked when you had 200 people doesn't work at 800. Leadership expectations are inconsistent. Some teams perform brilliantly; others are drifting. Accountability varies depending on who's managing. You know the infrastructure needs rebuilding — but the business can't stop while you do it.
Performance processes are there. But they don't really mean anything.
Reviews happen. Ratings get submitted. But the conversations aren't honest, the data isn't trusted, and leaders treat the whole thing as an administrative exercise. You've invested in process — but not in making it land.
The board keeps asking about succession. You don't have a good answer.
You know who your key people are. What you don't have is a clear, honest picture of what would happen if two or three of them left. Succession gets discussed — but it never gets properly mapped, owned or actioned. The risk is visible. The solution isn't.
You've integrated the balance sheet. The people and culture side is still a mess.
Post-acquisition, the financials are joined up. But leadership expectations, talent processes and development pathways are still running on four different operating models. The longer it stays fragmented, the harder it becomes to build one coherent business.
40% → 95%
Performance completion rate — rebuilt from the ground up and sustained across multiple years
What this work actually produces
These are results from real engagements across my career — not benchmarks or projections.
400+ leaders
First group-wide succession map — giving executive and board level a real picture of risk and pipeline readiness for the first time. Internal promotion rates up 8%.
70+ acquisitions
Leadership and capability infrastructure designed to hold through sustained M&A activity — scaling from a small domestic business to an international group
Seven figures
Saved through automation and systemisation of early-careers and development processes — handling over 20,000 interactions annually
100+ co-creators
Shared leadership language embedded as a core pillar of a five-year growth plan — built with leaders, not handed down to them
Twenty years of doing this work. From the inside.
I'm David Whitson-Black. I've spent my career inside organisations building the things that make growth sustainable — succession pipelines, performance cultures, leadership frameworks, capability infrastructure. Not designing them for someone else to implement. Building them, embedding them, and staying until they hold.
Most recently I spent eleven years at Azets — a PE-backed, acquisitive international professional services group — where I led talent, performance and leadership development as the business grew from around 200 people to over 9,000 across multiple countries and was involved in more than 70 acquisitions. Before that, over a decade in financial services building similar foundations in a different sector.
I've sat at executive and board level conversations about succession risk, leadership capability and people strategy. I know what those conversations need to be grounded in. And I know how to get there without wasting time.
Groveworks is how I do this work independently — with PE-backed businesses, scaling organisations and complex multi-entity groups where pace, alignment and leadership infrastructure matter most.
If something here resonates with what you're working on, I'd love to talk.
I come in fast, get a clear picture of what's actually happening, and work with your leadership team to fix it — building things that stay fixed.
I've spent twenty years inside organisations doing this work. I know what boards are asking, what CEOs are worried about, and what actually holds up under pressure. I don't need time to get up to speed on the context — reading organisations quickly is part of what I do.
I work across both individuals and organisations — the people and the infrastructure. Most of the time, you need both.
What this typically looks like:
A focused succession or leadership depth review — giving you and your board a real picture of risk and readiness
A performance reset — rebuilding how performance is set, held and talked about across the business
Leadership infrastructure design — clarifying expectations, accountability and governance as you scale or integrate
Interim or fractional leadership — stepping into a senior role while you work out the longer-term structure
Targeted advisory — working alongside a CEO or People leader who needs an experienced thought partner on the architecture behind growth
Design and facilitation of leadership sessions and executive team workshops — including psychometric tools where they serve the work
Engagements usually start with a short diagnostic conversation. I'll tell you quickly what I think the real issue is — and whether I'm the right person to help. No long sales process. If any of this sounds like what you're dealing with — a short conversation is the best place to start.
What I do.
How I work.
Practical. Fast. Embedded.
Every engagement starts with understanding what's actually happening — not what the org chart says, and not just what leadership believes. That usually becomes clear quickly.
Most engagements follow a simple arc:
A short diagnostic — understanding the real situation, the key risks, and where to focus
Design — working with you to shape the right approach for your context, stage and pace
Embedded delivery — staying close to the work until things are genuinely established and owned, not just launched
I work across the infrastructure and the people inside it. Leadership development, executive team effectiveness, individual coaching where it serves the wider work.
Engagements can be a focused, a time-bounded piece of work — or extend into broader architecture design and embedding. That depends on what will create the most value for you.