Dominic Alldis
Orchestral conductor, jazz musician & business speaker
Dominic Alldis is an orchestral conductor, jazz pianist and business speaker. He performs regularly in concert halls, festivals and jazz clubs around the world, and has made many acclaimed recordings. He is also an Honorary Associate and professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
In 1998 he founded Music & Management to introduce the business world to music as a powerful metaphor for exploring leadership, teamwork, creativity and personal development. During his seminars, he describes how the conductor of an orchestra transforms an ordinary performance into an extraordinary performance by providing a clear artistic vision, inspirational leadership and a framework in which others can excel. He also explores how the world of jazz mirrors the fast-moving turbulence of today's business climate, and how the creativity and spontaneity demonstrated by jazz musicians provide an excellent model for the corporate player.
Dominic engages his audiences with musical analogies that invite organisations to embrace both of these cultural metaphors. His seminars often involve a live symphony orchestra or jazz band, or a live solo piano performance.
Previous clients include Siemens, Unilever, Kingfisher, WPP, Accenture, Booz Allen, Oracle, eBay, Rolls Royce, EADS, GE, Diageo, Danone, BBC, Canal+, L’Oreal and LVMH, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Barclays, AXA, as well as Columbia Business School (New York), CEDEP/INSEAD (Paris), Institute of Management Development (Lausanne) and London Business School (London).
Previous clients include:
• The Board of Morgan Stanley Bank with CEO John Mack (2009)
• The Board of eBay with CEO Meg Whitman (2009)
• The Board of Kingfisher with CEO Ian Cheshire (2010)
• The Board of Sandoz Pharmaceuticals with CEO Jeff George (2011)
as well as Siemens, Unilever, WPP, Accenture, Booz Allen, Oracle, Rolls Royce, EADS, GE, Diageo, Danone, BBC, Canal+, L’Oreal and LVMH, Sandoz, Ferring, Pfeizer, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Barclays, AXA, Columbia Business School (New York), CEDEP/INSEAD (Paris), Institute of Management Development (Lausanne) and London Business School (London).
Dominic speaks English and French.
References & Testimonials
“Thank you once again for conveying to our group the powerful music/business metaphor. After two days of exploring the theories of leadership, you made it all come together in our Wednesday "interlude." That night at our group dinner, participants couldn't stop talking about the transformative experience you led them through. It was the highlight of their week! Your insight about business organizations was exactly right: we talk a lot. We often talk past each other. One of the great revelations about the orchestra experience is that musicians must listen as well as they play or the performance suffers. This is a leadership lesson that was not lost on anyone attending your session…” Rick Zwern, Worldwide Director Executive Development at WPP Group
"Time and time again, an absolute highlight of our leadership development program is the interlude session with you, Dominic. The chance to sit among an orchestra, to experience the interplay, the connection, the artistry of the musicians is an inspiring and unforgettable experience. Even more powerful are the business insights our leaders gather during the session. Through your delicate facilitation and wonderfully eloquent commentary as maestro, our leaders gain new insights into the power of the podium, the impact of their leadership and importance of truly listening. Quite literally Dominic, you are helping us transform leadership here at eBay." Beth Axelrod, Senior Vice President, Head of Global HR, eBay Inc.
"Learning about leadership through music is one of the most creative learning experiences I have ever had. The combination of beautiful music and Dominic's excellent ability in translating the orchestra's experience into everyday business leadership experiences is a unique and powerful opportunity for anyone who participates. I have been privileged to be a past participant but I feel equally privileged to bring this to my colleagues at Morgan Stanley. It is a beautiful, moving and educational experience. Bravo!.." Ellen Shedlarz, Managing Director, COO, Talent Management Group, Morgan Stanley
"We were delighted with the very special "Intermezzo" you provided for our executive development program, Maestro: Orchestrating Client Value. Your session had just the impact we wanted, using music as a metaphor to demonstrate key leadership principles. Your creative use of Juilliard students with whom you had no previous history had an added benefit: their fresh talent was truly inspirational and you were able to demonstrate how leaders establish credibility through a shared language and respect for each other's capabilities. An excellent demonstration of the power of effective communications! Your session was amongst the highest rated aspects of our program…" - Elaine Holland, Director, Strategic Sourcing, WPP Group USA
“Excellent - he theme of music appealed to everyone. Dominic’s presentation was very thought- provoking and relevant at both a personal and organizational level. He was engaging and interactive with the audience and I would recommend his presentation to any organisation…” - Liam Keys, Managing Director, GE Global Business Services
“Excellent! The theme of music appealed to everyone. Dominic’s presentation was very thought-provoking and relevant at both a personal and organizational level. He was engaging and interactive with the audience and I would recommend his presentation to any organisation…” - Liam Keys, Managing Director, Global Business Services, General Electric
"An important part of the Leadership Development Centre was to stretch our managers' thinking about leadership using music as a metaphor. An important result was that our managers began to shift their mindset, seeing leadership through a jazz lens, as improvisation, collaboration and flexibility, not just through a traditional orchestral lens, as "conducting" a team..." - Mark Jenner, Talent Organisation and Development Manager, BARCLAYS BANK PLC
"It is thanks to Dominic's powerful, yet simple, messages around being 'in tune' with each other while performing that I was able to be crystal clear about my management expectations for my top 50 executives: As Miles Davis said "don't play what you know, play what you hear..." - Alfonso Di Ianni, Senior Vice President European Enlargement and CIS Region, Oracle
“Dominic's music metaphor has proven to be really effective with our managers; he was just the right person at the right time and has this rare talent to obtain emotional engagement and let the audience discover simple things they will never forget. Highly recommended!” - Benedikt Benenati, Organisational Development Director, GROUPE DANONE
“We had the pleasure of having Dominic Alldis as part of the executive training programs for Young & Rubicam Brands. He carefully tailored his session to the profile of the group and the objectives of the program, while making sure that the music metaphor "sang out" to the group. With an orchestra or a jazz quintet, he left our leaders with an indelible memory that enhanced their learning experience...” - Celia Berk, Chief Talent Officer, Y&R Brands
“An eye opening experience and a very well structured presentation… Dominic and the string quartet brought us a very refreshing definition of how to perform in a team… An inspiring session and definitely a highlight of the course… Excellent, a fantastic night, the comparisons to music and leadership were relevant, but most importantly the night was fun… It was surprising how well he was able to relate to leadership in business… One of the highlights of the week… A very good experience, we learned how to trust and to lead while keeping the harmony… It was an eye opener, he excelled at getting to the point and highlighting what we have in common…” - Feedback from buyers worldwide, UNILEVER PLC
“Dominic connected music creation with business challenges and it helped re-enforce important messages about teamwork and leadership. The musical performances were remarkably good, given the short time and lack of talent, it has given us a motive to talk further about how we work together, and most of all it provided a common language regardless of ability or experience, prompting us to think about listening more. It gave me great confidence in our business challenges going forward…” - David Linthwaite, Director of Training & Development, BBC
"Could not believe how relevant and aligned music was with business… Absolutely wonderful!! It was an unforgettable hour… I will not listen to classical music again in the same way... Fantastic… Outstanding session... Amazing connections to the corporate world. I will not think of an orchestra/band in the same way I had before… Also I don't plan to quit my day job!!! Superb! Never realized how much being a conductor of our orchestra so well relates to leadership and organization... Wow, what an amazing experience... Thank you... The best!! Outstanding! Many lessons to take back... Wish it could have lasted all day! - The Senior Executive Program, COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL, NEW YORK
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