Colette Dorward
I started Comma to fill a gap in the ‘advice’ market – where do companies go to get the best possible advice on communication and cultural change? Most of all I enjoy being involved in times of significant pressure or stress, as companies try to battle through turbulent change or adopt new ways of working to adapt to shifting market needs. That is often the time that an external perspective can help to pinpoint what needs to be done and help clients to keep focused on the big prize.
Having built a consulting firm from scratch once before – and learned a few lessons along the way – Comma is a great opportunity to partner with like-minded people, to create a strong service ethic and a nimble organisation that is utterly client-centric.
It also enables me to combine what I learned and developed at internal communication specialist Smythe Dorward Lambert with experience
gained at leadership and change consultancy Mercer Delta.
I have worked across a broad range of sectors, with a particular focus on retail (Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, WH Smith, Next, Boots) and financial services (Royal Sun Alliance, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Morgan Stanley, Coutts, Lloyds TSB, Lloyds of London, Standard Life). Other clients have included EDF Energy, Diageo, English Heritage, Akzo Nobel, Rhône Poulenc, Swedish Post, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Unilever and BT.
I am an unreformed Scot, but with an MA in English Language & Literature - and my interests lie in arts and music rather than sport. I have a young son and when not spending time pretending I know chapter and verse on leg-before-wicket rulings, I try to spend my free time restoring a Georgian wreck in Wiltshire to its former glories.
