Drawing on a 40-year career in international relations, business, public affairs and academia, I am always open to exploring new challenges and opportunities.  

Coldharbour Connections exists to bring together my various activities and interests.

I have enjoyed a varied career – in university teaching, diplomacy, and international business .   Running through that career are some clear themes; a focus on understanding people and relationship-building;  creativity and the ability to be a change-maker; and talent for influencing and driving collaboration across international and cultural boundaries. 

These themes inform all my work, whether as a coach and mentor, an experienced adviser on geopolitical risk, or a convenor and facilitator.

Rhodri Williams

Coach & Mentor

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Experience & Expertise

  • I am a qualified business coach, having graduated from the prestigious Mastered programme of Meyler Campbell, which is accredited with the Association for Coaching.

    https://www.meylercampbell.com/what-we-do/mastered

    Since 2020 I have worked with senior individuals in leadership and management positions in banking, insurance, business and the public sector, helping them to develop, grow and succeed in their roles.

    Reflecting on and recalibrating career goals; navigating organisational and relationship complexity; managing people, difference and cultural boundaries; these are just some of the recent challenges clients have brought to our conversations.

  • I was a UK diplomat for 23 years, mainly focused on the politics of the Middle East, South Asia and Europe, and dealing with some of the highest priority and most sensitive issues in British foreign and security policy. In various private sector roles since leaving government service, I have continued to be called on for my geopolitical insight and expertise.

    Since 2018 I have been a Senior Adviser to Wallbrook, which is part of the Anthesis Group and a Chambers top-ranked provider of business due diligence services. In 2025 I joined the Advisory Board of the leading insurtech, Bolttech.

    I am also a Faculty Member of the Queen Elizabeth II Academy at Chatham House, the UK’s leading international affairs think-tank.

  • I have extensive experience of acting as a moderator and facilitator of international conferences, seminars and webinars, such as this UN event (“Bridge For Cities”) in 2022.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xAoD9ugIl1Y&t=1012

    Having worked internationally in all my roles, I have a wide and varied network of contacts. In particular, during my time in the insurance industry I worked creatively with many think tanks and research organisations around the world on collaborative thought leadership projects on topics from geopolitics and global trade to the future of aerospace industry to the energy transition.

    One recent example is the AIG Global Trade Series, which I created in 2019, a partnership with 9 think-tanks from around the world.

    https://www.aig.co.uk/aig-global-trade-series

    In 2019 I was appointed a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Cities at the University of Strathclyde, where I advise the team on international engagement.

    https://ifuturecities.com/about-us-2/

    https://ifuturecities.com/ukraines-future-rebuilding-cities-and-strengthening-democracy/

    In 2025 I was a Visiting Scholar at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina.

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How coaching may help you

Clients are as diverse as the career challenges they face.  Executive coaching can be helpful at every career stage.  Typical client profiles might include: 

A mid-career executive, identified by his organisation as having high potential.  Coaching provides an opportunity to think through the skills and behaviours future more senior roles would demand, and to begin mapping a professional and personal development path.  At the mid-career stage, coaching conversations can bring informed self-knowledge and purposeful momentum to an individual’s career goals.

A newly-appointed CEO, with a strong record of business delivery but unused to the level of scrutiny, expectation and stress the job can bring.  Coaching provides a confidential  and supportive space to reflect on the day-to-day challenges of the role, but also an opportunity to step back from the tactical and political everyday and explore deeper issues of leadership style, behaviour and culture.

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  • "Dr Williams has been an invaluable mentor as I consider the next steps in my career. He is a terrific listener who I have felt from the outset is engaged fully in understanding my ambitions, skills and experience. He has thought deeply about how I can make the most of my potential - particularly suggesting avenues I had not considered, and giving me the confidence to pursue them".

    Manager, private equity-backed consultancy

  • "Rhodri took on the role of mentor in my professional world six years ago. Whilst originally it was more to help me with work, it soon became more than that and he helped me get the various elements of my life into a better, more manageable balance.   Because of his extraordinary life experience, and the calmness he brings to each conversation, he has helped me to clarify my thoughts and career plans and to channel the best parts of my character".

    (Senior Executive, financial services)

  • "Rhodri has been an invaluable support for me over the last few years of significant career change, enabling me to focus on what’s important and to continue to thrive professionally.  He has helped me to navigate challenging professional situations with clarity of thought and a focus on positive outcomes; to achieve perspective on initially overwhelming situations, so enabling me to take a balanced approach;  and to clarify my career goals".

    (Director, insurance industry)