Strategy
Clarify the problem, establish the baseline and decide what needs to change. Turn ambition into priorities, with clear choices and measures of success.
Diagnosis · Prioritisation · Commercial judgement
LANIGAN / BEN LANIGAN
STRATEGY.
TRANSFORMATION.
EXECUTION.
Practical leadership for organisations facing complex change. Connecting the direction of the business with the people, capability and execution it takes to deliver.
Discuss your priorities Explore the experience
Executive experience.
A practical approach to change.
From commercial performance to operational reliability and AI-enabled transformation, the starting point is the business problem.
01 / EXPERTISE
Support where the
work needs to move.
Transformation
Build the capability to deliver the change. Align people, processes and data, using AI where it can release time and improve the way work gets done.
Operating capability · Process improvement · AI enablement
Execution
Bring stakeholders together around the decisions and delivery. Establish ownership, track progress and stay focused on whether the intended benefits are sustained.
Stakeholder alignment · Delivery discipline · Benefits measurement
02 / OFFERINGS
How I can help.
Fractional CTO
Senior technology leadership on a flexible basis, bringing clear direction to technology investment, delivery and organisational capability. I work with leadership teams to assess the current landscape, shape a practical technology roadmap and strengthen governance, supplier relationships and execution. The scope is tailored to the business, whether it needs ongoing executive support or leadership through a period of change.
CEO & C-Suite Advisory
An experienced partner for senior leaders navigating complex decisions, competing priorities and organisational change. I help turn strategic ambition into clear choices, accountable plans and effective execution, providing constructive challenge and practical support. Engagements can focus on a specific business issue or provide ongoing support across strategy, operating performance and transformation.
Private Equity: Defined-Scope Transformation
Focused engagements for private equity firms and their portfolio companies, addressing a specific transformation priority within an agreed scope and timeframe. I work with sponsors and management teams to diagnose the issue, identify the value opportunity and establish a practical delivery plan. Each engagement is structured around clear outcomes, milestones and measures of success.
End-to-End Transformation Management
Hands-on leadership of complex transformation, from initial diagnosis and programme design through implementation and transition into everyday operations. I connect strategy, people, process and technology, establishing clear ownership, governance and delivery discipline. The focus is on achieving measurable business outcomes and building the capability to sustain them.
AI Advisory & Implementation Planning
Practical support to identify where AI can improve performance, reduce avoidable effort and create business value. I help leadership teams assess opportunities, prioritise use cases and develop an adoption roadmap grounded in commercial needs, data readiness and appropriate oversight. Engagements can extend into pilot design, implementation coordination and benefits measurement.
Transformation Function Design & Deployment
Design and establish a transformation function that gives the organisation the structure and capability to deliver change consistently. This includes its mandate, operating model, roles, governance, prioritisation and benefits tracking, alongside the tools and working practices needed to make it effective. The approach is tailored to the organisation’s scale, maturity and ambitions.
Transformation Diagnostic & Recovery
An independent assessment of a transformation programme that has lost momentum, clarity or confidence. I identify the underlying delivery constraints, reassess priorities and help leaders establish a credible recovery plan. The result is a clearer view of what needs to change, who owns it and how progress will be measured.
Commercial & Operational Performance Improvement
Targeted support to improve how the business converts resources and effort into results. Drawing on experience in commercial transformation and operational reliability, I examine processes, team structures, performance measures and management routines to identify practical improvements. Engagements focus on measurable outcomes such as stronger conversion, greater productivity, improved reliability and reduced avoidable cost.
03 / SELECTED EXPERIENCE
Change, measured
in business results.
Examples from Ben’s employed executive roles. These are prior professional experience, rather than engagements contracted to LANIGAN.
GLOBAL B2B FINTECH01
Turning around a global
BDR operation
A programme facing closure became a stronger commercial operation through clearer processes, better prospecting access and investment in people.
$37.9mClosed-won business
$312mPipeline generated
>11%Opportunity conversion
Expanded worldwide operation · Year ending 31 July 2026
Read the case study
The mandate
The international operation cost $4.4m a year and delivered $2.7m in closed-won business. Ben took responsibility for a turnaround with a threshold of twice operating cost. The starting scope covered 89 people in 14 countries, with 62% annual staff turnover.
The intervention
Process mapping and a two-week Kaizen workshop aligned qualification and commission standards. Broader account access and multichannel outreach replaced narrow allocations. Removing two management layers released investment for contact intelligence and AI-enabled market signals. Coaching and progression routes supported the change.
The outcome
International closed-won business reached $14.6m in FY2023 as annual cost fell to $3.7m, a 3.9x revenue-to-cost ratio. Annual staff turnover fell to 15%, including internal moves. By the year ending July 2026, the expanded operation delivered $22m internationally and $15.9m in global enterprise. US adoption required at least twice the change-management time.
Source: Ben Lanigan interview; results self-reported. Executive work at a global B2B Fintech. Conversion is opportunity-based; revenue-to-cost is not a profit measure.
REGULATED OPERATIONS02
Restoring operational
reliability
A persistent reliability challenge needed a shared view of the whole system, bringing specialist disciplines together through evidence and influence.
150+Additional days of uptime
£200m+Value delivered
2 yearsBenefit period
Recovery across two operating units · Identifying details withheld
Read the case study
The mandate
Recurring outages reduced availability and created substantial financial losses. Individual disciplines could show that their work met requirements, yet reliable operation remained elusive. Ben was brought in to lead the recovery.
The intervention
Ben brought operations, engineering, design and safety teams together around shared evidence. A three-week diagnostic sprint identified how valid practices interacted. A three-month implementation updated maintenance practices, operating methods and engineering requirements together, retaining safety and regulatory requirements.
The outcome
The recovery delivered more than 150 additional days of uptime over two years across two operating units, linked to more than £200m in value. Ben reports that the site director and CFO reviewed and signed off the calculation, based on reduced downtime and associated generation profit. The wider reliability programme that followed is separate from these figures.
Source: Ben Lanigan interview; results and sign-off reported by Ben. Employed executive experience. Organisation and identifying operational details have been generalised.
MULTINATIONAL TRANSFORMATION03
Building internal
transformation capability
A lean transformation function, designed with AI from the outset to retain business knowledge and release capacity for delivery.
7Capital projects
~35% to <5%Communications time¹
$20mProjected annual spend reduction²
¹ Share of project-team time, reported by Ben. ² Annualised projection, not realised savings.
Read the case study
The mandate
A large multinational was using external consultants as additional delivery capacity. Ben designed an internal transformation function and led it worldwide, retaining business context and continuity while using external expertise where it added capability.
The intervention
Working with the head of strategy, Ben helped shape seven capital projects over a three-year horizon. AI collated information and prepared first drafts of stakeholder updates from one agreed dataset. The same data linked delivery activity to benefits measurement, continuing beyond project completion.
The outcome
Ben reports that project-team time spent on internal communications fell from about 35% to below 5%. The function operated across seven capital projects. The $20m annualised reduction in external consultancy spend was a projection, not a completed year of realised savings.
Source: Ben Lanigan interview; deployment and measures self-reported. Measurement dates not stated. Employed executive experience. Organisation and implementation methods remain confidential. Outcomes elsewhere depend on the organisation and scope of change.
INTERNATIONAL SALES TRANSFORMATION04
Delivering international
sales transformation
End-to-end operational leadership turned a new go-to-market strategy into sustained growth and a more consistent client experience across 450 sellers in 27 countries.
+250%Multi-country sales revenue
>300%Annual pipeline growth
100%Opportunities followed up
Growth from FY2020 to FY2026 · International markets outside the US and Canada · Fiscal years July to June
Read the case study
The mandate
Ben’s initial analysis found an average three-week delay when prospects moved from in-country to multi-country sellers. Of transferred opportunities, 52.5% received no follow-up. He proposed enabling one seller to handle both offerings, retaining the client relationship and reaching smaller opportunities that specialist teams often deprioritised. The company commissioned BCG’s broader analysis; Ben joined its final four weeks to take the handover and lead operational delivery.
The intervention
Ben held end-to-end accountability for implementing the strategy across international markets outside the US and Canada. He led training, policy, compensation design, workshops and readiness across the wider business, including sales-to-implementation handovers. Rollout began in EMEA, followed by Latin America and Asia Pacific, adapting to local requirements and team structures. The planned launch date was met, but training continued for six months; early gains emerged at eight months and strong results at eighteen months. After becoming divisional vice president of operations, Ben continued embedding the change.
The outcome
By FY2026, multi-country sales revenue had increased 250% and annual pipeline more than 300% from the FY2020 baseline. Its share of the relevant pipeline rose from 21% to over 50%. All opportunities received follow-up and the transfer causing the three-week delay was removed. Win rate fell from around 65% to 35% as coverage broadened, alongside substantially higher sales. Double-digit annual growth was reported in the years assessed, excluding FY2021 and FY2022 because of COVID-related disruption.
Source: Ben Lanigan interview; results and attribution self-reported. Employed executive experience, not a LANIGAN engagement. Absolute revenue and pipeline values are omitted due to commercial confidentiality and financial reporting sensitivities. Further information may be discussed directly with Ben, subject to applicable confidentiality obligations.
04 / ABOUT THE FOUNDER
- 27 years
- Professional experience
- 20 years
- As a board member
Board-level judgement.
Hands-on delivery.
Ben Lanigan brings 27 years of experience, including 20 years as a board member, to helping organisations turn strategic ambition into measurable business improvement.
His background spans military environments, engineering, operations, commercial leadership and transformation. It includes leading transformation and performance improvement within major global organisations, including Jacobs, Xerox, ADP, Lockheed Martin and EDF.
Ben’s sector experience covers heavy engineering, power, nuclear generation and reprocessing, government, military, B2B services and fintech. That breadth brings a practical understanding of organisations where commercial performance, technical complexity, safety, reliability and disciplined execution must work together. Military experience forms part of that foundation, alongside board-level judgement and hands-on delivery.
Experience that translates into action
Across his previous executive roles, Ben’s achievements include:
- Turning around international commercial operations, strengthening sales performance and rebuilding team capability.
- Improving operational reliability and delivering substantial business value in demanding, regulated environments.
- Designing, establishing and leading a worldwide transformation function.
- Applying AI to reduce administrative effort and release capacity for delivery.
- Aligning technical, operational and commercial teams around complex change.
These achievements reflect Ben’s career before LANIGAN and inform its approach today.
A practical approach to change
Ben combines strategic direction with engineering management, operational excellence and Lean Six Sigma: understand the problem, establish the evidence, make clear choices and build the capability to sustain improvement.
Through LANIGAN, he supports boards and leadership teams with focused advisory assignments and hands-on transformation leadership, bringing clear scope, accountable ownership and measures of success to each engagement.
Explore how Ben can help05 / CONTACT
What needs to change
in your business?
Tell me what you’re trying to achieve, what’s getting in the way and where you need support.
hello@laniganog.comBen Lanigan · LANIGAN