Ian Windle

Ian Windle is a leadership expert, bestselling author, executive coach, and in-demand keynote speaker who helps leaders build resilience, clarity, and sustained high performance. Drawing on experience across diplomacy, global consulting, and elite endurance sport, he brings a distinctive blend of strategic insight and lived experience to the stage. His work centres on enabling leaders to perform consistently under pressure, making him a compelling choice for organisations navigating change, complexity, and growth.

Ian’s early career was shaped by sixteen years in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where he worked as a Senior Consultant and Political Officer across Europe and Asia. His international postings included London, Hong Kong, Lisbon, Berlin, Brussels, The Hague, Oslo, Stockholm, and Rome, giving him deep exposure to complex political environments and high-stakes decision making. He later transitioned into business leadership, completing an MBA and Diploma in Marketing at Henley Business School before becoming Managing Director of Celemi UK and Head of Global Consulting.

In 2006, Ian founded his own leadership consultancy, working closely with CEOs and senior executives to strengthen leadership capability and organisational performance. His thought leadership gained wider recognition with his TEDx talk “Why You Should Have an Unreasonable Dream“, viewed more than 40,000 times, and the publication of ‘The Leadership Map’, which became an Amazon No.1 bestseller in Entrepreneurship. He also launched The Leadership Map Programme for middle and senior managers and co-hosts ‘The Gritty Leaders’ Podcast. As a Vistage CEO Peer Group Chairman, he has delivered more than 130 sessions across the UK, Canada, and the United States, earning multiple Vistage Outperforming Speaker Awards.

Alongside his professional achievements, Ian applies the mindset of endurance sport to leadership, having completed multiple IronMan 70.3 events and a full IronMan in Italy in 2025. Organisations hire him because he combines global leadership experience with practical frameworks and personal discipline. His talks equip leaders to build resilience, lead with purpose, and sustain high performance in demanding environments.