I am is a change strategist, facilitator, leadership coach, and public speaker with over 35 large-scale change projects under my belt, including co-leading global change management for the $19.6 billion Kraft Foods acquisition of Cadbury. For over 25 years, leaders and their teams have relied on me to help enable performance through championing the changes they must make.
Over my career, I have held senior leadership positions, including Global HR Director Commercial, Global HR Director Culture and Engagement, Global Organizational Change Director, and Vice President HR Canada. My transformation assignments include operating model redesigns, organization restructures, strategic planning, leadership team performance optimization, culture initiatives, change capability building, efficiency drives, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and systems implementations.
I am the author of two award-winning books, Change on the Run: 44 Ways to Survive Workplace Uncertainty and Change with Confidence: Answering the 50 Biggest Questions that Keep Change Leaders Up at Night. My work has been featured in Forbes, Businessweek, The Globe and Mail and many other business publications.
My podcast, Change on the Run, and the Sharing Change with Confidence monthly newsletter are available on the Change With Confidence website.
What Leaders Say About Phil
| “Phil’s expertise in change management and proven track record of success is only surpassed by his uncanny ability to infuse electrifying energy into every endeavor he leads, be it a speaking engagement, workshop or project. His personal brand of leadership is anchored in a strong foundation of values, conveying a deep sense of authenticity and integrity in all his business and personal interactions.” | Tony Murphy, Senior Vice President, Human Resources North America Mondelēz International | |
| Phil Buckley is a world class change leader and world champion enthusiast and this explains why. In a straightforward and engaging way Phil answers the 50 questions all change manager need to answer with confidence to succeed. Rare too for a book in this field he shares the ‘how not to’ as the ‘how’. It’s a book any manager wanting to succeed in change should keep close by.” | Professor Chris Bones, Dean Emeritus, Henley Business School, Professor of Leadership, University of Manchester and Winner of the British Library/CMI ‘Management Book of the Year Prize 2012’ | |
| “Phil’s presentations are inspiring – he makes the most challenging changes simple to understand and his practical approaches are easy to execute. It’s a joy to listen to such an interactive and animated expert in organizational change – he is one of a kind!” | Luisa Girotto, Public Affairs Director, Starbucks Coffee Canada | |
| “Phil is an experienced change leader with a rare ability to personalize his talks by industry and audience, making his insights, stories and tips both relevant and actionable. His presentation ended our leadership conference with energy and purpose.” | Bob Noftall, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs, D+H | |
| “Phil is an enthusiastic speaker who shares his knowledge of change management through stories, insights and practical advice. Interspersed with personal experiences and subtle humour, his approach is engaging, memorable, and highly relatable. Having garnered extremely positive feedback from attendees, there is a clear appetite to bring Phil back for additional change-related topics and interactive audience dialogues. We look forward to hearing him speak at future chapter events.” | Cindy Smith, Vice President, ACMP Toronto Chapter | |
| “We invited Phil to speak to our members (and some non-members) at one of our professional development events. We couldn’t have been more pleased with the result! Phil was a great speaker and really engaged the audience. He has a friendly, down to earth style that made the audience very comfortable and as a result they asked many questions that turned the event into an engaging conversation rather than a presentation, which was the goal we were aiming for. The feedback from attendees was some of the best we’ve ever received, with comments like:“Phil was a great speaker with thoughtful and informative information on change management.”“Speaker was energetic and engaged well with the audience.”“I believe this was one of the best programs IABC has offered.”The Board of Directors was extremely pleased with the outcome and we would highly recommend Phil as a speaker on this topic.” | Rob Caldera, Vice President – Professional Development, International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), New Jersey | |
| “Phil is an engaging, genuine speaker that holds the audience’s attention at every turn. Using a blend of evidence-based teaching and real-life, entertaining examples of organizational and personal change, he won the audience over. That genuine approach to his speaking is the same one you encounter working directly with Phil. He is as engaging one-on-one as he is on stage.” | Jamie Alison, President and Founder at Epitome and Elevating Results Conference MC |
