Martin Hottass is managing director at City & Guilds Group. He has over 30 years of experience in the skills sector, and previously led Siemens professional education in the UK and then EMEA. Since joining City & Guilds Group in October last year, he has led the charity’s skills agenda, with a particular focus on STEM skills.

In this podcast I ask Martin about the state of apprenticeships in the UK’s engineering sector and how business leaders can create cultures of learning in their business. I began by asking Martin about how our European neighbours address the skills agenda, and how the UK can improve.

Julia Streets is the CEO and founder of Streets Consulting, a fintech business development, marketing and communications consultancy. She has previously worked as a senior executive in financial services and is regularly named as one of the 30 power women in the Fintech industry. She hosts the DiverCity podcast, exploring the subject of diversity and inclusion in financial services, and is also a stand-up comedian.

In this podcast recorded in February 2019, I ask Julia about how her career in stand-up has helped her in other areas of work, the lessons she’s learned from the DiverCity podcast, and how fintech is affecting everybody’s life at work.

Richard Doherty is senior director of product marketing for EMEA at Workday. A pioneer in cloud based recruiting and talent management solutions, Richard is a respected thought leader on people analytics and emerging technologies within human resources.

In this podcast, we speak to Richard about the disruptions technology is causing in the people function and wider business, how the use of AI in the UK compares to other regions of the world, and ask for his predictions on how technology will change our lives in the future of work.

Appointed chief HR officer for Unilever in 2016, Leena has worked for the nutrition and personal care giant since 1992 after joining as a trainee. The first female CHRO in the business’s history, she is a leading voice on the future of HR, and has appeared at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Dr. Alan Watkins is the founder and CEO of Complete Coherence, a consultancy that specialises in developing enlightening leadership through individual and team development. Originally training as a physician and neuroscientist, Alan has integrated his approach to leadership development with learnings from many diverse fields. He has worked with many senior leaders in FTSE 100 and 250 businesses, and has recently worked with Leena, using the principles of network analysis in better understanding Unilever’s workforce.

In the podcast, we discuss Leena’s path to becoming the CHRO of Unilvever, the future of the HR profession, and why leaders in the function must put their employee’s wellbeing at the heart of what they do.

Harvey Lewis is associate partner & chief data scientist in EY’s tax practice. A real-life rocket scientist with over 25 years of experience in AI, blockchain and disruptive technologies, he is a strategist and innovator in the public and private sectors. Since joining EY in 2017, he has pioneered the use of AI in the firm’s tax practice.

In this podcast recorded in February 2019, I ask Harvey how leaders can effectively adopt emerging technologies in their business, how much leaders actually need to know about AI, and how automation will affect the HR function in the future.

Anne Scoular is the co-founder of the executive coach training and leadership development firm, Meyler Campbell. Anne has led a varied career, originally working as a diplomat and international banker, before retraining mid-career as a psychologist. In her work with Meyler Campbell, she has been named as a leading expert in business coaching globally by Harvard Business Review, and is the author of the Financial Times Guide to Business Coaching.

In this podcast, I ask Anne about the attributes that are shared by effective coaches (02:50), what leaders can do to create a culture of coaching in their organisations (09:30), and why humanity must match the growth of technology in our organisations (17:30).

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After a career in academia exploring cultural change and group dynamics, Dr. Nigel Spencer went on to work in professional services for PwC, and in talent development for international law firms. In his role at Saïd Business School, Nigel has developed a range of white papers on the importance of strategic talent programmes in creating competitive advantages.

In this podcast, I ask Nigel about the impact of automation in professional services (03:00), the ways in which technology is augmenting the industry’s culture (06:55), and how talent strategies are changing to attract the younger generations entering the workforce.

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Hashi came to the UK from Kenya at the age of nine after his father died. Growing up in some of the most deprived areas of the UK, Hashi would go on to qualify as a planning barrister in 2010. He has presented a number of radio documentaries for the BBC, including ‘Adventures in Social Mobility’, in which he describes his life and career, and examines the possibilities of children living in deprived areas today.

In this podcast, Hashi talks about his journey from the Kenya to the UK and beyond (01:00), why any debate around social mobility must consider inequality(19:00), and how business leaders can address diversity in their workforce(23:00).

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Winner of the prestigious Perrier Award in 1989, Simon first came to prominence as a comedian before progressing into broadcasting. He has made programmes for both BBC radio and television, and his writing has appeared in the Sunday Times and The Observer. A fervent voice in campaigning and advocacy groups, he was a founding member of the LGBT charity Stonewall.

Through his consultancy Diversity by Design, Simon now works with businesses and organisations on answering strategic business questions through diversity.

In this podcast, Simon talks about his approach to his constantly evolving career (01:30), why a diverse workforce is key to answering strategic business questions (07:00), and the role technology plays in addressing unconscious bias(18:30).

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Candida Mottershead has led Accenture's people function in the UK & Ireland since the summer of 2016. In that time, she has led on a number of diversity initiatives, including working towards the goal of having 25% of the business's MD's being female.

In this podcast, Candida discusses why we still need to discuss diversity in business, how Accenture revamped its culture by empowering its employee's voices, and what leaders can do to help their people speak out.

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