From Military Commander to Business Owner: Chris Wakerley Inspiring leadership interview with Jonathan Bowman-Perks:

Chris Wakerley - Former KPMG Partner & Business Owner. Chris was the British Army Commanding Officer of 2nd Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment based in York. Chris is passionate about building diverse teams and creating an environment where people can realise their potential. As a consultant he has been fortunate to have worked with a number of fantastic CEOs, predominantly in listed companies but also extensively with private equity owned businesses. He has learned a good deal from them and hopes that he has helped them in return. He is currently the Chairman of Arca Blanca a next generation consultancy powered by data science, and an advisor and investor at Pillar-app.com which is an intelligent and connected coach on mobile – for any active person.

As Manging Director and one of the founders of Boxwood, a specialist business transformation consultancy, he was privileged to build and grow a team of outstanding and diverse professionals. The business was acquired by KPMG in 2015 and grew by over 40% during the earn-out period. He has direct experience of the retail, telecoms, media, software, property, construction and oil and gas industries, and is particularly interested in the strategy and leadership of complex organizations.

In his early career he began as a private soldier in the Royal electrical and mechanical engineers REME as an aviation technician. He has always had amazing drive and determination and strong self belief which has allowed him to achieve considerable feats. Then he was a qualified military and commercial pilot and held leadership roles in aviation and information and communication technology organisations. Latterly, he was the Head of Global Operational Information Systems for the Armed Services. Chris was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire during his military service. He is a keen skier, regular visitor to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and is currently learning to fly the Magni Autogyro. www.magnigyro.it