alainthys.com - Alain Thys - Let's make transformation real.

Real transformation is something customers can feel, teams can deliver and competitors struggle to copy. For new profit. And richer lives.

You want more than another agile sprint, brand reboot or AI dashboard.

You want a strategy that lands.
Offers and experiences customers feel.
Teams that deliver what you promise.
An edge competitors can't copy.

And you know that the playbook we all learned was built for a different era.

This is what I explore, architect and build.
Perhaps we can do it together.

30+
International transformations

500m+
Customers affected

1m+
Workers engaged

#1/Top Decile
NPS results

I learned it the hard way.

I've worked on transformations worldwide. I'm proud of what we achieved.

But I also saw needless pain.

Frameworks distorting customer reality.
Roadmaps not making sense to teams.
Orthodoxies acting as limiting beliefs.

So I built a different approach.
To make transformation real for customers. Organisations. People.

It's worked in financial services, automotive, beauty and crematoria.

It may work for you too.

From leaders I've worked with

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With his collaborative, commercial and hands-on approach, Alain sparked a fire for customer experience across the company from the moment he started.

Alexandra de Greck

VP, Head of Global Operations & Customer Experience
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Oriflame

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From our first interactions, I thought: Wow, this guy's sharp - super smart & also super honest. He exemplifies the concept of radical candour.

James Wallman

CEO
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World Experience Organisation

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Alain helped define and form our customer-centricity program. His extraordinary skill to listen, understand and bring everything into the context of his client is amazing.

Dominik Endler

VP Customer & Commercial Excellence and CMO
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Bekaert

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For the first time in my life, I got a more structured way of thinking about customer experience and client satisfaction

Nikolaas Tahon

Global Board Member
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Deloitte

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Alain has worked with us on our CX agenda from the beginning. He brings clarity, relevance and a commercial mindset that helps to engage a diverse and international audience.

Paul English

Global Leader - Markets & Clients
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Grant Thornton International

How I work

I use The Transformation Code, a formula distilled from my own experiences and 7 years of research with neuroscientists, psychologists, narrative designer, systems thinkers, and more.

It looks deceptively simple, but it works:

Shape a Story that expands what feels possible
Make it Resonate with your customers. Organisation. Market
Create the conditions for change to Flow

𝚫 = S × R × F

Want to understand how I think before we talk? Check out my book or Substack.

How we can collaborate

I can only work with a few clients at a time.
So let's build change that connects to your customers, moves your business and creates new profit.

If this is what you're looking for, we can take three directions:

EXPLORE
Talks, immersions, and practical tools that help you understand where your transformation is stuck and the smartest moves to make it real.

ARCHITECT
Make me your executive sparring partner to help you shape the Story, Resonance and Flow that makes your transformation move.

BUILD
For select projects, I assemble The Transformation Architects to create the offers, experiences and ventures your market needs next.

NOT SURE WHERE TO START?
Start with a diagnostic.

In three one-to-one meetings, we identify where your transformation stutters, what needs to shift and which moves will make it real for your customers, your organisation and your market.

We can then take it from there.

Want to discuss your transformation goals?

If I think I can help, we roll up our sleeves.
If not, I'll tell you too.

Let's find 30 minutes

Some of my past work

Here are examples of past projects across industries. For a full list, visit the about page.

Selected case studies available under NDA.

HIGH STREET BANK (ONGOING)

I'm helping a major banking group translate a targeted customer proposition and conversion targets into a differentiated service ethos that staff feel empowered to deliver across various branch formats.

TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE (ONGOING)

For over 15 years I've regularly collaborated with Toyota on strategic projects ranging from brand promise work, over employee experience, to profiting from customer smiles.

Today, I'm helping the European business on an internal transformation project.

Contributed to: increased NPS, new vehicle sales, after sales, brand clarity

PONTES CREMATORIA (ONGOING)

For a leading crematorium, I developed a death care experience that departs from the industry's fixed habits to deliver the meaning and transformation that humans need.

The resulting experience guide will be gradually implemented, culminating in the opening of a new crematorium in 2029. Spin-off activities in the broader death care arena are also under consideration.

Contributed to: higher customer willingness to pay - better experience.

Work done with my colleagues at The Transformation Architects.

AI TRANSFORMATION IN RETAIL

Using the principles of The Transformation Code, I assisted a global non-food retailer develop a Story that makes teams across units and cultures lean into the company's AI transformation agenda, rather than having it imposed.

Contributed to: AI strategy alignment, internal communications impact

GENERALI GROUP

When the insurance giant Generali Group decided to establish new customer experience standards, they aimed for more than merely 'meeting expectations'.

So after reviewing global customer voice data and looking at key consumer trends we worked with a global, cross-functional team of experience champions to define a clear Generali difference at every stage of the customer relationship.

Thus creating a platform for short- and long-term differentiation.

Contributed to: Global alignment on experience standards and focus

WORK AS AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

For a London based global HQ, we asked a team of architects, experience designers and neuroscientists to reimagine work as an immersive experience.

The resulting mix of spaces, stories and behaviours created an office concept that both attracts talent and encourages it to live the company values.

ORIFLAME

To enter its next phase of growth and increase customer loyalty, we helped the global beauty and wellness company Oriflame create a set of customer promises that would truly differentiate it from any direct sales company on the planet.

These general promises were then turned into 'customer noticeable' activities by different departments and teams.

Contributed to: aligned experience standards, operational focus

STEEL WIRE & COATING

With a global leader in steel wires and coating I co-created and introduced an internationally aligned set of customer promises linked to their new brand identity.

In spite of a challenging economic climate, these helped the business differentiate by bringing to life its brand promise.

Contributed to: organisational clarity on customer promise.

PHILIPS INTERNATIONAL

When Philips International decided to take a customer-centric direction, I helped pioneer an insight-led marketing approach and roll out the Net Promoter System across 65 countries for consumer electronics, lighting and medical equipment. Making the business one of the first in the world to turn recommendation into new profit.

Contributed to: increased NPS, product success rates, customer focus

LEXUS EUROPE

From 2006-2021, I have supported Lexus in reinventing the luxury automotive experience. The programmes we worked on have raised the industry's bar in Europe, LATAM, the Middle East and Asia and drove continuous growth.

Contributed to: industry leading NPS and experience.

Shall we find 30 minutes to discuss?

If I think I can help, we roll up our sleeves.
If not, I'll tell you too.

GET IN TOUCH

I learned it the hard way.