Genuine Humans

Francesca Theokli has followed her heart throughout her career, leading her to her position as Marketing Director at Weetabix. In this episode, Francesca talks to Wendy and Tamara about her journey, inspirations and why she believes that everyone should lead in their spaces.

We last spoke to Emma Harris back in April 2021. Now, she’s returned to chat about how her life has changed after having a cardiac arrest. Tamara and Wendy were at lunch with Emma when it happened – they also share their experiences of the event.

In the year and a bit since it happened, Emma has reshaped her life to keep doing what’s important and meaningful to her and has established firmer boundaries, allowing herself to say no and #SlowTheF*ckDown.

This week on Geniune Humans, Tamara LIttleton and Wendy Christie talk to Kate Hartley, the co-founder of Polpeo, and author of Communicate in a Crisis. Kate talks about how good communications can create change, why it’s critical to rehearse a crisis before you manage one for real, and the impact that a crisis can have on your teams. 

She talks about the people who’ve influenced her career, including Alison Taylor, Alison Clarke, Richard Houghton, and Tamara Littleton (and how Tamara taught her why it’s ok to be vulnerable, and how it is possible to be a good person and successful in business). She also looks at how the PR industry is changing, with power shifting to ordinary citizens, and how companies respond to that change.

Jodie Cook started her own business at 22 and sold it ten years later. Her book, Ten Year Career: Reimagine Business, Design Your Life, Fast Track Your Freedom, lays out the framework for others to transform their careers.

Jodie benefited from having a mum who taught her how to be independent from a young age. She was encouraged to try things and told that tasks would be easy – this early mentoring helped Jodie run towards challenges with confidence. She was also given six coaching sessions with Joanne Rule (MBE) as part of her graduate recruitment scheme, and she credits Joanne with teaching her how to think through problems.

In this week’s show, Jodie tells Tamara and Wendy about her three pillars: profession, obsession and decompression. She explains how we can use these pillars (in combination with strong boundaries) to create the perfect day.

This week on Genuine Humans, Tamara Littleton and Wendy Christie are joined by the amazing Emma Inglis, head of brand marketing for Cath Kidston. From when she was really young, Emma was showing signs of how her career would pan out – she was always creative, loved playing ‘shops’ as a child, and had teenage ambitions to work in interior design. Now she’s shaping the incredible brand that is Cath Kidston, having forged her career at British brands including BT, Royal Mail and John Lewis. 

Hear how Emma was influenced and inspired by leaders including Dominic Groundsell, Paula Nickolds and Rachel Swift; why marketers have to believe in their brands; and what excites her about creating a creative shopping experience that goes beyond digital, after lockdown. 

She also talks about the importance of vulnerability, why it’s ok to tell people at work if you’re struggling (particularly with how to balance commitments at home and at work), and how women returning to work after a gap should reach out to get the support they need. 

Emma is a real inspiration. Listen now and subscribe to hear her story.

When David and Madeline McQueen co-founded the leadership development firm, Q-Squared, they set out to teach leaders how to use clarity, confidence and empowerment to thrive. 

This week, they join Tamara and Wendy to talk about how they met and what led the couple to go into business together. We hear how their early lives helped shape the confident leaders they are today.

We also hear about the importance of self-belief, clarity of purpose and the value of maintaining a positive mindset.

Carole Scott (Head of Corporate Communications – UK, Ireland & Nordic – at Henkle) joins us this week. Carole’s desire for variety has led her to acquire a diverse range of experiences – from fundraising work to the academic sector to PR and now consumer goods.

Carole has always been willing to try new things, take risks and move on if something isn’t working or is becoming stale.

In this episode, Carole talks to Tamara and Wendy about how the pandemic has reinforced her views on leadership – that collaboration and human connection are incredibly important to her and that everyone on her team has the space to be heard and contribute their ideas.

It’s series seven of Genuine Humans, and we’re kicking off in style! Tamara and Wendy talk to Diageo’s Chief Marketing and Innovation officer (North America), Edward Pilkington.

Edward has worked for Diageo for most of his career, but in that time, he has seized most of the opportunities he could – working in various roles around the world. From Australia to the Caribbean, to Amsterdam and New York, Edward has jumped at every opportunity to experience the world and develop his career.

He’s been lucky to have fantastic bosses throughout his career – people who have shown that they believed in him and given him opportunities to thrive on his own initiative. Now, Ed does what he can to give those he manages the same opportunities.

Joanne Savage has never backed down from a challenge in her career. Starting at Unilever in Ireland, Joanne’s been driven by future possibilities and the prospect of helping businesses breakthrough to their next stage of development.

Joanne has worked for businesses like Nokia and Argos, and even moved to Uganda to help set up a school. 

Inspired by her hard-working and encouraging parents, as well as her former bosses Tom Mcgowan and Steven Overman (and current boss, Des Power) who all provide encouragement and mentorship when she needs it the most, Joanne leads her team with optimism and energy.

Ross Farquhar is the Marketing Director of Mochi ice cream brand (and TikTok viral sensation) Little Moons. 

Ross chats to Tamara and Wendy about what it’s like working for a brand that’s been adopted en masse by millions of teenagers and young adults across the country. 

We also hear about the importance of leading with kindness – something that Ross learned at an early age from his grandma and from key influencers in his career (his former boss at Cadbury, Phil Rumbol and founder of The Marketing Academy, Sherilyn Shackell).

Another important theme of this episode is being true to yourself. Being an out and proud gay man and a successful marketer is something that Ross is proud to embrace.