Lucy Adams was the BBC's HR Director, during one of the most turbulent periods, whose responsibilities consisted of training, development, employee relations and rewards. With Lucy's expertise, she saved BBC £25 million a year by reducing BBC management by over 30%. Lucy is now an extremely popular keynote speaker for business events, conferences and functions where she shares her insights in order to change the process of HR within all organisations.
Lucy's five-year role at BBC saw her take on huge responsibilities and often deal with some very controversial situations. From overseeing the move to the Salford site to numerous public crises such as the executive pay-offs and Savile scandal. Being responsible for over 20,000 employees Lucy's daily role of talent retention, development and remuneration was an impressive job which gained her a wealth of experience which she implements into her presentations. Before the BBC, Lucy filled the position of Group HR Director at Serco, once again this was during a challenging period of extensive expansion and acquisition and it was Lucy's responsibility to incorporate new employees and cultures.
Lucy is now the CEO of Disruptive HR, an agency she founded to revolutionise outdated HR practices. After senior HR roles, including at the BBC, she became frustrated with the profession's lack of innovation. Disruptive HR helps HR Directors and business leaders implement new, effective strategies. Lucy is also the author of "HR Disrupted" and "The HR Toolkit" sharing her insights and practical advice.
An excellent keynote speaker, Lucy provides a fresh perspective to businesses and her presentations have been described as 'visibly energising'. With an aim to educate HR professionals on how to adapt to uncertain times, Lucy's expertise are very applicable to current situations within the business industry. Champions Speakers proudly represent Lucy Adams as an official speaker agent, with her former clients stating that Lucy's talk is one that leaves lasting impressions with a 'passionate and entertaining' delivery style that is 'fresh and thought-provoking'. Lucy's speaking topics cover personal resilience, when power corrupts, leadership in times of crisis, delivering real change in complex organisations and preventing a bullying culture.
In honour of Lucy Adams' expertise in human resources, she was recently named one of the 16 Top Future of Work Speakers for Conferences and Events! In September 2023 we sat down virtually with Lucy Adams and discussed how businesses should deal with change and crises in business. Watch our Exclusive Interview with Lucy Adams.
Social Media
Books
HR Disrupted: It's Time for Something Different Vol 2.
The HR Change Toolkit: Your Complete Guide to Making it Happen
Dog on the Run
The Beast of Blue Mountain
HR Disrupted: It's Time for Something Different
Reviews
Lucy Adams received a 4.5 star rating across 10 events in 2023
Agent Recommendation
"Lucy Adams is an outstanding keynote speaker who brings a wealth of HR expertise and a fresh perspective to her presentations. Her dynamic and passionate delivery style leaves a lasting impression, providing practical insights and innovative strategies. Lucy's experience at BBC and Disruptive HR makes her a must-hear for any business event."
Lucy Adams' official speaking topics are listed below:
- The Perfect People Strategy
- People Leadership in a Post-Pandemic Workplace
- The Post-Pandemic Workplace for HR Teams
- Retention, Development & Remuneration
- Department Management
- Goodbye to Annual Appraisals
- Leadership & Teamwork
- Personal Resilience
- Making Change Happen
- How to Create Consumer-Grade Employee Experience
- When Power Corrupts
- Delivering Real Change
- Preventing a Bullying Culture
- Leading in a Disrupted World
- Leadership for the Future Workplace
- New HR Skills and Mindsets
- How to Create More Agility and Innovation
- How to Get and Retain the Best Talent
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"Lucy spoke at one of our recent HR Community events and she was passionate, entertaining and most importantly engaged with the audience of HR Professionals in a way that was fresh and very thought-provoking." - Belinda, Employee Relations Lead, Accenture
"I invited Lucy to address a corporate dinner for Business Leaders, and I have to say she ticked every box. Her personality is exceptionally warm, positive, and most of all engaging. The aspect of Lucy’s talk that will stick with me is that she obviously knows her subject matter; She talks passionately from experience and finds a perfect balance of professionalism, humour and relevance. She’s thought-provoking and dynamic in her opinions, and quite clearly very well-positioned to talk to Business Leaders. I expect every aspect of her business life will be successful if she adopts the approach to Commerce as she does to Public Speaking. She’s obviously a very unique and exceptional professional, and I would recommend her without question. If you have the opportunity to spend time in her company, you’ll find it hugely beneficial." - Sebastian, Sales & Marketing Professional
"Lucy spoke at an internal HR event for our senior management team and left a lasting impression, for all the right reasons. She spoke with honesty and humour about the challenges the HR profession faces and gave really practical examples of how we can change this. What can be quite a tough audience, was visibly energised after her presentation and even now, a couple of months on, Lucy’s session is still talked about. If you’re after an engaging and hugely experienced HR professional who’s a brilliant speaker and great to work with, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Lucy." - Lucy, Head of Internal Communications, Strategy & Planning, BT
“You were fantastic! The levels of enthusiasm, engagement and participation from the audience were unprecedented with this group. I found you insightful, educational, & inspirational." - Deloitte
"Lucy’s contribution to the Convention was invaluable and left a positive and lasting impact on the conference attendees - her presence was a highlight of the event for many." - Australian HR Institute
“Lucy was absolutely brilliant. She lifted the energy in the room and had people buzzing afterwards." - BT
- 2025 - Named on the Top 100 HR Tech Influencers list by HR Tech
- 2024 - Interviewed by HR Brew
- 2021 - Author of "HR Disrupted: It's Time for Something Different" 2nd Edition
- 2019 - Author of "The HR Change Toolkit: Your Complete Guide to Making it Happen"
- 2017 - Author of "HR Disrupted: It's Time for Something Different"
- 2014 - CEO of Disruptive HR
- 2014 - Author of "Dog on the Run"
- 2014 - Named Director of Firehouse Productions
- 2013 - Author of "The Beast of Blue Mountain"
- 2009 - HR Director of the BBC
- 2008 - HR Director at Eversheds
- 2004 - Group HR Director of Serco
- 1999 - HR Director of Serco Rail
- 1998 - Business Development Director for PKF
- 1993 - Head of Strategy and Development for North Yorkshire TEC
How to hire Lucy Adams
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Lucy Adams 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.
