Clif P Lewis
PhD, LLM, MCom, Hons.BCom, CPsychol, PS, CHRP
This portfolio samples some of my interdisciplinary work over the past twenty years. Many of my current projects are Future of Work-focused, helping organisations navigate the risks inherent in growth and change. My expertise spans psychology, business, law and technology, and the work shown here includes psychometric development, people analytics, coaching, teaching and research, with clients and institutions across several countries.
Highlights from my
international work
🇨🇦 8020 Excellerate™️: Addressed leadership challenges by translating psychometric outcomes into actionable feedback, and providing executive coaching grounded in People Analytics.
🇬🇧 Disrapt.io: Strengthened a SaaS tech startup's development of people-centric diagnostic frameworks.
🇦🇪 DIFC Academy of Law: Advanced the development of the DIFC legal system by leveraging professional development curricula and publications towards international collaboration.
🇯🇵 Mierba: Led psychological best practice to shape pre-employment assessment tools, ensuring international talent matches Future of Work requirements.
🇿🇦 South32: Improved robotic process automation by leveraging behavioural insights, ensuring alignment with Future of Work trends.
🌍 Presented original research papers at conferences in Germany, Greece, Italy, Kenya, South Africa, Spain, UK, and US.
Testimonials
“Clif has brought onboard a wealth of experience on the Future of Work topic enabling us to understand, enrich and continuously develop our offering. With regards to people-related matters he has introduced fresh perspectives on multiple fronts from an advisory perspective as well as hands-on engagement. His honest, agile and professional approach have established him as an invaluable stakeholder.”
- Odysseas Bassioukas, Founder & CEO at DISRAPTIO 🇬🇧
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“Clif has been a crucial advisor for us, particularly in shaping our 'Skill-based hiring' strategies. His insights have led to significant improvements in our operations and development. His professional and proactive approach has made a noticeable impact, guiding us to make strategic decisions in a rapidly changing business landscape.”
- Itsuki Maruyama, Founder & CEO at Mierba 🇯🇵
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"Throughout the past year, Clif has truly emerged as a dependable advisor in numerous "people and organization" domains where our in-house expertise was lacking. His extensive repertoire of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies has unearthed facets of our business that were previously hidden to us. Clif consistently goes the extra mile, providing valuable insights and offering improvement recommendations in every area where he has collaborated with us."
- Ardi Ghorashy, Partner at 80/20 Consulting Inc. 🇨🇦
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“In a fast-paced business world where finding the right talent is paramount, Clif has proven to be an invaluable partner in our pursuit of excellence. I wholeheartedly recommend his services to any organisation seeking to make informed, culture-aligned hiring decisions.”
- Niel Symington, Executive: Shared Services at Pan African Resources PLC 🇿🇦
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“In the three years Dr. Clif has served as an associate People Advisor at Omnicor, he has consistently proven his mettle. His ability to quickly grasp and address our requirements, combined with his adeptness at identifying the optimal tools and methodologies for our clients, has made collaborations with him seamless and rewarding. Beyond his technical acumen, Dr. Clif's rich global experience shines through, particularly in his attentive approach to diversity and inclusion. Anyone fortunate enough to work alongside him is guaranteed clarity, invaluable insights, and tangible outcomes.”
- Colleen McLintock, Head of OD at Omnicor 🇿🇦
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“Cliff has a vast amount of experience in People Analytics and he breaks down each and every step very carefully so that novice learners can keep up. His People Analytics course is well structured, and a daunting subject is certainly made relatively easier to approach and explore.”
- Leilani Bezuidenhout, Organisational Psychologist at Oilgro 🇿🇦
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“Clif has been adding immense value to the transformation journey at NACOSA as his advice and guidance on our diversity, equity and inclusion work is always relevant and insightful. His published manual 'A DEI in the Life of a Manager' has been a huge help to identify various organisational blind spots in terms of our anti-racism initiatives.”
- Mimi Smit, HRBP at NACOSA 🇿🇦
Highlights from my
advisory projects
Currently: Advising the LBS Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital Startup Incubator on People Science and the Future of Work.
Currently: Advising on the development of robust psychometric batteries to identify and mitigate People Risk in the mining sector.
2021: Advised on the creation of an end-to-end People framework for a MedTech startup in Africa.
2020: Advised on behavioural trend analyses as part of cognitive and robotic process automation in the mining sector.
2018: Advised on the restructuring of the People Ops Department for a Social Enterprise in sub-Saharan Africa.
2017: Advised on strategy development for a leadership institute in the education sector.
Coaching projects
Most of my coaching work involves being part of coach panels that focus on groups of leaders within a variety of organisations internationally. My clients are primarily senior managers and above, from a variety of sectors, including retail, pharma, healthcare, and engineering. Common leadership challenges I address in my coaching include:
Leader role transitions
Leader wellbeing, burnout and work-life balance
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within teams
Creating spaces of Psychological Safety
One of the things I appreciated most about the coaching process was the level of structure and intentionality in our conversations. The sessions were not vague or motivational; they were objective, reflective, and grounded in practical frameworks. Dr Cliff created an environment where I could process emotions constructively while maintaining clarity, accountability, and a focus on outcomes. This helped me significantly develop emotional awareness and regulation, particularly in professional settings that required maturity, influence, and strategic thinking.
- Noelyne Mumbi, Operational Excellence Specialist, PfizerMy executive coaching experience was outstanding. The sessions provided valuable insight, practical strategies, and clear direction that strengthened my leadership and decision-making skills. Clif created a professional and supportive environment that encouraged growth, accountability, and confidence.
- Sonwabo Maholwana, Head of People and Organisation, NovartisClif's approach, interests, and personality suited me well. He helped me see and acknowledge things I may have known already but pushed me towards action. His guidance led to deeper insights into staff behaviour and what I can and cannot impact on. The coaching helped me better understand how emotions impact people, how to identify my own emotional needs and extract the same from staff, and what keeps me from focusing on higher-level tasks and thinking. The result has been more in-person 'coffee' chats with my staff, leaning into the uncomfortable, and making the effort to understand what needs drive them.
- Andries Strauss, Manager: Mine Residue, Knight PiésoldEasy to talk to, very understanding, and knowledgeable. The coaching helped me develop critical thinking to solve complex problems and plan for the future, consider broader long-range objectives, and move from being a reactive thinker to a proactive one, becoming more of a strategic leader looking ahead. It has changed the way I approach staff and handle difficult situations, made me conscious of taking time for self-awareness, and shifted my view of diversity in the workplace toward a better future for all. Stakeholders have noted that I am more involved in different areas of the business and ask more questions.
- Christo Greyvensteyn, Sales Manager, Toyota
Analytics work
I am a firm believer in the importance of data literacy for everyone. However, I also emphasise the importance of not reducing the human experience to mere numbers. My expertise spans various aspects of analytics, including statistical analyses, producing peer-reviewed research, building dashboards, and generating actionable insights using a wide range of quantitative and qualitative tools:
SPSS
SPSS Amos
R
Google Looker Studio
Microsoft PowerBI
Airtable
Tableau
NVivo
Atlas.ti
Teaching experience
I have a wide variety of teaching experience, for which I receive consistently positive feedback; from vocational teaching to undergraduate-, postgraduate- and executive education. I have experience teaching in areas such as:
Research & Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Limki, R. & Lewis, C.P. (Forthcoming). Datafying race: An epistemic critique. Journal of Business Ethics (BUSI-D-25-00754 – pending review).
Lewis, C.P. (Forthcoming). Mirages of change: An anti-work reading of the future of work literature. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal (ERRJ-D-25-00091 - pending review).
Lewis, C.P., Adams, S. & Möller, I.L. (Forthcoming). Remote work and Burnout: A South African case for disrupting popular discourse. South African Journal of Psychology (R&R - SAP-24-0143).
Lewis, C.P. (2025). Context is key: Using intersectionality and sensemaking to unlock new doors in leadership theory. Africa Journal of Management, 11(1) (in press).
Lewis, C.P. (2022). Leadership development, Gender and Race: Intersectional Insights from South Africa. International Journal of Training and Development, 27(1), 75-98.
Lewis, C.P. & Aldossari, M. (2022). “One of these things is not like the others”: the role of authentic leadership in cross-cultural leadership development. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 43(8), 1252-1270.
Conference Papers
Lewis, C.P. (2024). The human rights imperative to regulate cyberspace: A multi-level psycho-social perspective of the current state of social media legislation. Cape Town: African Society for Business, Law & Economics 2nd Annual Conference.
Lewis, C.P. (2024). A review of the literature at the intersection of performance management and employee wellbeing: An organisational network perspective. Johannesburg: SIOPSA 26th Annual Conference.
Lewis, C.P. & Möller, I.L. (2022). Answering the Call for Empirical Evidence: Burnout, Context and Remote Work. Rome: International Conference on Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Lewis, C.P. (2022). The Merit Trap: How beliefs about merit erode positive discrimination efficacy in African organisations. Virtual: 2nd Pan-African Psychology Congress.
Lewis, C.P. & Möller (2021). Remote work and Burnout: Preliminary findings for disrupting popular discourse. Johannesburg: 65th Annual IPM Convention & Exhibition.
Aldossari, M. & Lewis, C.P. (2018). Leaders as moderators of national culture in the construction of organisational culture. West Palm Beach, FL: International Leadership Association 20th Annual Global Conference.
Lewis, C.P. (2016). A case for an extension of the Leadership Labyrinth framework using intersectional data from the South African private sector. Nairobi: Africa Academy of Management Biennial Conference.
Lewis, C.P. (2014). A race and gender group analysis of participant experiences in a leadership development programme in a South African retail environment. Valencia: European Academy of Management Conference.
Aldossari, M., Lewis, C.P. & Bourne, D. (2014). Would a rose by any other name still smell as sweet? The importance of authentic leadership in leadership development. Valencia: European Academy of Management Conference.
Lewis, C.P. (2014). Leadership development, gender and race: Insights from intersectionality in a South African context. Munich: Conference on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
Lewis, C.P. (2013). A review of leadership theory from a gender and race perspective. Athens: Conference on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
Lewis, C.P. (2012). A race and gender group analysis of participant experiences in a leadership development programme in a South African retail environment. Stellenbosch: International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology Conference.
Books and Chapters
Lewis, C. P. (2026). The future of work and human factors. In J. Davies & E. Yarrow (Eds.), Worker wellbeing, Human Factors, and the gig economy: interdisciplinary perspectives. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Lewis, C. P., & Tatli, A. (2020). Leadership and diversity management in a global context. In J. Syed & M. Ozbilgin (Eds.), Managing Diversity and Inclusion: An International Perspective (2nd ed., pp. 42–80). London: SAGE.
Academy of Law (2016). Laws of the DIFC: Volume 1. Lewis, C., Bakirci, N., Melvin, C., Koster, H. & Gallo, D. (Eds). London: LexisNexis.
Academy of Law (2016). Rules of the DIFC Courts. Lewis, C., Bakirci, N., Melvin, C., Koster, H. & Gallo, D. (Eds). London: LexisNexis.
Lewis, C. P., & Tatli, A. (2015). Leadership and diversity management in a global context. In J. Syed & M. Ozbilgin (Eds.), Managing Diversity and Inclusion: An International Perspective (pp. 47–77). London: SAGE.
Independent Publications
Seraphim, A. et al. (2023). Neurodiversity & the World White Paper. Amsterdam: The Octopus Movement.
Seraphim, A. et al. (2023). ChatGPT & Education White Paper. Amsterdam: The Octopus Movement.
Lewis, C. P. (2022). A DEI in the life journals: A checklist-based journal for improving diversity, equity and inclusion (2nd ed.). Kindle Direct Publishing.
Find my content in
print and online
I would love to hear from you. If you would like to work with me or know more about some of the highlights from my career shown in this portfolio, please feel free to reach out. You are welcome to schedule a meeting for us using the Calendly link below, or to view some of my current ongoing projects using the Linktree link below. Alternatively, have a look at some of the content I post on my social media.