dot innovate

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Elena Lavezzi is the Head of southern Europe for Revolut.

She is Leading the growth of Southern Europe at the company. The goal of Revolut, is to become the world’s first truly global bank. 

Revolut is valued at over 5.5 billion, and they are on a mission to create the first fully global financial platform.

She is also a Unicef NextGen Founder and made the list of Forbes 100 Top Women in 2020.

We discuss:

• Scale-ups - she’s helped grow UBER, Circle and now Revolut, the first global fintech super app. 
• Seeing UBER grow from 100 people when she joined to 15,000 4 years later
• Startups vs corporates
• Her approach to increasing the customer base 
• Growing Revolut in southern Europe, where they rely more on cash than western Europe
• We also talk about Revolut’s goal to become the first fully global financial platform
• Female diversity in tech and finance 
• We also discuss books, mentors, mistakes and sport

Enjoy the chat. 

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This week we speak with Fraser Ingram the Group Chief Opperarating officer at Virgin Money. 

We discuss:

The recent merger of CYBG and Virgin Money 

His approach to helping to run now, the 6th largest bank in the uk with 4000 employees, 6 million customers 

How their purpose helps unify both brands.

Covid 19 and the speed of digital transformation 

How the consumer has changed

Where innovation should happen 

Diversity and inclusion in financial services 

His favourite books, mistakes, mentors and some surprising facts about sheep.

enjoy the chat. 

This week we speak with Martin Palethorpe, he is an Executive Coach, Mentor and Founder at The Pragma Group. 

This is one of the most fascinating and emotionally difficult interviews I’ve done. It’s one that i’m not really proud of. I totally messed up the interview and Martin rightly pulled me up on it mid recording.  

Martin talks about the flow state being critical to accessing your potential in all of life (including your creativity). 

I wasn’t in flow in the first part of the interview. I was following a script I had prepared as a result, i wasn’t being present to the conversation as i should have been. 

To my embarrassment, Martin noticed it and stopped the interview. The second half was then an entirely different experience. You will feel and hear the difference in the podcast.

Martin’s challenge to me was to publish the whole interview which obviously terrified me! 

I’m being very very vulnerable here in publishing it all! But this is a great example of flow (and 'not flow') in action. 

The more we get out of our own heads, let go our own structures & planning, and quieten the ego - the more we have access to flow in life and to unleash our true potential. I hope this recording inspires you to do the same. 

I’m gonna play our reflections after the interview first, were martin challenges me to publish it all, unedited, then the full interview will follow.

Don't judge me too harshly! enjoy the chat. 

This week we speak with Marieke Flament, the CEO of Mettle

Mettle is the free business account by NatWest that helps small businesses start, run and grow. built for startups, limited companies and sole traders.

We discuss:

-How she thinks about building high performing teams

-Mettle’s growth strategy

-How the consumer has changed as a result of covid 19

-Getting he mix right between Mettle and Natwest/RBS

-Where innovation should happen

-Online security 

-Race, Diversity and inclusion in banking and finance 

-Her favourite books, mentors, mistakes and much much more. 

Enjoy the chat.

This week we speak with Lee Sankey the founder at Door. 

They create and build new propositions, products, services and ventures that create the next era for you and your customers. 

clients include Volvo, Sky, Virgin Money just go down the list of some of the biggest companies in the world. 

We discuss:

• His legacy as group design director at Barclays when entrepreneurial banking was really taking off
• Rising complexity in corporates and how that stops innovation 
• why he doesn’t like the term innovation, he prefers evolution
• what businesses need to do themselves and where they should partner 
• Seizing new opportunities

Enjoy the chat.

Joe Hine is a Partner at SI Partners. He provides M&A advice on high value, cross-border deals. He has worked on over 50 transactions throughout his career. Joe manages the sale process end-to-end, including buyer identification, offer negotiation and completion. 

His M&A work includes: 

1. Sale of ?What If! to Accenture 
2. Sale of Friday to PA Consulting (2018)
3. Sale of Market Gravity to Deloitte (2018)

We discuss:

1. We discuss why the M&A world is so hot right now
2. The factors driving agency M&A and who the key players are that agencies should be aware of
3. How to prepare your agency for sale one day
4. When to start planning for it
5. What a typical sale process looks like

Enjoy the chat.

Marcus Lambert is an entrepreneurial CTO and software architect for Omobono, the digital agency for business brands. 

He measures success by delivering exactly what the user needs wrapped in a compelling UX on time and on budget. 

We discussed:

1. How have their business continuity plans changed
2. What does that look like with an agency with 100 people?
3. How should we be thinking about scenario planning?
4. How his role has changed as CTO
5. How Omobono are thinking about sales and new business?
6. How do B2B salespeople sell in this environment?
7. Pitching/workshops
8. Digital transformation
9. Marcus’ silver linings

I started by asking him to explain his comment:

‘Most agency business continuity plans are not fit for purpose’.

Enjoy the chat.

My special guest this week is Shazia Ginai, she is the CEO of Neuro Insight.

They are a neuromarketing and neuroanalytics company that uses unique brain-imaging technology to measure how the brain responds to communications.

This allows them to deliver unique consumer insight, and reveal how a piece of design or advertising is affecting people at both a rational and an emotional level.

Enjoy the chat.