BLAXLAND CONSULTING LIMITED

𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗰𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗖𝗣 – 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗱-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 

Diane is a senior adviser to private equity portfolio companies.  She helps investors and portcos to deliver robust growth against value creation plans - including via post-merger integration.  She has a sweet spot in Tech-enabled B2B Services including Professional Services in the UK and EMEA.

Her experience includes:

- pre-deal MDD and post-deal operating reviews of portcos - eg for Blackstone, Mercia, Silverfleet, LDC, Rockpool, Foresight
- rapid recovery of post-merger integration and transformation, ahead of an IPO (backed by TPG)
- commercial risk analysis for a PE portco, triggering an exit via secondary buyout (backed by ICG)
- recovery of an off-shore proposition, re-positioning for growth ahead of a merger
- design and global rollout of a post-merger data integration model.

Her skills include P&L management, business strategy, sales, operations, business transformation, and change management – drawing on her experience in startups, scaleups and global business.

Founder

Career Coaching by Diane Blaxland

🚩 How will you know if my Career Coaching is right for you? Five quick signs: 

•	there is a gap emerging between your career and your satisfaction level 
•	addressing the gap is increasingly important to you 
•	there are risks if you do something, and risks if you do nothing 
•	you have some advice, but you want to take a wider, longer term view 
•	talking it through with an experienced executive feels like a good place to start 

#ExpertLeaders #Careers #PersonalDevelopment

Catalysis Advisory Ltd

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗘 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗰𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀:
🔺 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 (𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲)
🔺 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗱-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀
🔺 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗚𝟮𝗖 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗕𝟮𝗚 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵

Business Advisor

Johnson Controls Inc

$5b EMEA region of $20b Business Services division of $40b Fortune100 listed company

Director Change Management, EMEA

Blaxland Consulting

Advising clients on operational and commercial change.

CPA Global

£100m global Business Services company, backed by Private Equity

Director Strategy

Williams Lea

£20m Division of this £1b global Business Services company, part of DAX30 company DeutschePost

Managing Director 

Clifford Chance LLP

£100m+ M&A practice of this £1bn global Professional Services firm

Head Business Development Operations

Blake Dawson Waldron

A$350m international Professional Services firm (now part of £1b Ashurst LLP)

Business Development, Sales & Marketing management

CEO & Founder Expert Leaders™ | Career Direction & CV Coaching | £1B PSF | $40B Fortune100 | PE scaleups | London Business School

I help professionals step into clarity, confidence, and growth - especially when navigating complex career transitions in challenging or unfamiliar markets.

My clients are technically brilliant, ambitious … and many are internationally experienced. They’re often MBAs, engineers, M&A/finance experts, consultants, lawyers, or technology & data/AI specialists. 

They're ready to step into senior leadership, but something isn’t landing. Their pitch isn’t quite resonating. The growth opportunities they seek feel just out of reach.

That’s where I come in.

With more than 10 years in senior leadership - including as Managing Director responsible for 550 people - I’ve led growth, transformation, and turnaround across organisations from under £10m to over $5Bn. 

I’ve advised private equity investors and portfolio companies on operations, building robust solutions to complex problems. 

And I bring that same level of focus, clarity, and strategic thinking into my coaching practice.

My sweet spot lies in tech-enabled B2B services - including engineering, data/AI, finance, legal, and consulting. 

Highlights of my work include: 

▪️Steering post-merger integration for a $6Bn PE-backed global professional services firm, resolving operational failures, client complaints, and transformation across 15 countries.
▪️Leading the recovery of a £1bn NHS Trust’s lab project post-dispute, bringing together investors, clinicians, scientists, suppliers, and engineers to co-create a viable solution.
▪️Delivering commercial risk analysis that identified a -70% risk to a target exit valuation for a PE-backed £100m B2B services firm, unlocking a £1Bn exit in under three months.
▪️Repositioning a struggling new BPO offshore (India) proposition for profitable growth, delivering 50% savings to the client in a new £3m contract while also tripling profit margins.
▪️Rolling out a post-merger Sales/Marketing/Finance integration model for a £1Bn global professional services firm across 30 offices in 20 countries, deployed to 4,000+ staff.

All of that senior experience now feeds directly into my career coaching.

Many of my clients are mid-career or post-MBA, and sense a need to reframe their narrative, sharpen their presence, and navigate a system that may not easily understand their value. 

We don’t just talk. We rehearse. We edit. We test. We build influence from the inside out.

Whether you're preparing for interview, pitching for promotion, or making a full pivot, I’ll help you to tailor your story, build trust, and move forward with strategic clarity.

🎯 Diane Blaxland

Founder ▪ Former Chief Medical Officer ▪ MIT Sloan Fellow alum ▪ LinkedIn Top Voice

Dr. Nehal is a medical AI expert, board certified clinical informaticist, digital health founder, population health leader, value-based care expert, and former Chief Medical Officer.

She leads a team for an MIT-incubated AI-enabled digital health venture. Her passion for personalized medicine and user-centered design in health tech is inspired by her own patient journey, the stories of over 300 women, and interviews with dozens of clinicians.

Dr. Nehal has honed skills in AI-enabled big data analytics, clinical decision support, and human-centered design as an MIT Sloan Fellow, graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health, and a Stanford LEAD candidate.

A seasoned physician executive, a former Chief Medical Officer for 14 centers, a co-author of $1.8b in Medicaid value-based care reform, Dr. Nehal is skilled at public-private partnerships to advance cross-sector solutions. She is a keynote speaker and has been an invited expert to the White House, NIH, HHS, and CMS. She is the lead editor for a book on systems thinking for physician leaders to be published in Summer 2026.

See below are some more details:

****

Domains of work:
➡️Consulting
Founder of healthcare consulting firm with services in assessment of new technology for clinical/cost effectiveness, quality improvement, program evaluation, clinician engagement, community partnership, change management, coaching, & personal brand. Advise on clinical standards for SaMD, FHIR, and FAVES.

➡️Medical Affairs leadership: 
-Former Medicaid medical director with deep expertise in value-based care and delivery system transformation, clinical lead on $1.8b DSRIP design. 

-As a CMO, led a multi-specialty, multi-site practice setting, a certified Patient Centered Medical Home with integrated behavioral health, dental, vision, and specialty care. Responsible for compliance for quality of care, operational excellence, cost targets, population health.

-Former Chair of Provider Review Committee for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ensuring compliance with standards.

-Former Chair of IRB ensuring research ethics and safety.

➡️Communication:
Keynote speaker and a four time LinkedIn “Top Voice” and invited to speak on social media in STEM and for physicians. Led grassroots campaigns in marginalized communities on behalf of White House and HHS. Advisor to federal and state agencies. 

➡️Medical Education
Physician leader who has co-authored national ACGME compliant curriculum and contributed to two state public health curricula. Published refugee health curriculum in an open access journal.

Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH, MBA

Beautifully described. The best doctor’s excellence is a shared outcome created by the the full team.

A London consultant thoracic surgeon with a passion for high patient satisfaction and relentless helpfulness

Marco Scarci MD, FRCS(Eng), FCCP, FACS, FEBTS

View Marco Scarci MD, FRCS(Eng), FCCP, FACS, FEBTS’ profile

I nearly quit in theatre that day.

You won’t hear many surgeons admit that.

But in the middle of a marathon case with a patient whose cancer had tangled itself around every vital structure in the chest, I came close.

The plan looked straightforward on paper.
A scheduled lung cancer resection.
But when I opened the chest, reality crashed in.

The tumour was everywhere.
Encasing arteries.
Clinging to nerves.
Wrapped tight around the bronchus.
Every move risked disaster.

For a moment I stared at the operative field and thought—this can’t be done.
Not safely.
Not today.
I felt the weight of expectation.
The patient, their family, everyone hoping for a cure.

My hands paused.
My mind raced through options.
None seemed safe enough.
I heard my own breathing, the beep of the monitors, the tense silence of the team.

Then, something remarkable happened.

My theatre nurse’s voice cut through the fog:
→ “Let’s take it step by step. We’re with you.”

My anaesthetist quietly reminded me:
→ “The patient is stable. We have time. Let’s think.”

My registrar started pulling up the most recent CT scan, holding it next to the operative field.

The scrub nurse organised the trays for every possible instrument.
Each member of the team offered a lifeline.

We talked through the options, like a chess match.
Could we mobilise the artery before touching the tumour?
Might it be safer to divide the bronchus first?
Was there a way to peel the mass off the nerve with minimal trauma?

Minute by minute, the fog lifted.
The impossible started to look... possible.
We adapted the plan on the spot.
We worked methodically, with each pair of eyes spotting things I couldn’t see from my angle.

After hours that felt like days, the tumour was finally free.
Margins clear.
Bleeding controlled.
No structures lost that didn’t absolutely have to go.

I remember stepping away from the table, sweatsoaked and exhausted.
But more than that—relieved.

We hadn’t just saved the patient’s life.
We’d proved something fundamental:

The best surgeon is never a solo hero.

No matter how many years of training, how many awards, how many cuttingedge fellowships.
It’s the team—the theatre nurse who keeps you steady.
The anaesthetist who gives you time.
The registrar who sees the detail you miss.
The radiographer who responds in seconds to a call for new images.

Alone, I would have called it off.
Together, we found a way.

I’ve learned that surgical skill is only half the equation.
The rest is humility.
And trust.
And the courage to admit you don’t have all the answers.

If there’s one thing I want every doctor, every patient, every family to know:

Surgery is never a solo act.
It’s a symphony.

And the best outcomes come from listening to every note.

Ever needed your team to step in at a critical moment?
Share your story below.

“Why aren’t the poor more responsible with money?” is the wrong question. Just do the math. 

You will see that those in poverty, including the working poor, spend *more* money for worse results. 

If you are a low quality boot maker, this situation works for you. If you are a society member and you care about a healthier, fairer, thriving society, you would work and vote to change this.

Discussion Starter. Sparking debate on important issues impacting on all children (globally)

#poverty #terrypratchett 
'Captain Samuel Vimes theory of socio-economic unfairness'

Below is an example of #SystemsThinking in #healthcare that is important when thinking of how to implement #AI into workflows and processes for results at scale, from Dr. Kedar Mate. 

Our upcoming book on Systems Thinking for Physician Leaders, under contract with the American Association for Physician Leadership®, co-edited by me, Matt Mazurek, MD Mark Olszyk, MD, MBA, CPE, FACEP, FAAPL, FACHE Jennifer Miles-Thomas, MD, MBA, includes ~a dozen cases by seasoned, esteemed physician leaders who share how they drove change, ranging from institutional to state-wide levels. These cases also create the necessary systems thinking for those needing to add AI into healthcare. To know where AI does or does not belong, you need to understand systems, processes, and measuring outcomes.

Also, to stay relevant across generations, we have one case by a current Chief Resident and my own case is on my contribution to getting state legislation changed in #Texas back when I was a wee little resident. Despite being a seeming insignificant trainee, by leading a #bigdata #claims #analysis, under the mentorship of the legendary Dr. Ralph Feigin, I could be part of a high impact endeavor. 

That was the work that also won me a full ride scholarship to Harvard for my #MPH. 

Even back then, when I did that work in Texas ~20 years ago, it was a struggle to get fiscal conservatives to understand the importance of #children’s #health #access. A big difference is, back then, people did not trade insults online on X or LinkedIn. Instead, we got in the room with those with differing opinions and views, and had real, human conversations. 

We also crafted a local campaign that was right for Texas, not some external “you must” imposed by a bunch of Yankees or carpetbagger types. We used a combination of data, coalition building, business pragmatism, and faith-based partnerships to address the issue of child health coverage and access over two legislative sessions (2005 & 2007). 

The ability to tolerate conflict reflects one of the lessons from Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer’s class on Building the Power to Lead in Stanford LEAD program at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Do not be afraid of conflict. Develop a thicker skin. Develop better problem-solving skills to accomplish your goals.

Things can feel especially challenging these days. As a country we are at a critical crossroads. Also, #healthcare, as an industry, is facing funding cuts plus industry-disrupting AI advances. How we, despite our myriad differences, choose to act now, will set the course for the #future. 

Never let yourself feel small or insignificant, no matter how challenging the mission may seem. Stay true to your values and build the team needed to get it done. 

Another lesson from Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer’s course? Judge less. Be willing to work with whomever can advance your goals, even if you don’t agree on other things.

Headed to JPM Health and wanted to share this story from last week that I've been thinking about this weekend.  

Rethinking Infection Prevention: Getting Our Experts Back to the Front Lines

Infection prevention and control (IPC) is foundational to patient safety and quality care. Yet, a critical challenge persists: our dedicated infection preventionists (IPs) often find themselves buried under administrative tasks, spending valuable time on data entry, reporting, and documentation rather than direct patient and clinical engagement.

As Andi Hume, Vice President of High Reliability with Emplify Health, so aptly put it on a recent call: "Our infection preventionists can’t prevent infections from their office!!" This statement resonated deeply with me because it highlights a systemic issue that hinders our ability to truly impact patient outcomes. We need to empower our people to be present where infections occur and where prevention strategies are most effective – at the bedside, in the clinics, and across our care settings.

The good news? Available technologies might offer a powerful solution. By strategically deploying tools that use genAI, we can automate much of the "computer work" that currently keeps infection control specialists tethered to their desks. Imagine a world where:

🤖 AI handles routine data analysis and report generation, freeing up hours.
📊 Predictive analytics flag potential outbreaks before they escalate.
💡 IPs have real-time insights at their fingertips, enabling proactive interventions.

This is exactly the kind of human-AI augmentation that we need more of in healthcare. By offloading the mundane, we can unleash the full potential of our infection control experts, allowing them to focus on what they do best: educating staff, implementing best practices, conducting surveillance, and directly engaging with care teams to prevent healthcare-associated infections.

As Andi says, we can’t prevent infections from behind our desks—we've got to get to the front-lines where care is provided and the way to do that is to leverage the technology we have to get us there.  

If you are at JPM, I'll be there and would love to trade more stories of health systems using AI to make health and care safer and better like this one. 

#InfectionPrevention #HealthcareInnovation #PatientSafety #GenerativeAI #HealthcareTechnology

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Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH, MBA

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The Battle

🎯 Diane Blaxland

Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH, MBA

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

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