Kent Dreadon

About Kent

Kent is a former FTSE General Counsel and COO who has spent his career helping businesses navigate complex, high-pressure and fast-moving situations.

His experience spans technology, media, telecoms and information services businesses.  He has worked across major transactions, integrations, IPOs and complex JVs, as well as transformation programmes, operational change and the unglamorous but essential work of getting corporate governance right.  He has also led organisations through high-stakes litigation, investigations and crisis situations.  

Kent spent more than seven years at Ascential plc, where he served initially as Group General Counsel & Director of Corporate Affairs and then as Chief Operating Officer. He was part of the executive team that ultimately sold the business to Informa plc via a public takeover, subsequently staying on to help shape the integration and creation of a new Informa Festivals division.  Before Ascential, Kent held a number of senior leadership roles at O2 over a period of more than a decade.  He began his career as a commercial disputes lawyer in international law firms.

Boards and leadership teams turn to Kent to help them manage difficult situations calmly and pragmatically, combining his strategic judgement with considerable hands-on operational experience, including within complex regulated environments. He is also a generous mentor with a strong track record of building highly engaged, effective, cross-functional international teams.

Away from work, Kent is an investor in health, fitness and wellbeing businesses.  He is also a keen cyclist, loves his music and is the proud father of two teenagers.  When life allows, he enjoys nothing more than a trip back home to the beaches and vineyards of New Zealand.