Strategic Advisory
When decisions involve multiple stakeholders, jurisdictions, or competing interests.
- Geopolitical analysis
- Strategic partnerships
- Government relations
- International engagement
Strategic Counsel
When the stakes
are high.
GuidingPrinciples™ serves chairmen, chief executives, boards and founders across Fortune 500 corporations, ambitious emerging businesses and SMEs, family enterprises, family offices, investment houses and venture capital, not-for-profits and humanitarian organisations, as well as special-purpose vehicles and complex public-private partnerships.
Our perspective is also shaped by decades of work alongside national leaders, elected representatives and senior public officials — helping us bring a wider understanding of government, geopolitics and public affairs to the decisions facing business leaders.
Across each, we help leaders navigate complexity, build the right relationships, identify opportunity and act with confidence.
Governance, Risk & Reputation
When trust, credibility, and leadership are under scrutiny.
- Governance and ethics
- Stakeholder alignment
- Expert witness
- Dispute resolution
Infrastructure, Investment & Economic Development
When major assets, projects, and capital need disciplined leadership.
- Ports and logistics
- Energy and supply chains
- Economic development
- Foreign direct investment
Diplomacy, Communication & Influence
When relationships matter as much as transactions.
- Discreet diplomacy
- Reconciliation
- Strategic communications
- Narrative development
Specialist Capabilities
Experience matters.
Our specialist capabilities are grounded in decades of experience across infrastructure, investment, governance, diplomacy and post-conflict transformation — helping leaders build trusted relationships and deliver lasting outcomes.
Dispute Resolution, Reconciliation & Ethics
Mark Finlay and Raymond Sexton are internationally respected for their work as peacemakers, consensus builders and practitioners in post-conflict transformation. Both have served professionally as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) specialists; Raymond is a Chartered Arbitrator, while Mark, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS), brings extensive experience in governance, ethics and complex stakeholder environments.
That experience extends across the wider Guiding Principles™ team and Advisory Board, bringing together practitioners with hands-on experience spanning formal diplomacy and government, commercial, real estate and construction disputes, reconciliation and peacebuilding in divided and post-conflict societies. Together, they help organisations and leaders resolve difficult issues, rebuild trust and find a way forward where relationships, reputation and long-term outcomes matter.
Ports, Maritime Infrastructure & Trade Corridors
Ports are far more than transportation assets. They are gateways to trade, investment, energy security, supply-chain resilience, and national prosperity. Drawing on experience in port development, governance, logistics, and economic regeneration, we advise leaders on the transformation and expansion of strategic maritime infrastructure and the trade corridors that depend upon it.
Bringing People Together
We bring people together — often crossing aisles, oceans, and cultural divides — to get things done. Experience as an international peacemaker and moderator is applied to create safe places: the right environment, with a good spirit, where breakthroughs happen and confidence is rebuilt.
Telling Your Story
There is an Irish word, seanchaí, that describes the elder and story-teller who passes on wisdom to following generations. We help leaders tell their story well, ensure valuable corporate history is not lost, and see that the lessons of the past are carried forward.
Next Step
A quiet conversation, before anything else.
Most engagements begin with a confidential discussion — no obligation, no presentation. Tell us what you are facing and we will tell you plainly whether we can help.
Schedule a consultation