Business Futures

It's safe to say that the past year has been far from easy, and that's particularly true for business leaders who have had to make plenty of tough decisions. As we reflect on the past 12 months, perhaps it's time to adjust our ways of thinking and learn to understand life's ups and downs with a new perspective. In this episode, host Emma Pownall is joined by world-class practitioner of Quality of Mind, Piers Thurston, as he talks us through his transformational advice that he brings to business leaders around the globe. Tune in to hear why businesses and business leaders ought to care about Quality of Mind, and why recognising the aperture in which we see the world in is so conducive to a healthy mindset. 

As the pandemic teaches us to work, sell and engage very differently, many companies are discovering the new value in purpose. Customers want to buy from businesses with a real mission and employees want to work for bosses who get up for a good reason every morning. Host Emma Pownall is joined by Russell Atkinson and Miguel Veiga-Pestana to discuss why purpose matters in the business world, how we sustain purpose in the new remote-working environment, and how purpose is changing with the younger generations that are coming into the workforce.

As we reflect on the changes that COVID-19 has brought to the table so far, there’s one thing that has transformed businesses of all sizes: Financial resilience. In this episode, Emma caught up with CFO Whisperer David Axson to discuss the environment that CFOs nowadays are finding themselves in, how the pandemic has accelerated the changing function of a CFO, and what those key financial roles within businesses look like going forward.

As businesses continue to respond to the ongoing changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic, being digitally enabled is now more important than ever. With businesses across the globe finding new ways to trade, communicate, and grow, it's suffice to say that Covid has sparked a digital revolution in the business world. As digital transformation is at the heart of what we do here at Datel, we're keeping this week's episode in house. Join Emma as she discusses all things technology with Datel's R&D Director Tim Purcell and X3 Services Director Paolo Arcangelo. 

What extraordinary times we find ourselves in. Since our last podcast, no business has been left untouched by Corona virus. It’s given business leaders new challenges and huge disruption to deal with. But it’s also offered a pause for thought and new opportunities too. Every business is different, but as we all juggle the present and an unpredictable future, there’s room for optimism. In this show, Emma meet’s some of Datel’s clients to see how they’ve handled the pandemic, including Simon Oliphant, MD of Uform and Brian Cape, MD of SIPS. But to start Emma gets stuck into some data as she chats with Hesham EllKomy, Director of Channel Sales at Sage who reveals some key findings from a recent survey Sage carried out with 2000 businesses across the UK.

Emma’s joined by Tom Cheesewright, a futurist and the author of “High Frequency Change”. Tom spends his time helping businesses deal with a globalised and fast-moving world, where decision-making just can’t seem to come fast enough.  This show was recorded a couple of months before Coronavirus made its mark on the world, but Tom’s advice is more valid now than ever: businesses need to prioritise agility and flexibility if they are going to succeed. In this jam packed episode, Tom and Emma discuss what ‘High frequency change’ actually is, how businesses are dealing with it and what can be learned from businesses in other parts of the world. Then they delve into what future proofing a business actually looks like.

In this show Emma talks to a woman at the top of a FTSE 250 company. If you’ve never heard of Marnie Millard, or Nichols PLC – the company she heads up - you’ll definitely have heard of Vimto. Just one of the world class brand that Nichols produces. Marnie’s worked in the ultra-competitive beverage industry all her life, and has not just become one of the few serving female FTSE 250 CEO’s, she’s also served the CBI, evangelised for women in business, and been awarded an OBE along the way.  

In this show, we’re looking at the future of finance in modern business. Emma speaks to Mark Lee, the UK’s leading accountancy and finance function futurist. He spends his time helping finance professionals understand what’s around the corner in financial and business management. He’s joined by Datel’s own CFO, Nick Swarbrick. Nick’s an experienced CFO, non-exec, and has served on the board of Accountancy body, the ICAEW’s Management Faculty.  

We speak with Nick Peters, Editorial Director; and Henry Anson, Managing Director at The Manufacturer. Their industry publication is an essential online and print resource for British Manufacturing. Nick and Henry have just released the 2020 results of their annual survey, the benchmark in taking the temperature of UK manufacturing. So with the sector dealing with skills challenges, technological disruption and more, we’ll get to see what Britain really thinks.

In this episode we discuss coaching within the workplace, focusing on the benefits of coaching for individuals and teams, the GROW Model, and top tips to get businesses started. Joining the conversation is executive coach Simon Grayson, founder of Humanida - Laurence Hollobon and tech executive Anna Gudmundson.