KEYNOTE SPEAKER · PANELLIST · AWAY DAY FACILITATIOR
What if your people problems weren't people problems?
Kate Davis works with founders and leadership teams in scaling businesses - the ones who know something is slowing them down, but haven't quite been able to name it yet.
Trusted By:
“It sparked debate, got people thinking, and gave us exactly the kind of momentum we were hoping for. People left with a shared language and a clear sense of what to focus on next.”
The problems Kate speaks to
When a team isn't performing, the instinct is to look at the people. But in scaling businesses, the real culprit is almost always structural — how decisions get made, how accountability is held, how the business is designed to grow. Kate names what's actually happening, in language that founders and leadership teams can immediately act on.
She is at her most useful in rooms where leaders know something is off, but can't yet see what it is.
Rooted in a decade of leadership development and executive coaching, Kate’s talks blend commercial rigour with human warmth. She works with scaling, founder-led businesses to transform culture, communication and team performance.
These are the conversations that don't go away.
Next level leadership: building empowered teams for scale
How to work less, lead more and scale faster, without the business depending entirely on you.
Building the right team: aligning leadership and driving results
How to get the right people in the right seats, aligned on the same mission, pulling in the same direction.
Founder exit: getting the business ready for you to leave
Succession planning, leadership bench strength and the org design work that makes a clean exit possible.
High performance teams: how to build them, how to run them
The conditions, dynamics and structures that separate teams that thrive under pressure from those that stall.
M&A: don't forget the people side of change
Why cultural integration and leadership alignment are the difference between an acquisition that works and one that doesn't.
Signature Keynotes
What if your people problems weren't people problems?
The keynote that reframes everything. Kate unpacks what's really driving conflict, disengagement and underperformance in scaling businesses, and why fixing the design almost always solves what looks like a people problem.
When the team that built the business can't scale it
Why the leadership team that was right at £5M is often the wrong team at £25M, not because they aren't talented, but because the business has outgrown how it's structured.
The dynamics behind high-performing teams
What actually builds trust, challenge and clarity in teams that perform under pressure, and what quietly destroys it even in talented groups.
Culture as the connective tissue of growth
Why culture isn't a HR initiative. It's an organisational design decision made every day by leaders, and it's the first thing to fracture when a business scales too fast.
How Kate works with you
Keynote
30 to 60 minutes. A single, provocative idea that shifts how a room thinks. Built for leadership conferences, CEO forums and scale summits. Kate speaks to founders and senior leaders who know something is slowing their business down, and need someone to finally name it.
Panel
Kate brings board-level perspective and lived experience to panels on scaling, leadership, team performance and organisational design. She is known for saying the thing others are thinking but haven't said yet.
Away day facilitation
Half or full day with your senior leadership team. Kate facilitates the conversations that matter, including the ones you've been avoiding. Teams leave with clarity, alignment and a practical plan, not just a good day out.
Diagnostic workshop
A structured session that gives your leadership team a clear, shared picture of what's working, what isn't, and what to do about it. Often the moment everything finally makes sense.
Stages Kate has spoken on
Business Leader Summit, Nudge Ideas Festival, SCALE London, IoD, South East Construction Expo, Royal Holloway University, University of Surrey, Society of Heads Conference
Organisations Kate has spoken for
Natta Building, Wolters Klufer (Tagetik CCH), Sofas and Stuff, Jack Morton Worldwide, ABM, Powwow Events
Kate works with many clients who prefer discretion. References available on request.
What People Say
“We all left energised, clear on the mission and motivated to deliver it.”
“One of the highest scoring sessions we’ve ever had”
“A refreshing voice. Lived experience and deep expertise in equal measure.”
“Kate brought experience that was really relevant for me, but described it in a way I’d never heard before. Insightful, engaging and thought-provoking.”
Book Kate to Speak
About Kate Davis
Kate Davis is a NED, organisational design consultant, board-level advisor and founder of Meraki People. She works with scaling businesses, typically between £3M and £100M, helping founders fix the people infrastructure that's quietly slowing their growth.
Known by clients as the Board Whisperer, Kate has a rare ability to walk into a business, read the room, and name what's actually wrong - usually within the first conversation. Her background spans law, 15 years in live events, corporate change management and executive coaching.
Kate's talks don't motivate. They reframe. Audiences leave with language for what they've been living through, and a clear sense of what to do about it.
National Coach of the Year 2024 · IoD Director of the Year Finalist (People & Turnaround) ·Judge, National Coaching Awards & Business Leader Awards · Vice Chair IoD Surrey & Berkshire · Facilitator & Coach, Business Leader
Featured in Forbes, Fortune, The Times, Stylist, CEO Monthly
For keynotes, panels and away days. Kate speaks at leadership conferences, CEO forums, scale summits and senior leadership events across the UK.
As Seen In
Kate is a regular contributor to several magazines on leadership, culture and working life
