David Smith

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.