Lars Thuesen is a global social change leader and strategic innovation facilitator with more than 20 years of experience as a leader, senior civil servant and consultant in the public sector and internationally. Most recently he held the position as head of strategy, innovation and performance management in the Danish Ministry of Justice, Department of Prison and Probation. In 2014 Lars founded WIN (the Welfare Improvement Network) a network of international consultants that helps leaders, organizations and communities initiate and sustain social change using innovative approaches. Lars has thorough experience in planning, designing and facilitating strategic innovation processes. Lars has extensive experience from Moldova as well as many other countries working with UN agencies such as UN Women, UNDP and UNFPA in facilitating social innovation processes within e.g. gender equality, economic empowerment, reduction of gender-based violence and political participation. Lars is associated with and a part of the faculty at the executive master’s program; Coaching and Consulting for Change at Oxford University, Said Business school and HEC in Paris that educates and coaches global leaders in strategic innovation and leadership skills.
Lars is deeply passionate about solving some of the most pressing social challenges in our societies. In his work the focus is on co-creation and what already works well to create sustainable change. He leads and facilitates social change processes combining different leadership, co-creation, asset- and community-based approaches to obtain the best possible impact.
Lars has a M.Sc. in political science (1995) and a M.Sc. in Coaching and Consulting for Change from HEC/ Oxford University (2008), where he is teaching executive students in the Positive Deviance Approach since 2011. His broad and extensive experience include leadership training and process facilitation all over the world including Denmark, e.g. at the Copenhagen Business School, Innovation Master programs in South Africa, leadership training for prison leaders in Morocco, workshops, facilitation of innovations Labs and inspirational talks on social innovation, positive deviance and adaptive leadership in the US, UK, France, Netherlands, Palestine, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, Fiji, Sweden, Norway, Slovakia, OECD, North Macedonia, Palestine, Moldova, Serbia, Albania, Turkey, Romania, the Baltic countries and Greenland.
He has worked and currently works with various UN agencies in different countries, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC), GIZ, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the European Council and international NGOs using the Adaptive Leadership model and the Positive Deviance Approach to solve wicked social problems, e.g. gender and equality challenges, illiteracy in Roma communities and reducing violence among youth.
The Change Pod: How Change Happens Podcast Interview
What do shrimps in Vietnam, prison keys in Denmark, and school schedules in Romania have in common?
They give us clues to how to respond to Covid-19 and other change challenges. Click here to listen to this podcast episode featuring PD Facilitator Lars Thuesen →
