Periphas
PERIPHAS
Advocates for Change

Change to Engage. Engage to Change.

Periphas helps organisations identify opportunities for meaningful improvement, build evidence-based cases for action and facilitate informed executive conversations between parties that can benefit from working together.

25+ years average Executive Experience
30+ countries
supported
20+ industries
served
3000+ executive engagements facilitated

The Problem We Solve

Sellers' Senior Executives

"We struggle to identify and reach organisations where our solution can create measurable value."

Buyers' Senior Executives

"We struggle to identify which external opportunities and conversations are genuinely worth our attention."

What Makes Us Different

We do not merely identify organisations. We evaluate them.

We don't request time, we recommend where time may be well spent. Our analysts, advisors and communications team apply their senior commercial, technology, transformation and strategy experience in the recommendation.

Every recommendation is supported by structured research, proprietary tools and experienced analyst judgement. Technology gives us breadth; human validation gives the work credibility.

Mutual value is non-negotiable.  We only recommend engagement where there is evidence of cultural readiness, strategic relevance and the capacity to act. We only make an introduction where we see value.

Our Approach

We noticed…
We thought…
Which is why…

Every Periphas introduction begins with an independent, researched perspective on an issue that matters to the organisation being approached. Not a product pitch. Not a request for time without context. A short, polished case for why a conversation may be valuable.

We research the organisation, identify where its agenda and relevant external capabilities genuinely converge, build the evidence, prepare both parties and only then facilitate a senior conversation focused on outcomes rather than products.

Our Services

An integrated four-step practice

1

Identify where change
is likely to create value

Explore

Contextual Account Targeting

2

Create informed
executive dialogue

Explore

Strategic Engagement and Executive Access

3

Build a case
worth discussing

Explore

Value-Based Content and Cases for Change

4

Turn introductions into
productive discussions

Explore

Executive Preparation and Coaching

Financial Services Insurance Retail Pharmaceuticals Logistics Food & Beverage Healthcare Telecoms Aerospace & Defence Automotive Energy & Utilities Business Services Consumer Goods Mining Chemicals Oil & Gas Paper & Packaging Semiconductors & Electronic Components Industrial Machinery Government Legal & Professional Services Education

Ready to talk?

We work with a limited number of clients at any one time. Tell us about your programme.

Working Together

Our Services. Four integrated steps. One coherent approach.

Contextual Account Targeting
Step 01

Contextual Account Targeting

How do you maximize your sales team productivity? Who is best placed to buy from you?

Researching "Culture, Strategy and Capital" to match your value to customer need.
Read More
Strategic Engagement
Step 02

Strategic Engagement and Executive Access

How do you stand out in a saturated market and secure relevant engagement?

Peer-level introductions prepared by analysts and led by former senior executives.
Read More
Value-Based Content
Step 03

Value-Based Content and Cases for Change

How do you establish credibility on first contact? How do you retain interest beyond that?

Executive reports, cases for change and value narratives for senior decision-makers.
Read More
Executive Coaching
Step 04

Executive Preparation and Coaching

How do you ensure there is value from the first step of the engagement?

Briefings and materials that help both parties turn introductions into productive dialogue.
Read More
Contextual Account Targeting

Contextual Account Targeting

Step 01 – Identify where meaningful change is most likely to create value.

The Challenge

Separating the wheat from the chaff

Firmographic targeting shows which organisations resemble existing customers. It does not show whether leadership priorities, strategic pressure and investment timing support action.

How to Address It

Identify both fit and readiness.

CAT replaces assumption with structured, three-dimensional research.

  • Culture, Strategy and Capital assessment for each account
  • Pursuit classification with clear rationale: pursue now, pursue soon, defer or avoid
  • Account profiles, change signals, executive context and recommended approach
  • Practical guidance on timing, relevance and where not to spend effort
Download Brochure ↗

64% of engagements led to immediate, clear next steps and positive relationships

27% became nurture engagements with opportunity to follow-up in 12 months 
 

Periphas study of account teams feedback on    498 engagements across 30 campaigns
Strategic thinking
Strategic Engagement

Strategic Engagement and Executive Access

Step 02 – Create informed executive dialogue grounded in relevance.

The Challenge

Standing Out from the Crowd

Senior stakeholders are approached constantly. Overwhelming sameness in message, tone of voice, approach and channel of communication makes them discard attempts to engage from the onset.

How to Address It

Executives respond to relevance, not volume.

Periphas improves the quality of the approach by making sure every introduction is based on research, a clear business issue and a credible reason for both parties to talk.

  • Contextual Engagement Brief prepared by analysts
  • Pre-engagement briefing with the client sponsor
  • Peer-level outreach by former senior executives
  • Both parties briefed before the first conversation
  • No scripts, no volume targets, no product-first messaging
Download Brochure ↗

The water sector is notoriously difficult to penetrate at a C-level, especially for a challenger brand in a highly regulated market. Periphas was far more than just a door opener – they built custom report content that framed our discussions in exactly the right way, ensuring we entered each meeting with credibility and strategic relevance.

Rob Passmore, CEO & Founder
Additive Catchments
Transform Awards 2021
Value-Based Content

Value-Based Content and Cases for Change

Step 03 – Build evidence-based content that makes the case for action.

The Challenge

Retaining attention after you left the room

Executives will not engage deeply with content that reads like vendor collateral. They don’t have the time to translate marketing and technical jargon into what it specifically means for their organisation.

How to Address It

The business issue has to come before the solution.

Periphas produces independent, board-level material that connects organisational priorities, market context and quantified solution value into a case worth discussing.

  • Cases for Change, Executive Briefings and Value Narratives
  • Quantified benefits, assumptions and supporting evidence
  • Language aligned to the executive’s priorities, not the vendor’s proposition
  • Documents written to a standard an executive could share internally
Download Brochure ↗

“Impressed by the report...a positive surprise. The EUR 56 million benchmark established a high level of authority with the management board.”

VP Global IT, German Sensor Manufacturer
Connected intelligence
Executive Preparation

Executive Preparation and Coaching

Step 04 – Prepare for the conversation before the opportunity is tested.

The Challenge

Time pressure and financial fluency

When time is short, pressure to handle multiple demands and superficial financial understanding makes it easier to talk about your own “stuff” rather than what matters to the executive.

How to Address It

The meeting is not the outcome

A senior introduction only creates value if the conversation is relevant, disciplined and well prepared. Periphas provides the briefing materials, preparation sessions and selective coaching that help participants enter the discussion with clarity and purpose.

  • Account intelligence drawn from CAT research
  • Briefing materials for the client team and, where relevant, the executive audience
  • Conversation design that leads with insight, not proposition
  • Value narrative aligned to stated priorities and likely objections
  • Selective coaching for high-value or complex engagements
Download Brochure ↗

Their approach was meticulously optimised, from pre-meeting briefings to in-room execution, ensuring that every interaction was consultative rather than sales-driven. This was key to securing engagement at the highest levels and building a strong pipeline in record time.

Rob Passmore, CEO & Founder
Additive Catchments
High-impact conversations

Culture. Strategy. Capital.

A research methodology for assessing genuine organisational readiness across three independent dimensions.

The Three Lenses
C

Culture

Will the organisation support the change?

We assess leadership priorities, decision-making norms, change appetite and organisational momentum.

S

Strategy

Does the change align with stated priorities?

We evaluate strategic direction, transformation programmes, competitive pressures and regulatory considerations.

C

Capital

Can the organisation fund the change and act now?

We assess financial capacity, investment timing and the economic conditions that influence decision-making.

“All three lenses must support the opportunity before we recommend engagement.”

The Periphas Threshold Rule
Account Classifications

Four possible outcomes from every Contextual Account Targeting assessment

  • Pursue now. Signals converge across Culture, Strategy and Capital. The conditions for a meaningful engagement are present today.
  • Pursue soon. The need is forming and early engagement may help shape the agenda.
  • Defer. One or more critical conditions are not yet present. Return when timing, priority or capacity improves.
  • Avoid. Apparent interest is not supported by the underlying conditions. Do not invest at this time.
Download Methodology Brochure ↗

About Periphas

What We Are

Advocates for Change

Periphas is a research-led change advocacy practice. We help organisations identify opportunities for meaningful improvement and connect them with the expertise, technologies and capabilities that can help them achieve it.

We work with technology vendors, complex solution providers and professional services firms whose success depends on a small number of strategically important relationships.

Founded in 2012, Periphas operates across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, supporting complex engagement programmes across more than 30 countries and over 20 industries.

Deep roots
Two Audiences

We serve both sides of the introduction

Technology Vendors

You engage us to identify where opportunity genuinely exists, build the evidence-based case and facilitate senior conversations that begin with relevance rather than outreach volume.

Senior Executives

When Periphas reaches out to you, it is because our research has identified a potential alignment between your organisation’s priorities and capabilities that may help address them. You receive a brief, not a pitch.

“We do not merely create introductions. We determine whether an introduction should happen at all.”

Periphas Principle
Who We Engage

Conversations where strategic decisions are made

Periphas engagements typically involve 

CEOs, COOs, CIOs, CTOs, CFOs, 
Chief Transformation Officers, 
Business Unit Presidents and 
senior functional leaders.

What They Say

Sample feedback and the actions that tell it better

  • In 17.4% of engagements the senior executive proactively and explicitly praised the content or approach. 
  • Keen to continue; brokered introductions to AI Team, Data Team (Norway), and Cost Reduction lead
    Oil & Gas Company, Executive board member E&P
66% engagements
at C-suite level
91% engagements yield A positive
or Nurture response
98.5% positive engagements have clear follow-up action
Who We Work With

Trusted by organisations whose growth depends on high-value relationships

Periphas works with enterprise software providers, cloud and infrastructure vendors, telecommunications providers, cybersecurity companies, industrial technology firms, engineering and manufacturing solution providers, professional services organisations and specialist consultancies.

Many operate in complex markets where a single strategic relationship can be worth millions in long-term value. They use Periphas when relevance, evidence and executive credibility matter more than outreach volume.

...fundamentally changed the way we engage with our target customers. It has allowed us to position [Global Telecom Provider] as relevant to the C-Suite and directly engage in discussions focused on their business challenges and desired outcomes. The positive response to the programme from out target customers' C-suite and their willingness to engage has exceeded our highest expectations.

Managing Client Partner (Sales Director)
Global Telecom Provider
Our Team

Senior professionals at every level

Keith Williams
Keith Williams Founder CEO
Keith Williams Keith founded Periphas in 2012 and brings more than 25 years of experience in strategy, business development and sales across major IT and financial institutions, including senior roles at companies such as HP Enterprise, Baan and Jacques Vert. He holds a law degree and an MBA from Manchester Business School, and combines commercial leadership with a strong interest in innovation, collaboration and business strategy. Keith is a regular speaker and writer on topics related to innovation and business strategy and a Leader in Residence at Lancaster University Management School.
Alistair Blaxill
Alistair Blaxill Chair
Alistair Blaxill Alistair chairs the Periphas board and brings more than 35 years of leadership experience across technology, B2B services and software markets. A former PLC board director at Communisis, senior executive roles at HP, SAP, NGA Human Resources and several interim CEO assignments including Talk Talk, Alight, Equiniti, including as part of the Bain Capital acquisitions team. He has deep expertise in helping businesses strengthen and refocus sales, marketing and business development performance around solution-led growth.
Peter Luke
Peter Luke Research
Peter Luke Peter leads the research function, overseeing the development of reports, cases for change, calculators and account intelligence briefs. He brings rigorous analytical discipline to the identification of change opportunities and to the creation of content that speaks directly to the strategic priorities of senior executive audiences.
Oana Rusu-Williams
Oana Rusu-Williams Solutions
Oana Rusu-Williams Oana leads the solutions function, driving the development of new commercial offerings and the software tools that support them. With a background in pre-sales and product marketing at SAP, Zyme and e2Open, she is also the architect behind the Periphas contextual account data platform and oversees all CAT assessments.
Georgina Hawes
Georgina Hawes Business Development
Georgina Hawes Georgina leads Periphas outreach activities, creating engagement with senior stakeholders at the highest levels of global organisations. She works across the vendor community to connect growth ambitions with the Periphas model of research-led executive engagement.
Rachel Pullen
Rachel Pullen Operations
Rachel Pullen Rachel has responsibility for programme governance and customer success across the practice. She is a highly experienced customer-facing operations leader with a strong eye for detail and a track record of managing complex engagement programmes with precision and care.
Alison Walker
Alison Walker Operations
Alison Walker Alison is responsible for reporting and analysis as well as social media engagement. She brings substantial programme-management experience, including previous work with major financial institutions, and supports the quality and consistency of delivery across client programmes.
Steve Kremer
Steve Kremer Consulting
Steve Kremer Steve is an associate specialising in international technology research and geopolitics, with extensive experience of the APAC region. He is heavily involved in international engagements and brings particular strength in supporting programmes across the Americas and Asian markets.
Fiona Parks
Fiona Parks Consulting
Fiona Parks Fiona is a highly experienced international consultant who has advised organisations in financial services, private equity and consumer markets, including work with PwC, Intermatrix and Penser. She brings particular skill in developing account empathy and translating that understanding into engagement plans and content that resonate with target executives.
Deryk Williams
Deryk Williams Communications
Deryk Williams Deryk is a former senior executive and Executive Advisor at Periphas who leads outreach as a genuine peer to C-suite counterparts. He brings decades of senior professional experience, combining commercial credibility with the judgement needed to represent researched introductions on their merits.
Olivia Williams
Olivia Williams Communications
Olivia Williams Olivia brings senior executive engagement and partnership-building experience to the Periphas communications team, reaching out to decision-makers with credibility and commercial judgement. Her background spans strategic partnerships, consulting and tailored client introductions across technology, marketing and advertising, helping ensure outreach is both relevant and commercially well aligned.
Adam Najak
Adam Najak Systems
Adam Najak Adam manages the technology and data infrastructure that underpins the Periphas research and reporting functions. He is responsible for ensuring that insights can be captured, structured and delivered with precision, supporting the quality and reliability of account intelligence, reports and broader programme delivery.
Experience

Scale built over more than a decade

  • 3,000+ executive engagements facilitated
  • $2bn+ opportunity pipeline influenced
  • 30+ countries supported
  • 20+ industries served
  • Founded in 2012
Recognition

Transform Awards Europe 2021

Transform Awards 2021 Silver and Bronze

Silver: Best External Stakeholder Relations During a Brand Development Project

Bronze: Best Localisation of an International Brand

Awarded jointly to Verizon Business Group and Periphas for the Purple Dragon programme.

Financial Services Insurance Retail Pharmaceuticals Logistics Food & Beverage Healthcare Telecoms Aerospace & Defence Automotive Energy & Utilities Business Services Consumer Goods Mining Chemicals Oil & Gas Paper & Packaging Semiconductors & Electronic Components Industrial Machinery Government Legal & Professional Services Education
Eagle: the Periphas symbol
The Name

Periphas of Attica

Periphas was a king of Attica, renowned for his justice and wisdom. He was so just that Zeus transformed him into an eagle: granting him the perspective to see the world clearly, without distortion or proximity bias.

It is the quality we bring to every engagement: an objective, elevated view of where opportunity genuinely exists.

Resources

Brochures, research, and perspectives from the Periphas practice.

Unlikely players
Article

Moneyball, Pareto, and the Art of Effective Enterprise Targeting

Enterprise sales teams are often measuring the wrong things, arriving too late, and consuming pursuit resource on opportunities they had little realistic chance of influencing....

Read Article
Article

Why Top Graduates Choose Consulting, But Won't Touch Sales

This article challenges the outdated stigma that still surrounds sales as a graduate career path. It argues that many graduates reject sales because of how the profession is perceived. In an AI enabled economy, the case for modern enterprise sales is even stronger.

View Article
Monkey pouting a kiss
Article

Your Buyers Don't Care That You're Delighted to Announce Anything

Too much B2B marketing is written to impress the company rather than help the buyer make a decision. Product launches become celebrations, technical features are buried in jargon, and customer value is left for someone else to translate.

View Article
Company Overview
Company Brochure📄 PDF 📄 PDF

Periphas: Advocates for Change

An introduction to Periphas: who we work with, how we assess mutual value and why our engagements begin with evidence rather than product promotion.

View Brochure
Our Methodology
Methodology Brochure 📄 PDF

CAT: Culture. Strategy. Capital.

A detailed explanation of the Periphas readiness framework and how we classify whether an organisation should be pursued now, later, deferred or avoided.

View Brochure
CAT Service
Service Brochure: Step 01 📄 PDF

Contextual Account Targeting

How CAT helps identify where change is most likely to create value and where commercial effort should be focused or avoided.

View Brochure
Engagement Service
Service Brochure: Step 02 📄 PDF

Strategic Engagement and Executive Access

How researched briefs and peer-level outreach create more relevant executive conversations.

View Brochure
Content Service
Service Brochure: Step 03 📄 PDF

Value-Based Content and Cases for Change

How independent executive-level content connects organisational priorities to quantified business outcomes.

View Brochure
Coaching Service
Service Brochure: Step 04 📄 PDF

Executive Preparation and Coaching

How briefing and preparation help turn valuable introductions into productive senior conversations.

View Brochure
shark ready to bite
Article

The $2 Billion Question: Is Your Mobile Phone Making You Non-Compliant?

We have recently been commissioned by a client to research the growing use of on-device AI in the US Financial Services and Insurance marketplaces. This article highlights the risks associated with this trend and offers suggestions on what may need to change.

View Article
frogs racing
Article

The "Race to Parity." The fallacy of "where have you done this before?"

Just six small words.... that in over 20 years of working with technology companies have featured on virtually every Invitation to Tender, or Request for Proposal, I've ever submitted: "Where have you done this before?"...

View Article
Received a Periphas introduction
For Senior Executives 📄 PDF

Have you received a Periphas introduction?

Who is Periphas, why a Periphas introduction is not a sales process, and why saying "YES" to the introduction may have legs.

Read the Overview
Periphas methodology
Methodology Note 📄 PDF

Why we reached out to you specifically

How our analysts assess relevance across Culture, Strategy and Capital before recommending any conversation.

Read the Methodology
High-impact engagement
Engagement Standard 📄 PDF

What you can expect from the conversation

What happens before a Periphas-facilitated discussion and how both parties are prepared around relevant topics.

Read the Standard

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