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My Return to Elixirr

I am delighted to have re-joined Elixirr, the Challenger Consultancy, having spent the last two and a half years driving Corporate Development at a leading Private Bank, and I am keen to provide some perspective on both my time away and why I have returned. 

I first joined the Elixirr team in 2015 after a lengthy career at a major UK banking group.  At Elixirr, I quickly realised that the challenges faced by one organisation are not unique; usually as important, new and innovative ways of working to tackle these challenges are also valid in other businesses, both within and across industries.  The Bank was an organisation with a justifiable reputation for getting things done quickly and it certainly provided a great education for me in delivery execution.  Equipped with that education I set out to find solutions for Elixirr clients with a similar approach.  I had the privilege of working with clients on three continents during my first two years at Elixirr and was particularly proud of my contribution to Elixirr’s then fledgling US market expansion.

In late 2017, I was presented with an opportunity to build new businesses myself for the Private Bank and was keen to put my Elixirr experience to the test back in industry.  I led work to create two new businesses and co-sponsored the implementation of a market-leading CRM platform into the Bank.  My experience at Elixirr equipped me with the confidence to hit the ground running and make an immediate impact in this new organisation.

My observations back in industry left me in no doubt why Elixirr is the best at what it does.  Let me tell you how.

Elixirr is a unique combination of the sharpest consultancy minds mixed with established senior industry experience, which creates an incredibly powerful capability for solving client problems with innovative solutions.  Every project is pragmatic, where the bespoke solutions can be adopted and embedded; Elixirr advice is presented with a well-conceived and thought through implementation roadmap, change management plan, and adoption strategy.  I personally love the way Elixirr does this…presenting options to complex challenges in easy-to-consume and visually appealing ways.  It’s extremely compelling and I’ve not seen anyone else do it as well.  It’s also not just about a well-presented story…the quality of Elixirr’s thinking, advice and output is genuinely world class. 

One of Elixirr’s USPs is the way it teaches clients to develop solutions to complex problems in a matter of hours using Design Thinking and Rapid Prototyping techniques.  Whilst Design Thinking may not be unique to Elixirr, their take on it absolutely is.  I have seen many Elixirr clients genuinely amazed by the speed at which they can design and produce products when they think differently; and again, it’s not just theory, Elixirr has the design and build talent to turn paper-based solutions into reality.  At speed.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to return to Elixirr and once again help clients find solutions to their challenges, with the benefit of additional industry experience.  Coming back has been like returning to old friends.  Like everyone else, many of those friends are now remote and much of the work is done via Teams and Zoom, but of course Elixirr has always had the capability for agile working.  Elixirr’s operating model was set up from the start to enable its teams to work globally be it on a clients’ premises, a hotel or from home.  Covid-19 has not impacted Elixirr’s ability to deliver client work to the same standards as previously and there is the positive of not spending time travelling!

Whilst I’ve been away Elixirr has continued to grow from strength to strength and is now a PLC, listed on AIM of the London Stock Exchange following a very successful IPO in the summer.  But I am delighted the firm’s special culture has remained fully intact: the relentless drive for quality, and the ability to solve clients’ most complex problems all delivered with the unique Elixirr entrepreneurial spirit.

A great example of the entrepreneurial spirit is Elixirr’s newly launched solution for returning to work, travel, places of business and anything else that brings people together, Indaba.  Look out for a further post from me on this in a few days.

Having been back at Elixirr for a couple of months now, I have again seen so many examples of what makes Elixirr unique and, crucially, why so many clients trust us with their most difficult challenges.  I am very excited by what the future holds.  I’d love to have the opportunity to show you what we could do for you with solutions to business challenges you might be facing. Please get in touch.