Vistage UK Blog

David Smith has over 35 years corporate experience of change management, the last 15 years of which were spent in the turnaround of the Asda Retail Business. Asda has been transformed from a bankrupt broken business to the highly successful retailer it is today, and has also achieved the status of being the “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 and IT Director at Asda, and was on the Executive Board for 10 years. Today, David is a highly respected author, business speaker and consultant. He has also been requested to mentor a limited number of CEOs and HRDs. He is Chairman of the Board of Institute for Employment Studies. Through corporate culture training, David helps CEOs and executives who are wrestling with the ‘how to’ of reigniting the efforts of their workforce. David speaks to both UK and international conferences about the 7 Principles of Building a High Performance Culture, utilising the Asda case study and on the International examples. He runs master classes 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 and other facets of people 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.