In today’s world of accelerating change, leading transformation isn’t just about strategy—it’s about people. Few understand that better than Louisa Loran, former Director of Strategic Business Transformation at Google, senior executive at Maersk and Diageo, and author of Leadership Anatomy in Motion (Fast Company Press, 2025).
With more than two decades of experience guiding global organizations through evolution, Louisa has shaped industries at the intersection of technology, leadership, and human connection. In her conversation with Anthony Taylor on the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, she explores how great leaders stay relevant, build alignment, and move organizations forward—no matter the complexity.
Listen or Subscribe on:
Watch the full episode on YouTube here:
From Luxury to Logistics to Tech: A Career Built on Curiosity
Louisa’s journey spans three distinct worlds—luxury brands, logistics, and global tech. At Diageo and Moët Hennessy, she helped iconic brands blend tradition with innovation. At Maersk, she co-authored the strategy that redefined the company from a shipping conglomerate to an integrated logistics powerhouse, impacting 20 percent of global trade. And at Google, she led business transformation for the company’s largest EMEA clients and launched a billion-dollar supply-chain solutions business.
The common thread through all of it? Curiosity and courage.
“You need to be willing to unlearn,” Louisa shares. “You need to be willing to challenge your own assumptions before you can then start shaping new patterns forward.”
The World of Two Speeds
Louisa describes today’s business landscape as divided into two speeds.
“Forty percent of the market is tech companies—they’re going to accelerate, create AI, and invest for the future. Everyone else is looking at it wondering, how do I catch up?”
Her insight highlights a growing gap between fast-moving innovators and traditional organizations still developing the muscle of effective steering, prioritization, and communication. The solution, she says, isn’t imitation—it’s integration. Leaders must combine the agility of technology companies with the operational discipline of established firms.
Strategy Alone Doesn’t Win—People Do
Across her career, Louisa has learned that transformation fails when people can’t see themselves in the strategy.
“Everyone should be able to articulate the strategy and find their role to contribute to it,” she explains.
At Maersk, that meant aligning more than 100,000 employees around a single vision. For other organizations, it begins with creating space for dialogue, trust, and clarity. Transformation requires not just a strategic roadmap but an emotional contract—leaders who can move hearts as well as minds.
The Enemy Isn’t Change—It’s Disconnection
A central theme in Louisa’s book and her interview is that disconnection, not disruption, is the real threat to organizations. In a world overwhelmed by noise, data, and rapid technological change, leaders risk losing focus on what truly matters: purpose, alignment, and people.
“You have to start the transformation yourself,” Louisa says. “What got you here will not get you to the next step.”
Her framework—envisioning with ambition, expanding with curiosity, steering with decisiveness, and embodying change with presence—offers a roadmap for leaders to reconnect strategy with humanity.
Why It Matters for Leaders Today
For executives navigating AI, globalization, and complex stakeholder expectations, Louisa’s perspective is both practical and philosophical. She reminds leaders that while technology accelerates possibilities, human clarity sustains progress.
Transformation, she argues, is less about chasing what’s next and more about understanding why we move at all.
About Louisa Loran
Louisa Loran is a Transformation Architect, Global Executive Advisor, and Author of Leadership Anatomy in Motion (Fast Company Press / Greenleaf, 2025). She has led transformative growth at Google, Maersk, and Diageo, serves on the boards of Copenhagen Business School and CataCap Private Equity, and is recognized for guiding leaders through strategic and cultural change.
🌐 www.louisaloran.com
🔗 LinkedIn
About the Host
Anthony Taylor is the CEO, Founder, and Senior Facilitator at SME Strategy. With over 14 years of experience, he helps leadership teams worldwide create alignment, implement strategies, and drive results.
Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604
Helpful Resources and Contact
More from our online courses: courses.smestrategy.net
Contact our team: smestrategy.net/contact
Podcast produced by: Rednyne Productions
