In recent years, Cathy has built a broad plural career at listed companies, with current NED positions at Lloyds Banking Group plc, Rentokil plc and Spectris plc. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her thoughts on: How did you get your first NED position? (1:50) How did you turn that first position into a plural career? (7:55) To what extent has your performance in current positions created more non-exec opportunities in the future? (11:28) What have been the most challenging moments in building your non-exec career? (14:55) Where do you go for support as a board member? (19:18) Did you consciously develop a board expertise spike in remuneration? (21:30) What are the different archetypes people can lean into to develop their board careers? (24:51) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(28:55) and (Audience question) How do you pitch yourself as a first-timer versus someone who has a portfolio of non-executive roles? (32:52) 

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Alex Fish

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kolt

Email: [email protected]

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

Dr Dembkowski has led board reviews for firms across the FTSE 100 and DAX amongst others, and her academic work on the subject is internationally recognised and peer-reviewed. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her thoughts on: Why do a board review? (1:38) Are private companies less inclined to board review, and if so, why? (4:29) What do you say to those who think board reviews are ineffective and overpriced? (6:29) Where do boards most commonly go wrong with reviews? (8:39) What is the most important data to capture in board reviews?  (12:58) Given the impossibility of an A|B test, how do we know what “effective” looks like? (14:27) What are the key factors that go to your definition of board effectiveness (18:39) What characteristics do the worst boards have in common? (25:47) Should we review individuals or the board as a whole? (27:21) What can boards do to better implement feedback? (28:56) Should board reviews look at the board’s ability to undertake specific tasks like hiring and firing the CEO? (31:05) How valuable do you think observers are for making boards more effective?  (33:35) What aspects of board reviews are you sceptical about? (36:03) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(37:26)   

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Alex Fish

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kolt

Email: [email protected]

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

On top of his Cabinet Office role, Anand is a NED at Saga plc, Polar Capital Holdings plc and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Tune in to his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his thoughts on: Was being a portfolio NED always the plan? (1:03) What advice do you have for people in the early stages of their board careers? (1:57) Pre-interview, how did you make yourself stand out as a candidate? (4:00) What role did your entrepreneurial background play in your applications? (6:03) Are the same things that helped you stand out, the ones that help you add value to your boards? (7:31) What executive experiences have been most valuable as a non-exec? (8:37)  What was the biggest surprise when you started as a board member? (11:04) What was your thinking around taking on pro bono roles? (11:48) How do government and charity boards compare? (16:46) What is the Cabinet Office board and what does it do? (19:46) How is your role as Lead Non-Exec different from non-exec? (26:03) How do your listed company boards compare to government and charity? (31:31) What have you learned about managing time across your portfolio? (33:59) Are there any rituals common to the highest performing boards you’ve seen? (34:54) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡ (39:06) 

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Alex Fish

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kolt

Email: [email protected]

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

Andrew is Chair of a series of investor-backed businesses, including Ainscough Crane Hire, Winoa Group, Joloda, Detertech, ETL Systems, Hydraroll and Senior Advisor at Blackstone Credit. Tune in to his discussion with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his answers to:  What inspired you to move from CEO to Chair, and how did you prepare for it? (1:43) How have you identified and got the most from mentors? (4:23) What prompted you to do a self-assessment as a Chair? (11:31) What lessons have you applied from the self-assessment? (16:52) How do you navigate complex stakeholder dynamics as a Chair? (18:58) What have you learned about managing private equity investors? (26:13)  And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(31:38)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Alex Fish

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kolt

Email: [email protected]

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

As CEO of Board Intelligence, Jennifer Sundberg has seen what works and what doesn’t across thousands of boards - insights crystallised in her recent book Collective Intelligence. Listen to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her answers to: Do boards still matter? (0:46) How can we determine which decisions need to be made by the board? (2:16) How can boards measure their organisation’s collective intelligence? (5:33) What does critical thinking look like in board papers? (7:27) How can board members encourage execs to do more critical thinking? (8:58) Have you noticed any recurring rituals across the highest-performing boards you see? (16:17) How can boards identify the most important questions they need answered? (18:13) How do the best boards balance thinking in and outside of the boardroom? (19:49) What are the respective roles of execs and non-execs in developing strategy? (22:17) How do you see the ideal Chair-CEO-NED dynamic? (27:42) What are the most common mistakes boards make with communication? (29:00) Does communication really matter? (31:13) What should board members take from your final chapter, “when it all goes wrong?” (34:08) How can boards inoculate themselves against belief perseverance? (35:58) Do you feel like you’ve got it right with your own board? (37:23) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(39:00) 

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Alex Fish

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kolt

Email: [email protected]

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

Sir Nicholas is Chair / former Chair of Historic Royal Palaces, Victoria & Albert Museum, British Fashion Council, Professional Publishers Association, Condé Nast Britain and Provost-Designate at Eton College. Tune in to hear his answers to: As a Chair, where have you been most and least effective leading through difficult times? (1:25); How did you know you could handle rapid expansion at Conde Nast? (8:14); When you were Chair of Conde Nast International, how did the board think about cost-cutting? (16:33); What do you think about voluntary redundancy, and how do you balance the welfare of those staying with that of those going? (23:50); What is  your approach to fundraising? (27:49); To what extent do boards have an obligation to hold their organisations to account for their history? (33:58) and⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(41:34) 

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Alex Fish

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kolt

Email: [email protected]

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

Wais is CEO / former CEO of PrivateDoc and Push Doctor, and NED & Committee Chair at Snappy Shopper, Reach Plc and The Gym Group. Listen to his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his answers to: How did the Push Doctor board add most value to you as CEO? (1:24) Did you ever get frustrated by board members from big business not understanding the realities of early-stage organisations? (3:58) How did you keep your board engaged? (7:13) How did the board add value beyond their contributions to revenue? (9:54) How have the best boards supported you through challenging times as a CEO? (13:23) How did you think about changing your advisory board members? (21:20) How did you think about the advisory board’s ROI? (22:25) How did the advisory board fit alongside the main board? (25:07) What have you learnt about adversity, as a CEO and non-exec, which others might benefit from? (26:13) How do you think about time management as a CEO and non-exec? (30:21) Why do you sit on listed boards? (34:11), and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(36:51) 

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Alex Fish

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kolt

Email: [email protected]

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

As CEO of the Chartered Management Institute for over a decade, Ann Francke has spent some time thinking about what good management looks like and how organisations achieve it. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her answers to: How can we know that investing in leadership causes high-performance, rather than there just being correlation? (1:31) If investment into management training produces better outcomes, why are market forces not dictating more investment? (5:22) As a board member, how do you handle a visionary CEO who’s a bad manager? (9:13) If you were on the board of a highly-successful organisation and you heard a horror story about the CEO, what would you do? (11:29) How do you decide when to speak up and when to hold your tongue about what you feel is right?  (16:22) How can board members evaluate their organisation’s management? (22:55) How do you balance intuition and data-led questioning? (27:52) How do you think about balancing technical and managerial competence? (29:13) What can board members do, practically, to help their organisation improve its management? (32:56) What other mistakes do boards make, which have the most negative impact on management? (36:27) How do you overcome groupthink in the boardroom? (39:22) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(41:09)

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Alex Fish

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kolt

Email: [email protected]

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

How can boards help businesses keep hold of the value they create? In “7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy”, Hamilton identifies seven powers organisations can develop to protect themselves from competition. Listen to his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to discover how you can use them as a board member. Hear Hamilton’s answers to: Why are your insights in 7 Powers relevant to board members? (1:58) How do the best boards define strategy? (5:20) How can they use the 7 Powers to inform their strategic input? (13:01) How can boards understand their competitors’ power? (16:51) How can boards assess the power of their brand?(19:49) How do you determine whether your power is subject to diminishing returns? (30:00) How can incumbents use the 7 Powers to respond to new competition? (34:44) Why do organisations struggle to marry strategy and execution?(38:09) How much time do the best boards spend on strategy? (43:30)⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(46:53)  

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Alex Fish

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kolt

Email: [email protected]

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

Sarah is Chair of Bionic, Yeo Valley, Riverford Organic Farmers and Sawdays and Senior Advisor at OMERS Private Equity. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her answers to: Why did you take on your first board roles whilst you were still a busy non-exec? (1:33) What do you know now which you wish you’d learnt then? (4:17) What was the biggest surprise of the boardroom? (7:09) In what ways did your exec and non-exec roles inform each other? (9:09) Did you consciously decide to leave your exec career and go portfolio? (10:53) How did you think about transitioning from pro bono to paid roles? (12:31) What were the most challenging aspects of the transition? (16:30) Did you have a breakthrough moment or was it just persistence? (19:12) How do your boards compare across different ownership structures? (20:43) What characteristics would you take from each structure to create the dream board? (25:57) What have you learnt about chairing which you wish you’d known before? (27:49) How would you design a perfect Chair role? (30:55) What have been the good and bad interview questions as a prospective Chair? (32:31) How do investor-backed Chairs ensure they are even-handed with CEOs? (35:01) How do you ensure your values shape your portfolio? (37:46) As a Chair, what do you look for in NEDs? (41:00) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(43:12)      

Host: Oliver Cummings

Producer: Will Felton

Editor: Alex Fish

Music: Kate Mac

Audio: Nick Kolt

Email: [email protected]

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