The Chairmans Club - Founder

Leslie Dighton – Founder

Leslie Dighton is the Founder and Director of The Chairmans Club; Founder and Chairman of Corporate Renewal Associates; author of papers on value creation, global governance, Board leadership, corporate pitfalls and organizational resilience; Governor of the London School of Economics; member of the Advisory Council of the National Consumers Council; member of the Global Business Network; advisor and mentor to various Boards and Chairmen.

After studying at The London School of Economics Leslie joined Royal Dutch Shell working first in Group Planning in London and subsequently in marketing and operations in Algeria and Nigeria. The contrast and drama in those experiences influenced his understanding of the nature of both corporate and political change and informed the model of consultancy he went on to develop after forming Corporate Renewal Associates.

The primary insight was that rational analysis however compelling was an incomplete motivation for change. Corporate organizations were glued to their pasts and had very strong memories built in of the future. As a result, strategic ambitions were not always consistent with the external environment nor with internal capability. Resistances are built into every layer of organizational structure and process. CRA is typically invited to contribute when internal and external environments have begun to become seriously misaligned and when waiting is no longer a sufficient solution.

The centre of attention is always initially the Board, its composition, structure and methods of working, and the processes, pace and values it embeds throughout the organization. The consultancy model supports the Board in rebalancing history and legacy with strategy aspiration, risk with opportunity and resource capacity with appetite.

The Chairmans Club is an extension of that philosophy designed to allow corporate heads to explore in a continuing and timely fashion the appropriateness of the key assumptions which underpin their business models and their understanding of the external environment.

Current objectives are to establish a ‘sister’ club in India and to fully incorporate Climate Change into the agendas of the Club.

Leslie's passions include as much physical engagement with the land and the seasons as he can get; continuous learning from his eight grandchildren; and resistance to the exclusions which diminish people's potential and confidence in all unhealthy systems.