
David Smith
HR expert David Smith has played a pivotal role in the human resources of Asda for many years. Devoting the majority of his career to HR, David has developed a wide range of skills from performance management and cultural change to restructuring and growing business. Now an internationally sought public speaker, David has spoken for the likes of Barclaycard, the NHS and Red Bull helping leaders to navigate times of major change.
David Smith's videos
What David Smith's clients say
"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."
"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."
"David was excellent and provided a very good speech – we are already receiving lots of questions about when the next event will be."
"We are still using our version of some of the recognition techniques which we discovered from you."
"Thanks for your session with the Priory leadership team. It absolutely hit the mark and for me there was a real lightbulb moment with regard to culture and leadership style."
"Thank you for a fantastic job, the feedback has been excellent!"
"The feedback was unanimously positive about you, your presentation style and the content."
"The feedback has been quite frankly outstanding."
"I want to thank you for a terrific day yesterday. Very practical and actionable, great stories and a great presentation style."
"The feedback received on your keynote speech was excellent, with many delegates citing it as their most memorable aspect of the conference. Delegates particularly enjoyed your use of stories to highlight you key messages, and many said they found your speech inspiring."
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- English
David Smith's 2025 biography
About David Smith
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 also the former 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.  His third book was Performance Management for the 21st Century: The Seismic Shift to Regular Performance Coaching. He has also written Bad Bosses: The 10 Leadership Pitfalls Followers Most Resent.
David is currently writing his next 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.
David Smith's 2025 talks & topics
The Seven Principles of Building a High-Performance Culture
People & Performance Management
Customer Service & Delighting Customers
Leadership in Tough Times
Effective Execution
Powerful Business Communication
Leadership for Effective Change
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