CANDID CONVO

This edition of CANDID CONVO is with an executive who leads both global business Services as well as the Office of the CIO.  Steve McCrystal, the Chief Enterprise and Technology Officer talks with Steve Dunkerley about his role within Unilever, his current priorities and how his organisation - UniOps - aligns with Unilever Compass (Unilever's sustainability strategy). We also talk about the importance of a collaborative ecosystem, what emerging technologies are getting the most attention from his team and how Unilever is tackling the cyber security challenge in this "work from anywhere" world. Enjoy!

How do you go about transforming a decentralised insurance group while leveraging the latest technologies and change agents?  In this podcast, Steve Dunkerley has a CANDID CONVO with Jan Myszkowski, Managing Director, Hannover Digital Investments about how he enables Talanx subsidiaries to future proof themselves with the latest tech solutions.  He also talks about how he and his team collaborates with a community of insurtech start-ups for win win outcomes.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of enterprises around the world and changed the focus of risk management and insurance.  This episode of CANDID CONVO features insights from three executives leading the way in the risk and insurance space:  

Louise Smith, Chief Digital Officer, Lloyd's of London

Host: Steve Dunkerley, CEO & Founder, CANDID CONVO

Steve Dunkerley is joined by Judy Romano, CFO Commercial and Technology, IHG  Lena Shishkina, CFO & COO, Red Points & Tracy Levine, Author and CEO, Advantage Talent 

This episode of CANDID CONVO is relevant to those leading teams that are working from home and those that have lost their job due to COVID-19.   The COVID-19 pandemic has led to worldwide mass unemployment, and a 'work from home' economy.  This podcast explores the most effective leadership approach for this type of working, the type of talent needed to succeed and the hard and soft skills that leaders are now looking for when they recruit in these COVID times.  It then looks at how unemployed people can go about beating the competition to the scarce number of jobs available and the importance of up-skilling and getting more tech savvy.  It then looks at the type of courses job seekers should be taking and the importance of social media etiquette and being a good digital citizen, both as a manager and as a job seeker.  With working from home proving to be such a hit for  companies, we finish by looking at the future employment landscape and the trend for "boundless jobs."  

Steve Dunkerley is joined by: Julia Graham, Deputy CEO and Technical Director, Airmic Robert Hardy, Founder, Customs Clearance Consortium Guy Dunkerley, Supply Chain Director & Analyst.

With lock-down now easing in the UK, other key issues such as the Brexit transition are now being brought to the foreground.  The clock is ticking and issues such as the time and cost of processing customs declaration forms and potentially high tariffs to move goods is causing concern, particularly amongst manufacturers.  With Brexit causing much uncertainty coupled with COVID-19, supply-chain leaders and other executives need to look at their risk mitigation strategy and plan carefully in order to survive and thrive.  

Steve Dunkerley is joined by Netsai Mangwende, Head of Finance GB, Willis Towers Watson Judy Romano, VP Commercial & Technology, IHG Anders Liu-Lindberg, Partner - COO & CMO, Business Partnering Institute  

In this podcast, the discussion focuses on how finance business partners can add value to a company, the importance of companies establishing a business partner framework - the types of attributes a business partner should have and examples of effective business partnering in action.  

Steve Dunkerley hosts a podcast with:   Declan Guerin, Group Chief Restructuring Officer, Rolls-Royce Dr Stephanie Fitzgerald, Senior Business Parter, Mental Health, Rolls-Royce Andrew Harding FMCA CGMA, CEO - Management Accounting, The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants

A productivity push can be a tempting management strategy now that the  COVID-19 lock-down has eased in many countries.  Is this however appropriate in the current climate? Also, how far should we go in pandemic proofing the office as we gradually return back to work?  Plus, to what extent is automation helping to drive resilience and outcomes for finance departments and how are companies like Rolls-Royce going about business continuity planning / risk management to mitigate against a 2nd wave of the virus?  

Steve Dunkerley has a candid conversation with:  Christian Kaufmann, CFO, Unilever Europe, Tunc Tezel, CFO Europe, Pladis Global & Christopher Argent, Founder, Generation CFO  

On day 52 of the coronavirus lockdown in the UK, it was time to take stock of the impact and implication of the pandemic to businesses through the lens of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).   

The key issues discussed include:  CFO's current priorities were during lock-down the impact of the pandemic on finance operations  The "work from home" (WFH) experience The extent to which WFH will continue following lock-down.  How the pandemic is shaping consumer behaviour  The medium and long term trends in the FMCG space.