Case study
Executive and Leadership Development | Telefonica O2 UK
The client
Mark Evans, newly appointed CEO of Telefonica O2 UK, stepped into the role at a time of significant organisational transition. The business was preparing for a major joint venture with Virgin Media, creating a need for confident, cohesive leadership to sustain performance and guide the company through structural change.
The executive team was high-performing in parts but had developed patterns of conflict avoidance and limited cross-functional collaboration. At this critical inflection point, Mark engaged ig to help the team raise its game and support a broader leadership cohort in preparing for the transition.
The brief
Mark’s goal was to strengthen the executive team’s effectiveness—moving from safe but siloed negotiation into more open, high-trust dialogue. He recognised that to lead through complexity, the top team would need to build deeper self-awareness and embrace uncomfortable conversations.
As the joint venture progressed, the brief expanded. The business needed a wider group of senior leaders to be ready to lead in a transformed context. This required building individual readiness, preserving engagement, and ensuring momentum across the organisation.
What we did
Executive Team Development
- Conducted in-depth 1:1 conversations with the CEO and executive team to uncover behavioural patterns and unspoken tensions.
- Facilitated team sessions to address conflict avoidance, build trust, and strengthen the team’s collective leadership.
- Provided ongoing 1:1 coaching for the CEO, supporting him during his transition into the top role.
Change readiness at scale
- Delivered tailored coaching to 35 senior leaders to help them prepare for the changes ahead, embedding self-awareness, clarity, and resilience.
- Identified key individuals and roles critical to driving successful change.
- Facilitated workshops with the Board and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) focused on change readiness, aligning senior stakeholders around the mindset and behaviours needed for effective transition.
- Created a ‘listening mechanism’—analysing coaching insights to surface common themes, concerns, and emotional undercurrents across the business.
- Fed this real-time insight into the organisation’s broader change and communications planning, helping leadership tailor messaging and support.
- Sustained engagement and commitment throughout the transition period, helping preserve talent and performance through uncertainty.
The results
Greater executive alignment
The executive team built deeper trust and openness, enabling them to have the hard conversations they had previously avoided. This shift in dynamic improved collaboration and decision-making at the top.
Effective transition into CEO role
Mark was able to lead with confidence and clarity from day one, using the support from his coach to reflect, test ideas, and adapt in real time.
Change-ready leadership bench
The extended leadership cohort was better equipped to lead others through ambiguity. Leaders had a clearer sense of their roles and responsibilities in the new business, along with the behaviours needed to model and sustain change.
Employee engagement and business resilience
Despite the intensity of the upcoming joint venture, the business retained its people, its performance, and its ability to deliver—maintaining stability at a time when many organisations falter.
What our client had to say
“Having been appointed CEO of Telefonica O2 UK, I asked ig to work with me and my executive team in identifying some issues that were holding us back—namely, pushing conflict down into the organisation, rather than sitting safely in negotiation and, occasionally, in conflict ourselves.
The process was difficult at times, but ig helped us work through issues and challenges that we’d previously avoided. As a result, we were much more effective—and both our employees and our shareholders felt the impact.
As the O2 business prepared for the joint venture with Virgin Media, we engaged ig again—this time to support the executive team and other key senior leaders through the creation of the new company.
ig’s approach is supportive, direct, and appropriately challenging, which worked brilliantly for us. As my coach, Dan proved to be an excellent sounding board. His proactive support in helping me settle into my first CEO role was invaluable.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend ig to other CEOs and executive teams.”
Mark Evans | CEO | Telefonica UK (O2)
In summary
As Telefonica O2 prepared for one of the most significant transformations in its history, ig partnered with the CEO and senior leaders to strengthen their ability to lead through it.
Through individual coaching, team development, and real-time insight into the organisational climate, we helped leaders face into discomfort, align around shared goals, and lead with clarity and intent. The result was a more connected, capable leadership community—ready to navigate change and deliver results.
