Your Board Advisory Partner In Navigating Critical Challenges

We assist boards globally to make confident and impactful decisions through our interdisciplinary capability.

Trusted by Corporations Globally

Expertise in Action

“With Stephen’s guidance, we secured a critical outsourcing deal at Optus and navigated billion-dollar transitions at Citibank and Ericsson. His strategic vision and tactical execution along with the deep knowledge that he shares openly, make him an invaluable partner, earning trust and respect from all.”

Dave Mathes
Global Client Director at 
Compaq/HP Outsourcing

“Stephen was indispensable and his breadth and depth of skills and knowledge contributed significantly to the team’s success. He was a genuine asset to Compaq/HP through the application of his knowledge, and his aptitude for taking-on complex, wide-ranging tasks. His versatility and flexibility allowed him to successfully undertake and deliver ‘outside-the-box’ outcomes that added significant value to our existing portfolio of services.”

Martin King
Vice President Global Transitions | 
M&A Outsourcing at Compaq/HP

“At Gartner Consulting, Stephen was the stand-out person in the business. A true asset to the business through the results he delivered. His calm equanimity and balanced leadership style positively influenced morale and the team dynamics on bids, in client relations, on delivery engagements and within the office environment.”

Andrew Bremner
Former Managing Partner
at Gartner Consulting

The Optima Board Services Group

Optimised Decision-Support for the Board
Experienced Senior Practitioners
with 340+ years of industry experience in decision-making, global P&L leadership, business strategy, operating performance optimisation, merger, acquisition, and divestment, capital allocation and investment decisioning in private equity, venture capital, and Fortune 100 - 1000 corporations.
Expertise Leading Critical Initiatives
including, emerging technologies implementation and regulatory compliance advice, merger, acquisition, and divestment (M&A), post-merger integration, organisation building and restructuring, operating performance improvement (growth and scaling), business strategy and transformation, and international economic policy advice to governments.
Interdisciplinary 
Analysis
of local and global industries, segments, and territories, delivering tailored analysis, findings, and recommendations, supporting the client-partner’s decision cycle.
Extensive global network
of influential clients, affiliates, long-standing partners, and alliances.
Collaborative Client Engagement
for mutual alignment and mutual success.
Confidentiality & Independence
to assist boards and the C-suite to govern for value preservation, value creation, and high-performance impact.
24Hr Advisory 
Support
High-touch, high-performance decision support that instills confidence with accurate, clear, and tailored guidance.
We are a senior practice — put our interdisciplinary expertise to work for your board.

Some Of Our Advisors

Stephen Pitt-Walker

CEO & Founder | Independent Non-Executive Board Director | Business Strategist | Lawyer | Board Digital Portfolio™
Interdisciplinary business leader & strategist, governance expert, lawyer, multidisciplinary technology leader, and global Fortune 500 P&L leader, delivering differentiated board services to global corporations for 35+ years.

E Craig Wilson

Expert Advisor | Geopolitics & Geoeconomics
Foreign Policy & Trade Advisor | Geostrategic, Political & Economic Policy Advisor.

Former Commissioner to China, International Policy and Foreign Branch Development Advisor liaising across 3 continents.

Maureen Farmer

Expert Advisor | Productivity Enablement
CEO Advisor | Executive Branding, Leadership Optimisation & Succession Planning

Executive branding strategist for corporate transitions, post-merger integrations, and leadership performance

Anna Stylianou

Expert Advisor | Anti-Financial Crime & Anti-Money Laundering
Founder of AML Cube | Financial Crime & AML Risk Mitigation

Trusted Advisor on Financial Crime Prevention, Expert in complex regulations with 20+ years of experience in the financial services sector.

Jordan Famularo, phd

Expert Advisor | Sustainability: SDG & ESGTECH | Board Digital Portfolio™
Interdisciplinary expert in corporate responsibility, sustainability, ESG, human rights, cybersecurity, AI governance, digital inclusion, and corporate citizenship.

Extensive background as a thought leader in technology and technology governance (Emerging Technology, AI, Cybersecurity) and sustainability (regulations, reporting, and disclosure) at both New York University (NYU) and the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity at University California, Berkeley, among others.

Kathy Colborn

Expert Advisor | Strategic Investments | Growth & Scaling
Kathy’s expertise resides in our Business Strategy Domain. Having worked on significant deals in the private equity sector, Kathy brings a sophisticated and balanced understanding of deal-making dynamics from deal origination to post-acquisition integration.

Maddie Shears

Senior Advisor | Marketing & Communications | Optimized Branding & Messaging
An entrepreneurial-driven marketing professional with verifiable experience across digital marketing domains, including the design and centralization of marketing systems and campaigns that produce results. 

Acknowledged as a client-focused advisor with in-depth experience in content creation, digital production, social media strategy, metrics analysis, and market research to support business and productivity development and expansion.

Maddie Shears

Senior Advisor | Marketing & Communications | Optimized Branding & Messaging
An entrepreneurial-driven marketing professional with verifiable experience across digital marketing domains, including the design and centralization of marketing systems and campaigns that produce results.

Acknowledged as a client-focused advisor with in-depth experience in content creation, digital production, social media strategy, metrics analysis, and market research to support business and productivity development and expansion.

Optima’s Interdisciplinary Approach

Optima Board Services Group bridges the gap between data and discernment. We interpret data and support decisions through the nuanced lens of senior industry leaders and forward-thinking experts to produce better decisions. We guide, support, and empower your board, becoming proactive partners in navigating complexity with confidence and foresight.

In a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous (VUCA), and hyperconnected world, nothing happens in a vacuum. There are layers to decisions and their consequences.

For mission-critical decisions, boards need wisdom, maturity, and experience in concert with knowledge and expertise.

Governance Across Industry Sectors

Our experts have partnered with clients for success in the following industries:
M&A and Strategic Outsourcing
Private Equity & Family Offices
Telecommunications and ICT
Banking, Insurance, Wealth Management, and other Financial Services
Global Technology – Managed & Professional Services, Strategic Advisory, Emerging Technology, & Supply Chain
Global Technology Consulting
Edtech
Energy, Mining & Resources
Professional Services Management Consulting
Government, Tourism and Public Services
Pharmaceuticals
Process Control & Automation—Industrial IoT

More Expertise in Action

“Stephen Pitt-Walker unlocks growth through innovative strategy. His systems thinking approach with a focus on practical implementation has empowered our board to develop, communicate, execute, and sustain winning strategies.”

Stéphane Nappo
Vice President Global Chief Information Security Officer at Groupe SEB

“Stephen is a true global leader, supremely able to produce business results across cultures. Stephen was generous and supportive, and his expertise was key in closing several big deals with key financial services clients. Ultimately, it is Stephen’s contribution beyond the international business world that impresses me the most. His commitment to human rights shows the true mark of the man, as someone who achieves not only impressive business results, but important improvements for the world.”

Charlotta Oberg
Associate Director, Capability Development at Asialink Leaders Program

“Stephen is one of the highest calibre Board and C-Level advisors I know. While at Unisys, I engaged him to lead a critical multi-million-dollar program. This demanded exceptional commitment, top-notch deliverables under tight deadlines, and navigating a new global service organisation he had little time to grasp. Despite this, he secured buy-in from global leaders and delivered unparalleled results, setting a new internal standard for use on global service accounts. He is highly productive, a thought leader, and a reliable hard worker.”

Trevor Lewis
Vice President & BHP Billiton Global Account Executive at CSC

Optima’s Value To Your Board

Optima Board Services Group is a global interdisciplinary board advisory firm that offers corporate governance, board performance, strategy, legal and regulatory services, risk management, and decision support.

At Optima, we believe the boardroom must be a prime agent for positive, sustainable impact. It must balance key stakeholder interests and serve as a role model of stewardship and organisational leadership while enhancing long-term value creation.

Our mission is to provide exceptional decision-support advice and white-glove experiences to boards, enabling them to become both overseers and high-performance creators of value.

Shifting geopolitics, disruptive technologies, environmental impacts, stakeholder concerns, and emerging security risks are just a few of the challenges that boards must navigate in today’s rugged business landscape.

Our interdisciplinary experts complement the knowledge, wisdom, and experience in your boardroom, empowering it to optimise the balance between value preservation and value creation for your organisation.

Our Values

Trust, Authenticity and Respect

We build trust through values alignment, developing a genuine business relationship (mutual respect and intimacy), and the delivery of an exceptional, authentic advisory experience.

Courage and Compassion

Courage is our commitment to providing objective advice that considers all perspectives for decision-making, and prioritises sustained performance and value creation. Compassion is reflected in our appropriate consideration of key stakeholders in the decision cycle.

Reciprocity and Collaboration

We define reciprocity as a combination of mutual alignment (a values statement), mutual support, and mutual benefit. We collaborate and iterate to create tailored advice that best supports your board’s decisions and performance.

Our Ideal Client Partners

Whether you are a...

✓ Mid-market corporation or private equity group
✓ Private equity portfolio company
✓ Family-owned enterprise (family office)
✓ Capital-backed startup

The Optima Board Services Group assists your board and C-suite by delivering impartial, tailored advice through our team of senior global experts.

Our Service Portfolio

The global offerings in our service portfolio wheel represent our interdisciplinary expertise and capability.

While these domains reflect our core areas of expertise, they are deployed in an integrated fashion to provide holistic and systemic strategic guidance and optimised governance performance for your board and business.

Let’s Work Together

Talk to our senior advisors today and discover how we can help you with your governance capabilities for compliance and performance.
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