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 before joining a regulated board (14:58) Which of privatisation, liberalisation and decarbonisation did boards handle worst? (19:30) The three phrases Chris never wants to hear in a boardroom (28:14) How to know if your safety culture is real or just rhetoric (31:17) The moment that made safety personal for Chris (38:06)⚡The Lightning Round⚡(41:17)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Penelope Coumau

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kold

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

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 member should take the Hippocratic oath (01:28) The superpowers Betsy looks for in every executive (04:45) What she would do differently if she started her board career again (06:51) The day the FBI walked into Betsy’s boardroom (08:08) How she stress-tests a board candidate's character (12:47) The moment Betsy knew she had to leave HealthSouth (16:32) What happens when an AI agent goes rogue in your company (23:50) How to upskill a board that thinks AI is just a buzzword (28:49) How boards are using AI in the boardroom (33:36) What Betsy does differently to stay at the top of her field (35:27)⚡The Lightning Round⚡(37:23)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Penelope Coumau

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kold

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

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 being the world's biggest diamond monopoly was almost worthless (01:52) The people inside a business are the last to see what's wrong with it (06:20) Governing a boardroom with a government, a corporate and a family in it (11:20) The advice Gareth gives any CEO about to reinvent their company (14:36) What a fit board and a great sportsman have in common under pressure (20:36) The secret to a calm boardroom (24:42) Why the chair should always be the last person to speak (27:21) How a board handles one of the worst oil spills in Arctic history (30:15) The board function Gareth thinks almost every company is missing (35:36) ⚡The Lightning Round⚡(37:55)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Penelope Coumau

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kold

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

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 the boardroom (01:48) What the England squad has to do with your hiring strategy (07:38) The three things every organisation can do on social mobility starting tomorrow (10:08) Social mobility isn't just for multinationals: here's what smaller organisations can do (18:29) Justine on corporate Britain's progress on social mobility (22:58) How to get your board to actually act, not just talk about it (27:34) Why getting the first NED role remains so difficult (37:59) The reason boards hire NEDs is rarely where they end up adding most value (39:58) ⚡The Lightning Round⚡(41:57)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Penelope Coumau

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kold

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

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 should focus on in sales (10:46) Why a board is like a personal trainer for CEOs (19:18) The grumpy, entitled board member who didn't last long (21:23) The one question Natasha says boards don’t ask enough (23:19) The four reasons people go to B2B events (27:07) Year one vs year five: what your churn pattern is actually telling you (33:05)⚡The Lightning Round⚡(34:41)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Penelope Coumau

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kold

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

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 board (07:25) Karen’s playbook for your first 90 days of joining a family business board (10:38) The hidden family dynamics that can derail board decisions (15:14) When doing the “wrong” thing commercially is actually right (19:40) How to navigate emotional boardroom deadlock (25:24) How to challenge the family while keeping trust intact (28:00) The most difficult boardroom challenge in a family business (33:12) What to do when a high-performing family executive is toxic (35:06) ⚡The Lightning Round⚡(39:36)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Penelope Coumau

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kold

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

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) The "outside-in" perspective every founder needs from their board (09:45) The pricing lesson that saved Shazam The moment Shazam sold its own technology to survive (12:28) What Roger Federer's 55% winning rate teaches boards about backing founders (24:13) Why one bad result doesn't mean a bad strategy - the Arsenal lesson for boards (30:38) The missing voice on Shazam's board that could have saved them years The one board member Shazam never had, and what it cost them (32:29) Why the bottleneck isn't AI, it's you. (36:12)⚡The Lightning Round⚡(41:47)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Penelope Coumau

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kold

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

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 boards that collapse (01:51) Why the RBS board was too big to save itself (06:52) The truth about culture in banks that most boards miss (08:01) The collective failure of imagination that brought the banks down (11:00) Why boards needs more weirdos (14:42) The Kingman Review: why the UK has the best rules and some of the worst companies (16:58) What Sir John thinks makes a truly effective NED (23:47) The three question he asks every potential NED (26:35) Why new NEDs should never try to fit in straight away (28:12)⚡The Lightning Round⚡(31:51)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Penelope Coumau

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kold

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Vivienne is CEO of the FTSE Women Leaders Review, the UK government-backed framework tracking and driving gender representation across the boards and leadership teams of the FTSE 350 and the UK's largest private companies. Tune into this episode to hear about: How Princess Anne left Vivienne lost for words when receiving her OBE (01:20) The subprime meeting that predicated the financial crisis - and why no one listened (03:31) How to challenge without confronting: the running water approach (09:11) Why Vivienne resigned and why it wasn't walking away (11:46) The rainmaker problem: why boards protect the wrong people (16:14)  Forget the rules on data privacy (19:16) Her lessons from a real data breach (21:19) The questions every board should ask before replacing staff with AI (24:04) What good AI governance actually looks like (27:17) What it's really like to be the only woman in the room (31:06) ⚡The Lightning Round⚡(34:49)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Penelope Coumau

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kold

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

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 Laura Ashley banking crisis that changed Bank of England policy (07:18) The four strategy Tesco pillars (09:54) Inside the Tesco succession that went wrong (14:35) Why a new CEO should keep their rivals (18:23) What every retail NED should do when they first join (21:36) The first thing Andy did when he arrived at a struggling Morrisons (25:58) Morrison’s acquisition by private equity (31:35)⚡The Lightning Round⚡(36:46)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Penelope Coumau

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kold

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom