About
Steve McCauley is a London-based leadership coach, strategic advisor, journalist and author whose career spans business, media, government and international development. He works with senior leaders including national presidents, ministers and CEOs, helping them to develop creative thinking, effective strategy and resilient leadership in complex environments. His approach combines executive practice with creative and political insight, shaped by decades of experience across broadcasting, music, digital technology, media reform and public policy, and grounded in a strong interest in values and ethics in public life and business.
Steve is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Resilience and Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge, where he leads the Creative Ideas Studio. There he works with leaders of nations, multilateral organisations and global companies to improve governance and policy through creativity, systems design and simulation. He is also a certified executive coach through the University of Strathclyde, and his work frequently addresses leadership, executive decision-making, resilience, sustainable development and the challenges of governance in fast-changing political and technological landscapes.
His early career was rooted in music and broadcasting before moving into international digital media, where he held senior roles in Seattle and Los Angeles, including serving as International President of DMX, a NASDAQ-listed digital music network that anticipated today’s streaming platforms. Returning to London, he co-founded the development of Leavesden Film Studios, now home to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, and later became a strategic advisor to the BBC at board level. His work there included pioneering the BBC’s first partnership with iTunes, securing BBC Radio distribution on XM Sirius in the United States, and developing record partnerships that led to Radio 1’s Live Lounge series. He continues to write and speak on the future of the BBC, public service broadcasting, media freedom and media policy.
Since the mid-1990s Steve has advised multinational companies, governments, regulators and multilateral bodies across a wide range of sectors. His work on media reform in Rwanda contributed to the development of new national media laws, while his later involvement in Sierra Leone supported legal reform to decriminalise libel and protect journalists. Following the fall of Kabul in 2021, he worked with Afghan women leaders in the UK. His advisory portfolio has included the BBC, Chanel, L’Oréal, Universal Music Group, NatWest, HM Government, The Commonwealth, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Audible and the Arts Council, and spans issues of freedom of speech, international affairs, UK politics including Brexit and UK–EU relations, the UK–US relationship, entrepreneurship, growth and wealth creation, and the impact of digital transformation and technology on society.
Steve is also Strategy & Creative Intelligence Correspondent for The European, where he writes on leadership, governance, talent, innovation and European growth themes, drawing on his experience across media, policy and executive advisory work.
Alongside this, he maintains a parallel creative life as a songwriter, musician and producer. He is the author of London Lockdown: Postcards from a Pandemic (2026), a political, social and photographic record of the COVID-19 emergency. His writing, speaking and coaching are driven by a commitment to ethical leadership, media freedom, creative thinking and helping individuals and organisations to think differently in challenging times.
Additional Information
Personal website: www.stevemccauley.com
Socials: X @McCauleyLondon | Instagram @stevemccauley
