Most advisory firms approach transformation the same way. They arrive with frameworks, deploy large teams, produce comprehensive reports — and leave before the hard work begins. That model works when programmes are on track. It doesn't work when they're not.
Southpaw Strategy was built for the second situation. Founded by Joel McLaughlin — Yale MBA, former HSBC Transformation Office Lead, and management consultant at EY & Capgemini Invent (as well as a charity boxer in training) — the firm draws on nearly two decades of experience inside the most complex transformation environments in global financial services and other notoriously challenging sectors including energy & utilities, government & politics.
The name says it: we're not the obvious choice. We bring a deliberately unorthodox approach — pressure-tested in Tier-1 environments where complexity is highest and the margin for failure is lowest. Governance that slows rather than enables, decisions that don't stick, accountability structures that look right on a slide but don't hold in a room — that's where we work.
Small team. Senior presence. Close to the work. We exit when things are moving. If you've already tried the standard playbook and it hasn't worked, that's usually when clients find us.