Who is LCM Advisory
About Louise Wapshare
I started my career as a junior auditor. I didn't set out to become a CEO.
What I set out to do was understand how businesses really work , the numbers behind the decisions, the pressures behind the numbers, and the people behind both. That curiosity took me through a series of finance leadership roles, progressively larger and more complex, until I found myself running a business rather than advising one.
That shift - from CFO to CEO - is one I now understand very well. It is not a promotion. It is a different job entirely. And it is one of the transitions I am most interested in supporting others through.
What I believe about leadership
The thing I became most convinced of during my time as CEO is that culture and commercial performance are not separate conversations. The businesses that perform consistently - especially under pressure - are the ones where people understand what they are trying to achieve, trust each other enough to say difficult things, and feel genuinely empowered to act.
Getting that right is not soft work. It requires clarity, consistency and the willingness to make difficult calls about people and priorities. It is also, in my experience, the thing most leadership teams underinvest in , until the pressure arrives and reveals what was missing.
That conviction sits behind all of the work I do now, whether in an advisory, coaching or board context.
Beyond the business
I am a Non-Executive Director of Womens Utilities Network - a professional network of over 12,000 members dedicated to building a utilities sector where women join, stay and thrive. I was part of the WUN team who co-founded the Women in Utilities Awards in partnership with Utility Week, now in its third year, and I deliver quarterly self-advocacy workshops and mentoring to senior women across the sector.
This is work I care about deeply. The energy and infrastructure sector has made progress on gender diversity. Not nearly enough. I use the platform I have to change that where I can.
Credentials
- Chief Executive Officer, SmartestEnergy Business (2021–2026)
- Global Executive Committee Member, SmartestEnergy Group
- Non-Executive Director, Women's Utilities Network (2023–present)
- Executive MBA, London Business School
- Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching, Henley Business School (in progress)
- Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA)