Consello's UK Power Play: Investment in The Mentor Hub Signals Major Expansion

LONDON, UK – March 03, 2026 – Global advisory and investing platform Consello has launched a significant strategic offensive in the United Kingdom, marked by a minority investment in the disruptive coaching firm The Mentor Hub and a series of high-profile senior appointments. The move signals a clear ambition to challenge established players in London's fiercely competitive high-end advisory market.

The announcement, which coincides with the firm's formal UK launch event this week, details a broad expansion of its advisory capabilities across multiple sectors, including CEO advisory, strategic communications, risk, and sports. This multi-pronged strategy aims to build an integrated, operator-led platform designed to serve the complex needs of its global client base.

"The UK is a key market for most of our global clients," said Consello Founder, Chairman, and CEO Declan Kelly in a statement. "Expanding our worldclass dedicated advisory presence in London allows us to serve clients in the region in a more robust manner. Further establishing our footprint here strengthens our ability to deliver integrated advice locally while reinforcing the global connectivity that defines our firm."

A Strategic Push into a Competitive Market

Consello's expansion is not a tentative step but a decisive push, fortified by significant talent acquisition and strategic acquisitions. The firm recently bolstered its risk advisory practice by acquiring Morpheus Risk, a UK-based threat assessment firm, integrating its deep intelligence capabilities into Consello's global offerings.

Now, it has strengthened its UK leadership with a team of seasoned executives, positioning itself to compete directly with consulting and advisory giants like McKinsey, BCG, and the Big Four. The new appointments include:

• Neil Shelton, Managing Director, Corporate Advisory: A 25-year veteran in TMT investment banking with leadership roles at JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Suisse.
• Richard Taylor, Managing Director, Corporate Advisory: With over two decades of experience in capital markets and investment banking, primarily in the consumer and luxury sectors at firms like Jefferies and Morgan Stanley.
• Lucila Zambrano, Managing Director, Strategic Communications Advisory: A former Head of Global Corporate Communications at Unilever, bringing two decades of experience advising senior leaders on reputation and stakeholder management.
• Sam Piccione, Managing Director, Sports & Entertainment Advisory, who joins to build out the firm's practice in that dynamic sector.

This infusion of top-tier talent underscores the firm's operator-led philosophy, which emphasizes providing advice from leaders with direct, hands-on experience running major organizations. Chair of Consello UK, Sue Gray, highlighted this approach, stating, "Our focus in the UK is on building an operator-led advisory business that reflects the depth and ambition of this market... We are bringing together experienced leaders with exceptional expertise to deliver integrated counsel at the highest level."

Beyond the Boardroom: Redefining Executive Mentorship

At the core of the announcement is the strategic partnership with The Mentor Hub, a firm co-founded by Margaret Reilly and Sue O'Brien OBE. The minority investment establishes a collaboration to build and scale a global mentoring platform aimed at senior executives and emerging C-suite leaders. This move goes beyond traditional consulting, adding a highly specialized talent development component to Consello's service suite.

The Mentor Hub explicitly aims to disrupt the conventional one-to-one mentoring model prevalent in Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies. Instead of a single, long-term mentor, the firm provides a 'hub' of expert mentors who deliver targeted interventions on specific areas of growth and learning. Their programs are bespoke, curated around the unique needs of an executive, whether they are newly appointed to a C-suite role, being groomed for succession, or taking on a board seat.

This methodology provides clients with flexible, immediate, and impactful guidance designed to ensure leaders are not just prepared for a role, but are positioned to excel. For Consello, the partnership offers a unique value proposition for its clients, addressing the critical challenge of leadership development and succession planning with an innovative and scalable solution.

Building a Holistic Global Advisory Ecosystem

Consello's UK expansion and its partnership with The Mentor Hub are not isolated events but key components of a larger global strategy. The firm is systematically building a comprehensive, integrated advisory and investing platform with a presence in key business centers, including New York, Dublin, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh.

This model seeks to break down the silos that often exist between different advisory functions. By combining expertise in M&A, management consulting, risk, talent, and strategic communications under one roof, Consello aims to provide a single, holistic source of counsel for CEOs and boards navigating periods of transformation, growth, or crisis. The acquisition of Morpheus Risk added a critical security and intelligence layer, while the investment in The Mentor Hub now adds a sophisticated human capital dimension.

This pattern of growth, combining strategic acquisitions with senior talent recruitment, was previously seen in its 2024 full-scale launch in Ireland. As Sue Gray noted, "The launch of our partnership with The Mentor Hub, combined with the senior appointments we are announcing today, demonstrates our ambition to build a distinctive platform in this market."

As global markets face increasing volatility and complexity, the demand for integrated, expert advice is on the rise. By assembling a diverse team of experienced operators and partnering with innovative service providers, Consello is making a bold statement that it intends to be a dominant force in shaping the future of high-level corporate advisory, not just in the UK, but on the global stage.