ABOUT SALVIN
Commercial experience. Strategic clarity. Practical support.
Founded by Ian Cunningham, the business brings together 30 years of international sales leadership experience with a practical, people-centred approach to consulting. Ian partners directly with senior leaders and commercial teams — understanding the challenge, shaping the right strategy and priorities, and supporting the organisation through execution.
Based in the UK and able to work internationally, Salvin Associates helps corporate and private equity-backed organisations navigate growth, transformation, acquisition and commercial change, with a focus on delivering outcomes that put the customer at the centre.
Based in the UK and able to work internationally, Salvin Associates helps corporate and private equity-backed organisations navigate growth, transformation, acquisition and commercial change, with a focus on delivering outcomes that put the customer at the centre.
EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE, PRACTICAL SUPPORT
EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE, PRACTICAL SUPPORT
Experience built in the real world
Ian's career includes senior leadership roles with organisations such as Vodafone, BT Group, Experian, Colt Technology services, Lumen Technologies and Zayo Group.
Ian works with corporate and private equity-backed businesses, partnering with management teams and investors to accelerate commercial performance and prepare for the next stage of growth.
Ian Cunningham brings 30 years of experience building and leading international sales organisations through growth, transformation and acquisition.
Clients work directly with Ian, who starts by understanding their market, people and priorities, then shapes each engagement to help leaders clarify what needs to change, build the capability to deliver it and turn strategy into sustainable growth.
Clients work directly with Ian, who starts by understanding their market, people and priorities, then shapes each engagement to help leaders clarify what needs to change, build the capability to deliver it and turn strategy into sustainable growth.
During this time, he has led large, multi-country commercial teams, developed new routes to market, created customer success functions, supported major acquisitions and helped organisations improve sales performance across complex markets.
His experience includes leading an EMEA organisation of more than 300 people, managing a European business worth approximately $1 billion and developing teams and commercial functions across multiple countries. He has also supported the development of new market propositions, transformed operating models and helped businesses achieve sustained revenue growth.
This first-hand experience means Ian understands the pressures leaders face when growth targets are ambitious, the market is changing and the organisation must continue performing while transformation takes place.
His experience includes leading an EMEA organisation of more than 300 people, managing a European business worth approximately $1 billion and developing teams and commercial functions across multiple countries. He has also supported the development of new market propositions, transformed operating models and helped businesses achieve sustained revenue growth.
This first-hand experience means Ian understands the pressures leaders face when growth targets are ambitious, the market is changing and the organisation must continue performing while transformation takes place.
Strategy is only the beginning
Many organisations do not need another report that explains what should happen. They need an experienced partner who can help them decide what matters, gain support across the business and turn recommendations into practical action.
Salvin Associates works with organisations to develop and execute an effective vision and strategy for growth. This may involve clarifying market opportunities, improving customer engagement, strengthening sales leadership, reshaping commercial teams or guiding the organisation through wider change.
Ian's work is grounded in a simple principle: sustainable growth depends on having the right strategy, the right capability and the discipline to follow through.
Salvin Associates works with organisations to develop and execute an effective vision and strategy for growth. This may involve clarifying market opportunities, improving customer engagement, strengthening sales leadership, reshaping commercial teams or guiding the organisation through wider change.
Ian's work is grounded in a simple principle: sustainable growth depends on having the right strategy, the right capability and the discipline to follow through.
A practical, people-centred approach
Salvin Associates work alongside leaders and teams to clarify the strategy, strengthen capability and turn decisions into practical action.
Our style is collaborative, commercially focused and direct, with the humility and humour needed to build trust quickly. Every engagement is shaped around the organisation’s market, people and priorities rather than a fixed consultancy model.
Our style is collaborative, commercially focused and direct, with the humility and humour needed to build trust quickly. Every engagement is shaped around the organisation’s market, people and priorities rather than a fixed consultancy model.
From discovery to implementation
Discover
Salvin Associates works with key stakeholders, reviews available data and assesses the current commercial position to understand the opportunity, the barriers and the wider organisational context.
Recommend
The findings are translated into a clear, prioritised plan, aligned with the organisation's desired outcomes and sequenced into what happens now, next and later.
Make it happen
We work alongside leaders and teams to put the plan into practice, establish the right structures and capabilities and maintain commercial momentum while change takes place.
This practitioner-led model reflects the three-stage engagement approach set out by Salvin Associates:
Discover, Recommend and Make it happen.
Discover, Recommend and Make it happen.
Who Salvin Associates works with
Salvin Associates works with organisations from growth-stage to established businesses, facing an important growth, commercial or organisational challenge.
This may include businesses that are:
This may include businesses that are:
Ian’s strongest sector experience is within software, technology and telecoms, but his work is not limited to these industries. The common requirement is a need for experienced commercial leadership, a clearer path forward and practical support to deliver change.
What our clients say
I recently engaged Salvin Associates on a project to review our go to market plans across Europe and benchmark performance against best practice. The team was highly experienced and focused on supporting our required outcomes. The project was delivered successfully, on time and to budget and I would recommend them.
Tom Homer
President EMEA GTT
We brought Salvin Associates in to take an honest, outside look at our go-to-market engine — sales, lead generation, customer success, sales operations and renewals — and it's been a genuinely valuable exercise. Ian took the time to properly understand our business, met with the team across every function, and came back with a findings and recommendations presentation that was sharp, well-structured and grounded in our own data, not generic theory. It gave us real clarity on what's working well, where the gaps are and a clear set of practical next steps and quick wins we could start acting on straight away.
Beyond the quality of the work, Ian is genuinely a pleasure to work with — direct, credible, and easy to be candid with, which made the whole process feel collaborative rather than like being audited. You can tell this comes from real experience helping businesses like ours grow.
We've since continued working with Ian to help turn a number of the recommendations into reality, and he's brought the same hands-on, practical approach to implementation as he did to the initial review.
Would recommend Salvin Associates without hesitation to any company looking for an experienced, honest pair of eyes on their commercial strategy — and someone who'll stick around to help make it happen.
Beyond the quality of the work, Ian is genuinely a pleasure to work with — direct, credible, and easy to be candid with, which made the whole process feel collaborative rather than like being audited. You can tell this comes from real experience helping businesses like ours grow.
We've since continued working with Ian to help turn a number of the recommendations into reality, and he's brought the same hands-on, practical approach to implementation as he did to the initial review.
Would recommend Salvin Associates without hesitation to any company looking for an experienced, honest pair of eyes on their commercial strategy — and someone who'll stick around to help make it happen.
Aaron Powell
CEO Chime Software
Ready to discuss what comes next?
Whether you need to develop a clearer growth strategy, strengthen commercial performance or lead your organisation through change, Salvin Associates can help you identify the right priorities and make them happen.