Executive Coaching
for Creative Leaders
COACHING | AWAY DAYS | WORKSHOPS
Hi I’m Sam
FOUNDER OF TRAIN OF THOUGHT
I coach leaders in the creative industries.
People who see, think, dream and lead differently.
Creativity isn’t a job title. It’s an approach to the world.
One that our world is crying out for, to overcome the challenges we face.
I help those people do the difficult things they need to do to make teams work better together and businesses thrive.
I am the champion, conscience, sounding board and challenger.
Helping people lead as they are really capable of.
"If you like tough love and tacos, Sam Pearce is your guy."
Caroline Winterton
CEO of DDB NA
COACHING | AWAY DAYS | WORKSHOPS
WHAT I DO
Turning creative people into creative leaders
Creativity is invaluable.
For brands, for businesses, for solving the problems we face.
And it’s never been easier for that creativity to be wasted.
I see three problems everywhere I go:
People have insanely busy schedules.
They are avoidant, and don’t want to do hard things that make them uncomfortable.
Minimising risk is the goal.
No good change can come if this is the way we approach the challenges.
I help my clients to do hard things.
To work with impact over business.
Dealing with difficult issues, now.
And making doing nothing the biggest risk.
In a world of avoidance, those who do the hard things will thrive.
For brands, for businesses, for solving the problems we face.
And it’s never been easier for that creativity to be wasted.
I see three problems everywhere I go:
People have insanely busy schedules.
They are avoidant, and don’t want to do hard things that make them uncomfortable.
Minimising risk is the goal.
No good change can come if this is the way we approach the challenges.
I help my clients to do hard things.
To work with impact over business.
Dealing with difficult issues, now.
And making doing nothing the biggest risk.
In a world of avoidance, those who do the hard things will thrive.
WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY
“If you like tough love and tacos Sam Pearce is your guy. Sam has the ability to make you say all the stuff you really don't want to but know you should to move teams, business, and talent forward.
He will challenge you in ways you won't expect but you'll walk away clearer and bit lighter about what needs to be tackled to be successful.”
Caroline Winterton, CEO of DDB North America
—
"Sam is spectacular at helping me confront solutions that I often know to be right, but am afraid to face head on. I always leave feeling more confident in my decisions in a way I never expected.
He has helped build my confidence as a leader – highlighting what elements of myself I should celebrate, while confronting those characteristics I need to evolve.
I always look forward to our conversations and the self-assurance I leave them with."
Tom Ghiden, MD of adam&eve/TBWA
He will challenge you in ways you won't expect but you'll walk away clearer and bit lighter about what needs to be tackled to be successful.”
Caroline Winterton, CEO of DDB North America
—
"Sam is spectacular at helping me confront solutions that I often know to be right, but am afraid to face head on. I always leave feeling more confident in my decisions in a way I never expected.
He has helped build my confidence as a leader – highlighting what elements of myself I should celebrate, while confronting those characteristics I need to evolve.
I always look forward to our conversations and the self-assurance I leave them with."
Tom Ghiden, MD of adam&eve/TBWA
“Thanks so much for another tremendous session. You managed to cover everything that I hoped, and did so in a way that felt natural, effortless, and discursive.
I came away feeling like everyone had bought into what we want the agency to be, and who we want to be as a management team.”
James Rowe, President of OBB BOLDED
—
"Sam has made a real impact at Wonderhood. The courses he’s delivered have been outstanding; the team came away energised and full of practical tools they could use straight away.
He also recently supported our senior leadership team and facilitated the day superbly, keeping everyone focused while creating the right space for honest, productive discussion."
Alex Best, CEO at Wonderhood Studios
—
“You’ve helped us work through more in six hours than we had in the last three years”
Jo Lumb, Co-Founder at Wonderhood Makers
I came away feeling like everyone had bought into what we want the agency to be, and who we want to be as a management team.”
James Rowe, President of OBB BOLDED
—
"Sam has made a real impact at Wonderhood. The courses he’s delivered have been outstanding; the team came away energised and full of practical tools they could use straight away.
He also recently supported our senior leadership team and facilitated the day superbly, keeping everyone focused while creating the right space for honest, productive discussion."
Alex Best, CEO at Wonderhood Studios
—
“You’ve helped us work through more in six hours than we had in the last three years”
Jo Lumb, Co-Founder at Wonderhood Makers
“We had the privilege of working with Sam this week on a leadership workshop using Lencioni’s ‘Five Dysfunctions’ model and it was one of the most powerful group sessions I’ve been part of.
He held the space with that rare mix of calm authority and real warmth - the kind that makes people drop their guard and speak honestly. What could’ve felt heavy or confrontational actually felt constructive and cathartic.
The tough stuff got talked about, the air got cleared, and we walked out feeling lighter, closer, and more aligned than we walked in.
Highly recommend to any leadership team ready to do the real work and come out stronger for it.”
Laura Tannenbaum, CEO of Fabric Social
—
"It was a really great session so thank you for making it productive and not weird.”
Katie Hunter, Co-Founder at Wonderhood Makers
He held the space with that rare mix of calm authority and real warmth - the kind that makes people drop their guard and speak honestly. What could’ve felt heavy or confrontational actually felt constructive and cathartic.
The tough stuff got talked about, the air got cleared, and we walked out feeling lighter, closer, and more aligned than we walked in.
Highly recommend to any leadership team ready to do the real work and come out stronger for it.”
Laura Tannenbaum, CEO of Fabric Social
—
"It was a really great session so thank you for making it productive and not weird.”
Katie Hunter, Co-Founder at Wonderhood Makers
"What's remarkable about working with you? Your vulnerability. You've got an amazing way of 'going first' which makes me feel comfortable sharing things which I find difficult.
You ask DIFFICULT QUESTIONS. You always get to the heart of the problem. I do the hard graft. I stay accountable. I'm more confident. I'm more focused."
Carol Feeley, Head of Creative at Ocado
—
"From the moment I met Sam, he made me feel like he got it. He's incredible at listening, understanding the challenges and most importantly challenging me when I need it most. As someone who has worked in the creative industries, it's so easy to talk to Sam as he fully gets the creative world.
I started working with Sam during a period of very intense change for me at work, stepping unexpectedly into a new leadership role. He has been invaluable in helping me to navigate through that change, so I now am confident in the creative leader that I am.
When I started working with Sam, I felt like I was out of control, just trying to figure out how to get from day to day and questioning my ability to do that. Now I might be busy, but I know where I'm heading, what kind of leader I am and want to be, and there's a lot more calm in amongst the chaos."
Imogen Almond, Head of Creative at innocent
You ask DIFFICULT QUESTIONS. You always get to the heart of the problem. I do the hard graft. I stay accountable. I'm more confident. I'm more focused."
Carol Feeley, Head of Creative at Ocado
—
"From the moment I met Sam, he made me feel like he got it. He's incredible at listening, understanding the challenges and most importantly challenging me when I need it most. As someone who has worked in the creative industries, it's so easy to talk to Sam as he fully gets the creative world.
I started working with Sam during a period of very intense change for me at work, stepping unexpectedly into a new leadership role. He has been invaluable in helping me to navigate through that change, so I now am confident in the creative leader that I am.
When I started working with Sam, I felt like I was out of control, just trying to figure out how to get from day to day and questioning my ability to do that. Now I might be busy, but I know where I'm heading, what kind of leader I am and want to be, and there's a lot more calm in amongst the chaos."
Imogen Almond, Head of Creative at innocent
Sam Pearce is an executive coach for leaders in the creative industries.
©2026 Train of Thought Consultancy Ltd
Based in the UK.
Available anywhere.
Available anywhere.