Our Team
Managing Director: Mick Lowe
Mick has worked in local government and community based groups for around 30 years. He was a Director in two London Boroughs for almost ten years of this time, before setting up LCS Limited.
He specialises in performance management and change, using quality systems as tools in the re-engineering process. He is a qualified assessor of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), Excellence Model and an expert in Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). Mick is a graduate from the University of Kent, has an MSc in Management Development and Social Responsibility and is currently completing a Doctorate in Social Science at the University of Bristol.
He has worked with more than 50 local authorities across the UK and in South Africa, from Cabinets and Directors Boards to staff groups facing radical change. He has worked with some of the best authorities in the UK, but has also gained considerable experience working with authorities whose needs for improvement and 'step change' have been paramount.
Principal Consultant: Susan Bennett
With a background originally in teaching, progressing to further and higher education and training, Susan has worked for a number of high profile local authorities including Lancashire County Council and North Yorkshire County Council. Later she worked for the social services departments at Essex County Council and Liverpool Metropolitan Council as a senior manager with corporate responsibilities for best value, user and carer involvement, performance management and service planning.
From 2002-2004 she worked for the Audit Commission and has extensive experience of inspecting in both first tier and District Councils. In addition, she was a member of the Audit Commission team that produced the national report: ‘Drug Misuse 2004’. She was responsible for developing this work in the North West and East of England specifically, and for the user and carer involvement in the project nationally, thereby working with national representatives of partner organisations, commissioning research and re-shaping the final draft of the report.
Susan is a qualified mentor for the Audit Commission, has a Masters Degrees in Education and Training, Organisational Development in the Public Sector, Writing and Psychology.
Principal Consultant: Paddy Davies
Paddy is a graduate from the University of Kent and has an MA in Quantitative Social Studies. She has worked for the Welsh Office and the former Mid Glamorgan County Council, before spending 14 years with the London Borough of Sutton in the Policy Development Unit. She has led reviews in every service provided in an upper tier authority and been responsible for corporate and service based policy initiatives. Paddy is a specialist in environmental sustainability and performance management.
Principal Consultant: Keith Lowe
Keith trained as a system analyst and ran his own IT company for many years prior to joining British Aerospace (now BAe Systems) in 1994 as the deputy head of IT in their Commercial Aircraft Division. He spent some years in Toulouse on a joint, aircraft development venture between BAe Systems and two European Aircraft Manufacturers. As the Sales and Commercial Project Director he was at the interface with some of the world's leading aircraft companies, developing and implementing customer relations policies and practice.
Keith is a systems and IT expert with PRINCE and PRINCE 2 project management skills. For the past 6 years he has been leading the Environmental Performance Improvement Partnership (EPIP) with 11 local authorities.
Principal Consultant: Phillida Miles
Phillida is a Psychology graduate, who has worked for the N.H.S and Social Services for over 14 years in a wide range of social and health care settings: adolescent mental health, residential units, area community teams and family centres, before becoming a consultant. As well as having extensive experience as a practitioner, Phillida has also supervised and managed teams of staff. She has been instrumental in developing new services, creating new and innovative policies/procedures, bringing new teams together and re-engineering services.
Phillida is also a training specialist, designing, organising and facilitating training, team and business development events for all levels of staff. She also facilitates team development events in both the private and public sector. These have ranged from outside activity-based programmes to more typical events to improve team effectiveness or develop practice.
Associate Consultant: Dominic Campbell
Dominic is a Geography graduate from the University of Manchester and he also has an MA in Economic Geography. He was in the first wave of graduates to join the National Graduate scheme for local government (NGDP) and has experienced working in and managing a range of services. His first two years training on the scheme was accompanied by the completion of a post graduate diploma in local government management at Warwick University. He is also Prince II (project management) qualified at practitioner level.
At Barnet, he specialised in performance management and the use of information and business intelligence to ensure organisational success. He has held the posts of Performance Review Manager; Performance and Strategy Manager and Head of the Information Observatory. In these roles, Dominic drove the development of a revised business planning and performance framework for the authority, including authoring two corporate plans, as well as designing and supporting the implementation of an entirely new and innovative structure for the back office Resources Department of the council.
Dominic has recently completed a research project on behalf of a number of national agencies and think tanks on the role of City-Suburbs. This gathered national interest, raising the profile of suburbs and their role in the future developments of cities in the UK.
Managing Director:
Mick Lowe
Principal consultants:
Susan Bennett
Paddy Davies
Keith Lowe
Phillida Miles
Associate consultants:
John Lawrence
Dominic Campbell
Brian Pote-Hunt
Support staff:
Andy McGuire