Brian Willman

Since 1992, I have specialised in the development of leadership competency for global businesses facing change. My main area of work is developing and teaching programmes to develop the leadership skills of senior managers and high potentials. My academic interest is in organisational behaviour focussing on how to energise and excite individuals to high performance, how to stimulate high performance teams and how to understand and develop the culture of organisations. I make extensive use of feedback in my work and I pioneered the use of 360 feedbacks as a development tool in the 1990s. The challenge I love to explore is how authentic leaders can build trust to energise their followers and achieve great things.

I am a Fellow in the Centre for Management Development at London Business School and Programme Director for a number of leading businesses that use the School including Nestlé, Roche and Rabobank. I teach organisational behaviour on these and other programmes, including those for IBM, Ericsson and Microsoft. I also teach on the School’s top rated open programmes including the Accelerated Development Programme and Essentials of Leadership. My teaching ratings are among the highest in the School. I am a Visiting Professor at the Cyprus Institute of International Management and an Associate of Aalto University Executive Education (formerly TKK Executive School of Business) in Helsinki.

Outside the School, I have worked with clients from many areas including retail, management consulting and financial services including The Financial Times, Deutsche Bank and Capgemini. I have worked throughout Europe and in the US, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Dubai and South East Asia.

Earlier in my career, I worked for the global consultancy firm, Gemini Consulting, and was responsible for meeting the training needs of staff across Europe and South Africa. I graduated with an Honours degree in Political Science from Exeter University and have an MBA from London Business School.

I live in south west London with my wife and two quite grown up children. I was a member of the Trust that established the Rose of Kingston Theatre in London which opened in 2008. It is modelled on Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre and Sir Peter Hall is the Artistic Director. I am also actively involved in my local football club, Brentford FC, an English third division club and have mentored the Chief Executive.