The Partnership

As a partnership some of the questions we are exploring together are:

  • What does a business model grounded primarily in social value look like?
  • What does a feminised business look like?
  • What does it take to scale a nonhierarchical business?
  • How will consulting look in the next 100 years?


Maria Borisova

I bring together motivated and effective teams that deliver successful projects, and partnerships that deliver successful results. I’m particularly interested in the influence of gender on how people experience the world: I believe integrity is at the heart of leadership.

I grew up in the USSR and then Russia, before living and working around the world. I have always worked in diverse multi-national teams, supporting and leading teams operating across many different contexts – including the US, Turkey, Ethiopia, Serbia, Slovakia, Montenegro, India, Russia, Zimbabwe, Moldova and the UK.

I live with my family between New York City and Southampton, UK.

Maria is a Senior Partner at ImpactReady, a professional partnership with a global footprint that supports organisations to maximise their social value. She specialises in supporting teams to deliver results through projects and partnerships that align with their vision for impact. Maria’s approach is born of first-hand experience and practice of building teams, opening markets, strengthening strategic relationships, and negotiating successful outcomes. Drawing on her international practice across the public and private sectors in a diverse range of contexts, a hallmark of Maria’s work is to cut through complexity and drive effective action.

With Maria’s help, teams accelerate the achievement of results. Maria has contributed to a wide-ranging set of organisations, including: UNFPA, UN Women, World Food Programme, Advocates for International Development, the Fund for Gender Equality, the Institute of Reproductive Health at Georgetown University; and media companies ranging from Boat International Media to partnerships with the Economist, Le Monde, USA Today, Forbes, and the Telegraph.

Qualifications

  • MA (Distinction) Global Society and Media Communication (majoring in Gender), Staffordshire University UK
  • BA State and Municipal Management, International University, Moscow


Tim Hartley

I see the world through the lens of systems and human dynamics. I’m particularly fascinated by the emotional impact our organisations create: I believe curiosity is at the heart of leadership.

I grew up in Belgium as a Brit overseas, which meant being educated in the European School system. From the age of five I thought it was normal to be surrounded by people from different cultures, all speaking different languages; it turns out I haven’t changed much more than thirty years later.

I live in Edinburgh, Scotland. Recently married, currently nesting like there is no tomorrow.

Tim is a Senior Partner at ImpactReady, a professional partnership with a global footprint that supports organisations to maximise their social value. He specialises in supporting leaders to grapple with complexity as they begin to align their organisations’ systems and culture with their ultimate vision for impact. Tim’s inclusive approach, facilitative working style and cross-sector experience bring a unique perspective to his work. Drawing on a wide range of design tools, leadership techniques, and evolutionary theory, a hallmark of Tim’s work is to enable organisational introspection. This helps to forge stronger alignment between the human qualities of teams (our beliefs, our passions and our values) and corporate activities, practices, programmes and projects.

With Tim’s help, organisations become living examples of the values they promote. In the past decade, Tim has contributed to a wide-ranging set of constituents, including: the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at University of Oxford Said Business School; the global B Corporation movement (a certification for meeting high standards of social purpose in business); civil society in the UK, South Africa, India and the USA; the UN system; and an ever-growing network of social entrepreneurs and enterprises.

Memberships and qualifications

  • Partner of the ImpactReady Partnership
  • Advocate for the B Corporation movement
  • Founding member of the Metta Network for conscious business leaders
  • Member of the Organization Unbound global learning group
  • BSc (Hons) Cellular & Molecular Pathology and Immunology (University of Bristol)