The Ninth Planet Start a conversation

Pluto, the ninth planet, seen by New Horizons · NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

Beyond
Ourselves

Helping people and organisations rediscover what matters most, and grow beyond where they are.

For individuals

One-to-one coaching on the inner side of change, from reconnecting with what gives you meaning to finding your way through a turning point.

For organisations

Working on the human side of change, from developing leaders and teams to building partnerships across sectors.

Start a 30-minute conversation See how I help

The red thread

Everything is connected. The work grows outward from there.

My work has always lived between business and mission, strategy and people, West and East, North and South, worlds that rarely meet. Whatever the scale, the work is the same, helping people explore what matters most to them and connect it to something larger.

  • Self

    Direction and growth

    Coaching to rediscover what matters most to you, get unstuck, and grow into who you are becoming.

  • Relationships

    Leading with others

    Showing up for the people around you by listening deeply, leading authentically and helping them grow towards what matters to them.

  • Organisations

    Teams and culture

    Shaping teams and cultures where people can do their best work, with change that starts with the humans doing the work.

  • World

    Partnerships and systems

    Bringing business, government, NGOs, foundations, academia and communities together on problems no one can solve alone.

Self Relationships Organisations World

Working together

Two ways in. One conversation to start.

Whatever brings you here, it starts the same way, with a 30-minute conversation about what is going on and whether and how I can help.

For individuals

Leadership & transition coaching

One-to-one coaching for leaders who want their work and life to feel more like their own, whether you are growing inside an organisation or shaping a Portfolio Life beyond it.

“I’ve achieved a lot. Now I want it to mean more.”

Together we slow down, listen for what matters most to you, and explore who you are becoming. From there, the next step often becomes clear. I draw on decades of senior corporate leadership and my own journey to a life built around meaning.

Who it suits

Experienced leaders, often in their late forties and beyond, navigating a role change, a step away from corporate life, or a search for more Meaningful Work.

Start with a conversation

For organisations

Leadership & partnerships

Support for leadership teams, boards and coalitions where the hardest part of the work is human.

Leadership development

“Our leaders know the strategy. They don’t yet know how to bring people with them.”

Helping leaders grow into who the organisation needs them to be next, through coaching and programmes built around how people really change.

Partnerships & systems change

“Everyone agrees we need to work together. No one knows how to make it happen.”

Bringing together people who rarely sit at the same table, from business and government to communities and academia, and helping them build trust and act as one.

Strategy & transformation

“Our strategy looks strong on paper. Somewhere between the boardroom and the front line, it gets lost.”

Keeping people at the heart of change, from rediscovering your purpose to navigating what AI and new technology mean for the people who do the work.

Talk through a challenge

Something else entirely?

Some of my best work started as one thing and became another. If you have an interesting problem in leadership, transformation, partnership or purpose, bring it and let’s see.

Let’s explore it together

About

Thirty years of strategy and partnerships. People were always the heart of it.

My career has spanned strategy and partnerships, from the early days of the internet to nearly two decades as a Managing Director at Accenture, where I helped lead and grow Accenture Development Partnerships. At its core, my work has been bringing companies, governments, UN agencies, NGOs and foundations together across five continents.

I was good at strategy. What I loved was the people, especially the moment a leader sees their situation differently, or two organisations that never trusted each other find common ground. Now that is where I put my energy, as a coach and partner to people doing work that matters.

The Ninth Planet began in 1999, the year Pluto moved back beyond Neptune and became the ninth planet again. It has always stood for the same two ideas. Everything is connected. And the best work takes us beyond ourselves.

The path so far

  1. 1997–1999
    Andersen Business Consulting, TorontoDiscovering that my strength wasn’t code but people, and weaving people, strategy and technology together
  2. 1999–2001
    PricewaterhouseCoopers, SydneyDuring the dot-com boom, bringing companies from different industries together to build what none could alone. The Ninth Planet is born
  3. 2001–2004
    Accenture, LondonConnecting eleven European utilities, and learning that collaboration is something you design
  4. 2004–2023
    Accenture Development Partnerships, GlobalBuilding trust between companies, governments, UN agencies, foundations and NGOs, and turning it into collaborative partnerships on clean energy, food security, farmer livelihoods, access to medicines and youth employment across five continents
  5. 2023
    The Ninth Planet, rebornExploring independent life, and discovering that what matters most to me is found in community, helping others reimagine and live meaningful lives
  6. 2025
    Meaningful Work CollectiveCo-founding, with Dee Jadeja, a community for meaningful conversations, where senior leaders, inside organisations and working independently, meet as peers to discover and become more together
  7. Today
    All of it, togetherA generalist’s path, connecting people, ideas and sectors to reach beyond ourselves

Current roles and training

PartnershipsCo-founder, Meaningful Work Collective · Senior Associate, The Partnering Initiative · Associate, Partnership Brokers Association
CoachingIntegral Coaching Canada · Ikigai Tribe · Claristrat Institute Executive Coaching (the journey has just begun)

Other expressions

Where else you’ll find me

Community

Meaningful Work Collective

Discover More. Become More. Together.

A global community of around ninety senior leaders across twenty countries, inside organisations and working independently, who meet as peers for meaningful conversations about work and life.

Visit the Collective →

Writing

Meaningful Transitions

Reflections, ideas and noticings

Writing on whatever feels worth exploring, from life and work to the people, places and ideas that point towards what matters most.

Coming soon on Substack

Start here

Every journey begins
with a meaningful conversation.

A 30-minute conversation about what matters most to you, or to your organisation. Bring a question, a hunch, or simply your curiosity.

Start a Meaningful Conversation
Or write to ian@theninthplanet.org Connect on LinkedIn →