Ian Watt leaves Calgary to lead L.E.K.'s Australian energy & environment practice
After spending three years as a partner in Strategy&’s energy and utilities sectors in Calgary, Ian Watt will return to his former stomping grounds of Sydney, Australia. He will join management consultancy L.E.K. Consulting, leading the firm’s Australian energy and environment practice.
Watt has more than a decade of strategic consulting experience, advising clients in the energy, utilities, and industrials sectors across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America. He has deep expertise in utilities transformations, including deep operational transformations, pure growth strategy, and long-term future visioning.
As utilities are increasingly forced to navigate market disruption (smart technology, new competitors) and regulatory changes, experts like Watt who can advise on business model evolution and new product design become ever more valuable.
“We are delighted to welcome Ian Watt to L.E.K. His experience working with utilities to successfully address waves of market disruption and regulatory complexity bolsters our ability to drive value creation for clients,” Nick Holder, partner and head of L.E.K’s Asia-Pacific region and head of the firm’s Australia practice, said.
Watt spent nine years at Strategy& and Booz & Company, working on business transformations and operating model design for clients in energy, utilities, and mining – first as a director, then as a partner. In 2016 he transferred from Sydney to Calgary to support the launch and expansion of Strategy&’s energy, utilities, and mining practice across Canada.
Prior to that, Watt was a principal project manager in the UK at EcoSecurities, a firm that sources, develops, and trades emission reduction credits. Before that, he worked as an analyst at the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, helping to develop New South Wales’ emissions trading scheme.
Watt began his career as a mechanical engineer at design and engineering consultancies Mott MacDonald and Connell Wagner.
Watt’s addition is L.E.K.’s third partner appointment in Australia so far in 2019. Joe Sponholtz also joined the Sydney office from rival consultancy Partners In Performance, while Melbourne-based Philip Wheeler was internally promoted to partner.
