Mike Lardner

Background

About Mike Lardner

Mike played elite sports for many years where he developed a fiercely competitive reputation. His brand of strategy is about solving problems by asking tough questions, testing long-held beliefs, being bold by operating beyond comfort zones. Mike believes strategy is about connecting the dots - aligning ambition with trust to create value in differentiation. He has worked in strategy for 20 years, growing businesses by looking at problems differently - whether it be optimising pricing with custom ML models, entering new markets on a shoe string, redesigning product portfolios for the AI age, using tech to find untapped funding sources, or acquiring customers through traditional M&A means, impact is what matters most. Now running FutureStrat, the strategy consultancy he founded during COVID-19, Mike and his Oxford team are solving previously impossible problems with cutting edge tech - specific to the needs of clients in sport, fine art, and entertainment; they also regularly advise leaders in education, publishing, logistics, and healthcare. As a dual US and UK citizen, Mike’s perspective has led him to work in boardrooms in the US, Europe, UK, Africa and AsiaPac in a number of in-house strategy roles. In addition, he has worked in biz dev for Whirlpool/KitchenAid in California, as Chief of Staff for a $500m BU in Europe, started the AI lab whilst leading strategy at Oxford University Press.