Case Studies
Senior Leader Evaluation at GoCardless
Client Profile
GoCardless is a leading global payments platform, headquartered in London, specialising in recurring and account-to-account payments. With rapid international expansion and a dynamic tech-driven culture, GoCardless places high importance on effective leadership to drive innovation, collaboration, and sustainable growth. As the business has scaled, the executive team has focused on ensuring that senior leaders are fully aligned with the company’s strategic direction and values.
Challenge
The CEO of GoCardless had concerns about the effectiveness and leadership impact of a senior executive within the organisation. While technically strong, there were signals of misalignment, cultural friction, and concerns about the individual’s ability to lead their function in line with company values. To support a fair and thorough assessment, GoCardless engaged Rostrup to conduct an independent evaluation of the senior executive’s leadership effectiveness and team impact. The goal was to provide the CEO with objective insights and clear recommendations on next steps.
Solution
Rostrup led a focused consulting assignment involving a structured evaluation process:
- One-to-one interviews were conducted with a range of colleagues, including direct reports, peers, and senior stakeholders.
- The senior executive was also interviewed to gather self-perception, intentions, and leadership context.
- Themes explored included leadership style, communication, strategic contribution, collaboration, and cultural alignment.
All data was synthesised into a detailed report for the CEO, providing an analysis of strengths and development areas, alongside a set of evidence-based recommendations.
Outcome
The findings confirmed a significant misalignment between the senior executive’s leadership approach and the expectations of GoCardless’s culture and strategy. Despite technical strengths, the lack of collaborative impact and behavioural misfit posed long-term risks to team performance and leadership cohesion.
As a result of the review, the decision was made not to retain the executive. The process gave the CEO clarity and confidence in taking a difficult but necessary decision, and reinforced the company’s commitment to strong, values-led leadership.
