Hi, I'm Marcus. I support creative leadership through research, coaching and training

Today's leaders are not only navigating uncertainty. The more radical are imagining alternatives to stakeholder capitalism.

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Leadership development has not caught up. 

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I am a Professor of Innovation and Creativity and Director of the Design, Arts and Creative Practice Knowledge Exchange and Research Institute at Kingston University.

 

​I also work as a freelance consultant. 

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Drawing on my book, Leading with Creativity, I help leaders:

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- align individual motivation and organisational purpose

- become more confident in generating, selecting and implementing ideas

- develop proficiency by experimenting with self-imposed constraints

- establish a physical and social environment conducive to creativity. 

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I am lucky enough to have spent my twenties in the music business, first as a member of Passenger (ie: music) and then as one half of Grasscut (Ninja Tune, Lo Recordings).

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In my thirties, I went into academia to help ensure that graduates were better prepared for creative careers than I had been myself.

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I research the impact of emerging technologies on the creative industries. 

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In Different Every Time (Serpent’s Tail 2014), I examined how synthesizers and multi-track recording allowed the musician Robert Wyatt to reinvent himself as a studio artist after paraplegia robbed him of the ability to tour. It was a BBC Radio 4 book of the week and a book of the year in several newspapers. 

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In Distributed Creativity (Palgrave 2019), written as researcher in residence at Digital Catapult, I examined blockchain technology on the creative economy. Together with associated work such as articles and reports, it was selected as a REF impact case study for its impact on policy and practice. 

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My work has been supported by Research England, Office for Students, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Greater London Authority, British Council, Linux Foundation, Institute of Coding, Publicis Media and Blockchain Research Institute. 

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I have coached leaders and managers at United Talent Agency and Arts Council England and delivered training around the world from Accra to Amman.

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As well as giving keynotes at academic conferences, I have spoken to industry audiences from KPMG in London to Thomson Reuters in New York.

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I have written for the Guardian, the Independent, the Times and the Financial Times and appeared on the BBC and CNN.

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​​​​I am also a non-executive director of the Featured Artists Coalition music trade body.​​

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I hold an MBA as well as a PhD in collaborative creativity. I am also a qualified executive and team coach. 

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I'm live in Brighton, on the UK south coast, but also work in London and online. ​​​​​​​​​​Outside work, I spend my time climbing (competently) and surfing (incompetently).

 

Want to chat? Drop me an email.