Laina Brown

MSc, CPsychol, AFBPsS

Laina is a Director of Tariscent and a Chartered Occupational Psychologist with more than 20 years’ experience advising organisations on leadership, culture, organisational effectiveness, and transformational change across both private and public sectors.

Combining deep expertise in organisational psychology with significant commercial and operational experience, Laina has partnered with executive teams and Boards to shape leadership strategies, strengthen organisational capability, and create cultures that support sustainable business performance.

Laina began her career in financial services, working with American Express Private Bank in New York before holding positions within several leading investment banks in London. This early exposure to complex, high-performance environments provided a strong commercial foundation that continues to inform her approach to leadership and organisational development. Following her transition into organisational psychology, Laina worked with both boutique and global consulting firms specialising in leadership assessment, executive development, talent strategy, and organisational transformation. She has advised organisations across a broad range of sectors, helping senior leaders navigate strategic challenges, lead change, and build leadership capability at organisational, team, and individual levels.

Prior to joining Tariscent, Laina served as Head of Culture, Leadership and Organisation Development at the UK Ministry of Defence, where she led a multidisciplinary team spanning HR, organisational development, strategy, and corporate communications. In this role, she was responsible for shaping culture and leadership initiatives across one of the UK’s largest and most complex organisations, supporting enterprise-wide transformation and capability development.

For more than 15 years, Laina has worked extensively with Executive Committees and Boards, providing trusted counsel on leadership effectiveness, organisational culture, succession planning, executive assessment, and change leadership. She is particularly recognised for helping senior leaders understand their role in delivering strategic change and creating the conditions for sustainable organisational success.

An experienced executive coach and leadership adviser, Laina has assessed and coached hundreds of senior leaders, helping them enhance their impact, navigate complexity, and develop the capabilities needed to lead in increasingly dynamic environments. Her international consulting experience spans financial services, healthcare and life sciences, professional services, retail, engineering, utilities, and the public sector.

Laina holds a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Occupational Psychology. She is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Selected clients include: AXA, Baxter Healthcare, Dell, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Ministry of Defence, Novartis, Rolls Royce, Schroders, T-Mobile, Virgin