Lucent team expands to achieve greater social impact

We are delighted to announce that Lucent is expanding the skills and expertise we offer our clients to help them achieve their bold ambitions for social change. 

Specialist skills in governance, partnership building, project management and data science complement the experience of the existing Lucent team drawn from many years of leading charities and other organisations with a social purpose. 

New consultants Lakshmi Sundaram and Joe Ferns bring a wide range of skills drawn from their senior leadership roles across the charitable, philanthropic and public sectors.

Lakshmi Sundaram 

Lakshmi is a strategic leader with a strong track record in building effective partnerships between organisations, sectors and individuals. Her work has led to tangible, sustainable and systemic changes in the fields of global health and gender equality.

Lakshmi was the first Executive Director of Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage, which she grew from a small project to a thriving global movement. She brought the issue of child marriage to global attention and attracted significant funding to help drive change in local communities.

Lakshmi has also worked with the Ministry of Health in Rwanda on technology initiatives for AIDS programmes, coordinated a global health portfolio for the World Economic Forum and supported the development of diagnostics for various diseases at the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics.

Joe Ferns 

Joe brings expertise gathered from working in the non-profit sector for over 20 years. His experience straddles a range of mental health and philanthropic sectors, including leading frontline mental health services as well as research, policy, data and knowledge for Samaritans and directing a £50m grant portfolio for the National Lottery Community Fund.

Through his work at the Samaritans he achieved significant policy change to support mental health of young people and contributed to national suicide prevention strategies. He has a strong track record in leading delivery of large-scale change management and service programmes, including securing a £5m partnership with Network Rail after designing a suicide reduction programme for railways; developing the Samaritans’ services through SMS messaging, work-based training programmes and distinctive programmes for schools and young people.

Previously, Joe has worked for the Institute of Psychiatry and as a residential social care worker. More recently, Joe helped set up the Baobab Foundation – a new type of funder led by Black and Ethnic Minority community organisations. 

In addition, Jenny Watson and David Kane bring expert skills in governance and data science and will be working on specific projects alongside the Lucent team. 

Jenny Watson 

Jenny brings skills and expertise in governance, board development and effectiveness informed by her deep experience as a chair, trustee, non-executive director and governor. Among other governance roles, she was the Chair of the Electoral Commission and Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission. She currently has a broad portfolio covering charities, public sector bodies, education and the private sector including Non Executive Director at the Financial Reporting Council and the Financial Ombudsman Service, Chair of The House at St Barnabas and an Ambassador for Women on Boards.

David Kane

David is a data scientist and researcher, specialising in all aspects of data specifically for charities and organisations with a social purpose. He brings expertise in data analysis and visualisation, building and maintaining data tools and open data alongside experience gathered from roles at NCVO, CAST Centre for the Acceleration of Social Technology and the Greater London Authority and as an adviser and consultant across the public, education and charity sectors.

Commenting on the new appointments, Katherine Rake (Director) said: “We are delighted to welcome Lakshmi and Joe who will add their expertise as consultants to help drive forward Lucent’s work. The addition of their skills and experience, alongside expert input from Jenny and David means that we can help more organisations to overcome their strategy blocks and assist more clients in achieving their bold ambitions for change.”