Agency Three: Leadership Assessment, Executive Coaching and Strategic Career Advisory for C‑suite technology executives
Agency Three: The problem we are solving
Strategic intelligence for career-defining moments
Most senior technology executives reach career inflection points without access to the strategic intelligence that determines outcomes.
At this level, progression (whether advancing internally or moving across organisations) is shaped by leadership impact, strategic influence, credibility with peers, and the ability to navigate complex organisational dynamics. The question isn't just capability; it's whether you're demonstrating the judgement, presence, and positioning that decision-makers recognise as ready for the next level.
Most executives make these career-defining moments based on incomplete information, without someone who's been in the room when advancement and hiring decisions actually get made.
I've spent 25 years in those rooms: placing 500+ senior technology executives, advising boards and CEOs on advancement and hiring decisions, interviewing 7,000+ technology leaders. That pattern recognition from both sides of the table is what I bring to two distinct areas of work:
Experience
Three Distinct Areas of Work
Leadership Assessment
Assessing senior technology leaders requires a distinct approach that recognises the unique and multifaceted nature of their role within an organisation. These leaders operate at the intersection of technology and business strategy, navigating complex dynamics that go beyond technical expertise. To effectively evaluate their impact, it's essential to adopt an assessment framework that captures a blend of technical, strategic, and leadership competencies whilst considering their influence on business outcomes, vision, and organisational culture.
Executive Coaching
Strengthening the leadership capabilities and strategic positioning required to operate at the next level. How do you demonstrate executive judgement that transcends functional expertise? How do you build credibility and influence with CEO, board, and C-suite peers? How do you navigate organisational dynamics deliberately rather than reactively? How do you lead strategic conversations rather than give operational updates? This isn't traditional leadership development: it's developing the capabilities that actually determine progression at senior levels whilst positioning yourself strategically within the decisions that shape your trajectory.
Career Advisory
Navigating strategic moves across organisations with insider intelligence most executives never access. How you're actually positioned in the market, what decision-makers are really assessing, how to evaluate opportunities with proper due diligence, how executive search processes actually work, and how to negotiate from leverage. This isn't CV writing or interview prep: it's applying 25 years of executive search intelligence to your transition.
Our work focuses on helping leaders strengthen the capabilities that drive progression and make deliberate, confident choices about what comes next, whether that's advancing where you are or moving strategically across organisations.
Bryan MacDonald
Founder & Principal, Agency Three
The Mission
I am launching Agency Three because senior technology leaders are navigating the highest-stakes career decisions without a strategic counterpart. Search firms represent the company. Coaches focus on performance. What's missing is someone who sits on the executive's side of the table — helping them shape their narrative, navigate pivotal transitions, and secure roles where the mandate and environment allow their leadership to scale.
Agency Three exists to give senior leaders leverage. We help you clarify your narrative, position yourself with intent, and move into roles where the mandate and environment allow your leadership to scale.
Professional Overview
Bryan has over 25 years' experience in executive search and digital leadership advisory. In that time, he has conducted more than 7,000 interviews with CIOs and senior IT leaders and has led 500+ global C‑suite mandates with a near 100% success rate.
He founded Agency Three to level the field to give senior technology executives the same strategic advantage companies have when they hire boards, advisors, and consultants. Agency Three provides confidential, one‑to‑one strategic counsel for CTOs, CIOs, and CDOs, helping them clarify decisions, sharpen positioning, and move through complex transitions with leverage and clarity.
Before founding Agency Three, Bryan built The Digital Board, a platform that connected Boards, CEOs, technology leaders and investors around one goal; improving the quality and impact of technology leadership at the top of organisations. Through The Digital Board, he helped global enterprises strengthen leadership culture, align technology with strategy, and turn digital ambition into measurable value. Those experiences shaped the foundation for Agency Three: a firm created to represent and empower the executives driving that change.
He is also the Co‑Presenter of Beyond the Tech, a podcast exploring the bold decisions, inflection points, and leadership journeys of senior technology executives.
Advisory & Boards
Signifly | Board Member
Advising on strategy, leadership development, and growth, whilst leveraging a global technology network to drive new business opportunities.
Nodes (Monstar Lab) | Chair of Global Advisory Board
Working closely with the leadership team of this high‑growth digital product development agency on scaling strategy, talent, and international positioning. Built and structured global advisory boards across the US, Middle East, and Europe.
Insight Partners | Member of Insight Advisory Network
Advising portfolio companies on digital leadership, talent strategy, and organisational scaling.
iRise | Advisory Board Member
Expanded iRise's European business, built strategic partnerships with global enterprises, and advised on product strategy and market positioning across EMEA.
Publications & Media
A Digital Board publication
A Digital Board publication
Harvard Business Review
CIO Magazine
An Agency Three publication