Reviews: Maturity assessments

Mark Luckins
Principal Consultant

Mark advises senior leadership teams to help them navigate the world of digital technology. He helps charities and third sector organisations determine the right digital, data and technology strategies to enable their mission. In his career, Mark has held various technology leadership roles and has achieved numerous certifications (ITIL, CISSP, PRINCE2, MCSE); academically, he holds a degree in “Operations Research” (better known today as ‘data science’). He helps charities grow the right organisational capabilities to support their current strategic priorities as well as generate value in the longer term. He advises on the specialist staffing and suppliers required to deliver as well as staff and SLT skills more widely. Mark often acts as a fractional “digital technology director” advising senior leaders on digital transformation agendas, major technology investments or simply how to make data and technology provide more value. Mark also regularly helps our clients to kickstart innovation or major new projects, or conversely to turn around stalling or failing change processes. Mark has extensive experiencing working across third sector organisations including marketing, fundraising, beneficiary/member service provision and corporate (finance, HR, IT/facilities). Mark has worked in large international charities (Plan International); the public sector (Houses of Parliament); small international charities (Marine Stewardship Council); UK charities (Crisis) and the education sector (ICAN). He managed teams of over 30 and has built teams from scratch. He has delivered major multi-million projects (CRM, website and data architecture) as well as smaller projects; and he is regularly involved in innovation and helping to save money and reduce overheads. He prides himself on providing commercially realistic, rightsized advice appropriate to the maturity of the organisation.

Paul Sypko
Consultancy Director

“Charities and not-for-profit organisations are demanding users of information systems and digital technology. There’s a clear sense of purpose in the sector, and that shows in how technology is used to achieve impact and obtain real value. Not-for-profits often hold massive amounts of data, much of which is highly sensitive in nature, and they engage in many different ways with a very broad range of stakeholders. Whether it’s using digital channels to support personalised ‘user journeys’ or high-impact campaigning and engagement, or diligently taking care of back-office systems to deliver an efficient and cost-effective service, it’s great to be working in a sector where technology can be used so effectively to make a tangible difference to people's lives.”

Paul is a highly experienced technology and management consultant with nearly 30 years’ experience leading high-impact consultancy engagements. With a senior-level CIO/CTO background, he specialises in technology strategy, digital solutions, interim leadership, technical leadership, infrastructure and systems management, service reviews, information security, data protection, supplier management, and the selection and oversight of technology partners. Much of Paul’s work has been in the not-for-profit sector, though he also brings significant commercial experience. Before co-founding Adapta, he held senior roles at sector specialists Sayer Vincent, Crowe UK, and BlueSpark Consulting. Earlier in his career, he worked at strategy consultancy Strategy& (now part of PwC), where he received a Professional Excellence Award for leading a large-scale digital transformation and innovation programme. Paul has delivered assignments for over 100 organisations, including charities, membership bodies, trade unions, royal colleges, professional institutes, and commercial businesses. His recent clients include ActionAid UK, the Bank Workers Charity, the British Medical Association, Central YMCA, Crisis, Chichester Cathedral, Girlguiding Scotland, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, the National Children’s Bureau, Maudsley Charity, Westminster Abbey, and the Woodland Trust. His core areas of expertise include strategic planning for technology platforms and digital tools, service reviews and outsourcing, commercial contract negotiation, project planning, data protection, technical leadership, and procurement of business-critical systems such as CRM. Paul is a state-educated graduate of the University of Oxford, where he was awarded a scholarship to study Economics and Management at St John’s College and the Saïd Business School. A Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of both the Institute of Consulting and the Institute of Leadership and Management, he is also a Certified Business Advisor and a member of the British Computer Society’s IT Leaders Forum. He played a key role in shaping the Chartered Management Consultant award, launched in 2020, and continues to support those working towards professional recognition. Outside work, he chairs the board of trustees for a local Scout group and remains committed to helping others realise their potential.

“Paul is enthusiastic, dedicated and a highly capable person who works with such integrity and to a high standard. I very much value Paul’s support and guidance and know I can always rely on him.”