Dr Alan Bougardt is a highly inspirational, imaginative and results driven Leadership, Strategy & Organizational Development Practitioner. Specializing in consulting psychology, psychometric assessment technologies & trauma counseling, Alan is currently the director of a company he formed in 2005 i.e. Leadstrong Business Consulting. (www.leadstrong.biz) headquartered in Bryanston Johannesburg.

Alan has enjoyed over 26 years of experience in the people practices industry during which time he worked for the SA Permanent Bank, the French Bank of South Africa and First National Bank. Switching from Banking & Finance, Alan then worked at The Coca-Cola Company for ten years. He held various positions at Coca-Cola, but was most passionate about the transformational aspects of people practices i.e. the disciplines associated with change management, talent management and executive coaching. During his tenure with Coca-Cola, Alan worked with numerous Division Presidents as well as with other direct reports of the global CEO in Atlanta, Georgia. He served on numerous international teams and global forums and was also part of a point team that had overall responsibility for Performance Management at The Coca-Cola Company.

In 2004, Alan was officially commended by The Coca-Cola Africa Group President Alexander B Cummings for his contributions to Leadership Development in Africa.

Also in 2004, Alan was commended by Lt Col. Ron Reid Daly (professional soldier, founder & commanding officer of the Selous Scouts) for leading a training & survival expedition in Mozambique. Over a number of years Alan partnered with Col. Ron in helping permanent force soldiers transition back into civilian life. This transition often included many hours of trauma counseling i.e. PTSD (post trauma stress disorder). Alan himself served as a platoon commander & instructor with the rank of Lieutenant in the South African Defense Force (SADF) from July 1986  – July 1988. After that Alan served with Regiment Pretorius & later with 6 Light Anti-aircraft regiment. Called up during the 1994 elections, Alan played a specific part in South Africa’s peaceful transition to a new democracy. During 2002 at a function in Atlanta Georgia Alan was singled out by Lieutenant Colonel Charles ‘A-Train’ W. Dryden who personally thanked him for his role during the elections & handed Alan a signed copy of his book entitled ‘Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman’.

Alan’s work experience, as both an employee & later as a business owner has taken him to well over half of the worlds 205 countries. Highlights include a leadership expedition to Antarctica as far down as the South Pole and an environmental climb to the top of Mt.  Kilimanjaro. Other standout experiences include the many years spent consulting in the GCC & Middle East most notably with BNP Paribas who used Bahrain as their Middle East headquarters. Working at the Microsoft campus in Seattle Washington, Alan enjoyed consulting to some of Mr Bill Gates’ direct reports. For the last 8 years Alan has been the Chairman of the Board of Governors for a school in Johannesburg i.e Kings College Bryanston.

As a skilled business leader & enabler of sustainable performance-enhancing change, Alan has a documented track record of delivering results within multinational & highly matrixed enterprises. While he absolutely loves spending time in boardrooms with executive & leadership teams, he also has a huge passion for wilderness areas & all forms of wildlife. Every spare moment is spent in the wild! Alan is a FGASA (Field Guide Association of South Africa) qualified game ranger and nature guide registered with the SA Department of Tourism.

Living life as a learner explorer, Alan continues every day to unearth potential in the communities & lives of those he interacts with. Creating and facilitating educational opportunities for others is a huge part of who he is. An important element of his vision includes not only preventing rhinos from being poached, but educating local communities, creating work opportunities and increasing the size of the rhino population in Southern Africa.