Enter the Boardroom
Enter the Boardroom is a weekly podcast from the Enter the Boardroom Community. Host Oliver Cummings, CEO of Nurole, interviews leading chairs, board members, CEOs, and academics to uncover insights and hard-won lessons rarely shared publicly. The show aims to help listeners sharpen their board proposition and build a network of serious peers. It also promotes the community's deeper resources and offers a discount for listeners.
Episodes
194. Matthew Lester: How a chair finds out what's really going on inside the business
Matthew Lester is Chairman of Kier group plc and NED and Chair of the Audit Committee at Intermediate Capital Group plc. Previously, he was CFO of Royal Mail plc. Listen to this episode to learn more about: Two moments where non-execs had the biggest impact on the business (01:39) Why motivation outweighs knowledge in CEO hires (08:03) The hardest habit to break when you become a chair (16:21) How
193. Dame Hayaatun Sillem: How to use early board roles to accelerate your exec career and set up a non-exec portfolio
Dame Hayaatun is the founder and CEO of Argentic Associates. Previously, she was CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation. Listen to this episode to learn more about: How a non-exec role helped carve Dame Hayaatun’s path to CEO (01:35) How she landed her first non-exec role (11:22) How sitting on boards helped her improve in her day job (15:1
192. Nick Wheeler OBE: The tortoise who built Charles Tyrwhitt - focus, founders and knowing when to step back
Nick Wheeler OBE founded Charles Tyrwhitt in 1986 from his university room in Bristol. Forty years later it is a £400 million revenue business operating across the UK, US, and Europe. Listen to this episode to hear about: The tortoise rule: why the first 20 years are boring and the next 20 get exciting (04:34) Why the best business decision Nick ever made had nothing to do with shirts (08:03) The
191. Debbie Wosskow CBE: How entrepreneurs can become high-impact board members
Debbie Wosskow CBE is one of the UK's best-known entrepreneurs. Today, she is NED of Channel 4 and co-chair of the government-backed Invest in Women Taskforce. Tune into this episode to hear about: Debbie's discipline around cash (01:17) Picking your boards wisely: what’s on the line as a non-exec (08:32) Why storytelling is important for founders (09:48) What surprised Debbie the most d
190. Sir Lloyd Dorfman CBE: Why boards need to encourage more persistence and risk - lessons from Travelex and the Royal Ballet and Opera
Sir Lloyd Dorfman CBE is founder of Travelex, the world's largest retailer of foreign exchange. Today, he is Chair of the Royal Ballet and Opera and sits on the Mayor of London's Business Advisory Board and is Chair of Dorfman Media Holdings. Listen to this episode to hear about: How Sir Lloyd talked his way into Heathrow Terminal 4 (01:35) How Travelex outbid the clearing banks for the
189. Jacqui Ferguson: How boards choose a chair, and how to be the one they pick
Jacqui Ferguson started her career as a technologist in Scotland and rose to become a divisional CEO at Hewlett Packard. Today, she is a SID at Croda International plc and NED at National Grid plc. Listen to this episode to hear about: How Jacqui found out she was becoming chair of Tesco Bank (01:52) How a board actually decides who becomes its next chair (08:27) Working for Meg Whitman during Hew
188. James Thornton: How to get founder-to-CEO succession right
James Thornton is CEO of Intrepid Travel, the world's largest adventure travel B Corp, operating in more than 100 countries with $809 million in revenue and 317,880 customers in 2025. He became the company's first non-founding CEO succeeding co-founders Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester. Tune into this episode to hear about: The five-year test: how James was quietly auditioned to become
187. Ilse Howling: How to be the chair a board needs - create space, listen, pick the team
Ilse Howling is Chair of Frontier Developments, the AIM-listed video games company behind Planet Zoo and the Jurassic World Evolution franchise. Previously, she spent over a decade as Managing Director of Freeview. Listen to this episode to learn more about: The three things that actually make a great chair (02:23) How to get shareholders to give up what they individually want for what the compan
186. Tom Toumazis MBE: How to build a portfolio career: getting your foot in the door, identity challenges and the exec-to-non-exec transition
Tom Toumazis spent 8 years as EVP and Managing Director of Disney-ABC-ESPN in EMEA. Since stepping off the executive track a decade ago he has built a portfolio career which includes SID at PRS for Music, NED at Directors UK and Deputy Chair of the University of Westminster amongst others. Interested in what it takes to build a portfolio career? Tune in to hear about: How investing his own money b
185. Dame Anne Richards: From CERN to Coutts: How boards behave under pressure
Dame Anne Richards is Chair of Coutts, NED at Land Securities and Chair of TheCityUK Leadership Council. Previously, she was CEO of Fidelity International. Listen to this episode to find out more about: The three boardroom experiences that shaped Dame Anne Richards (01:57) The afternoon the entire board resigned (06:01) Why trust matters more than governance processes (14:38) Why boards should thi
184. Gavin Patterson: How boards make or break a CEO - lessons from the BT boardroom
Why becoming a NED made Gavin a better CEO (01:33) The advice Gavin would give himself looking back (09:12) How to unlock the high-flying CEO who always thinks they’re right (14:34) The two warnings Gavin ignored before BT fell apart (18:27) The truth about his departure from BT (21:46) Why Gavin doesn’t agree with ‘I’ll back you ‘till I sack you’ (26:41) What everyone could learn from PE firms a
183. Ian Filby: Power in the boardroom: PE control, public scrutiny & activist pressure
Ian Filby spent almost 30 years at Alliance Boots before becoming CEO of DFS. He then served as Chair at Joules and Pendragon, where he navigated activist shareholder pressure. Listen to this episode to learn about: What private equity taught Ian about how boards should behave (01:34) The danger of drifting from data to anecdote (05:36) The KPI mistake that leaves boards blind to the future (08:04
182. Celia Huber: The complete guide to AI in the boardroom
Celia Huber is a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and leads McKinsey's boards services work in North America. Celia also serves on the executive committee of the California Business Roundtable, is a board member of AMN Healthcare and is a trustee of the AltaMed Foundation. Tune into this episode to learn about: The two questions that reveal where your board really stands on AI (01:27)
181. Chris Murray MBE: How board members succeed in high-risk-high-regulation environments
Chris Murray MBE has chaired National Grid Gas plc, National Grid Electricity pls and National Grid Gas Holdings. He now sits on the board of SGN. Listen to this episode to hear about: What Chris got wrong about boards early in his career (01:28) The most common mistakes first-time NEDs make (02:55) How Chris defuses a board disagreement before it reaches the table (08:10) Four things to know bef
180. Betsy Atkins: Key lessons from 38 public company boards across four continents
Betsy Atkins has sat on more than 38 public company boards, been through 17 IPOs, and has done it all while running three companies of her own. She co-founded Ascend Communications and took it to a $23 billion acquisition by Lucent. She's also the author behind 'Be Board Ready' and 'Behind Boardroom Doors'. Tune in to this episode to learn more about: Why every board memb
179. Gareth Penny: Diamonds and Coal: Governing when the odds are stacked against you
Gareth Penny spent 22 years at De Beers, joining the board in 2003 and serving as Group CEO from 2006 to 2010 during which he dismantled over a century of supply-side monopoly. From 2013 to 2022 he was Independent Chair of Norilsk Nickel, winning Russian Chairman of the Year in 2016, and from which he resigned following the invasion of Ukraine. Listen to this episode to find out more about: Why be
178. The Rt Hon Justine Greening: The talent question most boards are not asking, from Rotherham to Westminster
The Rt Hon Justine Greening has served as Economic Secretary to the Treasure and later held three Cabinet posts. She left the Cabinet in 2018 to found the Social Mobility Pledge, now the largest business campaign of its kind with over 800 organisations covering more than eight million people. Tune in to this episode to hear about: The childhood lesson that drove Justine Greening into politics and
177. Natasha Christie-Miller: "Sell the hell out of it" - why boards need to be more focused on commercial reality
Natasha Christie-Miller has spent her executive career building, transforming and ultimately selling some of the UK's most valuable B2B intelligence and media businesses. She was CEO of Emap and is now Chair of Sifted, the FT and PE-backed startup media business. Listen to this episode to hear more about: The 25-year decline nobody at Emap had spotted (01:33) The three pillars every CEO shoul
176. Karen Morton: Family businesses generate 70% of global GDP: why most don’t have boards, and how those that do work
Karen Morton is NED on the boards of daa plc (which operates Dublin and Cork airports), Shaws Department Stores and Fanagans Funeral Directors, two of Ireland's most established family-owned businesses, and Golf Ireland. Listen to our this episode to learn about: What makes family business boards fundamentally different (01:05) The five moments that push a family business to finally get a boa
175. Dhiraj Mukherjee: Co-founder of Shazam on the board lessons from an 18-year journey to a $400m exit
Dhiraj Mukherjee is co-founder of Shazam, where he helped grow the business into a global platform with over 100 billion uses, before it's acquisition by Apple for over a reported $400m. Tune in to the newest episode of Enter the Boardroom to hear about: The three toughest boardroom calls in Shazam’s 18-year journey (01:28) Why Dhiraj would talk his younger self out of starting Shazam (06:27)
174. Sir John Kingman: Why boards need more misfits - lessons from the financial crisis
Sir John Kingman is Chairman of Legal & General and Barclays Bank UK. In 2018, he led the landmark independent review of the Financial Reporting Council (the Kingman Review) which called for the abolition of the FRC and its replacement with a new statutory regulator. Listen to this episode to hear about Sir John's experience: Running towards the fire: what separates boards that cope from
173. Andy Higginson: Laura Ashley's near collapse, Tesco's legendary strategy and turning round Morrisons
Andy Higginson is Chair of JD Sports Fashion plc. Previously, he was Chair of Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc and a non-executive director at organisations including Tesco, Sky, Clarks, FirstGroup and Woolworths. Listen to this episode to hear about: The three boardroom moments that shaped Andy's career (01:06) What a near-bankrupt Laura Ashley taught him about simplicity and focus (03:58) The L
172. Danuta Gray: What nobody tells you about the Chair-CEO relationship (2/2)
Danuta Gray is Chair of Croda plc and NED and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Burberry Group plc. Previously, she was Chair of Direct Line Insurance Group plc during its acquisition by Aviva. Tune into this episode to hear about: How Danuta has improved on CEO hiring (01:46) The importance of staying curious about AI (06:42) Why every board waits too long to change their CEO (08:01) Why Dan
171. Danuta Gray: The hardest decisions a Chair has to make (1/2)
Danuta Gray is Chair of Croda plc and NED and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Burberry Group plc. Previously, she was Chair of Direct Line Insurance Group plc during its acquisition by Aviva. Listen to this episode to learn about: The formative board experiences that shaped how Danuta operates today (01:03) The criminal case that showed her what great chairs are made of (05:14) Why she alw
170. Julian Metcalfe OBE: founder of Pret and Itsu - why most boards fail founders
Julian Metcalfe OBE is the founder of Itsu and Pret. Alongside these, he is also founder of the Metcalfe Food Company and NED at Knoops Chocolate. Tune into this episode to here about: Why traditional ideas of good governance frustrate Julian (01:26) Why it’s important that board members are willing to be unpopular (04:54) One key lesson Julian would pass on to his successor (07:14) The actual pu
169. Laura Hagan: What boards get wrong about people: founders, talent and pay
Laura Hagan is CPO at Deliveroo and NED at Fever-Tree Drinks plc, where she chairs the Remuneration Committee. Previously, Laura has help senior people leadership roles a Gymshark, Tate & Lyle and Dyson. Listen to this episode to learn more about: The three moments that shaped how Laura thinks about boards (01:31) Board composition differences from private to PE to listed companies (05:06) Wha
168. Peter Norris: Leading through crisis: Barings Bank and Virgin Atlantic's Covid fight for survival
Peter Norris is Chair of the Virgin Group. Formerly, he was CEO of Barings Bank during its fateful collapse in the mid 1990s. Listen to this episode to hear about: Three moments that shaped how Peter behaves in the boardroom (00:59) Why Peter took responsibility for a fraud he didn’t commit (11:23) The one question every board should ask when the numbers look too good to be true (14:27) How fraud
167. Claire Bassett: What you need to know before joining a public sector board
Claire Bassett is Chair of The Property Ombudsman and the Serious Fraud office and Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists. She has extensive board experience on government, public sector and arm’s length boards. Listen to this episode to hear about: The moments that have shaped how Claire operates as a board member (01:07) Why the most supportive Chairs are also the most challenging (04:23) The three t
166. Simon Calver: From LoveFilm to Mothercare: The board behaviours that make and break companies
Simon Calver is best known for his time as CEO of LoveFilm. He was then CEO of Mothercare plc. Tune in to this episode to hear about: The three choices that most shaped LoveFilm’s growth journey (01:23) How LoveFilm's board dealt with a hostile merger (05:53) Why Chairs should never be an investor directors (09:16) The most empowering thing a board can say to a CEO (11:16) How Simon knows if
165. Rachel Carrell: What founders need from their boards
Rachel Carrell is CEO of KoruKids, a UK-based childcare company which has delivered 4 million hours of childcare. Previously, she was CEO of DrThom. Listen to this episode to hear about: The most difficult board discussion Rachel has had (00:55) How to guide a founder without overstepping (03:35) Why sharing your experience is more valuable than giving advice (06:49) Three most significant boardro
164. Adam Warby: Authority in the boardroom: how it's earned, lost and rebuilt
Adam Warby is Chair of Ocado Group and CEO Emeritus of Avanade. Previously, he was Chair of Heidrick & Struggles and Chair of Softwareone. Listen to this episode to understand Adam's thoughts on: When CEOs should hold their ground against the board (01:01) Lessons from coming in as the first CEO after the founder (04:54) When it’s time to refresh your company values (07:34) What boards ge
163. Sim Scavazza: Do no harm: cost cutting and mergers - inside NHS boards
Sim Scavazza is NED at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, Vice Chair of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Deputy Chair of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West NH Integrated Care Board. Listen to this episode to hear about: Leading through a 50% cost reduction (01:05) The human side of cutting costs (03:36) Common mistakes when communicating redundancies (09:3
162. Neil Johnson OBE: From battlefield to boardroom: chairing lessons on people, power and responsibility
Neil Johnson OBE is Group Chair of QinetiQ. Formerly, he was CEO of the RAC, and began his career in the British Army. Listen to this episode to hear about: The three boardroom experiences that most shaped Neil as a board member (01:450) What trade union battles taught Neil about leadership under pressure (04:03) Bringing military command experience into the boardroom (09:47) Prioritising time wit
161. Maria Molland: Balancing stability with scaling: Boardroom lessons from Thinx’s exit to Kimberly-Clark
Maria Molland is former CEO and Board Member of Thinx, the feminine hygiene company, acquired by Kimberly Clark. She is an Executive in Residence at Frazier Healthcare Partners. Tune in to hear Maria's thoughts on: Her first days as CEO (01:15) Lessons from her 90-day plan as a new CEO (05:37) Making the case for HR investment early on (10:54) Where the board misallocated investment when scal
160. Lubomila Jordanova: What founders don’t say out loud in the boardroom: vulnerability, partnerships and key connections
Lubomila Jordanova is co-founder and CEO of Plan A, recently acquired by Diginex, Co-Founder of Greentech Alliance and Advisory Board Member at the European Investment Bank and Chloé. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: The best and worst moments that shaped Lubomila’s boardroom approach (03:00) How and when to create a board with complex stakeholders (04:44) How external board positions have helped
159: Sir Ian Cheshire: How to be a high-impact board member (2/2)
Sir Ian Cheshire is Chair of Land Securities Group and Spire Healthcare Group. Formerly, he was Group Chief Executive of Kingfisher plc and Chair of Channel 4, Barclays Bank UK and Debenhams. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Top moments where Sir Ian’s seen boards add most value (01:57) How boards can prepare for crises (04:50) Two key ways boards should be engaging with AI (06:03) How Sir Ian’s b
158: Sir Ian Cheshire: How to get the most value from your board as a CEO (1/2)
Sir Ian Cheshire is Chair of Land Securities Group and Spire Healthcare Group. Formerly, he was Group Chief Executive of Kingfisher plc and Chair of Channel 4, Barclays Bank UK and Debenhams. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: The three most important interventions boards made to Sir Ian as an exec (01:28) The main difference between reporting to and sitting on a board (06:04) How CEOs and execs bu
157. Professor Malcolm Press CBE: University boards - lessons from the Vice Chancellor of Manchester Met and President of Universities UK
Professor Malcolm Press CBE is Vice-Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University and President of Universities UK. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: The skills university boards need to add value (00:58) How boards can help timetable risk (04:09) What university boards can teach about managing multiple stakeholders (05:59) The three main issues university boards are facing today (10:23) Unlocki
156. David Sproul: How boards help CEOs create sustainable growth - lessons from Deloitte & Starling Bank
David Sproul is Chair of Starling Bank and Chair of Pennon Group. Formerly, he was Deputy Global CEO of Deloitte UK. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Deloitte UK expansion: the toughest conversations David had with his board (00:46) How to reframe board risk discussions positively (03:28) Balancing logos and pathos when influencing (06:13) Should CEOs come to the board focused on upside or downsid
155. Amanda Mackenzie OBE: From Advertising Executive to FTSE 100 NED: How Amanda Built a Purpose-Led Portfolio Career
Amanda Mackenzie OBE is NED at British Land and at Lloyds Banking Group, where she chairs the Responsible Business Committee. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: Why Amanda first started non-exec roles (1:10) How she repositioned herself as a non-exec candidate (1:44) Crafting a compelling board CV (3:13) Why Amanda started with pro bono rather than paid roles (5:44) How she landed her first paid rol
154. Sir James Wates CBE: How to be a good board chair - family businesses & the RFU
Sir James Wates CBE is Chair of the Rugby Football Union and Vestey Holdings Ltd. Formerly, he was Chair of Wates Group. Tune in to hear his thoughts: Key board-level decisions that helped grow Wates from 950m to 2bn revenues (02:20) How the board weighed the risks and benefits of increasing average transaction value (05:08) Key decisions the board used to assess risk (08:00) How the board decided
153. Phil Walker CBE: University boards: lessons in stakeholder management, ethical decision-making and data points
Phil Walker CBE is Chair of Council at the University of Roehampton and member of the England & Wales Cricket Board. Formerly, he was COO at Capgemini. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Phil’s journey into the boardroom (02:02) How university governance differs from corporate (03:15) Key stakeholders for higher education boards (04:23) Heuristics Phil uses to understand university boards (05:30
152. Rupert Soames OBE: How to be a good listed company chair
Rupert Soames OBE is Chair of the CBI and Smith & Nephew plc and former CEO of Serco Group plc and Aggreko plc. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Key moments from Rupert’s time as CEO that shape how he Chairs (1:33) Lessons from Aggreko’s acquisition of GE’s energy rental business (3:42) Was there anything a board could have done to mitigate Rupert’s disagreement with the Misys CEO when he was
151. Natasha Frangos: How to sustain culture whilst growing rapidly - boardroom lessons from HaysMac
Natasha Frangos is Managing Partner of HaysMac. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: Key moments in HaysMac’s growth (1:50) What board members can do when they feel too many people are having a say in decision-making (7:39) How boards needed to communicate when overseeing change (10:02) The respective roles of management and the board in developing and communicating strategy (11:17) How boards ensure
150. Sir Douglas Flint CBE: Chairing listed companies - lessons from the BP Macondo crisis, HSBC and the abrdn rebrand
Sir Douglas Flint CBE is chair of Aberdeen, IP Group and the Royal Marsden NHS Trust and former chair of HSBC Group Holdings and NED at BP. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: The most valuable lessons Sir Douglas has learnt from the chairs he’s worked with (2:07) How chairs build consensus - the example of BP Chair Peter Sutherland (4:45) How to handle a split board (7:26) Lessons from the boardroom
149. Mark Winlow: Bank & Insurance Boards - lessons from the boards of Aon and Starling Bank
Mark Winlow is Chair of several financial services companies, including Aon UK and Redwood Bank. Formerly, he was Audit Chair at Starling Bank and NED at Tesco Underwriting, AIG Life Ltd, and others. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Three examples where insurance boards have changed the trajectory of their businesses (2:18) Non-execs transitioning to CEO (5:19) Mark’s heuristics for understanding
148. Professor Doyin Atewologun: Should boards ditch DEI?
Professor Atewologun is the former Dean of the Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford and is currently the Founder and CEO of Delta, Advisor to the board of the Tearfund and Trustee at the Old Fire Station. In this conversation, we cover: What did the Parker review get right and where did it go wrong? (01:47) Is there a relationship between diversity and performance? (5:39) The difference
147. Tessa Clarke: Sticking, quitting & the ideal NED: The board’s role in Olio’s success
Tessa Clarke is co-founder and CEO of Olio, which has over 8.5 million users, across 65+ countries, who have together shared over 125 million meals and 15 million household items. Tessa is a member of the Small Business Growth Forum, Advisory Board Member at Stop Ecocide International and Venture Partner at Mustard Seed MAZE. Listen to hear her thoughts on: The Olio story (02:08) The three momen
146. Dame Marie Gabriel CBE: structuring board meetings, dancing in the boardroom, and taking risks - lessons from an NHS Chair
Dame Marie Gabriel CBE is Chair of the NHS Race and Health Observatory and NHS North East London Integrated Care Board and former Chair of NHS Improvement’s London Regional Board. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: Creating a positive culture in board meetings open to the public (2:11) Laptops in meetings (4:23) Creating a sense of psychological safety and humanity in board meetings (5:52) Marie’s u
145. Thomas Thune Andersen: Impacting culture, managing IPOs and embracing the climate revolution - Boardroom Lessons from the former/Chair of Ørsted and Lloyd’s Register Group
Tune in to the conversation to hear about: The three moments that have had the biggest impact on how Thomas chairs today (01:48) International cultural differences every board member needs to know about (04:15) Practical steps to bridge cultural gaps with younger generations (6:22) The benefits of reverse mentoring versus surveys (12:15) How to de-mystify the board beyond the C-suite (13:22) Why a
144. Professor Alison Taylor: Should boards speak up or shut up?
Professor Alison Taylor is a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Stern School of Business and author of Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World (Harvard Business Review Press, 2024). Tune in to hear her thoughts on: Why it’s so hard for businesses to be “good” (01:37) Should boards speak up or shut up on divisive issues (04:06) Where boards get it wrong with stakeho
143. Charles McManus: Quick growth in heavy regulation — the board’s role in ClearBank’s success
Charles McManus is co-founder, non-executive director (NED) and former CEO of ClearBank, the UK’s first new clearing bank in more than 250 years. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: The three most important calls Charles made as CEO (02:08) How the board helped Charles with strategic focus (06:45) The board’s role in navigating 26 regulatory stakeholders (12:14) How the board helped balance risk and
142. David Dein MBE, Premier League co-founder: The heart of the deal: lessons from vice-chairing Arsenal FC
David Dein MBE was Vice-Chair of Arsenal, where he signed Arsène Wenger, co-founder of the Premier League, and trustee of the Twinning Project. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Betting on potential, not just past performance (2:19) David’s distinct approach to deal-making (4:46) The Sol Campbell and Ian Wright deals (6:29) How David created such a successful relationship with Arsene Wenger (12:04
141. Louise Hill, GoHenry Founder: Product Market Fit, Scaling and Exit - the board’s role in the GoHenry story
Louise Hill is Exec Chair, former CEO & Co-founder of GoHenry. Her board roles include Sibstar and Innovate Finance’s Unicorn Council for UK FinTech. Listen to the conversation to hear about: Louise’s sources of support and challenge in the early stages of GoHenry (2:01) How the board helped her with product market fit and go-to-market strategy (4:27) Three key strategic decisions where the bo
140. Professor Randall Peterson: How to influence people in the boardroom
Professor Randall Peterson is a Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School, where he focuses on CEO personality, top management team interaction, board dynamics, leading diverse teams, and the effects of member personality on group interaction and performance. Listen to the conversation to get his thoughts on: The biggest mistakes board members make when trying to influence pe
139. Fiona Hathorn: How and why to get board roles: mastering applications, transitioning to paid roles and building a plural career
Fiona Hathorn is CEO and co-founder of Women on Boards UK, now known as WB Directors. Listen to the conversation to hear about: What motivated Fiona to help more women get board roles (1:40); One woman’s success story that illustrates how to get board roles (5:32); The benefits of taking on external board positions as an executive (8:15); The biggest misconception CEOs and CHROs have about board p
138. Steve Rigby: Risk & acquisitions - the growth story of the Rigby family business from £0 to £4bn annual revenues
Steve Rigby is Co-CEO of Rigby Group, one of the UK's largest family businesses and in the top 500 largest family companies in the world. Listen to the conversation to hear about: Three key career moments that have shaped Steve’s boardroom thinking (2:02) NED lessons from the retail sector and financial crisis (5:01) How to survive a potential future of inflation, rising prices and crashing a
137. Baroness Dido Harding: NHS Test & Trace & the TalkTalk Cyber Attack — Board Leadership in the Public Eye
Baroness Dido Harding is a former Chair of NHS Improvement, Executive Chair of NHS Test & Trace, NED at the Bank of England, and CEO of TalkTalk Telecom Group plc. In this conversation, we cover: • How Dido handled Ofcom scrutiny after taking on her first CEO role at TalkTalk (01:50) • Lessons learned from the TalkTalk cyber attack (08:21) • The value of functional experts on boards (24:23) •
136. Jock Lennox: How to be a listed Chair and get the most from audit committees
Jock Lennox is Senior Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair at Barratt Developments plc, and Chair of Johnson Service Group plc and Clarion Housing Group. Listen to his thoughts on: the three most definitive experiences in your board career (2:01); approaching uncertainty in the boardroom (6:59); shifting boardroom thinking to focus on what’s possible rather than a binary sense of right a
135. Dr. Margaret Heffernan (2/2): How boards make the best decisions: agendas, wilful blindness and super chickens
Dr. Margaret Heffernan is author of seven books, including Wilful Blindness, Uncharted and Embracing Uncertainty. A former CEO of InfoMation Corp, ZineZone Corp, and iCast Corp, she was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2024. In this episode, we discuss: Balancing rigidity with flexibility in board meetings (1:35) What great board agendas look like (6:47) When ice -breakers help, and wh
134. Dr. Margaret Heffernan (1/2): How boards make the best decisions: cooling-off periods, embracing uncertainty and deep hanging out
Dr. Margaret Heffernan is author of seven books, including Wilful Blindness, Uncharted and Embracing Uncertainty. A former CEO of InfoMation Corp, ZineZone Corp, and iCast Corp, she was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2024. In this episode, we discuss: What uncertainty does to board decision-making (2:47) Practical ways boards can mitigate it (6:25) Squaring “take your time” with deci
133. Peter Clark: 200 years’ growth - inside the Clarks’ family business
Peter Clark is a NED at Clarks. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What makes a great i-NED on a family board? (2:15) What should you look for when recruiting NEDs in a family business? (5:27) What questions do you ask when interviewing a NED candidate? (8:07) What mistakes have you made when hiring NEDs in the past? (11:18) How has Clarks remained a family business for 7 generations? (13:39) What i
132. Carl-Peter Forster: Forget Governance. Great Boards Focus on Strategy, People, and Execution.
Carl-Peter Forster is Chair of Vesuvius plc and Keller Group plc. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What experiences from your executive career have shaped your non-executive career? (2:09) How would you counsel a new CEO coming into a business looking to set up their own team? (7:06) What lessons did you learn from the General Motors crisis? (10:12) What did you learn from your time at Tata Motors
131. Laurence Garrett: Featurespace - the board’s role in growth, pricing, US expansion and sale to Visa
Laurence Garett is General Partner at Highland Europe, a VC firm, and NED at Wirepas, hyperexponential, Modulr, Featurespace Ltd and Goodlord. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What strategic contributions did the board make to Featurespace’s growth? (2:01)How should board members think about pricing? (9:44) How can board members help organisations bring new products to market? (12:59) What do CEOs
130. Ian Phillips: How to be a great GoaT (Governor or a Trustee)
Ian Phillips is Chair of Watling Park Primary, consultant at Clew Education and author of How to be a great GoaT, a guide to being a brilliant governor or trustee. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What does the role of governor or trustee involve? (1:57) Are there archetypal board member profiles that you think are most needed? (6:20) What questions should candidates be asking to decide whether th
129. Karen Blackett CBE: The board’s role in transformation
Karen Blackett CBE is NED at Diageo plc and Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: Where have boards added most value for you as a CEO or a president? (2:21) What advice would you give to CEOs going through a transformation? (7:07) What does good internal communication look like? (14:11) What questions should board members be asking to help a transformation pr
128. Yvonne Bajela: Founder breakups, deciphering moats, and the new role of governance
Yvonne Bajela is Partner at LocalGlobe and Latitude. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: What value can a board bring to startups? (1:28) What is a North Star metric for startup boards, and should they be looking for one? (5:28) How do you effectively challenge a founder as a NED? (8:58) How do boards navigate hypergrowth, with the associated challenges? (10:47) What have been the three most challe
127. Rita Clifton CBE: What boards get wrong about brand
Rita Clifton CBE is Chair of Simplyhealth and Deputy Chair of the John Lewis Partnership. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: Why should boards care more about brand? (1:52) What framework do you use to assess brand when joining a board? (5:49) How should CEOs think about return on brand investment? (8:03) How should boards manage the lag between internal changes and market perception?(17:59) When ha
126. Fred Destin: How start-up boards create & destroy value (and whether we should be thinking about value at all)
Fred Destin is founder of Stride VC and was lead investor at Cazoo, Deliveroo, Integral Ad Science and Zoopla. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Where have you seen start-up board members add most value to their organisations? (1:39) How did the Zoopla board get comfortable with giving away 30% equity in one go? (6:16) How did you manage having customers on your board? (7:26) What KPIs should board
125. Elena Lytkina Botelho: The CEO Next Door: Why Boards Get CEO Succession Wrong—and how to get it right
Elena Botelho is co-author of the international best-seller, The CEO Next Door, and partner at ghSMART. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: What mistakes do boards most often make in CEO succession? (1:50) How should boards use external advice when evaluating CEO candidates? (6:23) What lessons can board members learn from failed CEO hires? (19:46) How can individual board members overcome deference
124. Malcolm John: How to get board roles and what boards get wrong about racial diversity
Malcolm John is Founder and CEO of Action for Trustee Racial Diversity, a trustee at the Association of Chairs, and former Vice-Chair of Anti-Slavery International. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What was your journey to the boardroom? (2:23) How do you add value to boards? (7:00) How do you gain confidence in the boardroom? (9:53) How do you make someone feel welcome on a board? (15:21) What ar
123. Christian Unger: Why experts beat generalists on investor-backed boards
Christian Unger is Partner at Partners Group. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What is the Partners Group approach to boards? (1:49) How do you attract CEOs to board roles? (5.23) What is the perfect board size? (10.18) How much ownership do individual NEDs have over specific strategies? (17:56) Where have you seen NEDs add the most value? (26:28) How do you stop disagreement for disagreement’s sa
122. Dorothy Burwell: Communications in the boardroom - exerting non-exec influence and building trust with management teams
Dorothy Burwell is a Partner at FGS Global, NED at Post Holdings, and Pennon plc. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: What key lessons as a comms exec have shaped the way you act as a board member? (2:13) How did you navigate merging four founder-led businesses together at FGS? (4:21) How quickly should changes occur post-merger? (11:17) What advice do you give to an executive team going through a me
121. Lisa Gordon: UK capital markets reforms - how should boards respond?
Lisa Gordon is Chair of Cavendish and a NED at 3i Infrastructure PLC, JP Morgan MidCap Investment Trust PLC and Magic Light Pictures Ltd. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: What sort of a NED are you? (2:10) How do you gain confidence in the boardroom? (7:37) How reliant are you on outside support to maintain your courage? (11:59) How challenging are capital markets? (15:57) How can board members
120. Tim Jackson: Coaching CEOs: how Chairs, NEDs and Investor Directors add most value to their most senior executive
Tim Jackson is the founder of QXL and a General Partner at Walking Ventures. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What is your founder and CEO journey? (2:03) Where did the board add most value? (7:23) What do you wish your board had done for you knowing what you know now? (10:50) What are the most common reasons for a CEO to lose control of a company? (12:42) How can CEO’s better prepare for breaking
119. Jurga Zilinskiene MBE: Building scale-up boards
Jurga Zilinskiene is founder of Guildhawk, Evernoon, Today Translations and Today Academy. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: How does the board at Guildhawk add value? (1:49) What roles did friends and advisors play early on in your business journey? (6:03) How did you transition from receiving informal advice to establishing a formal board? (10:32) How did your board advance your strategy? (15:37)
118. Gerry Murphy, Tesco & Burberry Chair - How boards add strategic value
Gerry Murphy is Chair of Tesco and Burberry, Trustee at The Burberry Foundation and Senior Advisor at Perella Weinberg. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What were the three most consequential boardroom moments for you as a CEO? (1:42) How can boards assess how much control they have over external factors? (6:26) What frameworks do you use to assess risk? (9:33) What megatrends should be shaping st
117. Cindy Rampersaud: How to excel as a trustee and transition to paid board roles
Cindy Rampersaud is NED at Sage Homes and formerly SID at Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: How have you decided which pro bono roles to take on? (1.47) What have you gained from pro bono opportunities? (3.36) How do you build relationships on boards? (5.19) How does a board recruit the right CEO? (10.42) What role should the board play in shaping digital strategy? (13.15
116. Kate Swann: How board members and chairs add most value to CEOs
Kate Swann is Chair of Moonpig, Beijer Ref, Parques Reunidos, and IVC Evidensia and former CEO of WH Smith. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: As a CEO, where have seen boards add most value? (1:56) Are board members more valuable as individuals, or as a collective? (7:35) What boardroom archetypes are most useful to a CEO? (8:54) What have you learnt from being a NED that would have made you a bet
115. Annemarie Durbin: Chairing building societies & why coaching makes you a better chair
Annemarie Durbin is Chair at YBS. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: How did you become comfortable as Chair of the Yorkshire Building Society (YBS)? (1:50) How much time did you commit, as a new chair, to YBS? (4:45) What lessons have you learnt from previous chair transitions? (7:48) How valuable was having a mentor during your chairship? (9:30) Who are some examples of good chairs you have served
