What do we do? 

Improve the effectiveness of your organisation...

Deliver better performance from your team... 

Create greater value from key players...

We work with you to deliver real value in terms of measurable performance improvements, increased profitability and efficiency. We are a specialist management and training consultancy  focused on delivering performance through people.  We are catalysts for change and have a long track record of delivering real results for our clients across the globe.  We deliver performance improvement through a range of services. These include organisation change,  leadership and managment development, building high performance teams and executive coaching.

We will work with you to create pragmatic solutions that work for you and your organisation.    We focus on helping you become more efficient and effective.  We do not do things to you or deliver off the shelf packages that don't work. Our approach is to help you change mindsets, engage your peoples’ passion and help you realise your potential.

Headquartered in the UK, we have a global presence and the capability to deliver our products and services worldwide.


Performance First Values

What are our values?

Performance First was formed in 1999 by a group of talented individuals with a common vision and values. These values are simple and fundamental to everything we do.   We love helping others succeed. We love what we do and know we make a huge difference to peoples lives!   We bring passion and energy to all we do. See the difference we make to the motivation of your people.  We operate with integrity and on the basis of trust. We have the courage to confront difficult situations and to do what is right. We take responsibility for our actions and deliver what we promise on time in full.   Pragmatism and teamwork are at the heart of our approach.  We work alongside you to deliver solutions that add real value to your bottom line. In carrying out any assignment we always attempt to grow your internal capabilities and build on what is working well.  

Our aim is to leave you more successful, stronger and more capable than before.

Who are we?

We are a small team of  full time and associate HR &OD specialists who have worked together over many years to deliver great results to our clients.  We build the team around your specific need. We believe that some of the best people in our field our independent preferring the variety that associate work brings.  We also find that being aindustry with huge fluctuation in demand we can minimise our overheads and provide you the best team for the job.  We are therefore an organisation more akin to a single cell organism able to expand and contract rapidly to meet demand and remain flexible and focused.   With over 50 associates in our network we have operated in over 20 countries providing solutions to global companies, Formula 1 and World Rally teams, large and small businesses as well as public and charity sector clients.


Managing Director and co founder Gordon Mackenzie is a Change Agent, Consultant in OD, Training and Leadership DevGordon Mackenzieelopment as well as a highly regarded Executive Coach, Speaker and Author.   He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, has an MBA from Warwick University and is a professionally qualified TMSDI master trainer, EFQM Assessor and accredited coach. He has a wealth of hands-on experience at both operational and strategic levels in a wide range of different industries and in the public sector and bringing a unique combination of expertise and experience to bear.

 Most recently, Gordon has led an organisation redesign for a Middle East Banking Group working Mckinsey's and Towers Watson. He personally designed and delivered a training and talent review across the bank; designed and delivered a performance management (PM) framework and change workshops to all staff. In addition he delivered management development framework to a Group of 3 banks in GCC and coached the top executives in the Group. Other recent private sector clients include: Thomson Reuters, British Airways, Deutsche Bank, BUPA, Axa, L&G, Google, EDF Energy and Virgin. He has worked in over 20 different countries and regularly works across cultures and disciplines.  

Starting his career with a commission in the Royal Marines Commandos, Gordon held senior positions in training, recruitment and selection and served operationally as Staff Intelligence Officer to the Naval Commander in Desert Storm . After this Gordon left to set up and lead a highly successful Training and Development enterprise for the NHS before joining Hay Management Consultants. In Hay Gordon helped set up the Organisation Change Practice. He worked on major change initiatives with many clients including Central and Local Government, Bank of Ireland, Lloyds TSB, Volvo and House of Fraser.

Gordon was recruited as a Change manager for a financial services organization before becoming European Head of Learning for ICI where he was focused on merging two diverse company cultures (ICI and Unilever) following the merger of the speciality chemical businesses. into what became the largest and most profitable division of Akzo Nobel.

Gordon is a dynamic and enthusiastic facilitator as equally able to work with executive teams and challenge their thinking on strategy and organizational design, as he is working with individuals and groups on a range of more sensitive and personal issues.