Dan de Lord
DDL Consultancy, London — Founder
--www.linkedin.com/dandelord
2023 - date
Fractional Head of Talent/People and startup consultant.
Experienced in workforce planning, talent acquisition and org design through change management, talent
experience into talent development. Advise Leaders & Founders to align people strategy with business goals
R/GA, London & New York — VP, Talent
2015 - 2023
Global digital innovation company [IPG: NYSE] designing businesses and brands for a more human future.
4 regions, 19 offices, $500-700m revenues,- headcount, up to 1600 hires annually (staff &
freelance) across creative, product design, technology, data, relationship management & business strategy
VP, Global:
Leadership role jointly accountable for execution of One Team model against business HPOs as part of
People Leadership Team.
Team size: 50, managed 7. Across TA, TX, HR and Ops
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Designed and implemented a Talent Centre of Excellence [Strategy]. To define what good looks like in a
global operational model and enable team efficiency through (1) people, training & resources, (2)
technology & automation. Realised 20% saving in $1.2m budget with higher team engagement scores
Collaborated cross-discipline to design governance frameworks and capability structures [OD]. To
realise the potential of a One R/GA model maximising talent and business opportunities across offices.
Drove lower talent costs & bench time, with improved casting & career development
Executive Director, International:
Player/coach role responsible for levelling up of regional model helping scale EMEA/APAC/LATAM operation
to larger than US for first time.
Team size: 35, managed 5. Across TA, TX, HR and Ops
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Capability lead for design and operation of Talent functions in Shared Services Centre [TA]. Including
establishing an always-on Sourcing capability to drive a talent engine and intelligence. Resulted in
efficient in-market teams and minimal external fees for Executive level Hiring, which I owned
WorkTech/tooling owner [Ops]. To enable flexible and compliant distributed workforces - with
Worksome & Deel. End-end process and data insights - with Greenhouse & PowerBI dashboards. Plus
continuous career conversations - with 15Five. Achieved a lean, integrated tech stack
Consultant for market-level Make/Change strategies for racial equity [EDI + TD] across 6 pillars of
action. Co-delivered intentional & inclusive talent attraction training for all employees, external
specialist partnerships, mobility program transferring 20% of workforce over 3 years
Director, EMEA:
Player/coach role responsible for scaling of regional business, establishing startup entities and building new
capabilities.
Team size managed: 6. Across TA, TX and Ops
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Diversified organisation revenue lines [OD]. Germany GTM planning to move into a key new market,
Business Transformation offering launch to add higher margin services, Ventures studio to leverage
and retain creative capital for early stage businesses. Winning Agency of Decade accolade
Created differentiated EVPs and branding [TX] for business units across competitive markets- against
a north star of making a positive difference in the world through work. Set new values, onboarding
experience and reward & benefits benchmarking to successfully secure & retain best-in-class talent
Associate Director, UK:
Builder role accountable for stabilisation of key market through implementing new operational model to
drive growth at pace.
Team size managed: 4. Across TA, TX and Ops
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Built and led a high-performing team of functionally-aligned business partners [TM]. Defined a new
operational model, roles & levels framework, ways of working as the previous iteration reached
saturation. Raised effectiveness to deliver x3 headcount in 2 years to 350, >90% direct hires
Implemented Workforce Planning-led approach [WFP] with demand plan, risk identification,
succession planning, skills gaps. To move from short-term siloed & reactive to long-term integrated &
proactive. Developed one view of truth and optimised cadence with stakeholders
AKQA, London — Senior Talent Acquisition Manager
2014 - 2015
Global design and innovation company [WPP: LSE] imaginatively applying art and science to create a better
future. 4 regions, 20 offices, c 2000 headcount
Growth hiring for Production, User Experience & Technology capabilities across the UK, EMEA and India.
Including cross-functional collaboration for workforce planning, team structure modelling, hire phasing
and cost control, experience and benefits bench-marking, junior talent initiatives.
DNA, London — Director
2010 - 2014
Bespoke marketing services and exec search consultancy.
Built a digital practice to open up a new client base. Including rebrand project and creation of a new web
presence with a design agency.
Ecom, London — Team Leader
2006 - 2010
Leading digital recruitment consultancy.
Worked across Production, User Experience and Technology. Including creation of a bespoke iOS app with a
design agency. Promoted 4 times.
EDUCATION
AIHR | Academy to Innovate HR, Remote — continuous self-learning
2024
Open University x Futurelearn, Remote — Microdential, Organisational
Development and Design [grade: distinction]
2023
OCN, London — Level 3, Mentoring Skills
2010
St John’s College, Cambridge University — MA, Anthropology
SKILLS
2002 - 2005
Clear communication
Strategic thinking
Caring leadership
Cross-cultural
Business partnership
Team enablement
collaboration
DDL CONSULTING - building organisations with people
Executive Search with established global service businesses:
(1) Media.Monks, UK Managing Director
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Campaign: Media.Monks appoints UK MD with vision to reposition agency
(2) Uncommon Creative Studio, NY Head of People
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Case study:
(3) R/GA, EMEA Head of Delivery
(4) Media.Monks, Global Head of Rewards
Talent and People consultancy with early-stage and tech-first businesses:
(1) Xantura (social impact big data) - talent management strategy and regulation advisory.
During acquisition due diligence process
(2) ThreeTwoFour (cyber security consultancy) - organisational design and development strategy.
During acquisition by Node4 and Providence Equity
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Consultancy UK: cybersecurity consultancy ThreeTwoFour joins Node4
(3) SharpEnd (IoT studio/SaaS platform) - capability & senior team growth and hiring planning.
During investment by Fedrigoni
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Fedrigoni acquires equity stake in connected solutions pioneer SharpEnd
(4) Anchor Leg (creative agency) - people strategy and operational maturity development.
During growth chapter with a view to a sale
ADDITIONAL ORGANISATIONS
Brixton Finishing School - advisory board member
BIMA - refugee council member, mentor, judge
TERN - refugee entrepreneur mentor, business advisor
Polaris Awards - public sector campaigns judge
Skills Based Hiring, AI & WorkTech products - investor, partner, advisor
Europeace Youth (charity) - non-executive board member
Double Helix (charity) - project and budget management
Pupil Parent Partnership (charity) - bid-writing, desk research, budget management
