Honest foundation. Lasting transformation.
Let’s be honest – running a business today, especially in the financial services sector, feels like spinning plates while walking a tightrope. Regulations are piling up, systems are ageing, processes are clunky, and somehow the day-to-day firefighting has become the job.
But here’s what we’ve learned: the firefighting isn’t the problem. It’s a symptom. The real problem is that most businesses don’t have a clear, honest picture of how their operating model actually works – where the data flows, where it breaks, where one small change ripples across the entire operation. Without that picture, every transformation effort is built on assumptions.
That’s exactly why we created Elevate Business Transformation – a proud Isle of Man based consultancy that helps businesses like yours get back to what they do best: delivering value to clients, growing sustainably, and staying ahead of the curve.
We Didn’t Just Study Transformation, We Lived it.
We’re Steven Quayle and Ben Wilde, the co-founders of Elevate. Before starting this business, we worked together to architect and build the first fully digital, profitable, and compliant bank on the Isle of Man – and the first new bank on the island in over 35 years.
That wasn’t a theoretical exercise. It meant designing every process, selecting every system, navigating every regulatory requirement, and building a fully functioning operation from a blank sheet of paper. It taught us things you cannot learn from a textbook: how technology decisions affect people, how process design affects culture, how data architecture affects everything, and how leadership alignment is the single biggest factor in whether a transformation succeeds or fails.
It also taught us what good looks like – and how to recognise when an organisation’s operating model is working against it, even when the people inside it have stopped noticing.
“Transformation isn’t about replacing everything. It’s about understanding what’s holding you back and fixing it at the root.”
Steven Quayle Co-Founder
What This Looks Like in Practice.
Since launching Elevate, we’ve worked with regulated financial services businesses across banking, trust, and corporate services. Every engagement is different, but they tend to follow a pattern: we start by building a complete, evidence-based picture of how the business actually operates, then we work alongside leadership to chart a practical path forward.
Here are some examples of the work we’ve delivered:
Full Operating Model Assessment
What began as a quick process review quickly revealed something bigger. We conducted a comprehensive assessment across the entire client lifecycle, mapping their numerous fragmented systems and more than 30 separate data capture methods. We found there was no single core client record – the same information was being captured in multiple places, in different formats, with manual workarounds holding everything together. Our report gave the board a clear picture they hadn’t seen before: how fragmented their architecture had become, where the scalability constraints were, and what the path to a sustainable operating model looked like. We delivered a phased transformation roadmap, from leadership alignment through to full back-book remediation, and recommended a prototype-first approach to validate solutions before committing budget.
Platform Strategy
A business needed to understand whether their ageing bespoke system could carry them forward, or whether it was time to move to a modern platform. Over a focused discovery engagement, we assessed their current estate: fragmented tools, manual workflows, key-person dependencies and a core system that had been extended well beyond its original design. Our recommendation to the board was clear and concise. We identified specific platforms suited to their sector, explained the rationale, and set out a realistic transition plan. The board had the evidence they needed to make a confident decision rather than continuing to defer it.
Ongoing Transformation Advisory
For several clients, discovery has been the starting point of a longer relationship. We’re currently embedded with businesses as hands-on transformation partners – guiding the implementation of new core systems, helping teams redesign their development processes and adopt new ways of working, and supporting leadership through the cultural shift that real transformation demands. This is where the work gets tangible: not just telling a business what to change, but being there as they change it.
How We Work With You
Every engagement starts with our structured discovery. Over a focused period, we work alongside your leadership and teams to build a complete picture of where your business stands today – not where you think it stands, but where it actually is.
This means interviewing stakeholders across every function, mapping your systems, processes and data flows end-to-end, and identifying where the real friction points are – the ones that cause a small regulatory change or a key person’s absence to ripple across your entire operation.
What You Get
At the end of discovery, you receive a comprehensive report – not a slide deck with vague recommendations, but a detailed, evidence-based document that gives your board and leadership team:
A complete current-state assessment – every system, process, and data flow mapped across the client lifecycle, including the manual workarounds and disconnects that have become invisible because they’ve been there so long.
Root-cause findings – not the symptoms your teams are firefighting daily, but the underlying causes: fragmented data, duplicated effort, systems that don’t communicate, and processes that break when anything changes.
A phased transformation roadmap – prioritised recommendations that show what to tackle first, what the dependencies are, and what the realistic journey looks like from where you are now to where you need to be.
We Prototype Before You Commit
When we’re recommending a significant change – a new platform, a redesigned process, a different way of working – we don’t ask you to take it on faith. Where we’re able, we’ll build a working proof of concept with your team so you can see it, test it, and challenge it before committing budget. This reduces risk, builds confidence across the business, and ensures that what gets built is what the business actually needs – not what looked good on paper.
“Innovation isn’t just about new technology – it’s about making sure the business is ready to use it effectively”
Ben Wilde Co-Founder
Let’s Talk
If any of this sounds familiar, the best first step is a conversation. No pitch, no pressure – just a candid discussion about where your business is, what’s getting in the way, and whether we’re the right fit to help.
We’ll talk through what a discovery engagement would look like for your specific situation, and you’ll have a clear picture of the process, timeline, and investment before making any commitment.
📧 Email us at hello@elevate.co.im
🌐 Give us a call on +44 (0)7624 419065 or 415555
Or alternatively, click on the link below.
Who We Are
Steven Quayle
Co-Founder – Chartered Accountant, Finance, Operations Director & MLRO
With 20 years of experience spanning finance, regulation and operations, Steven has built a career on transforming complex challenges into real-world solutions. Starting as a Chartered Accountant and lead auditor for banking clients, he developed a deep understanding of financial reporting, risk management and compliance – the essential building blocks for any successful regulated business.
As Banking Director, Steven led the creation of the Isle of Man’s first fully digital corporate bank in over 35 years – an experience that reshaped his perspective on the power of getting the foundations right. That meant not just the technology, but the operating model, the data governance, the regulatory framework, and the leadership alignment needed to make it all work.
At Elevate, Steven brings a unique blend of financial acumen, operational expertise and regulatory insight. He sees things that others miss – particularly the hidden costs and risks buried in operating models that have grown organically over many years.
Ben Wilde
Co-Founder – Head of Innovation, Digital Architect, Product Owner & Business Analyst
With over 20 years’ experience in the digital space, primarily within banking, Ben has dedicated his career to driving meaningful transformation. His expertise spans developing new digital banking products, managing complex change initiatives, overseeing software development and optimising infrastructure.
What sets Ben apart is his commitment to honesty and clarity – especially when engaging with executive teams. He delivers the unvarnished truth, even when it’s not what people want to hear, because he’s learned that sustainable solutions can only be built on an honest assessment of where you stand today.
From launching an innovative digital corporate bank to modernising critical infrastructure systems, Ben has led large-scale initiatives that balance cutting-edge technology with practical, real-world application. At Elevate, he brings a forensic eye for how systems, processes and data connect across an organisation – and where those connections break down.
Elevate Business Transformation 