Summary
Overview
Work history
Education
Skills
SELECTED TESTIMONIALS
Websites
Governance Roles
Timeline
Generic

Nicola Paul

Wokingham,UK

Summary

A seasoned expert in cultural transformation strategy, specialising in leadership behaviour development and cultural audit and measurement. Demonstrates proficiency in stakeholder engagement and change communities, with a strong focus on enhancing employee experience and psychological safety. Utilises advanced skills in communication strategy for culture change within regulated and complex environments. Committed to leveraging behavioural science and organisational psychology principles to drive impactful cultural intelligence assessment and training initiatives.

Overview

18
18
years of professional experience

Work history

Independent Culture, Inclusion & Leadership Consultant

Nicola Paul Advisory
2020.06 - 2026.05
  • Delivering executive coaching, cultural strategy, and inclusion programmes for boards and leadership teams across regulated industries, social housing, and global corporates. Client portfolio includes Saga, McDonalds, Starbucks, M&S, Howdens Joinery, Nomad Foods, Redgate Software, Coca-Cola Hellenic, Carnival UK (P&O and Cunard Cruises), and the Financial Conduct Authority.
  • Designed and delivered cultural transformation programmes for boards and exec teams across the FTSE100-350 with measurable shifts in leadership behaviour and inclusion outcomes.
  • Applied Cultural Intelligence (CQ) as a measurable framework, assessing organisational readiness, identifying cultural risk, and creating targeted interventions that make cultural change impactful and sustainable.
  • Facilitated executive leadership team sessions, inclusive leadership workshops, and 'Skills Boost'-style targeted development programmes to embed new behaviours into daily operations.
  • Designed and implemented process reviews across talent, recruitment and employee experience to identify and remove barriers to efficiency, reducing organisational complexity and improving ways of working.
  • Developed KPIs and impact measurement frameworks to track cultural health, using qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate intervention effectiveness.
  • Produced ESG governance and reporting strategies, with cultural metrics embedded into board-level accountability frameworks.
  • Provided business partnering for ethics and culture, coaching senior leaders on psychological safety, empowerment, and inclusive leadership behaviours.

Advisory Partner

inBeta
2021.03 - 2026.05
  • Advisory board role for a first-of-its-kind executive talent platform providing auditable, measurable data on executive talent.
  • Provided counsel during crucial negotiations, leading to favourable agreements.
  • Enhanced corporate image with effective public relations initiatives.
  • Developed governance strategies to ensure company compliance and integrity.
  • Managed the onboarding of clients including a FTSE100 employer.

Director — D&I, Culture & Ethics Consultancy

Green Park
2019.01 - 2020.06
  • Headhunted to build Green Park’s Diversity and Inclusion consultancy, developing the proposition, operational infrastructure, and team capability.
  • Built a client base of 10 FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies, business partnering their boards and HR leadership teams to develop holistic global D&I and culture strategies.
  • Led the global culture assessment for the largest private sector employer in the FTSE 100, Tesco Group, applying systematic diagnostic tools to evaluate cultural health and identify strategic priorities.
  • Partnered the world's largest travel leisure operator: facilitated an executive leadership team session, designed D&I strategy and governance, and created a D&I learning and development programme.

International Head of D&I and CR

Eversheds Sutherland LLP
2018.08 - 2018.12
  • Designed, launched, and embedded a global diversity and inclusion strategy for a major international law firm, working across Managing Partners, board, and specialist Business Partners.
  • Drove firm's Stonewall Equality Index placement to 77th in the top 100, delivering measurable external validation of cultural progress.
  • Advised European, Asia, and US markets on complex employee cases involving cultural and regulatory challenges.

Head of Diversity and Inclusion

John Lewis Partnership
2015.05 - 2018.07
  • As the first D&I specialist in the Partnership’s history, established and led a function that embedded cultural change across an 80,000+ colleague organisation spanning retail, finance, and manufacturing.
  • Influenced as specialist Business Partner to the Chairman, Managing Directors, HR Director, and Operational Boards, building executive confidence and buy-in for D&I as a strategic priority.
  • Designed progressive attraction, recruitment and talent strategies to improve representation across both volume recruitment and senior appointments.
  • Provided board-level governance through data-led assurance, translating complex cultural and workforce data into clear, actionable recommendations.
  • Recipient of the John Lewis Partnership Chairman’s Award for Excellence (2017), the highest individual accolade in the organisation, awarded for cultural impact, empowerment, and legacy.

Senior Manager — Employee Insight & Engagement

John Lewis Partnership
2014.09 - 2015.05
  • Led a team providing timely, actionable employee insight and workforce analytics, independent of the executive, to illustrate the true lived experience of colleagues and surface patterns in grievance and appeals data.

Senior Branch Manager → Graduate Trainee

Waitrose
2008.09 - 2014.09
  • Rose from Graduate Trainee to youngest Branch Manager in the organisation. Final branch was 10th largest in the Waitrose estate by turnover, managing 250 people and a multi-million pound P&L.

Education

MA Intercultural Communication for Business - Cross Cultural Organisations

Birkbeck University of London

Bachelor of Science - Management Sciences

University of Southampton

CIPD Level 7 Employee Engagement — Distinction -

ICF Accredited Coach — Association for Coaching Accredited Diploma - undefined

Leading Sustainable Businesses (ESG) - undefined

Oxford Business School

Board Directors Programme - undefined

Henley Business School

Skills

  • Cultural Transformation Strategy
  • Leadership Behaviour Development
  • Cultural audit and measurement
  • Stakeholder Engagement & Change Communities
  • Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Assessment & Training
  • Behavioural Science & Org Psychology Principles
  • Employee Experience & Psychological Safety
  • Communication Strategy for Culture Change
  • Regulated & Complex Environment Experience

SELECTED TESTIMONIALS

  • "Nicola is an exceptional leader of diversity and inclusion who always acts in the best interests of the organisations she works with. Her experience and support instil confidence in those she works with and she speaks out in a way that creates positive buy in. Her impact makes a sustainable difference which, in turn, nurtures cultures that are better for everyone." — Trevor Phillips OBE, Founding Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission
  • "What impresses me most about Nicola is the long-lasting effects that her contribution will make to our business. She is not just helping the Partnership today but her work with leaders and Partners throughout the business will shape a Partnership that is more diverse and inclusive for years to come." — Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of John Lewis Partnership

Governance Roles

Non-Executive Director at Petersfield Housing Association

A Trustee of Pompey in the Community, the charitable arm of Portsmouth Football Club.

Trustee of When Life Gives You Lemons, a charity supporting first-generation women as they build their careers and leadership confidence

Timeline

Advisory Partner

inBeta
2021.03 - 2026.05

Independent Culture, Inclusion & Leadership Consultant

Nicola Paul Advisory
2020.06 - 2026.05

Director — D&I, Culture & Ethics Consultancy

Green Park
2019.01 - 2020.06

International Head of D&I and CR

Eversheds Sutherland LLP
2018.08 - 2018.12

Head of Diversity and Inclusion

John Lewis Partnership
2015.05 - 2018.07

Senior Manager — Employee Insight & Engagement

John Lewis Partnership
2014.09 - 2015.05

Senior Branch Manager → Graduate Trainee

Waitrose
2008.09 - 2014.09

ICF Accredited Coach — Association for Coaching Accredited Diploma - undefined

Leading Sustainable Businesses (ESG) - undefined

Oxford Business School

Board Directors Programme - undefined

Henley Business School

MA Intercultural Communication for Business - Cross Cultural Organisations

Birkbeck University of London

Bachelor of Science - Management Sciences

University of Southampton

CIPD Level 7 Employee Engagement — Distinction -

Nicola Paul