Duncan Spencer appointed CCO at LACE Partners

HR and payroll consultancy LACE Partners has further strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointment of Duncan Spencer. Joining the firm as chief commercial officer, he arrives in the latest chapter of a 25-year career in the professional services sector.
LACE Partners is a UK-based boutique consultancy specialising in HR transformation, change and technology advisory work. In recent years, the firm has been enjoyed accelerated growth, and now has almost 100 employees and a top-tier client portfolio across all industry sectors.
As LACE prepares to help clients deal with a range of payroll and HR changes in 2025, the firm has welcomed a new chief commercial officer to the team. Duncan Spencer brings more than 25 years of experience to the role, and will work to shape LACE’s future goals in the market.
LACE Chief Executive Officer, Cathy Acratopulo, explained, “We have an ambitious growth plan over the next few years at LACE and Duncan’s expertise will be critical in shaping and directing how we achieve our goals, including cementing our position as the leading specialist consultancy for HR and Payroll transformation. Duncan is a great fit with our culture, strategy and client base; we are delighted that he has joined as our CCO and we are excited about the future.”
Arriving from Alpha FMC, Spencer spent 19 years with the consultancy. Most recently he was chief client officer, a role in which he spent around two years, and had also been a senior client with Alpha FMC since 2017. Earlier in his career, Spencer also worked for Accenture, where he spent four years and latterly served as a manager.
Spencer added, “LACE Partners has developed an enviable reputation as the leading consultancy in the HR and payroll space. I am delighted to join the team at this exciting and critical juncture as we – with the backing of our private equity partner, Mobeus – enter the next phase of our growth. I am looking forward to working closely with Cathy, Aaron Alburey, the Board and the whole organisation as we drive the business forward to ever greater success.”
Set up in 2014 by founders, Aaron Alburey and Cathy Acratopulo, LACE focuses on transforming HR and payroll functions to drive business value and enhance the employee experience. UK headquartered, LACE undertakes end to end transformation programmes for global, complex organisations across all industry sectors. With demand for HR consulting showing no signs of slowing, the firm attracted investment from Mobeus in early 2023.