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Creative Capes

Creative Capes

Future London Academy 66 Episodes Aug 19, 2026

A podcast series with relaxed, in-depth conversations with creative professionals and innovators worldwide. Guests share their personal stories, career mistakes, and perspectives on current trends in their industries. The tone is inspiring and informal, aimed at sparking creativity in listeners.

Episodes

Olio Co-Founder Tessa Clarke On Food Waste, Female Founders, and Business for Good
Olio Co-Founder Tessa Clarke On Food Waste, Female Founders, and Business for Good Aug 19, 2026 01:01:43 Most founders wait for the right idea. Tessa Clarke spent years doing exactly that before realising she'd been looking for the wrong thing, she should have been looking for a problem she cared about.Since co-founding Olio in 2015 with Saasha Celestial-One, Tessa has grown the food sharing app to more than 10 million users and an estimated £1.1 billion in social impact, alongside a B2B arm that
Ivo Gormley, GoodGym's Founder on designing for contribution
Ivo Gormley, GoodGym's Founder on designing for contribution Jul 27, 2026 01:15:51 Acts of kindness feel good, but they are rarely profitable. Ivo Gormley has spent nearly twenty years proving it's possible while creating an incredible community around helping people.We sat down with him to find out how.Since starting GoodGym in 2007 with a single newspaper run, Ivo has built it into a movement of 25,000+ volunteers across 60+ cities. He's been awarded an OBE and made Go
Chief Design Officer on Turning £1 into £20 Through Design | Cat Drew
Chief Design Officer on Turning £1 into £20 Through Design | Cat Drew Jul 16, 2026 01:16:30 How can design create impact at a systems level, across business, government and the planet? Cat Drew has spent a large part of her career answering exactly that question.Chief Design Officer at Design Council, the UK's design body, set up nearly 80 years ago to help rebuild the post-war economy. Cat works at the intersection of design, business, policy and sustainability.Cat is also faculty membe
Why self-limiting beliefs about leadership are the hidden barrier for most design leaders | Julia Whitney, Executive Coach
Why self-limiting beliefs about leadership are the hidden barrier for most design leaders | Julia Whitney, Executive Coach Jun 10, 2026 01:17:25 How design leaders build influence, navigate conflict, and lead across cultures. In this episode, Ekaterina sits down with Julia Whitney, executive coach and former General Manager and Executive Creative Director at the BBC, where she led a 150-person UX and design team.Julia spent over 20 years as a design leader across the UK and US before turning her experience into a coaching practice that hel
Google's Chief Design Officer on why designers are the most strategic people in the room | Ivy Ross
Google's Chief Design Officer on why designers are the most strategic people in the room | Ivy Ross Jun 9, 2026 00:49:39 By 26, Ivy Ross had jewellery in the permanent collections of 12 international museums, including the Smithsonian and V&A. She went on to hold executive roles at Calvin Klein, Swatch, Mattel, Gap, and Disney before arriving at Google, where her hardware design team has since won over 240 global design awards and helped Fast Company name Google the most important design company in the world in
What it really takes to lead a global creative team | Tim Greenhalgh, Like a Moth, ex Landor & Fitch
What it really takes to lead a global creative team | Tim Greenhalgh, Like a Moth, ex Landor & Fitch Jun 1, 2026 01:16:24 How can designers reach the executive level, and what are their responsibilities and the impact they get to create?To find out, join our Design Executives Series with Tim Greenhalgh, Founder and Creative Director at Like a Moth and former Chief Creative Officer at Landor & Fitch, one of the most iconic creative agencies in the world.Tim is also faculty member of our Executive Programme for Des
How to use Play as your Business Strategy | Michelle Lee, IDEO Partner
How to use Play as your Business Strategy | Michelle Lee, IDEO Partner May 12, 2026 01:22:19 How IDEO uses play to solve real business problems. In this interview, Ekaterina sits down with Michelle Lee, IDEO Partner and Executive Managing Director of IDEO San Francisco. Michelle Lee began her career as an aerospace engineer, working on satellites, wondering why it took so long to launch one. A friend's room full of toys changed everything. What followed was a winding path through the
AKQA Co-Founder on the Lessons Behind a $550 Million Agency | James Hilton
AKQA Co-Founder on the Lessons Behind a $550 Million Agency | James Hilton Apr 22, 2026 01:06:36 Nearly 30 years ago, James Hilton answered an ad in Creative Review, met a stranger named Ajaz Ahmed, and they signed Virgin as their first client. That was the beginning of AKQA.AKQA went on to win Grand Prix Cannes Lions, James was named the UK's number one digital creative director three times, and they were acquired by WPP for around $550 million. He also made the Creativity 50 alongside J
Sam Bompass, Co-Founder of Bompass & Parr, on Creative Risks, Inspiration and the Business of Wonder
Sam Bompass, Co-Founder of Bompass & Parr, on Creative Risks, Inspiration and the Business of Wonder Mar 19, 2026 01:24:51 How Bompas & Parr built a creative agency that stands out.In this interview, Ekaterina sits down Sam Bompass. Nearly 20 years ago, Sam Bompas quit his job in property PR to make jelly. Since then, as co-founder of Bompas & Parr, Sam has cooked on molten lava, built a breathable cloud of gin and tonic, and founded the British Museum of Food. His studio works with governments, global brands
Cal Thompson, VP of Design on how they use AI at Headspace and why they hire interns
Cal Thompson, VP of Design on how they use AI at Headspace and why they hire interns Dec 8, 2025 01:26:29 With so many AI tools flying around, it’s easy for creative teams to feel overwhelmed. Which tools actually matter? And more importantly, what stays uniquely human in design leadership as technology evolves?In this episode of Design Leadership in the Boardroom,Ekaterina sits down with Cal Thompson, VP Design at Headspace and curator of Future London Academy’s Product Design Strategy course. Cal sh
Apple’s former design executive on tools, purpose of design and creativity in the age of AI | Charles Migos, intangible.ai
Apple’s former design executive on tools, purpose of design and creativity in the age of AI | Charles Migos, intangible.ai Dec 1, 2025 01:24:56 With so many AI tools flying around, it feels overwhelming for any creative team to choose the ones that will make a difference. This is why last week, we decided to have a conversation with Charles Migos, Chief Product Officer, Founder of Intangible.ai, Design Leaders faculty member and one of the most exciting voices in design today. He is a design executive who has spent 30 years building tools
Jim Prior on Protecting Creativity in Business | Chair at Design Bridge & Partners
Jim Prior on Protecting Creativity in Business | Chair at Design Bridge & Partners Nov 20, 2025 01:24:12 What does it really take to protect creativity inside large organisations, and why do some CEOs champion design while others struggle to?In this episode of Design Leadership in the Boardroom, Jim Prior, former Global CEO at WPP and Chair at Design Bridge & Partners, Superunion shares 25 years of experience leading some of the world’s most influential creative companies.Hosted by Future London

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