Director – Executive Programme
Leading Edge Forum
Alan is Director – Executive Programme of the Leading Edge Forum. In this role, he leads the development of the LEF go to market strategy and broad marketing activity. In addition, Alan is a researcher focusing on the interplay of technology and management, and is currently leading a project entitled Rethinking Management and Employee Engagement – the Role of Enterprise Technologies.
Prior to joining LEF, Alan was the Executive Director of the Management Innovation Lab (MLab) at London Business School. Founded by Professor Gary Hamel, MLab was an applied research unit dedicated to identifying new models of management fit for the 21st century.
Prior to MLab, he joined the Oracle Corporation as Director of Change Management, Europe, Middle East and Africa, then moved on to become Director of eBusiness Consulting and – finally – its first Head of Thought Leadership and Academic Programmes. Progressively the roles involved working with some of the world’s leading Business Schools, industry and thought leaders.
Holding an MSc degree in Managing Change from Sheffield Hallam University, Alan’s passion is focused on people and working to release the untapped talents in all employees, making the work environment a source of greater enjoyment, creativity, innovation and productivity.
He started his career in Marketing, moved into Product Management then into General Management. When managing a large multicultural team in the Far East, the Tiananmen Square uprising in China occurred. The consequences prompted a significant shift in Alan’s thinking and career towards issues related to organizational culture and change.
Alan has a list of published articles to his name and presents frequently on the subjects of innovation, management transformation, the business impact of technology, organizational effectiveness and change. His book entitled The Effective Organization: The Nuts and Bolts of Business Value, co-authored with Professor Lee Schlenker, looks at how people, rather than operational processes, will be at the forefront of creating sustainable competitive advantage in tomorrow’s economy.
Alan remains a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and is an Associate of Oxford Said Business School, as well as MLab at London Business School.