“When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.”. John F. Kennedy
John’s most recent blog articles
What others are saying about John
I have always found John to be a person of passion and inspiration in the area of maximising potential. He is friendly, a strong communicator yet has a steely determination for achieving what is right for the development of others.Joel Blake, Entrepreneur, Corporate Governance Practitioner
www.linkedin.com/in/joelgrahamblake
John has a great grasp of the current challenges in education and articulates these well and persuasively...Dominic Fry, Director of Communications at Marks & Spencer
www.marksandspencer.com
John is an outstanding personality, full of energy, enthusiasm and wit, who sets extremely high standards and always delivers on his promises. His passion for lifelong learning and long experience of working with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds make him a skilled and sensitive coach and manager. John is a natural and visionary leader who inspires others and helps them achieve their full potential.Jacqueline Collier Jespersen, Branding and Market Research Professional
John is an exceptional person. I never stop being surprised with his energy, vitality and determination with which he carries his massive responsibility. I am honoured to be associated with the Award Program and it gives me a great satisfaction to be able to work with John as its leader.Jiri Zrust, Managing Director at Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (Europe)
Successful not-for-profit organizations run themselves in a businesslike way, planning strategically, and making themselves properly accountable for their actions and impact. John May is just the sort of person a good not-for-profit needs. I have worked with him for the last five years and greatly value his passion for helping young people succeed, his strategic and management skills and his ability to get disparate groups of people to work in partnership. John May makes things happen.Sir Winfried Bischoff, Chairman, Lloyds Banking Group
Having worked with John on various charitable causes I cannot speak highly enough of the work he does...Steve Garnett, Chairman, EMEA, Salesforce.com
www.salesforce.com
John has a fantastic sense of humour and was such a great person to work for! He is a great leader, communicator and networker and I learned a lot from him. His passion, enthusiasm and commitment to his work with young people is really inspiring and first rate. He is incredibly generous both with his experience and knowledge and always has time for people.Nicola Berry, Diana Awards
www.diana-award.org.uk/
John is adept with people--able to understand issues quickly and apply his highly positive attitude towards solving them. His leadership style is collaborative and open but he is also very clear about what needs to happen and why. A creative and entrepreneurial person, he brings new and refreshing ideas to the table...Caroline Jenner, Junior Achievement
www.ja.org
John is a great person to work with. He is inspiring, knows non-profit management and campaigning. John communicates well with all different kinds of people. He is a true connector and makes people smile a lot! He knows the difference between being serious and acting seriously!Cees Pille, Stafmedewerker at Vereniging van Verf- en Drukinktfabrikanten
www.vvvf.nl/
John has been great at developing cross sectoral relationships between business, public and voluntary sectors. This understanding of balancing the needs and aspirations of all partners is one of the reason he has been so successful in developing campaigns and organisations.Emma Price-Thomas, Business in the Community
www.bitc.org.uk
John is great to work with. His sense of humour and engaging personality should not mask the fact that he is fundamantally a high achiever who has the confidence to tackle big challenges...Geoff Lane, CSR Consultant
John is quite simply an inspiration. He has been responsible for improving the life chances of a vast number of young people who might otherwise have missed out on the chance to build a career for themselves. He is affable, committed and always positive and enthused about his role which makes working with him a very rewarding partnership.Alan Thornburrow, CEO, Scottish Investment Operations
www.sio.org.uk/
John is committed to making a difference for young people and he lives this as well as talks this. Moreover, my experience is that an organisation he runs will be highly professional, hard-working, and demand the same quality from their customers and partners as they will provide themselves. I moved into teaching to provide opportunities for pupils they wouldn't have had otherwise. Because of John, it has not been a wasted move...Paul Goldsmith, Head of Year 10, Economics & Politics teacher at Latymer Upper School
www.latymer-upper.org/
I have worked with John over a number of years on a variety of projects that require tact, diplomacy, cooperative working and just good old fashioned passion. John is engaging, positive and has a great desire to get things done. He has the ability to challenge the status quo in a positive and constructive manner. John is sensitive to differing cultures and customs and values those who offer left field solutions to established challenges.
Simon Carter, The Scout Association
www.scouts.org.uk
John is an adept strategic thinker, leader and people manager. His engaging and conscientious work ethic is exemplary.Alf Desire, Business Development Manager at Harrow College
www.harrow.ac.uk/
John is an inspiring colleague and leader. In 1995, Scouting and Guiding together took more young people to an overseas event than ever before (World Scout Jamboree). Working with him for 2 years in the run-up was an exceptional experience for me - although Guiding sent fewer girls, I felt equally valued and included in all the planning. Balancing the needs of the young people and leaders was achieved with great finesse and the event was a huge success for all the UK particpants.Helen Welsh, Girlguiding UK
www.girlguiding.org.uk
John is an exceptional and inspiring leader and a major authority on youth education and development in this country and around the world. In addition to his track record of transformational leadership in a number of significant organisations, John is well known and respected as a public speaker. He has remarkable foresight and imagination, is never afraid to tackle difficult questions, and can bring the sometimes remote concept of strategy to life. This is perhaps because he connects ideas with people and people with ideas incredibly effectively.
His considerable talents are both impressive and inspiring: he is a man with a mission and a message who not only delivers them with gusto but weaves them into his everyday life; a teacher in the truest sense.
His is the sort of infectious and practical wisdom, integrity and creativity that organisations need in abundance in today’s world. The great thing is that John and the organisations he leads are on the frontline of helping generations to come to be the best they can be. It strikes me as not bad mission to have.
I count myself personally amongst the thousands of young people he has helped.
Dan Wood, Lead Manager Corporate Governance at Skills for Health
www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/
Having been one of John's pupils some 25 years ago in primary school, I can say that to this day he has left a memorable impression that will be with me for ever. He is truly a fantastic role model for the next generation.Daniel Hicks, UK
www.security-systems-uk.com
John May wears his obvious enthusiasm for Youth Development and Organisational Vision on his sleeve when he presents. Listening to John speak at The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Americas Regional AGM in The Bahamas not only brought clarity to how The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Association was going to meet its Vision and Mission, but made the entire room excited to be a part of if all!Beware if you have the opportunity to hear him present - his enthusiasm and energy are infectious and his quick humour will have you rolling in the aisles - or in our case, the isles!
Tina Nash, Bermuda
www.theaward.bm
During the time in which I have worked with John I have found that, not only is he a hard working and enthusiastic individual, he is also someone who is easy to work with. He is quick to understand the issues involved and then to help formulate responses, sometimes with little or no notice. Although possessing a great sense of humour he does not shy away from being serious and to the point when the occasion demands. He appears to be a great team leader as well as being a team playerMichael Pizzarello, Technical Services Department, Government of Gibraltar
I first taught John a very long time ago, which of course therefore makes him very old. He was an argumentative young man, and still is. Focused, driven, able, principled - just we want in an organisation like the DofE.While John is clearly doing a fine job outside teahcing, it is a pity he is lost to my profession.
Mark Eagers, Dorking
John is a fabulous speaker who is able to adapt to meet the needs of the group with whom he is working. I have heard John speak in many situations and he never fails to impress and inspire both adults and young people. John is passionate about what he believes in, and as one of the young people whom he has supported I am forever grateful for his time in helping me learn new skills and develop personally.Fi Durrant , Hampshire
John is a great organizer, who keeps focus; yet is open to new inputs and ideas. He is sensitive to different cultures and keeps everyone happy while the ball is rolling...Lars Kolind, Chairman, Jacob Jensen Holding