David Smith has 35 years Corporate experience of change management, the last 15 years of which were spent in the turnaround of the Asda Retail Business. Asda was transformed from a bankrupt broken business to a high-performance retailer and also achieved the status of being No1 Best Place to Work in the UK Sunday Times Survey. David and his Team led many of the changes which created a highly productive performance-based culture and laid the foundations for commercial success. David was People, IT and Loss Prevention Director at Asda, and was on the Executive Board for 10 years.
Today, David is a highly respected Author, Business Speaker and Consultant. He is also frequently requested to Mentor/Coach CEOs, HRDs and other Board Directors, utilising his experience of Executive responsibility in a fast moving commercial environment. He is Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Employment Studies. David speaks to both UK and International Conferences about the 7 Principles of Building a High-Performance Culture, utilising the Asda case study and other International examples. He runs Masterclasses on these Principles, including the very important topics of Performance Management; Style of Leadership for effective change, and powerful business Communication.
David also speaks on Leadership in Tough Times; Effective Execution; World Class Customer Service and other facets of People Management. He is in demand as a Keynote speaker, acting as an inspirational catalyst for business audiences facing change and challenge. As an Author, David’s first book was entitled Asda Magic – the 7 principles of building a high-performance culture. His second book, Culture trumps Strategy explores the importance of culture in environments he has experienced in a variety of exemplar high performing businesses. David is currently writing his 3rd business book on the topic of the seismic changes in Performance Management.
David's style is to engage with his audience and to tell stories to bring his points alive. He is impactful, taking a simple and practical approach to complex issues. His coaching and mentoring style is direct and practical.
Books
ASDA Magic: The 7 Principles Of Building A High Performance Culture
Culture Trumps Strategy: Achieving High Performance Through People
Performance Management For The 21st Century: The Seismic Shift To Regular Performance Coaching
Bad Bosses - The Top 10 Leadership Pitfalls Which Most Irritate Followers
How to hire David Smith
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring David Smith for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
David's official speaking topics are listed below.
- The seven principles of building a high-performance culture
- Performance management
- Style of leadership for effective change
- Powerful business communication
- Leadership in tough times
- Effective execution
- World class customer service
- People management
Take a look at what David's previous clients had to say about him, when he appeared at their corporate events:
"We really enjoyed David's session last week! The feedback from the participants has been really positive and one of the stand-out sessions that we had. He was very personable and spoke very well. We had around 97% of participants who do not speak English as a first language but David ensured he spoke at a good pace. The content was great and he kept the audience engaged throughout, with people carrying on the conversations well into the afternoon. Please send him a big thank you from myself and Khuong." - Laura, Executive Assistant, BioMérieux
"The Team were really impressed and inspired. We learned a lot. Your contribution exceeded my expectations, and to be honest, I had pretty high expectations already. Great stuff." - Marketing Director, Liverpool Victoria
"Thank you for a truly inspirational and very enjoyable Masterclass. I don't think I have ever been to such a practical and relevant session." - HRD Red Bull
"I heard Jim Collins opening Keynote, but you were better. You spoke from the heart." - Small Business CEO
"David was excellent and provided a very good speech – we are already receiving lots of questions about when the next event will be." - RAF Wyton
