Neurodiversity from the CEOs seat
For CEOs of FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and multinational organisations, neurodiversity has moved decisively from an EDI sub-topic to a workforce, reputation and long-term-value question that lands on the top of the desk personally. Investors, regulators, analysts, the annual report, the AGM, the ESG rating agencies, the workforce itself and the top-200 leadership population all now expect a credible, board-owned position — not an activity update from the EDI team. CEOs who lead this well treat it as a governance and sponsorship discipline, not a comms exercise.
The CEO's job on neurodiversity is not to deliver the programme. It is to sponsor the outcome set, hold the executive team accountable for it, and model the leadership signal that gives the entire organisation permission to take the work seriously. That means a clear, board-signed enterprise strategy; a defined outcome set tied to workforce KPIs the CEO already reports on; an ExCo that owns delivery collectively; and an external narrative — annual report, ESG disclosures, investor communications — that stands up to scrutiny from institutional investors, regulators and the workforce.
Wayne engages CEOs directly as a confidential external adviser, typically alongside the Chief Human Resources Officer or Chief People Officer, with the option of formal advisory retainers, board-appropriate briefings and long-term sponsorship through the delivery cycle. The dual-discipline positioning — twenty-five years of senior transformation inside FTSE 100 environments, plus lived experience of ADHD and dyslexia — is calibrated for the seat that owns oversight and reputation, not the seat that owns delivery. The work is discreet, board-paced, and framed in the commercial and governance language CEOs actually use.