Advisory
I’ve always enjoyed thinking on my feet, and helping executives with real strategic challenges is a key part of helping them develop.
My very first job – in 1991 – was as an in-house consultant in the Cellule Strategie et Gestion of Sanofi-Pharma in Paris. That was followed by advisory roles in other institutions in London, Paris, Athens and New York. I’ve also enjoyed engaging with top consultancies, principally McKinsey & Co, on coping with change, strategic innovation and value migration.
Over time, I’ve started to apply my research to particular firms. This has led to a renewed engagement with some of the world’s top consulting firms and their leadership, including facilitating sessions for McKinsey’s global team and their Managing Partner, Dominic Barton, or with Accenture’s Chief Strategy Officer, Omar Abbosh and his team, or supporting PwC in their thought leadership on pharma, or giving talks for McKinsey’s strategy meetings and leadership forum, and helping with thought leadership around McKinsey Quarterly’s 50th anniversary.
Research on value migration and, in particular, ecosystems is attracting great interest.
As a result, I have been spending more time helping corporates both large and small in these areas, and have worked with boards or senior teams at Burberry, SAP and Swiss insurer Helvetia. On strategic issues, I have worked with leaders at firms as varied as Greece’s leading corporate and tax law firm (Zepos & Yiannopoulos) to China’s leading appliance manufacturer (Haier).
I have also increased my engagement with top consultancies. I am currently an academic advisor to the Boston Consulting Group working with their Global Advantage Practice and the Henderson Institute, in a non-exclusive relationship that allows us to pool research resources from BCG and LBS and produce joint work that helps shape their new-generation advisory.
I also do some focused client-related advisory work via a specialised advisory group, Evolution Ltd, especially on issues of platforms and ecosystems. Through Evolution, I have collaborated with other top-notch specialists on focused, applied projects.
I am on the Academic Advisory Panel of other specialist consultancies that deal with (digital) disruption, such as The European Centre for Strategic Innovation and Founders Lane, and I have worked with PwC, Accenture and Keystone Consulting on cutting-edge projects.
I also sit on the Advisory Board of exciting new businesses such as Traipse & MyLocalToken in Washington DC, Velocia in Toronto, Wappier in Athens and X8 in San Francisco, New York, London and Dubai