There's still another level of impact waiting for you
Introducing Rivendell - a transformational programme for elite CEOs who are committed to exponential positive impact on their business and on the world.
Being a mission-driven impactful CEO is one thing.
Being surrounded by them is another.
Rivendell is a transformational coaching experience, a strategic incubator, and an extraordinary community of world-class entrepreneurs and CEOs.
Members lead businesses ranging from high-growth start-ups to billion-dollar multinationals; their common commitment is to create an order-of-magnitude increase in their positive impact – within their business and upon the world... and to become 'forces for good' at unprecedented scale.
You're juggling executive responsibilities; the pressures, the complexities. Everyone around you is incredibly impressed, but you know that there's so much more you could accomplish. And inside, you wonder who else can really understand the anxieties, frustrations and fears that have secretly driven you your entire life.
At Rivendell, we'll help you achieve the impossible and create the legacy of impact that you were born for.
Innovative ideas and exponential strategic thinking
If you don't push your thinking hard, you're going to stay with incremental progress, solving the same kinds of problems with the same kinds of solutions.
Whilst Rivendell can help you with day-to-day problem solving, what's really distinctive is the focus on breakthrough goals, and finding the innovations that will catapult you out of the incremental and into exponential progress. Indeed, the whole experience is professionally curated by Richard Medcalf to continually bring the focus back to your most important opportunities.
We'll challenge your thinking and help you think more expansively about the true impact you want to make, address the current headaches and barriers, and strategise and innovate your way to a new level of achievement.
And just one of your new relationships could open up a multi-million opportunity.
Intimate support from an inspiring group of extremely high calibre peers
You might already have mentors, advisors and CEO friends... but sharing business tactics and experiences can only take you so far.
Unlike most CEO groups, at Rivendell we go very deep, very fast. You’ll be part of an elite cohort of up to 10 extraordinary CEOs. You'll build friendships for life, and you'll find high-achieving peers with whom you can relate on a deep and even vulnerable level, to find the support you truly crave.
This safe, trusted environment allows you to explore your 'edges'; where you feel messy and where your biggest opportunities actually lie.
Deep personal transformation as leader
Many CEO groups end up just addressing tactical or strategic business issues. We’ll help with those, but the deeper question is: what’s your stretch to lead at a whole new level?
Who we are BEING shapes what we are DOING, which creates the results that we are HAVING. So doing the deep work on yourself is actually the biggest lever you have to transform your business, your results and your overall impact in the world.
Each session features deep coaching from Richard Medcalf, so you'll not just address the intellectual challenges of leadership, but will actually become the person capable of 10X-100X greater impact in the world.
1% of your time, 50% of your results
The biggest barrier to success facing most CEOs is not making the best use of their time.
The Rivendell programme is built to BE that 1% of your time that generates the breakthroughs, the innovations, and the big shifts for you.
After all, all the ingredients are there:
We deliver that "1% experience" through two parts of the Rivendell programme:
In-person Intensives
Every six months you get to attend a transformative two-day CEO retreat in a beautiful, inspiring location.
You'll forge lifelong relationships with extraordinary leaders, expand your ambition, push your thinking, spot what you might be missing, and work together on your most strategic opportunities or top challenges.
Community Coaching sessions
Every month you get to join our community coaching call, which is another chance to up-level your thinking and get focused input on your most pressing business & leadership issues.
Each call lasts 2 hours and has a theme; there may be a speaker, some exercises to provoke your thinking, or some challenges to get you experimenting and learning live on the call. And yes, we'll bring in hot seat coaching and peer-group problem solving.
Between sessions, we'll stay connected through our private curated online group.
Rivendell is a transformative experience
Everyone in the group is extremely successful and at the top of their game. I could write a whole essay about my learning from those few hours that we had last week!
RIVENDELL PARTICIPANT
Safe environment for "eureka" moments
If you've got a spark of curiosity, and you want to learn, and you're open minded enough to put yourself in an environment where you're exposed to those new opportunities, then Rivendell is ideal for you. It's a very safe environment to experience those "eureka" moments. I've enjoyed engaging with other business leaders, learning from them and helping them develop... and being coached by Richard throughout. And I've found some significant business development opportunities in speaking with other members!
Bob B.
A life-changing opportunity
Initially I wondered how I could contribute to such an advanced group. However, it's been a transformative experience that far exceeded my expectations... an extraordinary opportunity to engage with leaders who are not only at the pinnacle of their respective fields but also share a deep commitment to making a positive global impact. The diversity fosters a unique environment for sharing ideas and the beautiful retreat location was the perfect backdrop for reflection and breakthrough thinking. It's been pivotal in reshaping my approach to leadership and has profoundly influenced my thoughts on amplifying my impact in both my professional and personal life. I would recommend Rivendell to any leader who is eager to explore new ways of thinking and leading. It’s a life-changing opportunity to connect, grow, and reset the bar.
Abe Klassen
On another level
Rivendell is on another level compared with my local YPO group!
Rivendell Participant
Sharpened my thinking
Rivendell has really helped me sharpen what I think is our distinctive value proposition. It's energised me to think about the coming months as we're looking at our growth plans. It's rare to get to speak in an in a way that's off the record, professional, but also very collaborative with executives who've led a variety of businesses, and to be able to work through challenges that are not easy to voice in other contexts.
Talal D.
Produces exponential impact
Rivendell has helped me in two big ways. I’m able to get qualified input from experienced people on my toughest business challenges. And it's has pushed me to get a much clearer picture on my strategy and my goals. I've had so many practical insights about my business, to solve specific problems that I can't discuss with with many people. And I've got a much clearer picture on my strategy and my goals. I would recommend Rivendell to senior leaders who want to make 10X impact instead of incremental impact.
David Engel
Incredible calibre of people
Rivendell is a really fulfilling experience. I've done quite a few different professional development events, but the thing that really stood out to me here is the intermingling of personal and professional development. I have a notebook full of new ideas! The calibre of the other participants has been humbling and it feels like a privilege to really be among such an esteemed group of people and peers.
Kelly Manthey
Another league
The recent Rivendell retreat has been the most exciting two days of my life: I've gained so much self insight, as well as insight from others who've gone through similar things to me. Thanks to the coaching from Richard, it has been a tremendously, tremendously positive and exciting experience. What I've experienced [in Rivendell] is another league compared with programmes I've experienced before.
Mikael Sandberg
A real depth
I have found the Rivendell experience to be incredibly valuable to help me reflect on who I am as a leader and how I can improve the use of my skills and capabilities, and it's given me the opportunity to interface with other CEOs. We've had a fabulous time sharing experiences with each other, and I'm learning a tremendous amount, not only from Richard but also through the individuals in the Rivendell program. There’s a level of depth that frankly I haven't gotten in any other program that I've been involved in.
Scott Puopolo
Space to think and to grow
Rivendell is an environment where everyone is ready to go deep from the outset. It’s inspiring to spend time with ambitious peers who want to get better and learn as much as they can about themselves and others. Rivendell has given me space to think, be challenged, and process all of this. I’d recommend the experience to leaders who are feeling stuck or lonely and want to grow.
Steve Rowbotham
An unbelievable gathering
An unbelievable gathering of peers (founders and CEOs). Thanks to the guidance, the methodology and Richard's creativity, we went deep and addressed our common challenges. I strongly recommend Rivendell to any CEO who wants to become a better leader for their team and their family.
Armand A.
Recent “Rivendell wins”
We recently asked Rivendell members about what the group means to them. Here was their spontaneous feedback:
The community is curated by Richard Medcalf

Richard Medcalf
Founder
Richard Medcalf describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and Freddie Mercury into a blender!"
Richard is the founder of Xquadrant and a trusted advisor to some of the most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs on the planet.
Richard has advised the C-Suite for 25 years. After a Masters Degree at Oxford University, where he came top in his year, he joined a premier strategy consultancy and became the youngest-ever Partner. He spent 11 years at tech giant Cisco, selected for an elite team set up by the CEO to pioneer business model innovations with Fortune 100 partners.
Richard founded Xquadrant to help the world’s top CEOs and entrepreneurs become world-changing forces for good, creating a legacy of exponential impact.
His 1:1 clients include CEOs of billion dollar companies, a founder nominated by EY as Entrepreneur of the Year, an Olympic medallist, and founders of tech 'unicorns'. Richard also runs the high-end CEO coaching programme, Rivendell and is the author of Making Time For Strategy.
Richard is bi-national English/French, lives near Paris, and is happily married and the proud father of two. He's a licensed lay minister in the Anglican Church, and has an insatiable love for spicy food and the electric guitar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rivendell is the place for you if...
Rivendell is NOT the place for you if...
Quite probably - they're actually very different experiences.
We have several members who are part of other CEO programmes with local chapters. They get value from those forums, and they find Rivendell complementary:
Part of the magic of Rivendell is the calibre of members. We carefully filter every applicant to create an extraordinary community of people who are successful but not complacent. Everyone is pursuing a deeply significant “10X” mission - or wants to be. Whilst we do not publicly publish an up-to-date membership list, current and former members include:
This is a global group, and the international composition is important to us, as it brings diversity of perspective and unlocks new networks and opportunities. Right now, calls are convenient for Europe and the Americas - and inconvenient for the Far East and Australasia. However, we may run a second cohort to accommodate those time zones, so do reach out if you are inspired by the mission and values of the group.
Membership dues are 25,000€ per year if paid upfront, or 12 monthly payments of 2500€.
The time investment is two days every 6 months for the retreats, and 2 hours each month for the calls.
The intent for this community is that every leader should generate at least a 10X return on their investment of time and money - hopefully 100X - from the content, insights and relationships.
Interested? Let’s discuss
Membership is by application only so that we maintain the "A+" calibre of participants.
There are under 4 places currently available for the next cohort. We want to make sure every single leader in the group is a great fit, because the programme is designed to be uncomfortable and challenging and to push you to your highest level.
In a nutshell, we seek world-class CEOs who ‘want’ this community but don’t ‘need’ it.
You should be a little intimidated by us. And we should be a little intimidated by you!
If you’re looking for something entirely ‘cookie cutter’, this isn’t for you. There are many other CEO groups you could join instead.
However, if you’re ready to co-create something special, then let’s find 20 minutes to talk.