Holmes Noble has formed a strategic partnership with Matthew Radley & Associates (MRA) to deliver an integrated approach to developing senior executives for board-level roles.
The partnership brings together executive search, leadership assessment, and EMCC-accredited coaching, positioning itself as a response to ongoing challenges in succession planning and leadership transition at senior levels. Both organisations describe the collaboration as an industry-first model that links talent identification directly with long-term leadership development.
Research cited by the partners suggests only 19% of organisations maintain formal succession plans, while just one in five directors rate their succession processes as excellent. At the same time, up to half of newly appointed senior leaders are estimated to be failing within 18 months of appointment, raising concerns around continuity, governance, and organisational risk.
Under the partnership, Holmes Noble and MRA will offer a suite of services covering executive development, leadership transitions, team effectiveness, and board-level performance. These programmes are delivered by coaches with postgraduate qualifications, EMCC Global accreditation, and specialist expertise spanning neurodiversity, mental health, corporate governance, and leadership psychometrics.
Individual executive development programmes combine one-to-one coaching with psychometric profiling and 360-degree feedback, aimed at building self-awareness, confidence, and leadership impact. For executives moving into new roles, the partnership offers 30-week transition programmes beginning six weeks prior to appointment, designed to support leaders through critical early-stage decisions and stakeholder dynamics.
Amy Speake, Chief Executive of Holmes Noble, said: “The boardroom needs brilliant minds of course, but we must also develop leaders who can navigate complexity, build trust under pressure and drive transformation. This alliance ensures leaders have access to world-class development programmes that build the strategic capability, governance expertise and leadership impact needed at board level.”
Matthew Radley, CEO of MRA, added: “Exceptional board leadership doesn’t happen by chance. Our comprehensive coaching programmes create the high-support, high-challenge environment where senior executives develop the confidence, self-awareness and strategic thinking required to excel in the boardroom and shape the future of their organisations.”
The partners also confirmed the launch of The Ascent, a leadership programme aimed at preparing the next generation of CEOs for board-level roles, scheduled to launch in Q1.
