
James Coughlan
Board-level experience. Personally involved.
Open to new projects
Interim leadership, business diagnostics and support to deliver change.
THE WAY I WORK
Hello! I’m James.
I get to grips with what is happening, agree what needs to change and work with the team to make it happen.
I work with CEOs, CFOs, founders, boards and investors across B2B, B2C and PE-backed businesses. My experience spans commercial leadership, marketing, digital and changes to how a business operates.
Working across the UK and internationally.
What looks like a department problem is often a wider performance problem.
I speak to the people doing the work and test what I hear against the numbers. That helps establish whether the problem is where the board thinks it is, or somewhere else in the business.
I can lead a defined piece of work or step into an interim executive role, taking responsibility for the team, the decisions and delivery.
The aim is to improve performance and leave the business better able to keep improving.
I give an honest view of what needs attention and where time and investment will make the most difference.
SELECTED COMMERCIAL EXPERIENCE
The commercial difference.
The situation, my responsibility and the difference the work made.
GROWTH THROUGH CHANGE
A stronger route to revenue as the sales model changed.
I led digital channels, CRM and the marketing mix, bringing sales and marketing together around weekly funnel reporting.
Website share of leads rose from under 5% to over 20% within 12 months.
COST AND OPERATING MODEL
A lower-cost development model, built in stages.
I assessed the offshore option, then led recruitment, onboarding and knowledge transfer, with UK technical leadership retained.
Over £3m in annual savings, net of the new team’s costs.
PROFITABILITY AND SCALE
Better trading today. A platform for future acquisitions.
I led changes to product and pricing mix, merchandising, the commerce platform and product data at an industrial parts business.
Gross margin improved by 6.3 percentage points year on year, alongside a platform built to support future acquisitions.
FURTHER EXPERIENCE ACROSS MY CAREER
+6.3 pts
Gross margin improvement
45.7% to 52.0% year on year, through pricing, product mix and merchandising.
70 sites
One shared platform
School websites consolidated in nine months, with full localisation.
£20m
EBITDA improvement agenda
Sales transformation across pricing, customer win-back and sales support.
€1.2m
EU marketing cost reduction
Improved acquisition efficiency and the enquiry-to-application journey.
£550k
In-year cost-saving benefit
Supported a sales restructure with clearer roles and customer coverage.
£7m
Mobile app revenue
Revenue generated within 12 months of launching the mobile app.
WORKING TOGETHER
Where I can help.
A CLEAR STARTING POINT
Start with what is happening.
You may have a clear brief, or simply know that performance needs to improve.
UNDERSTAND
Send a short outline.
Tell me what is happening, where you need help and any timing pressure. I will get back to you to arrange a call.
AGREE
Set the scope and responsibility.
We agree the scope, responsibilities, timing, fees and how progress will be measured before work starts.
DELIVER
Turn the priorities into action.
I can lead the work, support your team or give them a plan to take forward themselves.
IN THEIR WORDS
What it is like to work with me.
“James combines leading-edge digital skills with vast experience and an ability to communicate at all levels”.
Neil McCrossan
Managing Director, Northgate UK&I
“James has a genuine skill at helping people push themselves to achieve their best - which leads to great work and great results.”
Nick Adams
Brand Strategy Partner, Adamsand
“James quickly assimilated the business context, identified and prioritised the critical actions, and translated strategy into action”.
Rachel Laurie
Board Director, Insurtech
A CONVERSATION WITH JAMES
What needs to move
in your business?
Send me a short outline of your situation. I will get back to you to arrange a conversation about where I can help.