About
He is trained by the International Coach Academy and credentialed by the International Coaching Federation, the world’s leading coaching body. And he is currently completing a masters in integrative psychotherapy at The Minster Centre in London.
Prior to Dyson, Duncan built and ran a leadership development company, consulting to organisations in the UK and overseas to support them to unlock the leadership potential of their staff. He has delivered leadership programmes and workshops to thousands of participants from across the UK, US and Asia. He has also served on the boards of a social justice charity and an inner-London academy. He began his commercial career at Procter & Gamble.
Coaching Experience
Coaching Experience and Sector:
Duncan has been coaching since 2013 and has hundreds of hours of cross-sector coaching experience, including in education, technology, professional services, criminal justice, charitable, financial services and health. He has coached leaders at all levels of an organisation.
Coaching Approach and Influences:
Duncan would describe his coaching as grounding, optimistic and stretching. His four years of psychotherapy training has supported him become highly attuned to his clients, helping him to offer the exact support they need, moment by moment, to create sustainable change. He tries to avoid a shopping list of coaching goals and instead prefers to work with his clients on the one big thing that will make the greatest difference to them, their leadership and their organisation.
- Examples of issues explored in sessions:
o Transitions (new role/institution/location)
o Leadership style
o Managing upwards
o High performance
o Organisational culture
o Health and wellbeing
o Resilience
o Communication
o Working relationships
o Work-life balance
o Imposter syndrome
o Career development
o New ways of working
Professional Background
Duncan was appointed by Sir James Dyson to become the founding Director of The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, where he championed an ambitious widening participation strategy – in its second year, 40% of Dyson’s new Undergraduate Engineers were female, vs. a national average of 15%. He placed mental health at the heart of the provision, and incorporated professional coaching into the organisation from the outset: each Undergraduate Engineer met with their leadership coach once per month, and executive coaching was made available to all members of The Dyson Institute team.
He oversaw the development and delivery of multi-million pound infrastructure programmes (including the award-winning new campus, Dyson Village), developed his team to deliver this new and ambitious type of education and ensured the organisation’s governance could meet its rapidly evolving needs.
The Dyson Institute became the first new higher education institution to join the Register at the Office for Students, and the first to be granted New Degree Awarding Powers under the Higher Education and Research Act (2017).
Qualifications and Accreditations
- Member of the Trusted Coach Directory
- Member of the International Coaching Federation
- Certified Professional Coach (International Coach Academy)
- Associate Certified Coach (International Coaching Federation)
- Coaching Fundamentals (Co-Active Training Institute)
- Masters in Integrative Psychotherapy, The Minster Centre (graduating July 2026)
- Client Issue
Case Studies
Role: Head of Department, University
- Client Issue: This client came to coaching having struggled with the relentless pressures of senior leadership for some time – he felt overwhelmed and exhausted.
- Outcome: The coaching supported the client to empower his team to take on some of his responsibilities he didn’t have to hold, change his relationship with professional perfectionism and take steps to increase his own wellbeing.
Testimonials
“Duncan has a wonderful way of really listening and then getting to the crux of the matter to find out what is causing things to get stuck – not by imposing his own viewpoint but by asking the right questions. He really helped me refine my goals and the paths to them.”
“Working with Duncan has been insightful and empowering. Ultimately, I gained an approach that makes me a more effective leader, able to take action that is fulfilling for both myself and the organisation.”
“His genuine and personal approach nurtures extremely valuable and absorbing sessions. His skills naturally encourage self-reflection and awareness, and thereby identify areas for focus and development. I certainly left the coaching with an enthusiasm and willingness to deliver the change.”
“The level of accountability that was required of me was very empowering and clarifying. I feel in a short amount of time, I was able to really understand where my blocks were and now have the tools to move through them with measurable results. Duncan has a sound balance between support, accountability and humanity.”
“I have had some powerful lightbulb moments that have made immediate, significant and long-lasting improvements.”
“I really valued Duncan’s patience, sense of calm and open demeanour. I came away with clear actions and useful methods which helped me achieve my goal.”
“The sessions were amazing. I felt enlightened and reinvigorated on a professional level. Each session was focused and always led to some goal setting as well as giving me time and space to reflect on my career and current progress. After each session I always came away feeling a sense of achievement.”
“I really valued Duncan’s input as my coach. Over the course of six sessions, we worked through a plan that allowed me to develop and test some new collaborative models of practice. We spent time reflecting on managing up and managing down. The coaching has encouraged me to be bolder and try new styles of working, ultimately increasing my confidence as a senior leader.”
