Mel Tottoh

I am a Director of Arwel Douglas Limited, who specialise in working with blue chip businesses to support their organisational development and performance.
My career path has taken a number of interesting turns. I started by specialising in Electronics and Telecommunications, travelling the globe for 5 years as a Radio Officer in the Merchant Navy. I then spent 17 years in the aerospace industry as an Executive Manager, leading a large team of diverse technical and business professionals, operating across a whole life-cycle in the development of one of the world’s most technologically advanced fast jets.

In these roles I developed a keen interest in cultural diversity and the complexities of organisational life. It was this interest that led me to focus my professional development in the areas of change management, organisation development and creating and enabling high-performance cultures. My career journey then led me to join a leading London-based Organisation Development Consultancy, where as a Partner I spent 10 years working on all aspects of organisational development.

My current work involves working with senior executives to:
• Help them to understand and work with the dilemmas and issues facing their organisations.
• Create highly effective intact leadership teams.
• Help them to adapt to, and thrive in, complex, challenging and continually changing environments.
• Help them to become the leaders the organisation needs and they wish to become.

Typical Consulting Assignments

Typical assignments include working with CEO’s, MD’s and senior board executives/ teams to assist them in:
• Formulating short, medium and long-term strategies for their businesses.
• Developing business awareness and delivery capability.
• Building effective working relationships.
• Enabling the implementation and embedding of long term, sustainable, organisational and personal change.
• Developing leadership competence.
• Creating and sustaining high-performance cultures.
• Understanding their cultural differences and improving the way they work together.

Typical Coaching Assignments

General
• Working one to one with senior executives/board members to enhance their leadership capability and impact on business performance.
• Working one to one with senior managers and executives, with the explicit purpose of focusing on their personal impact and effectiveness.
• Designed, developed and delivered team development/building events, as well as spoken at, and facilitated, leadership conferences.
Specific Examples
• Associate Director for a leading financial institution tasked with transforming the provision of aid and economic environment development.
• Global Board Director for a leading insurance organisation preparing for career progression to Group CEO within the next 18 months.
• All Board members of a top-5 customer services organisation charged with restructuring the organisation and re-establishing a high-performance culture. Also enhancing their individual contribution as leaders of that transformation.
• Finance Director who wants to expand his strategic capability and support taking on a larger organisational role.
• Group HR Director who wants to improve her skills at generating enthusiasm and commitment in others, following an acquisition, down-sizing and reorganisation exercise.
• A young, exceptionally talented, mixed-media artist who needs to develop self-confidence and self-promotion skills in order to have an impact on the international art scene.
• CEO of a leading marketing organisation who wants to develop his capability to inspire, motivate and excite others to expand beyond their current capabilities.
• CEO who wants to develop a clear sense of purpose, direction, strategy and focus for his organisation following expansion and new business start up overseas.
• Marketing Director who needs to raise the contribution, quality and impact of Marketing on the top, middle and bottom line of the business.

I was born in Manchester and raised in the Northwest of England, where I still have my home. I am married to Melanie (Mel) and have three children, Carla, Simon and Sophie, with whom I enjoy spending as much time as possible. Other interests include golf, travel, close up magic, food (cooking and eating) and spending time socialising with friends.