I help leadership teams solve the problems that hold their organisations back.
I am Luis Pinho de Aguiar. I work with energy, utility and industrial companies on organisational, operational and management issues, large or small, from the first diagnosis to a short-term plan your team can deliver.
- Utilities, energy and industryPower, water, aluminium, regulation and project finance
- Five regionsGCC, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific
- Ten business casesSet out in full: problem, approach and results
- PRINCE2 PractitionerMBA with Distinction, Hult
Three principles behind the method
In the words of executives and thinkers who solved difficult organisational problems.
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There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all.
Peter Drucker, management thinker, Harvard Business Review, 1963 That is why the first phase confirms the question before any analysis begins.
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A bad system will beat a good person every time.
W. Edwards Deming, management and quality pioneer That is why the diagnosis examines processes before it examines people.
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Culture isn’t just one aspect of the game, it is the game.
Lou Gerstner, chairman and chief executive of IBM, 1993–2002 That is why every plan covers how people will work together, not only what they will do.
One offer: Structured Problem Solving
A structured, evidence-based way to solve an organisational, operational or management problem. It answers three questions: what is really causing the problem, which changes work in practice, and what should happen first.
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Collect the data
Frame the question and gather the evidence.
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Diagnose
Interviews, workshops, process walk-throughs and data analysis.
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Identify the main issues
Separate root causes from symptoms and prioritise.
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Develop and test options
Design changes with your team and pilot the best ones.
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Plan the first 90 days
Owners, KPIs and a weekly review routine.
Working through an advisory firm?
I join bids and live projects as a project manager, workstream lead, embedded specialist or bid adviser, working to your templates and confidentiality terms.
What is different after I leave
Each engagement is designed to leave these arrangements in place.
- Each manager reviews the week’s key figures for their area against an agreed target.
- Every action in the first set of improvements has a named owner and a deadline.
- A short weekly review examines the figures, takes decisions and records responsibilities and deadlines.
- A small PMO within your organisation maintains the routine independently.
Results from past assignments are set out in the business cases.
Selected business cases
Three of ten assignments, each set out as problem, approach and results.
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National power utility, Pacific
A turnaround programme that the client team now runs on its own
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Aluminium manufacturer, GCC (in-house)
More than $1 million recovered from a supply contract, with the corrected pricing still in place
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National power utility, East Africa
A five-year plan projected to raise net profit to about $114 million by year five
References
Clients, colleagues and partners on working with me.
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I had the pleasure of working with Luis at Tetra Tech, where he supported a number of energy and utilities consulting assignments focused on strategy, business processes, and organizational improvement. Luis consistently demonstrated a professional and collaborative approach, contributing effectively to project delivery and working well with both clients and colleagues. He was a valued member of our team.
David SharashenidzeFormer Managing Director, Middle East & Africa, Tetra Tech
Former manager
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Luis and I worked together for over a decade, during which time I led two organizations, including NEOS Group, Inc. Luis demonstrated a sound collaborative spirit, professionalism, and commitment to both teamwork and the company’s success. During this time, he managed several large complex engagements focused on the international electricity sector and utilities. He maintained positive working relationships with clients and other staff and subcontractors and was an important member of a close-knit team and work environment.
Dean S. WhitePresident, NEOS Group, Inc.
Former manager
Who I work with, and what I do not do
Suited to
- CEOs, COOs, CFOs and management teams of energy, utility and industrial companies in the GCC and the Middle East.
- Organisational, operational or management problems, large or small, that need to be solved with evidence rather than opinion.
- Turnaround situations, where costs, performance or growth have fallen behind plan.
- Advisory firms that need a senior project manager or problem solver for a bid or a project. How this works.
What I do not do
- Work that ends with a report and no one responsible for implementing it. Every action has a named owner.
- Headcount reduction as a first response. I examine contracts and processes first.
- Selling or recommending software or systems. I am paid by the client, never by a vendor.
- Engineering design or technical studies. These stay with qualified specialists.
I am Luis Pinho de Aguiar
Since arriving in the UAE in 2011, I have worked on organisational and operational problems from both sides. For four years I worked in strategic planning inside an aluminium manufacturer, where I was responsible for budgets, investment cases and efficiency projects. For more than fifteen years, in Europe and the Middle East, I worked in strategy consulting, advising utilities and energy companies on turnaround, performance improvement, growth strategy and programme management.
LA Consulting FZ-LLC, established in 2026, is my own practice. I remain your point of contact from the first conversation to the final handover.
- MBA with Distinction, Hult
- PRINCE2 Practitioner
- Balanced Scorecard Certified Professional
If your company is facing an organisational, operational or management issue, I would welcome a conversation.
Get in touch