David is one of the sector’s leading experts in the area of organisation design and particularly the co-creation and implementation of fit-for-the-future target operating models. A snapshot of his key achievements include increasing satisfaction levels from 85% to 96%, reducing a large university’s recurrent cost base by £10m whilst accelerating progress against key metrics, unifying two schools with 300 employees into one single, high-performing unit, and consolidating 34 departments into 5 larger hubs connected by real-time systems and data. An experienced advisor to senior leadership teams, David has overseen capital projects with a budget in excess of £200m.
Prior to joining SUMS, David was Director of Operations at one of the UK’s largest universities where he held the strategic brief for service enhancement across all professional service areas. He also had management responsibility for c200 staff across areas including corporate operations, academic administration, business transformation and continuous improvement. Prior to that, David directed the delivery of all projects, initiatives, team members and external consultants within the institution’s transformation programme which released capacity of 200 FTE per annum and made cash savings in excess of £10m.
How has David recently supported universities?
- Cardiff University: Lead Consultant and Client Partner for Target Operating Model design
- University of Oxford: Lead Consultant and Client Partner for Review of Professional Services
- UCL: Lead Consultant and Client Partner for Faculty Futures
- University of Reading: Lead Consultant for Review of the Efficiency & Effectiveness Programme
Outside of work, David plays golf, football and tennis and, whilst he wouldn’t describe it as ‘fun’, is a season ticket holder at Preston North End. He also enjoys travelling, fine dining and is also a rollercoaster and theme park enthusiast.