About Graham
I spent much of my career inside the organisations I now advise.
More than 20 years leading transformation, growth and service improvement across public-sector organisations and technology businesses — from both sides of the buyer/supplier relationship, and from an investor's perspective.
Inside local government first
My career began inside local government, at Sefton Council, working on the digital systems behind children's services. That led to a move into frontline local-authority transformation consultancy — working with councils across England, Scotland and Wales to redesign services and get more value from technology.
More than 12 years at Capita
That work led to Capita, where I spent more than 12 years progressing through increasingly senior roles — from regional services leadership through Services Director, Product Management Director and Sales Director, to Chief Product Officer for its local-government business. Across those roles I carried P&L, product, commercial, services and people responsibility, led SRO accountability on major transformation programmes, and worked on acquisitions and international development.
CEO
In 2018 I was appointed CEO of Welfare Call, a 110-person public-sector technology and services business serving 105 local-government customers, leading a business-wide transformation of its organisation, systems and market position.
Investor perspective
I left Welfare Call at the end of 2018 to establish Golden Sky Consultancy, and the following year worked with Montagu Private Equity's Executive Committee on the Full Potential Plan for Servelec Group, following Montagu's £225m acquisition of the business — product strategy, M&A, commercial performance and organisational design, seen from an investor's side of the table.
A portfolio operating career, since 2019
Since 2019 I've worked independently through Golden Sky Consultancy, across a portfolio of complementary roles: Board Advisor to FocusGov for four and a half years, an investment strategy engagement with iESE, an interim Sales Director assignment with Investment Mastery, and — alongside Golden Sky itself — ongoing operating roles as UK Director of Oksidia and Co-Founder & Director of Solution Focused Education. These aren't past case studies; they're roles I'm still directly involved in building and running.
Why that matters
That combination — operator, product leader, commercial leader, CEO, and adviser to private-equity owners — is why the work combines strategic judgement with operational realism and implementation. A recommendation is worth more when the person making it has had to make it work themselves, with their own name on the outcome. My specialist centre of gravity is public-sector transformation and public-sector technology — particularly local government, education and social care — alongside B2G growth, market entry and scaling technology businesses.
In their words
From someone I've worked with.
Dr Geoffrey JamesCo-Founder & Practice Director, Solution Focused Education“I met Graham back in February 2020 when I was a struggling sole trader selling solution focused brief therapy training and consultancy services.
Graham conducted a deep-dive into my service offering and made a series of recommendations which together we implemented over a 12 month period. The outcome of this was that I grew my revenues by 250% (>£100k) and became profitable for the first time.
I couldn't have achieved this without Graham's business acumen and sheer tenacity to make sure we were focusing on getting the important stuff done.”
Next step
If you're dealing with a growth, transformation or execution challenge, start a conversation.
You don't need a perfectly defined brief. One direct conversation, no pitch deck.