Laurence Buchanan named CEO of EY Seren
Big Four firm EY has appointed Laurence Buchanan as the new boss of its Seren subsidiary.
Over the past two years, EY Seren was headed up by Michael Von der Geest, a partner who joined EY from Accenture in 2013. As of August 2020, EY Seren is helmed by London based partner Laurence Buchanan, who takes on the role of Chief Executive Officer, in the latest chapter of a consulting and technology career spanning two decades.
A partner within EY's consulting business, Buchanan predominantly focuses on helping clients re-imagine growth via innovation and business transformation. This also sees him lead the firm’s Customer and Growth field of play across the EMEIA region – a role he will continue in alongside leading EY Seren.
Prior joining EY in 2012, Buchanan spent a three years with Capgemini, where he was a Principal in digital transformation, as well as Head of CRM & Social CRM. Earlier, he also spent around nine years with SAP, where he spent five years as EMEA Vice President for CRM. He was previously Head of CRM with Logica – now operating as CGI – and holds a Masters in Modern History from the University of Oxford.
Buchanan leads a team of around 200 professionals working for public and private sector clients globally. The firm currently has offices in London, Dublin, Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Lisbon, Johannesburg, Dubai and Mexico City.
Commenting on the role via LinkedIn, Buchanan said, “I'm very excited to start a new role as CEO of EY Seren. There's never been a more important time for human-centered design innovation and technology as company's navigate the transformative age.”
Less than a week after going live, Buchanan’s post has already garnered more than 1,500 likes and comments from colleagues, friends and well-wishers. These included EY-Seren Partner Richard Sedley, who said he was “really looking forward to working together,” and Simon Constance, Partner, Alliances and Emerging Technology at EY, who stated, “There has been so much success working with colleagues in EY Seren.”
Seren was acquired five years ago by EY, at the time the first of its kind for the Big Four’s UK advisory practice. While the firm had bought several smaller firms specialised in strategy consulting, technology or organisational consultancy, Seren marked its entry into the world of customer experience and design thinking.