Autonomous companies.
Shared capabilities.
Integrated leadership.
The Strategic
Federation
What this structure makes possible
A group entity producing strategy, workshops, leadership development, and media & events
Five CEO-led subsidiaries — creative, brand, marketing, media, and tech — each winning their own clients
A shared leadership team with defined roles across all companies
The portfolio
A group entity with four practice areas, and five sovereign subsidiary companies.
01
The group entity
— Strategy as a service for mission-driven organizations
— Workshops & leadership development programs
— Media & events as a standalone revenue stream
— Shared services: CFO, tech, tools, legal for all
02
Five subsidiaries
— Creative studio — narrative & content production
— Brand consultancy — identity & brand strategy
— Marketing agency — performance & campaigns
— Media company — publishing & events
— Tech practice — AI, systems & ecosystem design
03
Unified leadership
— Each leader holds a defined role at peer companies
— Roles are contributory — never decision-making
— Creates shared intelligence across all brands
— The team operates as one across all entities
The structure
The group entity
Strategy as a service · workshops & leadership development · media & events
Shared: CFO · tech stack · tools · legal
Creative
studio
CEO-led · own P&L
Own clients
Brand
consultancy
CEO-led · own P&L
Own clients
Marketing
agency
CEO-led · own P&L
Own clients
Media
company
CEO-led · own P&L
Own clients
Tech
practice
CEO-led · own P&L
Own clients
Cross-leadership roles · functional, not decision-making
Shared services ↓
Equity stake ↑
Cross-leadership
Four pillars
AUTONOMY
Sovereign subsidiaries
— Five CEO-led companies, each with full decision authority
— Separate legal entity, brand, and P&L for each
— Wins and manages its own clients independently
— No peer can overrule — only the subsidiary's CEO
INFRASTRUCTURE
Shared group infrastructure
— CFO sits at group level — shared across all entities
— Tech stack and tools provisioned centrally
— Legal and compliance flow from the group
— Reduces overhead and duplication across all
LEADERSHIP
Cross-company leadership
— Each leader holds a defined role at peer companies
— Roles are contributory — never decision-making
— Creates shared intelligence across brands
— Operates as one unified leadership team
THE GROUP ENTITY
Strategy as a service
— Strategy, thought leadership, and advisory work
— Workshops & leadership development programs
— Media & events as a standalone revenue stream
— Subsidiaries hold equity in the group entity
What makes it work —
and what can break it
01
Decision rights in writing
The boundary between cross-company roles and decision authority must be documented. What a visiting leader can influence, and what only the CEO can decide, must be unambiguous from day one.
02
Shared service cost allocation
How CFO time, tech infrastructure, and legal support are costed across five subsidiaries needs a clear, agreed formula before the first invoice. Ambiguity here becomes resentment quickly.
03
The group entity earns its keep
Strategy, workshops, leadership development, and media & events must generate real revenue — not just exist on paper. The group entity earns its legitimacy by delivering actual work to actual clients.
04
Trust is load-bearing
This model runs on trust. Where it works, it multiplies a small team's reach across five companies dramatically. Where it fails, it fails at the governance layer — not the vision layer.
Which
structure
fits how
you think?
The right structure follows the relationship.
Start with the conversation.
Questions to ground the discussion
Where does decision authority sit in each company?
What does the group entity actually produce?
How are shared services costed and allocated?