Strategy, Executive AI & Coaching for leaders and their teams
Based in London & Paris and working globally. A French-British rocket-scientist with an INSEAD MBA, Fred has spent 20+ years helping CEOs, management teams and future leaders solve strategic problems — now using GenAI & Agentic AI. He makes smart people smarter.
Book a conversation See CatalogueFour ways to work together
Fred divides his time between designing & delivering upskilling sessions, facilitating strategic away-days for boards and management teams, conducting strategy projects & idea-generation challenges, and coaching leaders one-to-one. Footprint is truly global, from San Francisco to Shanghai, Stockholm to South Africa.
Tell
Talks
60 to 90 minutes (or 2–3 lectures over 2–3 hours) for audiences of up to 500. Punchy entertainment, lots of laughter alongside the learning. No exercises.
Show
Training
Full days for groups of up to 20 (30 for AI). Strategy works best over 2 consecutive days for 12–20 people; Executive AI over 1 intense day for 10–30.
Do
Facilitation & projects
Strategic away-days for boards and management teams, and turnkey strategy projects & sprints — using GenAI & Agentic AI throughout.
Grow
Coaching
One-to-one, 60-minute sessions for leaders facing the moments that matter. By video or in person in London. First chat free.
Design your perfect session from a menu of 40+ modules: lectures run about 1 hour, exercises about 1½ hours (including participants presenting back their solutions).
Strategic thinking & complex problem solving for CEOs, management teams and future leaders. Very aligned to the book How to Be Strategic (Penguin, 2020).
Who it's for
Over 20 years, three types of organisations have been very happy, repeat buyers:
- Major corporations (BBC, HSBC, McDonald's, Thomson Reuters, etc) for their strategy teams and future leaders.
- Consulting firms (Deloitte, OC&C, Booz Allen, Allianz Consulting, etc) for the yearly upskilling of consultants & managers.
- Tech scale-ups (Betfair, Moneybox, Bloom & Wild, Unidays, etc) for founding teams and function heads.
Also NGOs, investment & VC funds and sports organisations. In large or fast-growing organisations, the potential for company-wide impact is that much bigger.
How it's delivered
Over 600 training sessions, the format that consistently gets the best feedback — during, right after and years after — is 2 consecutive days for 12 to 20 participants, working in teams of 4 to 5. One facilitator can run 3 to 4 teams; 40–50 participants need two.
It works equally well in person (more like theatre) and on Zoom (designed to be more like cinema).
What it costs
From US$20k for a 2-day course on Zoom for up to 20 participants, anywhere in the world, up to US$50k for in-person delivery to 50 participants outside Europe. Multiple sessions trigger volume discounts.
Three courses
Core Strategy
The most versatile course, for central teams (strategy, finance, product, marketing) and future leaders. 300+ sessions delivered. Participants gain a radically different mindset and a shared language & toolset.
8 lectures + 4 exercises
- Strategic Mindset
- Beautiful Constraint
- Think with LLMs
- Mutation Game
- Happy Line
- Persuade with GenAI
- Lean Startup
- Magic Tree
Exercises: Live Issues, Universal Music, Coca-Cola, Uber.
Advanced Strategy
For the strategic community: management team, heads of functions and BUs, strategy team. Builds on the Core course with complexity & sophistication — often on real live company issues.
8 lectures + 4 exercises
- Core Taster
- Zeitgeist Inventory
- Payoff Profiles
- Hyperspeed Testing
- Innovator's Dilemma
- Strategize with Agentic AI
- Blue Ocean
- Run AI+Human Teams
Exercises: Marriott, BBC, Deloitte, GuestReady.
Strategy Foundations
The logical building blocks for junior consultants, in-house consultants and strategy analysts: structure, story-telling & analytical tools. Uses Excel, PowerPoint and Miro.
7 lectures + 3 exercises
- Analytical Consulting
- Business Story-Telling
- Landscape Analysis I
- Research like a Machine
- Styles & Formats Preferences
- 10 Ways to Convince
- So What Factory
Exercises: Football Super Powers, Tesla & BYD, Caffè Nero.
The book: How to Be Strategic · Bulk copies: 28 books
Executive AI Days: hands-on, one-day courses that take leaders from GenAI to Agentic AI, Embodied AI and AGI strategy. Primary tools aligned to your company's choice (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, or a mix).
How it's delivered
1 intense day for 10 to 30 participants, in person or virtually. Courses stack: combine them for a 2- or 3-day “Executive AI + AGI Strategy” intensive. Content is refreshed continuously as the field moves.
Ways to book
In-house for your team (price on request), or individually on an open Executive AI Day: see dates & enrol. More at savvys.ai.
Four courses
Master GenAI
From novice to proficient in a day: bossing LLMs, research, persuasion and strategy formulation. No prerequisites.
4 lectures + 12 nano exercises
- Discover Executive AI
- Think with LLMs
- Research like a Machine
- Persuade with GenAI
Harness Agentic AI
The most hands-on course: participants build actual AI workflows & agents with their in-house tools. No tech skills needed.
4 lectures + 4 exercises
- Strategize with Agentic AI
- Run AI+Human Teams
- Build Creative AI Agents
- Build Productive AI Agents
Deploy Embodied AI
Understand the Embodied AI revolution and its 5-layer stack, then create an Embodied AI strategy and deploy an embodied agent.
4 lectures + 4 exercises
- The Embodied AI Breakthrough
- The 5-Layer Embodied AI Stack
- Embodied AI in the Wild
- Your Geopolitics of Embodied AI
Exploit AGI
Stress-test your business model, workforce and competitive position against AGI-era scenarios — before the window closes.
4 lectures + 4 exercises
- The Race to AGI
- Your 4 Shocks of Superintelligence
- Your AGI-Ready Strategy
Also from the Ai family: HappyBunny, the AI studio · 100 AI Voices · 200 AI Tools · The 40 Best AI Podcasts
Strategy helps you work out what to do. Coaching helps you do it — under pressure, with real people, when your name is on the decision. Clear thinking, plus the confidence to act on it.
When leaders call
- Stepping up — a new role, a first exec-team seat, the first 100 days.
- A hard call — the analysis is done but the decision still doesn't feel right.
- Influence — a difficult boss, board, peers, or a team that isn't following.
- Confidence — speaking up, presence under pressure.
What you leave with
- Clarity on what matters most now.
- A decision you can defend, analytically and emotionally.
- A concrete plan for the people you need to bring along.
- Habits that last beyond our sessions.
How we work
- A free first chat to check we're a good fit.
- 60-minute sessions, by video or in person in London.
- A quick message between sessions when something comes up.
- Always confidential.
The book: The 6 Moods of Success · Buy it (£49)
Happy clients
Selected repeat clients include Allianz, BAE Systems, BBC, Barclays, Betfair, Booz Allen, Channel 4, Deloitte, Expedia, HSBC, IKEA, John Lewis, Johnson & Johnson, London Business School, Moneybox, OC&C Strategy, Sainsbury's, Sky, Thomson Reuters and more.
iQStrategy feedback
“We asked Fred to deliver his content on 'How to Be Strategic' to 500+ people across the bank globally, through both traditional workshops and global masterclass webcasts. Fred's energy and expertise shine through irrespective of the delivery method.”
Tanya Dowling, Global Academy Manager, HSBC
“Sainsbury's have worked in partnership with Fred over many years, to develop 'The Strategic Mindset' at our brightest talent. His courses, lectures and talks are always hugely popular.”
Stuart Comer, Group Head of Learning & Development, Sainsbury's
“I've learned more about strategic thinking from Fred than I did in my time at Harvard Business School.”
John Smith, COO, Burberry
“Fred has brought valuable approaches to strategic analysis that have fast become go-to tools for our team. His sharp intellect, deep knowledge of the tools and gallic charm make for tough, yet engaging training.”
Jon Page, Head of Technology Strategy, BBC
“Fred's unique workshop on 'Refresh your Strategy at Speed' has been one of the most exciting and talked-about sessions at our Alumni Reunion, each year for the past 4 years.”
Liz Mason, Head of Alumni Career Centre, London Business School
“Fred delivered 4 days of high quality strategy training to the BAE Systems Group Strategy team. Personable, Expert, Good Value.”
Liyr Jones, Head of Group Strategy, BAE Systems
AiExecutive AI feedback
“This training course is an absolute must-take for any corporate strategist looking to effectively integrate AI into their workflow. I found the content immediately applicable and incredibly insightful.”
Carrie Ferman Smith, EVP and Head of Operations & Strategy, Sony Pictures, USA
“While I've been a regular user of LLMs to support my work, the sessions with Fred were a game changer — driving a step change in the value I get from them on a day-to-day basis.”
Adam Gottlieb, SMB Senior Manager Strategy & Operations, PayPal, UK
“The Executive AI Day was a sharp, practical masterclass in how to think, work, & lead with AI. Highly recommend!”
Pascale Balze, Director Digital@INSEAD, INSEAD, UAE
About Fred
Fred Pelard is a strategy & Executive AI trainer, consultant, facilitator and coach, based in London & Paris and working globally. A French-British rocket-scientist with an INSEAD MBA, he has been lecturing on strategic thinking and complex problem solving to the CEOs, management teams & future leaders of major corporations, consulting firms & tech start-ups for 20+ years.
The training focus started as an accidental request by 3 clients at once in 2004 (Barclays, BBC, Deloitte) and grew into a purpose he loves.
He started his career in management consulting, completed his MBA at INSEAD, and has worked as a strategist ever since — first with Kalchas (a Bain and McKinsey spin-off), then with Instigate Group, across media, retail, consumer goods, financial services, industry and consulting.
Author of How to Be Strategic (Penguin, 2020) and The 6 Moods of Success. More about Fred
Ready to make your team smarter?
Get in touch to discuss the right programme for your team — in English or French, in person or virtually.
Book a conversation See Cataloguefred.pelard@me.com · +44 7710 488 845 · Instigate Pelard LLP, 16 McGregor Road, London W11 1DE