Dr Joe Gaunt

Health psychologist. Therapist. Operator. Founder. Father. Working at the intersection of business strategy, leadership, health psychology and AI.

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Research-led. Experience-grounded. Outcome-focused.

DoctorateHealth Psychology

Board leaderThree multi-billion-dollar companies

Exit$200m private equity

AuthorPublished

Advisor and mentorMIT · Virgin Start Up · Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre · Leeds University Business School

Knowledge in action

High performance is a system.

Over 20 years, Dr Joe has worked with thousands of organisations - supporting and advising start-ups and scale-ups, and running multi-billion-dollar organisations - with work spanning senior leadership, elite sport, and elite and emergency services.

Work with Dr Joe

Four ways to work with Joe.

Consultancy

Organisational strategy, change design, performance culture, engagement and leadership development, through to AI and health strategy.

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Keynotes and talks

Behaviour change, purpose, meaning and identity in life, men's health, athletic mindset and high performance.

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Board advisory

Start-up and scale-up, leadership at scale, performance culture and C-suite development.

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1:1 with Dr Joe

Work directly with Joe, from personal development and leadership through to a range of therapy and psychotherapy interventions.

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Speaking topics

On the stage.

Behaviour Change

From the fundamentals of psychology and neurology, through to advanced psychotherapy-based techniques for embedded change.

Finding Purpose and Identity

Self, values, and the path to clarity in uncertain times.

Men's Health

Psychological, physical and social wellbeing for the modern man.

The High Performance Toolkit

Insights, tools and lived practice from sport, leadership and business.

The Healthy Leader

Sustained performance and balance, in and out of the workplace.

High Performance Culture

Building high performance culture with Joe's ACL system: Alignment, Clarity, Leadership.

Available as keynotes, workshops and small, intimate leadership groups.

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“Most board advisors specialise in one thing. Joe brings two: deep commercial experience and serious psychological depth. The combination has changed how I think about my business and how I lead it.”

Nick Court

Founder & CEO, People Experience Hub

In their words

What leaders say about working with Joe.

“Joe is a leader who's walked the walk at the highest level of business, married to academic rigour. A rare combination, and Joe's style fuses the two perfectly. His understanding of strategic AI for real business impact also stands out. Not theoretical, applied. As a CEO, having that level of strategic thinking and support around you is rare.”

Jay Worthy

CEO, MyZone

“As a CFO, I'm wired to look for rigour. Joe delivers it, then layers in the kind of psychological depth you rarely find in business advisors. The combination has changed how I make decisions, both at work and beyond it.”

Jon Oliver

CFO & Founder, MOJO Financial Consultancy

“I've been working with Joe for the last couple of years, and I can honestly say he's the real deal. Genuine, honest, incredibly relatable. No fluff, no scripted advice, just straight-up conversations that push you forward. What stands out most is how clear it is that he wants to help you move forward, in business and in life. If you're thinking about working with him, do it. You won't regret it.”

Ian McKenzie

Founder & MD, Northern Heat Link

“I reached out to Joe just over a year ago for help with operational and strategic performance. He addressed the real pressure points, not the surface issues. He helped me create the space I needed to make better decisions, become a more grounded and effective leader, and find clarity during some challenging periods. It's hard to find consultants who truly understand a working business environment. Joe does. Absolutely brilliant. I can't recommend him enough.”

Danny Boyle

Founder & CEO, UVS Vehicle Solutions

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The human at the centre

Performance is a human pursuit.

He's a husband, a father of four, and a lifelong learner (currently trying to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu). Behaviour change, high-performance behaviours, purpose, identity, helping others - the threads that run through his work and his life.

Strategy without people fails.
Leadership without execution stalls.
High performance without psychological foundations rarely lasts.
And no decision in 2026 is untouched by AI.

Credentials & specialisms

Walked the walk, married to academic rigour.

01Doctor of Health Psychology (DHealthPsych)
02Three-time leader of multi-billion-dollar valuation companies, with a $200m private equity exit
0316 years as director, 12 years advising start-ups and scale-ups
04International experience across the UK, US, Asia, Australia and Europe
05Published author, The Palgrave Handbook of Consultancy in Health Psychology
06Advisor and mentor: MIT, Virgin Start Up, The Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, Leeds University Business School
07Great British Entrepreneur Winner, Health & Wellbeing

Core competencies

Consultancy
Behaviour change intervention design
Teaching and training
Professional skills
Research

Therapy modalities

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Solution-Focused Therapy
Motivational Interviewing
Positive Psychology
Socratic Questioning

Research focus

Purpose and identity architecture in leaders
Men's health and mental health for fathers in leadership
Athletic mindset and life transitions
AI applications in mental health and wellbeing

Research & publications.

Evaluation: Improving Employee Health and Wellbeing

Published chapter, The Palgrave Handbook of Consultancy in Health Psychology (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025)

Applications and Effectiveness of Generative AI in Supporting Mental Wellbeing

Systematic review submitted for publication, 2025

Decoding Men's Health: Proactive Development and Wellbeing in Midlife Working Fathers

Submitted for publication, 2025

Uplifting Identity: Fitness Activities, Identity and Purpose in Gen Z and Millennials

Submitted for publication, 2025

Athletic Mindset and Life Purpose / Transitions

Master's thesis with Distinction, 2021

Key roles & focus

Where Joe spends his time.

Founder & CEO, Health Labs HQ

Programme Lead, Entrepreneur Labs

Chairman & Strategic Advisor

Founder-led businesses across AI, health, technology, professional services and FMCG

Co-Founder, UNIFY

Men's health and wellbeing

Monthly AI Strategy Sessions

For founders and CEOs

Work with Dr Joe

The most undervalued performance lever isn't knowledge. It's knowledge in action.

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Research-led. Experience-grounded. Outcome-focused.

FAQs

Who is Dr Joe Gaunt?

A health psychologist, trained therapist, executive advisor and former board-level leader. Joe has run three global organisations valued at over a billion pounds, delivered a $200m private equity exit, and spent twelve years advising start-ups and scale-ups. He is Founder and CEO of Health Labs HQ, and a father of four. The unusual part is the combination: serious commercial experience and serious psychological depth, in one person.

What are his qualifications?

A Doctorate in Health Psychology, an MSc with Distinction, Chartered Psychologist status with the British Psychological Society, and Associate Fellowship of the BPS. He is formally trained as a therapist in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and Positive Psychology, and is trained to doctoral level in teaching and training, behaviour change intervention design, research, consultancy and professional skills. He is also an advisor at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam, Leeds University Business School, MIT and Virgin Start Up.

What are the ways to work with Joe?

Four. Consultancy, covering organisational strategy, change design, performance culture, leadership development, AI and health strategy. Keynotes and workshops. Board advisory for start-ups, scale-ups and C-suite teams. And 1.1 work directly with Joe, from leadership development through to therapy and psychotherapy interventions.

Is the 1.1 work coaching or therapy?

It can be either, and Joe is qualified to do both, which is rarer than it sounds. Most executive coaches are not trained therapists, and most therapists have not run a business. Where the work is developmental, it is leadership and performance work. Where something clinical is in the way, stress, anxiety, overthinking, sleep, emotional regulation, decision fatigue, destructive patterns, he can work on that properly rather than coach around it. You do not need to decide which you need before the first conversation.

What does Joe speak about?

Six core topics: behaviour change, finding purpose and identity, men's health, the high performance toolkit, the healthy leader, and high performance culture built on his ACL system of Alignment, Clarity and Leadership. Available as keynotes, workshops, or small intimate leadership groups.

What research has he published?

A published chapter on evaluating employee health and wellbeing in the Palgrave Handbook of Consultancy in Health Psychology. Alongside it he has produced Level 8 publishable research in purpose and identity in leaders, purpose and identity for working parents, athletic mindset and life transitions, men's health and mental health for fathers in leadership, and the use of AI in mental health.

Who does he work with?

Founders, CEOs, boards and senior leaders, across corporate, property, elite sport and the emergency services. Over twenty years he has worked with thousands of organisations, from start-ups through to businesses at multi-billion-pound scale. The common thread is seniority and the pressure that comes with it, not sector.

How do I start?

A conversation. Tell us what you are dealing with and what you want to be different, and Joe will tell you honestly whether he is the right person, and which of the four routes fits. It is not a sales call.

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