Neil Bird Email & Phone Number

London

Leading the global key client programme and team managing the Firm's largest banking and financial institution clients.

Singapore/Hong Kong

Ran the development and management of key clients across Asia Pacific while leading the Firm's Asia Pacific Digital Innovation/FinTech Initiative. In addition, led the client innovation strategy by applying human-centred design thinking techniques to better understand client needs/challenges and create better solutions.

Singapore

Led a team of five to drive the Asia Pacific transactional group strategy, raising the profile of the group globally through a focus on client needs, market dynamics and internal requirements.

London, United Kingdom

Consultant to a broad range of professional services firms to apply modern thinking to grow their business through more profitable and high value client relationships.

During my seven years at Grant Thornton I held numerous positions in specialist roles ranging from marketing and communications to thought leadership and business development. Starting as a Marketing Executive, I worked my way to Senior Marketing Executive and then to Manager in four years.• Development and guided implementation of first global approach to business development and client management successfully across 24 key offices.• Consulting with managing partners, heads of business development and client managers to apply elements of the approach based on critical needs, maturity, market dynamics and cultural considerations.• Segmenting client portfolios and target lists for key client management and key target pursuits.• Managing key clients including conducting and articulating client feedback into commercial opportunities• Targeting, pursuit and proposals to prospective clients in chosen sectors.• Integration of account-based marketing and thought leadership into client plans.• Consecutive yearly growth of sector revenues, client base and bid/win rate globally and nationally.• Designed and implemented real life, practical training programmes for partners, associates and client managers.

London, United Kingdom

• Led global research team for thought leadership, competitive intelligence and brand tracking.• Managed the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) – world’s largest survey of business leaders• Converted IBR from an annual survey of 7,000 to a quarterly survey of 11,000 business leaders achieving $25m worth of press coverage in 2009, rising to $36m in 2010.• Increased participating IBR jurisdictions from 36 to 41 from 2009 to 2010 including launch in mainland to become China’s largest regular B2B survey.• Led team to initiate globally consistent best practice framework for business development.• Seconded to Sydney for four months in 2010 to produce first Australian firm transparency report.

London, United Kingdom

• Managed the Grant Thornton International Business Report which included: o Topic identification and questionnaire design o Analysing data to create newsworthy stories using innovative communications o Coordination of over 30 global research partner agencies o Internal and external communications, including press release writing, design, podcasts and blogs• Increased participating jurisdictions from 29 to 36 from 2005 to 2009.• Regular broadcast, print and online coverage in FT, Economist, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, CNN, Reuters TV, Bloomberg TV, BBC World and CNBC.• Management of bespoke research projects such as doing business guides and sector/issue reports• Key team member during successful re-launch of the Grant Thornton brand in over 100 offices including: new logo creation, design style, templates, advertising concepts and creative executions.

Guildford, United Kingdom

Part of a small marketing and communications team which led this top 100 UK law firm's strategy around events, thought leadership, communications (both internal and external), writing and editing copy and digital campaigns. During this time we successfully re-branded the firm’s visual identity.