Coming of age

Written by Octavius Black CBE, MindGym's Co-Founder and CEO

When Seb and I started MindGym in my kitchen 24 years ago there was a lot we didn’t know. There still is. Probably more.

One thing we were sure about from the outset was that we wanted to build a business that would outlast us. This meant, in our opinion, avoiding becoming a pure play HR consultancy which tends to be dependent on key people and hard to scale. And so we focused on building products and services that can be delivered consistently, tens of thousands of times all over the world.

Since then, five million business leaders have taken part in a live MindGym experience and many more have signed up digitally and read MindGym’s books. The time when any of those who took part knew or had even heard of either of the founders has long since passed. Thank goodness.

This was all part of the plan to reduce founder dependency - the first three books didn’t even have our names on the cover - but it was always only the start.

This time last year, with our new Executive team in place, I asked our current and former Chairs to start the search for a successor CEO.

I learnt a great deal through the process. Hard though it was to admit, I probably started out looking for a mini-me. Thankfully, it soon became clear that this would be a huge mistake. The business already had two restless entrepreneurs. The last thing it needed was a third.

Instead, what MindGym needs is a professional business leader who is steeped in the world of Talent and HR, has led commercial, product and digital teams and has worked extensively in both our main markets: the US and the UK. Even more importantly, they need to be a good enough cultural fit to build on our strengths whilst still being independent enough to lead the business into a new era.

I’m thrilled that we found an exceptional candidate in Christoffer Ellehuus who has all these attributes and comes with a rare insight into the market, a history of building great followership and a passion for transforming the world of work. To find out more about Christoffer and his star-studded career at CEB, Korn Ferry and as CEO of a global training company see here.

To ensure a smooth transition, Christoffer starts today as CEO Designate and will have a six-month handover to give him time to get to know the business so he can take full charge by the summer.

I will then become Executive Chair. This allows me to devote my energy to talking with clients, partners, authors and academics; helping invent new solutions; and proselytising on the power of behavioural science to transform the productivity of businesses and the lives of the people who work in them.

This is a major milestone for MindGym that is only possible thanks to our formidable team, Board, pioneering clients, willing coaches and committed investors, to all of whom I am deeply grateful.

MindGym has come of age. A bold new era starts today.