John Ryan, CEO of the 4impact Group, follows a modern leadership style with a firm belief that business should strive to deliver value for all stakeholders; people, clients, and shareholders. He believes delivering collective benefit creates more organizational strength and resilience, and ultimately delivers elevated levels of success for all. This is coupled with a passion to cultivate a progressive attitude and mindset within the business, encouraging it to continually challenge and evolve itself to maximise its relevance for all its stakeholders. John’s own personal experiences have shaped the way in which he leads today; he brings a deep care and connection for people and a desire to support them living in a way that allows them to be the best version of themselves.

“My personal goal is to try and benefit everyone we connect with as a business, and to support them to grow and have a positive influence in areas they are passionate about,” says John. “4impact has the ability to not only to help people individually, but also the organisations we work with by investing in their success, which supports them to do more in their communities and for the causes that align with their own purpose.” 

Building a Pioneering Company

The founders were the driving force behind the creation of the 4impact Group and the successful establishment of its highly regarded brand . They entrusted John to evolve and grow the business into the future. “Their original belief was that having a people first mentality, and a focus on adding more value to consultants and clients alike, were the keys to success and great outcomes,” says the progressive leader. “It is what most attracted me to the company and is the solid foundation that I continue to build upon.”

The company’s business model is anchored in an intimate understanding of their customers and people. “We genuinely listen to understand the needs of both our clients, and the talent in our community,” explains John. “A deep appreciation of our clients, the industries we operate in, and our community of consultants enables us to create long term value and trusted relationships. From there we can tailor our services for each particular client, and match them with exceptional people with a shared desire for the benefits the work is designed to deliver.” John believes this is what creates a modern partnered approach; “a common goal with shared purpose for everyone” from the start, helping teams form seamlessly and work together for a greater outcome. 

Referencing a current example, John says they are assisting an overseas client in the banking space who have a very complex core system replacement program, in partnership with their internal team. “It’s fair to say that when we were initially engaged there were some very challenging circumstances to address: multiple vendors, issues with program structures, technology, team cohesion and communications,” says John. “When we came on board as the program’s principal vendor, we took the approach which is in our DNA: listen with humility, operate with complete transparency, co-design the right solutions and put a big focus on team building and morale.” John and his team took the time to understand the client’s issues, environment and culture, and focused on connecting with their internal team and the other vendors. “Together we have been able to create an environment that gives us all the best chance of success. I’m incredibly proud of how our team have represented 4impact and lived true to our values.”

Towards the Future

4impact is on the cusp of its next big growth phase. Their success so far is now being limited by their market reach and capabilities to do more for clients. They are currently investing heavily in developing new services and products, particularly for Insurance and Banking where they believe they can contribute more in helping businesses. The company has also established in-house capabilities to constantly scan global technology, customer, and product trends, providing actionable insights that support its R&D efforts and service improvements.

4impact has a strong focus on making sure they understand the structural shifts happening in the world and in particular the industries in which they operate. According to John, adaptability and resilience are going to be increasingly important moving forward, and he sees big shifts in areas such as technology, regulation, customer expectations, the nature of work, and organization operating models. “A good example is how we’ve responded to COVID-19: we were cognizant of the risks early and mobilized a fully decentralized workforce quickly to protect our people and continue to support our clients,” states John. “we’re now moving to strengthen that even further through creating increasing flexibility for our people, fortifying our service security, and using the embedded strategic capability in our business to continuously innovate in support of our clients.”