I am sitting the United Lounge, in the new Queen's Terminal at Heathrow, awaiting the departure of my flight home after a very productive trip to England and Europe. In the last ten days, I have been fortunate enough to speak at the European Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance in Zagreb; refine aspects of the doctoral thesis; meet with executives from the US and UK to discuss board practice matters; discuss research opportunities with UK-based researchers; and, catch up with some research colleagues and make some new acquaintances. To top it off, I attended a Holy Communion Service at St. Paul's in London and was taken on a most wonderful tour of Winchester (the ancient capital of England), including the Cathedral where the da Vinci Code movie was filmed. While trips away can be physically and mentally demanding, and I am looking forward to returning home, my mind is thinking ahead to the next trip, such is the wealth of opportunity that presented itself over the last ten days. Here's a small selection:
  • I have been asked to address a class of Masters-level students at the University of Winchester.
  • A confidential recruiter has begun exploring the possibility of an appointment to a UK-based board.
  • An opportunity to collaborate on a research project, to explore the leadership–board nexus in multi-national companies has emerged.
  • I have been asked to make two presentations, to a board and to an executive team (two different companies), on the topic of strategy in the boardroom. 
As a result of these opportunities (and a couple of others that I'm not at liberty to mention), I plan to return to the UK and Europe in the early Spring (probably in mid-March), hopefully with my freshly minted doctorate in hand. I expect to be based in London, and may stop over on the East Coast of the USA en route.
If you would like to explore aspects of strategy in the boardroom, board practice or business performance; or to arrange a meeting or a presentation, please contact me directly. I can travel to any major centre in the UK, or in Western or Central Europe, if required. I look forward to hearing from you.