A marketing consultant has launched a new approach to help business people who do their best thinking in the great outdoors.

Owen Whitehead, of Birkby-based Beechfield Consulting, has launched Netwalking, a new approach to strategic business consultancy designed for leaders who’ve spent too long trying to do their best thinking in meeting rooms.

Owen, a marketing consultant with over 30 years of commercial experience across the UK, Europe and beyond, takes consultancy sessions typically conducted in boardrooms and moves them outdoors – on foot, in motion, away from screens and other distractions.

Owen said: “I’ve always done my best thinking outdoors. Long hikes in the hills. Early morning walks before the day kicks in.

“Some of the most useful conversations I’ve had in my commercial career have happened outside – moving, no agenda, no one performing for a room.

“When I started building Beechfield Consulting, it felt obvious to bring those two things together.”

Beechfield Consulting offers half-day, full-day and overnight wilderness formats.

Sessions are structured around specific business outcomes – strategy decisions, growth priorities, customer clarity, sales and marketing alignment – but conducted in environments proven to support better thinking: hills, countryside and even city parks.

“This isn’t a wellness concept or a networking gimmick,” said Owen. “It’s a serious commercial conversation in a setting that makes creative thinking easier.

“It’s for the decisions that need space; the relationships that deserve better than a meeting room; the thinking that keeps getting pushed aside by the noise of the day.”

The launch comes as business leaders increasingly report decision fatigue and meeting overload.

A 2024 study by the University of Miami found that moderate physical activity during walking meetings was significantly correlated with higher productivity and improved worker mood.

This was supported by a 2024 review in Discover Psychology which concluded that low-intensity, natural walking reliably boosts originality and divergent thinking – the cognitive functions behind idea generation and problem-solving.

Netwalking is available across Yorkshire, the North of England and nationally, with sessions tailored to individual leaders and small leadership teams.

All formats include structured outputs – priorities, roadmaps and next actions – alongside the conversation itself.

Beechfield Consulting also offers traditional marketing consultancy services including strategy development, customer analysis and growth planning for businesses.

For more information or to book a Netwalking session go to www.beechfieldconsulting.co.uk/netwalking or email: owen@beechfieldconsulting.co.uk