Advisory and execution at moments that matter
Ambrose and Bell is an operator-led advisory firm. We help boards and leadership teams fix what is in the way and build for what comes next.
Most clients arrive with a situation, not a service
Growth has outrun the structure
Revenue climbs, margins stay flat, and decisions still bottleneck at the top.
The transformation is slipping
A funded programme is behind on dates, budget, or benefits.
The AI spend is not paying back
The money went in but the operating model did not change.
The deal is not delivering
The acquired business is still running on its legacy model.
A key person leaving breaks things
A founder steps back and the business cannot run without them.
The top team is pulling apart
The leadership team is not pointed at the same problem.
The operating model decides whether strategy lands. We fix it, across structure, technology, and leadership.
Every engagement starts with a diagnostic. Six ways into one operating model.
Boards know what to do. The diagnostic reads whether the business can carry it. Buy it, keep it, walk away if you want.
Advisory service
Operating Model Transformation
Where structure, accountability, and decision rights are slowing the strategy down. A board-ready view of the gap, then the redesign that closes it.
View Operating Model Transformation →- Structure. How the business is wired to deliver. Accountability, decision rights, and the programmes that change them.
- Technology. Technology and AI made to pay back, because the way the business runs around them changed too.
- Leadership. The leadership layer of the model. The team and the operator who have to carry the change through.
- Operating Model TransformationWhere structure, accountability, and decision rights are slowing the strategy down. A board-ready view of the gap, then the redesign that closes it.
- Transformation Programme LeadershipAn independent read on a programme that is missing dates, value, or confidence. Findings, root causes, and the recovery options.
- AI and AutomationMost AI investment fails to land because the structure around it never changed. The operator view that turns it into measurable value.
- Technology Product LeadershipOperator-led product launch and development. Build, launch sequence, and the structure that scales with the product.
- Leadership Team AssessmentBelbin-anchored assessment of the team that has to deliver. Composition, alignment, and the gaps the strategy will expose.
- Executive CoachingOne-to-one work with operators carrying P&L weight. Three named programmes. Confidential, structured, and built on twenty-five years of running businesses.
Dr Stephen McCormac's career record
The principal's personal track record across operator and consulting roles, not a firm-level scope.
Three engagement modes
Advisory
Six engagements across the same model, each entered through a diagnostic. Milestone-banded, defined deliverable.
View advisory →Interim Leadership
Interim CEO, MD, COO, and C-suite-minus-one roles. 90-day milestones, defined exit.
View interim →NED Engagement
Non-executive appointments where the seat is real, on seven conditions set in writing.
View NED →Latest insights
Writing on operating models, transformation, and the questions that reach the board table.