Ed Straw has spent a working lifetime in organizational performance and development, from his university education to his career in management consultancy and as a partner in Coopers & Lybrand and PwC for 20 years, UK and global board roles, government and political party adviser, chairman of Relate and Demos, public appointments, and publications.

He has most recently researched and written a book titled Stand & Deliver: A Design For Successful Government. Its thesis is that the reason governments fail, or are rarely as effective as they would want, is that they have never been designed for their modern remit. The book proposes a design drawn from organisation and systems theory, termed the Treaty For Government. Taking this work further would be best realized at a University Department specializing in the research and understanding of the systemic behaviour of organizations.

Employment

1982 – 2008

Coopers & Lybrand/ PricewaterhouseCoopers: Consultant then Partner 1998 – 2008

1982 – 1994, 2002 – 2008

Government & Public Sector Advisory

  • Central government departments: Department for Constitutional Affairs, Department for Media Culture and Sport, Inland Revenue, Environment, Defence, Education, Overseas Development, Home Office, Trade & Industry, Cabinet Office, Government of Thailand, Scottish Executive
  • Agencies & State Enterprises: HM Court Service, Environment Agency, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, BNFL, DERA, Thamesmead Town, Arts Council, Regional Arts Boards, BBC, Monopolies & Mergers Commissions, USAID, World Bank, IOC and others.
  • Local Government: Kent County Council, Essex, Cornwall, Dorset, Metropolitan Councils, GLC, London Boroughs, Tunbridge Wells DC and others.
  • Voluntary & Related Organisations: National Theatre, Relate, Notting Hill Carnival, NACRO, Family Planning Assocation, Family Services Unit, National Playing Fields Association and others
  • Research, evaluation, policy advice, economic development, competition & fair trade references, pricing policy. London’s Olympic Challenge
  • Restructuring the public sector: feedback system for offender sentencing, privatisation, contracting-out, introducing competition, enterprise restructuring, commercial strategy, business planning.
  • Value for money audits, efficiency & effectiveness reviews, methods development.

1998 – 2002

Leader, Entertainment & Media Consulting, EMEA

1995 – 1998

Head of Media Sector Consulting, UK

  • Reuters, BSkyB, Emap, ITV, Channel 4, Prof Media Russia, BBC, Carlton, UBM, Time Warner, ASCAP, PRS, EMI , IPC Magazines, and others.
  • Led European business development & technical development teams, the latter through the internet revolution in business models. European & US PwC networks, thought leadership, research & people.
  • Organisational change; corporate transformation; systems dynamics modeling; process reengineering; IT transformation; shared services; cost reduction; design & implementation of rights, content management, airtime sales, finance and HR systems.

1995 – 2002

C&L and PwC UK Board member

1996 – 2000

PwC Global Board member

Overseeing the merger and the establishment of the new company and its entities around the world.

1973 – 1982

  • Consultant in engineering and manufacturing companies
  • Foster Wheeler – process plant contractor
  • President, Students Union, Manchester University 1970-1971

External Appointments

  • Visiting Fellow, Applied Systems Thinking in Practice Group, Open University 2015
  • Chair and Trustee of Demos 2005 – 2008
  • Chair and Trustee of Relate 1990- 2000, then Vice-President
  • Joint founder and Trustee, Family and Parenting Institute 1998- 2006
  • Trustee of Stroud Valleys Arts 2002 -present
  • ESRC Research Group for the Study of Care, Values and the Future of Welfare, Advisory Board member, University of Leeds
  • Scottish Executive, Efficient Government, Expert Panel
  • Policy Review with David Blunkett, 1987/88
  • Organisational Review of Labour Party for John Smith, 1992/3
  • Government Adviser on Family 1997 -2002
  • Ministerial Adviser 1997 – 2005
  • Public Administration Committee: verbal evidence on civil service reform

Publications

Some Appearances and Interviews

  • Civil Service Reform, CIPFA
  • Whose Morals Anyway, Institute of Ideas
  • Hitched up or Stitched up, Law Society debate on cohabitation
  • 9 o’clock News, BBC
  • World Tonight, Radio 4
  • News, Channel 4
  • News 24, BBC
  • Today, Radio 4
  • Unmarried Fathers, policy and practice, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
  • National Marriage and Relationship Education Conference, Australia
  • Isabel Gordon Memorial Lecture
  • Teaching Morality, Institute of Global Ethics
  • Love Bites Back, LWT panel
  • Open House, Gloria Honeyford, Channel 5
  • Breakfast TV, BBC
  • Jimmy Young, Radio 1
  • Nicky Campbell, Radio 1
  • Scott Chisholm, Talk Radio
  • Learning to relate to father – profile in The Sunday Times
  • Marriage? Who needs it? – profile in The Times
  • The Other Mr Straw – profile in The Independent

He has contributed to a wide range of conferences, seminars, broadcasts, and reports.

Education and Learning

  • BSC Civil Engineering, Manchester University
  • MBA, Manchester Business School
  • Fellow of Institute of Management Consultants
  • Leadership in Professional Services Organisations, Harvard Business School
  • Strategic Leadership, Templeton College, Oxford University
  • Bio Energetics, Cranfield College
  • Creativity, Buffalo College
  • Hoffman Institute process
  • Numerous courses as tutor and tutee, project management, brief focused therapy, account planning, consulting with the board, etc