Craig Le Grice | Strategist

I help clients perform, think, create, engage and deliver. Simple.

What I've done and who I've worked with.

Get in touch, find out more, work together.

Hi, I'm Craig Le Grice. I'm an award winning strategist, specialising in connecting brands and their stakeholders - whether that's consumers, staff or shareholders.

I've almost 10 years' experience in driving engagement using digital technology, commercial strategy and marketing communications. I work on a contract / consultancy / project basis with companies around the world, based from London.

This website is typical of how I work:

• One page - all the facts, no nonsense
• Straight to the point - concise and considered
• Focused - driven by needs and objectives
• Different - because 'usual' rarely sells

If you like what you see, please get in touch.

I believe that companies should invest in, and deserve, a consulting based relationship that gets close to the business plan, understands the consumer and is digitally native.

Launching products, engaging consumers, managing change, informing stakeholders, leveraging value, creating opportunity, bringing CSR to the heart of the business, managing multiple cultures...

Whatever the end goal is, I believe it's all best based on solid strategy, tangible insights and clear objectives.

My role as a strategist is to deliver this mix.

Above all, I believe that integration is the key to growth. I'm 100% digitally native but, naturally, understand the holistic strategic mix.

I combine digital technology with commercial skill and an understanding of consumer psychology. To me, it is this balance that delivers tangible and measurable results.

Studying at Harvard Business School and working in management consultancies such as McKinsey and Deloitte, I'm a big advocate of psychological profiling.

As a result, I talk a lot about (and spend much of my time) striving to be a 'V-shaped' thinker, not just 'T-shaped'. The diagram above starts to explain this...

The left T-shaped mind has adequate breadth of skills and one area of deep knowledge. The V-shaped thinker on the right, however, fills in the gaps (in grey) becoming multi-skilled and multi-specialist with both breadth and depth.

I was absolutely delighted to end 2011 by being named 'Young Entrepreneur of the Year' at the annual Startups Awards.

Now in its eighth year, the Startups Awards has earned a reputation for recognising some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs in their early years.

Previous winners have included Wonga.com, Glasses Direct, Ella's Kitchen and Naked Wines so it was a real honour to be in such great company.

Judged by an esteemed group of entrepreneur judges - including Rosemary Forsyth, Lara Morgan, Piers Linney and Mitesh Soma - my category was a particularly exciting one and I'm definitely grateful for the accolade!

Throughout my career, I have been extremely lucky to have worked with some of the most interesting clients, brands and companies in the world.

From fast growth and pioneering startups to entirely new emerging markets and established sector leaders to companies fighting for survival, each has brought its own challenges.

My projects are always very varied, but historically have included:

• Strategy and thought leadership
• Planning and innovation
• Digital and social best practice
• User / consumer experience
• Product / service launch
• Consumer insight and behaviour
• Research, data and analytics
• Digital performance consulting
• Workshop / audit design and delivery
• Social and online-ambient media integration
• New sector creation / development
• Creative direction / team integration
• Brand identity - specialising in online brands
• Information architecture
• User profiling and planning
• Technology / production planning
• New technology integration / guardianship
• Change management
• Environment / process design
• Business process outsourcing

My client list - past and present - includes a variety of global brands, leading agencies and respected consultancies:

Apple, Mars, Gap, Unilever, BT, Virgin, RBS, Accenture, Channel 4, Deloitte, Selfridges&Co, Hilton, Toni&Guy, McKinsey, Harrods, KPMG, SapientNitro, Carbon Trust, Grey, Razorfish, Sony Europe, McBride, GSK, Barclays, Method, American Airlines, GE, Intel, Absolut, Mizuho, Visa, HSBC, Illy, Topshop, Sage, Vivienne Westwood, Habitat, Halifax, British Council, Kuoni, BlackBerry, Foot Locker, Walmart, Dominos Pizza, Moet & Chandon, BBC, British Airways, United Airlines, Citrix, Wella, L'Oreal, Carlsberg, Volkswagen Group and SEAT.

My specialist knowledge extends to a number of sectors, but I primarily work within:

• Retail
• Banking
• FMCG / CPG
• Pharmaceutical
• Travel
• Broadcast
• Consumer electronics
• Automotive
• Not for profit / third sector

After years of traveling, working in varying environments and with a vast demographic spread, I have multi-geographic, multi-market consumer insight experience of the following markets:

• Western Europe
• Scandinavia
• North America
• South America
• Middle East
• South East Asia

I am specifically interested in (and have valid experience in) working on projects that focus on consumers, brands, products and services within emerging markets and newly industrialised countries.

To find out more about me, what I do, what I'm working on currently, or when I'm next available to work on a new project, please simply get in touch.

As you'd probably expect, I have several ways of being contacted. Please feel free to use whichever of the below suits you. I use each channel throughout the day (every day) and will respond to you as soon as possible.

• Email - direct and easy, if a little 'old school'
• Skype - let's have a real conversation
• Twitter - when 140 characters is enough
• LinkedIn - add me to your network
• foursquare - find out where I am in the world
• Facebook - mixing business with pleasure

Additionally, you can find me on:

• Klout - measuring my reach and engagement
• Blogger - occasionally blogging
• Vimeo - I ditched YouTube for Vimeo

There's nothing quite like a recommendation to get to know someone better. I have roughly 50 available on my LinkedIn profile but a few of my favourites are below:

"Craig is a real digital guru. Thought provoking and a real subject matter expert, Craig facilitates genuine innovation. Highly recommended for any individual or company looking to accelerate digital customer engagement." Russell Sizer, Barclays

"Craig is an innovative and creative thinker, resolves complex issues and delivers great results" Kate Burt, Right to Play

"In a world where value is often difficult to measure and compare Craig adds true value through a rare combination of strategic analysis combined with truly value generating insight." Cat Le Huy, SapientNitro

"Craig has an exceptional strategic brain. He's talented and creative with a real flair for getting people excited about an idea. He's also unflappable and unfailingly charming even under pressure." Cathie McGinn, Mindshare

"Craig has an outstanding ability to quickly assimilate information, decide what is important and then transform this analysis through the application of clever creative thinking in to compelling original thought. He combines this with deep practical knowledge about the digital world and a thorough understanding of brands and business. This all adds up to the delivery of authoritative and effective strategic and creative planning." Nick Hough, Frieze

"Craig is the brightest crayon in the digital box. Respected by his peers, valued by his clients. Indispensable." Rossa Shanks, Grey

I primarily work with / am engage by clients in one of three distinctly different ways:

• Direct with a client, on a fixed project brief
• In an agency / consultancy as a contractor
• As a joint venture

To discuss your upcoming project or current requirement, please get in touch. Thank you.

I regularly work with larger clients, on complex projects and to tight deadlines. When this happens, I work to a 'hub and spoke' model, building a specialist team for a specific brief.

I'm always excited to hear from consultants that share my passion for integration and are keen to work together.

Planning for 2012, I'm especially interested in building my network of likeminded people working in the following areas:

• Data and analytics
• Customer experience strategy
• Systems integration
• CMS development
• Asian social media / platforms
• New York based strategists
• Singapore based strategists

Email Craig Le Grice, digital strategy director in London