Coeur de LionCoeur de Lion
Strategic advisory and fractional leadership for purpose-led organisations.
For the work that matters. Done properly.
THE FIRM
The Firm
The name Coeur de Lion carries more than one meaning. Richard I, heart of the lion: courage without recklessness, and a conviction that holds when holding is costly. It also carries the founder’s own history — the African lion of the continent that shaped him, the depth of the Indian subcontinent running through his family line, and the French language, a nod to the Europe he now calls home. It is a name that belongs to more than one place, and that is an accurate description of the firm as well as its founder.
Well-resourced organisations take a certain calibre of expertise for granted: senior judgement, rigorously applied, delivered directly by the person doing the thinking. Purpose-led organisations face decisions of the same weight without the same access. That gap, not a market opportunity, is why this firm exists.
You’ve seen it before: advice that conveniently points toward whatever the adviser has to sell. It’s called the principal-agent problem, but you do not need the name to recognise the pattern. We don’t do that here. Our advice is not shaped by what we also sell, which firms we partner with, or what our next engagement pipeline looks like.
Who This Is For
Purpose-led organisations face many of the same pressures as large multinationals, without the same resources to meet them. Coeur de Lion exists to bring that calibre of expertise to the people doing work that matters.
Our target clients are:
- International development organisations and INGOs
- Social enterprises
- B-Corps
- Impact-led scale-ups
- Tech for Good and digital civil society
- Charities and NGOs
- Mid-market firms and founders who share these values
This isn’t a comprehensive list, nor is it a broad market play. It’s a deliberate choice: organisations where values and capability both matter, not just one. If this sounds like you, you’re in the right place.
The Work
Fractional / Interim COO
An organisation that needs operational leadership to define strategy or roadmap, redesign the operating model, or lead a transformation gets it now, not after a six-month search, and only for as long as they need it. Accountable for outcomes, not hours logged, gone once the job is done.
Strategy, Governance and Transformation Advisory
An organisation without the experience or capability in-house gets direct access to someone who has done it before, not just a recommendation. That includes AI Readiness and Governance Advisory: helping organisations adopt AI safely, with data sovereignty, privacy, and self-hosted alternatives to Big Tech built in from the start.
Board Advisory and NED
A board that needs a genuine outside view gets a trustee, NED, or advisory board member who has sat on the other side of the table, understands board accountability and fiduciary responsibility, and knows what a board actually needs to hear, not what's comfortable to say.
How I Work
COURAGE
Say the hard thing first
We give honest counsel, even if it's not what you want to hear, but it's the right place to start.
COMPASSION
People before headcount
Every organisation is a community of people, not a set of numbers, and we work accordingly.
CONVICTION
Right once
We don't drift from what the evidence supports, even when a faster answer would be easier to sell.
About
Coeur de Lion is a boutique advisory firm. The goal is straightforward: senior-level judgement, delivered directly, to organisations that couldn’t otherwise access it. The work is done by the person you speak to, not delegated down a chain.
Principal Advisor
Kishen has built a career at the intersection of strategy, governance, and transformation, across financial services, professional services, and the charity and social enterprise sector. He has been a working board director throughout, bringing that governance lens to every engagement.
Neurodiversity, mental health, education, and social mobility are personal to him, not abstract causes. They shape how he understands people, and the leadership he tries to practise.
Get in Touch
Engagements typically begin with a conversation. No agenda required.
Based in London, United Kingdom