I am a senior change management professional with over twenty-five years’ experience enabling leaders and their teams to grow through transformation across global businesses in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. I have managed thirty-two large scale change projects including co-leading global change management for the $19.6 billion Kraft Foods acquisition of Cadbury, which included a team of forty change leads across sixty countries.
My change assignments include mergers, divestitures, organization restructurings, growth capability developments, efficiency drives, culture initiatives and systems implementations. Practical experience working on change initiatives in twenty countries has taught me how to help people make changes within their local environments that give them sustained results.
Over my career, I have held senior leadership positions including Global HR Director Commercial, Global Organizational Change Director, Americas VP Organization Change and Vice President HR Canada.
I am the author of the award-winning Change with Confidence: Answers to the 50 Biggest Questions that Keep Change Leaders Up at Night (Jossey-Bass). It provides complete, actionable answers to the burning questions that leaders routinely ask about how to manage change successfully.
I hold a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Toronto and a Diploma in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University. My work has been featured in Forbes, Businessweek, Globe and Mail and many other business publications.
I am an engaging public speaker and facilitator who has a genuine passion for helping people lead organizational change. More information about me is available on my blog, Making Change with Confidence.
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 |
