About us
Des Donnelly
Founder & Managing Partner
Experienced leadership for critical moments of growth and change.
Des is the Founder and Managing Partner of Silverback Consultants. As an experienced interim executive specialising in growth, transformation and strategy, he is known for bringing clarity to complex situations, bridging the gap between ambition and execution.
With over twenty years of leadership experience, Des has built and led commercial organisations, developed new markets, created strategic partnerships and delivered growth across multiple sectors internationally. With proven success across healthcare, security and risk, SaaS, insurance, B2B and energy, Des has worked extensively across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the USA. His most recent assignment was as Chief Commercial Officer of Apex Health, leading the growth strategy and preparing the business for IPO.
Des founded Silverback Consultants to support CEOs, founders and leadership teams facing critical moments of growth, change and transformation, providing experienced leadership and delivering results where they matter most.
Des has been professionally accredited by the Institute of Interim Management (IIM).
What makes us different
Clarity
We bring clarity and decisive leadership to complex challenges, rapidly establishing priorities and accelerating delivery.
We shape strategy and lead execution, ensuring ambition is translated into measurable commercial outcomes.
Delivery
Alignment
We build trust and influence quickly, bringing together diverse teams and partners to drive collective success.
We thrive where complexity, ambiguity and change intersect, using our commercial judgement to navigate unfamiliar environments.
Agility
Perspective
We've led businesses and teams across multiple regions, so we bring a unqiue perspective and the cultural intelligence to operate effectively in diverse environments.
We have decades of international executive leadership experience, building and transforming organisations across diverse markets, cultures and regulatory environments.
Experience
We recognise that sustainable transformation depends on people as much as processes, creating engagement alongside accountability.
Engagement
Why "Silverback"?
Strong leadership, wisdom and empathy.
Silverback gorillas are fully-grown, adult male gorillas, named after the distinctive grey hairs that develop on their back when they reach maturity. Growing to be over 180 kilograms and up to six feet tall, they are the largest primates on Earth. They are also formidable leaders, highly intelligent and empathetic, and largely peaceful, unless their families are threatened.
As human beings, we share 98.3% of our DNA with gorillas.
In the wild, silverback gorillas lead their families with purpose, wisdom and presence. The silverback gorilla symbolises what we at Silverback Consultants represent: strong, resilient leadership, using wisdom, strategy and decisiveness to unify teams and navigate challenges.
We are proud to support the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, a global non-profit dedicated to the conservation of endangered gorillas and their habitats. The fund operates primarily in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, running scientific research and education programmes, conservation initiatives and community engagement efforts to protect these remarkable animals for future generations.