Career Coaching · Principal-Led
Career strategy for professionals who are done guessing.
Whether you're stuck in a role that's shrinking you, navigating a transition you didn't choose, or preparing for a move you can't afford to get wrong — this is where you get clarity. Not motivation. Not platitudes. A plan built on thirty years of commercial reality.
Book your free discovery call →Principal-led — limited capacity
The real conversation
I won't pretend to know what you're going through. But I've probably seen it before.
Some people come to me knowing exactly what they need. A salary negotiation they can't afford to lose. A board-level interview they've never faced. A career pivot that terrifies them.
Others arrive with something harder to name. A career that looks successful on paper but feels hollow inside. A growing suspicion that the next promotion won't fix what's actually wrong. A quiet awareness that they've been drifting — and that the drift is getting harder to reverse.
Both are valid. Both require something specific: not a cheerleader, but someone who understands how the commercial world actually works and can help you navigate it with precision.
That's what this is. A confidential space with someone who's spent thirty years in the room where career decisions are made — on both sides of the table.
Who this is for
This might be for you if…
Situation 01
You're stuck and can't see why.
Your credentials are strong. Your track record is real. But the career momentum has stalled and you can't identify the block — let alone remove it.
Situation 02
You're in transition and it's harder than you expected.
Whether it was your choice or someone else's, you're in the market and discovering that knowing how to do the job and knowing how to get the job are completely different skills.
Situation 03
You're preparing for something high-stakes.
A salary review. A board interview. A career-defining conversation. You know that how you handle the next thirty days could shape the next ten years.
Situation 04
You're burning out and it's affecting your judgment.
The hours, the pressure, the sleepless nights — they're not just making you tired. They're making you a liability in the decisions that matter most. And somewhere, you know that.
Situation 05
You've lost sight of what you actually want.
You've spent so long building a career on momentum — the next promotion, the next move, the next logical step — that you've stopped asking whether any of it is taking you somewhere you want to be. You're not stuck. You're lost. And the longer you stay on a path you chose by default, the harder it becomes to find the one you'd choose on purpose.
Situation 06
You're navigating politics that are draining you.
A difficult boss. A boardroom dynamic that's turned toxic. A peer actively undermining you. The problem isn't your capability — it's the environment. But you don't know whether to fight, adapt, or leave. Every week without a strategy is a week the situation compounds.
Situation 07
You've tried coaching before and it didn't work.
You spent money on someone who made you feel heard but didn't change your position. You're sceptical. Good. I'd rather work with someone sceptical than someone naive.
How this works
Your career isn't generic. Your coaching shouldn't be either.
Discovery call · 30 minutes · Complimentary
We talk.
You tell me what's happening. I ask questions — direct ones. By the end, we'll both know whether there's a fit. If there is, I'll explain exactly what the next step looks like. If there isn't, I'll tell you honestly and point you somewhere better. This isn't a sales pitch. It's a professional assessment — for both of us.
Diagnostic session · 90 minutes
We go deep.
If we decide to work together, this is where we start. I go deep into your situation — your career history, your current position, what's working, what's broken, and what you actually want (which is often different from what you initially say). At the end of this session, I design a tailored programme. Not a template. A plan built specifically for you.
Your programme · Bespoke scope
We execute.
Some people need two sessions to solve a specific problem. Some need ten sessions over six months to rebuild their entire professional positioning. The programme is designed around your reality, your timeline, and your goals. We agree on the scope together — nothing is imposed.
What makes this different
Most coaches have never sat in the room where the decision gets made. I have.
Here's what most of this industry won't say out loud.
The majority of career coaches have never operated in the commercial environment they're coaching people to navigate. They've studied frameworks. Completed certifications. But they've never held a role where a bad quarter meant losing half a team, or where a board dispute put their name — not just their client's — on the line.
I spent thirty years in international executive search and senior advisory. I assessed thousands of professionals at every level. I learned — not from a textbook but from direct, repeated observation — what separates the people who advance from the people who stall. It's rarely talent. Almost always positioning.
When I coach, that operational reality is in the room. I don't ask how a situation made you "feel." I ask what the commercial consequences were, what leverage you had, and whether you used it. If you didn't, we fix that.
But I also understand something pure strategists miss: if you're running on four hours of sleep and pouring a glass of wine every night to decompress, your strategy is irrelevant. The engine is failing. I won't ignore that. If the human isn't functioning, the career won't either.
The credentials
The evidence.
Education
Wharton
Executive Presence and Leadership. Neuroscience in Leadership. The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Education
Harvard
Lifestyle and Coaching. Harvard University. The disciplined methodology behind every session.
Designation
FMVA · CBCA
Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst. Commercial Banking and Credit Analyst. Corporate Finance Institute.
Logged hours
10,000+ Coaching
Not estimated. Not rounded up. Logged.
Logged hours
30,000+ Advisory
International executive search and board-level advisory. The commercial foundation that informs every conversation.
Published
Four Books
On career strategy, commercial decision-making, and professional positioning.
Principal-led delivery — every engagement personally led by Mark Ross Roberts
Social proof
What they said — in their words, under their names.
Repositioned after age bias — secured senior role
Mark Ross was a turning point in my job search. I came to him feeling discouraged by age bias and industry shifts, but he helped me completely reframe my approach. He worked with me to rewrite my case studies so they told an impactful, results-driven story. He taught me how to highlight business impact in interviews and access the hidden job market through tailored outreach. His coaching played a big role in helping me land my current role.
Krispian Emert
Senior UX Research Leader · ex-Microsoft, Google, Meta
Stalled career rebuilt after failed coaching elsewhere
I came to Ross as a total mess. My job search was stalled, I felt like I had failed and would never have my dream. Before I came to Ross, I had spent quite a bit of money on career service related things, including coaching… only to continue to fail. Ross understood me from the beginning. He also understood that I needed to learn the language and how to use the language to communicate my background to achieve the professional goals I wanted to have.
Dr Rebecca A. Fein
Senior Leader in Informatics, Policy & Population Health · Global Health Innovator
Business repositioning during career transition
I began working with Mark during a pivotal time in my career, and the impact has been nothing short of transformative. Mark demonstrated an incredible ability to understand my goals and ambitions, providing tailored strategies that have helped to propel my business pursuits. He instilled a sense of confidence in me, pushing me to embrace challenges and think beyond limits.
Katherine Samuelson
Health and Wellness Entrepreneur · 10+ years as a performance artist and fitness professional
Investment
An honest word about investment.
Career coaching is not inexpensive. I won't pretend otherwise.
But here's the question I ask every potential client: what is the cost of doing nothing?
If you're stuck in a role that's £15,000 below your market value, every month you stay costs you £1,250. If you're preparing for a salary review without the framework to negotiate, you'll leave money on the table that compounds for the rest of your career. If you're in transition and every month without a role costs you your full salary — the cost of not getting expert help dwarfs the cost of getting it.
One clientcame to me with a single issue: they didn't know how to approach their salary review. One session. One framework. They secured a twelve per cent increase with share options and a performance-related bonus. The return on that conversation will pay out for years.
Another clientwas eight months into a stalled job search. After the diagnostic, we identified two positioning errors that were disqualifying her at the shortlist stage. Six weeks later, she had three offers. The engagement cost her less than a week's salary in the role she accepted.
I don't publish fixed prices because every engagement is different. Some clients need one focused session. Others need a six-month programme. We agree on the scope together after the diagnostic — you'll always know exactly what you're investing before you commit.
The discovery call is free. No obligation. No pressure. If I'm not the right fit, I'll tell you.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions.
What happens on the discovery call?
We talk for thirty minutes. You tell me what's going on. I ask questions. By the end, we'll both know if there's a fit. If there is, I'll explain the next step. If there isn't, I'll say so directly. No pitch.
Is this therapy?
No. I'm not a therapist and I don't practise as one. If what you need is emotional or psychological support, I'll recognise that and recommend the right professional. What I do is career strategy — practical, structured, commercially grounded.
I've had coaching before and it didn't help. Why would this be different?
Most career coaching fails for one of two reasons: the coach has no commercial experience, or they treat every client identically. I've spent thirty years in the commercial world. Every programme I build starts from scratch after a thorough diagnostic. If your previous coaching felt generic, this won't.
How long does a typical engagement last?
There's no typical. I've solved urgent, specific problems in a single ninety-minute session. I've also worked with clients over six months to rebuild their entire positioning. The diagnostic determines what you need — and we agree on the plan together.
Can you help me if I don't know what I want?
Yes. That's often where the real work begins. Most people who say "I don't know what I want" actually do — they're afraid of what it means, or they've been talked out of it by circumstance. The diagnostic is designed to surface what's really there.
Is this in person or virtual?
All sessions are via Zoom. I work with clients across the UK and internationally.
What if I can't afford it?
The discovery call is free. If we decide to work together, I'll give you a clear picture of the investment before you commit. I'd rather have an honest conversation about budget than let it become an unspoken barrier.
Book now
Thirty minutes. No cost. No obligation. Just clarity.
If you've read this far, something resonated. That's worth exploring. Book a discovery call. Tell me what's happening. I'll tell you honestly whether I can help — and if I can't, I'll tell you that too.
This is how every engagement starts: with a conversation between two professionals.