Our Story

Ancient wisdom. Actionable insight.

Strengthening businesses from within and helping them start to think differently, we are a strategy and leadership consulting firm that specializes in fueling foundational change.

For over three decades, we have helped clients around the world reach their higher purpose and elevate performance at every level.

Challenging today's paradigms.

Rooted in ancient wisdom and rising from humble beginnings during some of South Africa’s hardest times, Lapin International was founded by David Lapin over 30 years ago to help organizations worldwide turn purpose to profit by inspiring values-based leadership mastery.

With impact and inspiration imbued into every thing we do and each client we partner with, Lapin International empower’s business leaders with the tools to rise above their competition and distinguish themselves as benchmarks for their industries.

Changing traditional perspectives.

Inspired and informed by Lead by Greatness®, our humanist philosophy of business forged in the turbulent period following the fall of the South-African Apartheid regime, Lapin’s approach to leadership consulting has been refined over decades of deployment in some of the world’s most intricate corporate and cultural contexts, and validated by the endorsement of a diverse community of international business leaders.

Built on David Lapin’s philosophy and bolstered by an experienced team of professional consultants and coaches, our values-based leadership development method has been creating great leaders from the inside out since 1992.

Impact and inspiration in every interaction.

Lapin’s bespoke consulting solutions are based on purpose-driven strategy and values-based leadership and are rooted in the realization of personal potential, but designed for systemic, scalable implementation – offering you the tools to make timely strategic decisions grounded in timeless wisdom.

Inspiring greatness in leaders.

Great leaders are magnetic. They inspire others by example, communicate with clarity and intent, and exert discipline over their defensive reactions. Built on David Lapin’s Lead by Greatness® philosophy, our unique values-based leadership development solutions create great leaders from the inside out, and cascade greatness throughout your culture.

Creating winning teams.

Embed greatness throughout your culture and transform a group of talented contributors into a truly aligned and connected team. Lapin helps you align your people, structure, processes, and policy through a purpose-driven strategy – one that your employees can rally behind and will inspire others to execute on.

Building successful organizations.

Organizations with identity and soul build unparalleled cultures, satisfying both customers and staff in ways no one else quite can. Every company has its own identity – a soul waiting to be discovered and used to unlock human energy and unleash new economic value. Doing this demands developing a new leadership outlook.

Origins of Insight

A philosophy is born.

In the final years of Apartheid, as Nelson Mandela rose to leadership, David Lapin began shaping a new understanding of leadership – one grounded in human dignity, moral clarity, and purpose.

1989

1990

Building the Foundation

Strategy with soul.

Through early engagements with JCI Mining Group and ABI, Strategic Business Ethics was founded as a non-profit dedicated to helping organizations find the soul within business.

Responding to the Times

An antidote to excess.

As the world embraced a culture of excess, from the LA Riots to the casino boom, Lapin’s work expanded to Los Angeles and evolved into a for-profit enterprise. Lapin International is officially founded.

1992

1998

Purpose-Driven Leadership

Driven by distinction.

Desi Lapin joins Lapin International, reinforcing its family foundation. In an era driven by image and speed, Lapin became a voice for distinction – the noble way to win – rooted in purpose-driven leadership, ethical clarity, and the courage to uphold values amid pressure.

Values-Based Leadership

Consultants for the digital age.

The digital age ushered in disruption and autonomy, calling for a new kind of leadership. Strategic Business Ethics became Lapin International – a consultancy devoted to aligning purpose, culture, and performance.

2001

2015

Transformation Realized

A prophecy fulfilled.

Through landmark engagements with DuPont, Gore, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Lapin introduced the Lead by Greatness®️ methodology and the Spiritual Fingerprint framework, guiding organizations to orient around values rather than structure. These timeless principles continue to shape modern leadership today.

Moving Forward In Uncertain Times

Leading in the moment.

The Lead in the Moment series is born from the uncertainty and unsettling pandemic times, designed to help businesses feel grounded in an environment where nothing was predictable and so much seemed out of control – pushing clients to think beyond the confines of crisis and equipping them with a new lens to be ready to lead in the moment and enabling them to move forward with clarity, confidence, and commitment.

2020

2025+

Ancient Wisdom. Actionable Insight.

Fueling foundational change.

With dozens of new coaches worldwide now imbued with Lapin’s purpose-driven philosophy and new values-centric solutions introduced including the Digital Leadership Fingerprint assessment and the Lapin Trust Index, Lapin continues to evolve its core philosophy and creatively expand the team, services, and market sectors in order to inspire more leaders by combining timely strategic decisions grounded in timeless wisdom.

“When leaders transform themselves, they transform the world around them.”

– David Lapin, CEO of Lapin International