Meet David Lucas, Managing Director of Change 4 Growth’s First International Office
We’ve been sharing our exciting news of opening our first international office in London, serving the UK, and introducing our Managing Director, David Lucas, a little along the way.
David Lucas is incredibly talented, knowledgeable and such as strong partner in the Change 4 Growth mission. He speaks and lives our values and we are excited to expand across the Atlantic with David as our Managing Director in our new London based office.
His career began in marketing, when he worked for four years with a marketing agency, followed by four years as a corporate manager responsible for aligning international offices with corporate marketing strategy. From there, David spent a year studying human psychotherapy, giving him great insight into human behavior, a skill set he utilizes frequently when leading organizational change. After his time spent in marketing, David transitioned to a career focused on change management and supply chain development for a variety of organizations, where he managed projects of huge scope and developed his focus in the retail sector.
We decided to ask David a few questions to share his breadth of knowledge with our clients and audience. He was kind enough to give us incredibly thoughtful and impactful feedback in the areas of change management, the future of challenges faced by corporations, the future of Change 4 Growth and much more.
1. Can you share your optimism for joining the Change 4 Growth team?
I spent some time with the C4G team at their recent annual innovation day. This is a team of bright, dedicated individuals. People with a passion for what they do and the experience to match. People who practice what they preach – live their values. People who care, personally, about their clients, and who deliver on their promise.
Nothing is formulaic, but the catalogue of experience is immense. They know that the relationship and trusted advisor status with a client should never be taken for granted.
They are led by Beth Thomas – whose achievements and reputation in the field of change management are justifiably top draw.
So, my answer is that my optimism is at the top of the scale – C4G is a force to be reckoned with and I’m delighted to be bringing their unique chemistry and capability to the UK.
2. What changes in the business landscape do you see Change 4 Growth being an integral partner in providing change resilient solutions to UK organizations?
The UK faces a number of challenges that require urgent support. Not least, of course, the digital revolution - the sheer pace of technological change in general; the challenge to the purpose and role of people as AI and machine learning become ever more prevalent. We are already seeing this, and the next 5 years will see a huge acceleration in the impact that AI has on our business and operating models and the way we re-train and re-deploy our people. So, the resulting challenge to business models, organisational culture and the re-definition of the role of human beings will certainly be one of the top three strategic imperatives for retail Boardrooms.
These areas are not only core competencies for C4G but come with a huge catalogue of existing experience and solutions that they have delivered for US and International clients. In the end BAU needs to become CAU (change as usual) – and C4G can make that happen.
3. What are you most excited about with your new opportunity with Change 4 Growth?
It really is the ethos of the company and its people. The passion. The capability. The experience. The leadership. It’s the people more than anything else that makes C4G different. Extraordinary energy, enthusiasm and professionalism. To use the term – they know how to go the extra mile. A project is not OK if it doesn’t hit the spot and leave the client with a resilient solution. Most consultancies are qualified to deliver – it is the quality of the people and ethos that separates C4G from the pack and delivers the best results for clients. It’s an honour to be part of the team.
4. How do you expect Beth’s leadership in OCM and expertise to aid UK corporations in the coming years?
Beth’s energy, experience and unique, proven insights into organisational change will offer UK companies a fresh perspective. We need it. Boardrooms are struggling with how to respond to massive upheavals in the way things have been for decades. It’s all change, and Beth has built a team that can provide the answers.
Employee engagement is now paramount as the challenges grow and the pace of change accelerates. Beth’s ethos is always to deliver on promises and also to go the extra mile – to provide solutions that really count, and to delight the client in the process. She does this by practicing what she preaches – she leads in the image of her own best advice. I look forward to bringing her change leadership to the UK.
5. Share your views on culture and putting people first.
Quite simply – fundamental to business success. Of course, it always has been, but never more so than now. The right people, engaged with the business, in a culture that develops them and supports them. I wish I could say that the attitude of ‘cannon fodder’ has been consigned to history, but in fact there is a journey still to go for some organisations which believe that a culture of ‘sweating the human asset’ whilst stating publicly that they are ‘our most important asset’ is still seen as the best way to generate wealth and value. This couldn’t be further from the truth and we need all the human recourse help we can get now to meet today’s challenges. Surely that’s enough to realise that this is a strategic imperative, not a nice to have if time allows!
We also need to be prepared for, provide for and understand millennials and gen ‘Z’ers. Different behaviours and expectations – different approach to knowledge ownership, lifestyle and so on. In common with the consumer revolution, we cannot, should not, take our changing internal customer for granted. So, we need to move on from the “I pay you so I own you” era, to a mutually respectful era – one that supports self-actualisation and portfolio lifestyles.
Cultures that remove internal as well as external friction - cultures of trust, partnership, collaboration and innovation - cultures that truly value people and reward their effort. Companies need to grasp the importance of people and culture – technology is not the only act in town and never will be.
So, let’s stop paying lip service to ‘people being our most important asset’ – let’s make that real and make it count for the digital era.
6. How did you first meet Beth?
Beth and I met via a mutual contact in the UK at a point where she was considering launching Change 4 Growth in the UK. We hit it off immediately. We quickly realized that our values and approach to organisational change were well aligned. Initial discussion led very quickly to a short period of exploration of opportunity and the rest is history.
7. Where do you see Change 4 Growth Consulting being in the next 5 years?
Given the need in the UK, and Europe for that matter, to tackle the fast-changing retail landscape, I think that C4G is launching at a perfect time to play a truly valuable role in supporting companies on their transformational journeys. So, I have no doubt that C4G will come to be seen as a highly informed, trustworthy source of support that can help companies continue to optimize performance whilst they journey through the transformation process to a future of change as usual – perform while they transform. In five years’ time there is every reason to believe that the name C4G in the UK will be synonymous with the way the industry has come to terms with change and be known for the facilitative role we have played in that process. Will we be the biggest? That’s not our intention. We will be the best.
The Future of Change 4 Growth as an International Company
Change 4 Growth is extremely optimistic about growing the company in London. After refining our solutions, processes and culture for the past 14 years we knew it was time to share our expertise and proven approach with other companies around the world. We don’t want to be the biggest, but we do want to be the BEST. We can’t wait to bring our experiences and solutions to the London market in a way that is unmatched.
We look forward to sharing more information about our UK launch, our new managing partner, David Lucas, and the exciting news to come. Follow Change 4 Growth on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
To read part 2 of our Q&A with David Lucas click here!