Insight with HReSource

A brief 2 minute peek into the wonderful conversation with Dr James Cusack - Full Episode - Episode 2 of series 7.

Bio – Dr James Cusack, CEO - ⁠Autistica⁠

In 2015 James became the national autism charity, ⁠Autistica’s, ⁠Director of Science. During this time, he has been at the heart of the charity’s growth and impact, including devising and overseeing its national research network; identifying, supporting and funding high-impact scientific studies; making Autistica a global leader in authentic community involvement and making health inequalities a priority for the charity, its beneficiaries and governments around the world.

In August 2020 James became the first openly autistic charity CEO and leads the world-renowned organisation.

Before joining Autistica, James had a successful career working for the ⁠University of Aberdeen⁠ in autism research.

James has a degree in psychology, a PhD in Biological Motion perception and undertook post-doctorate research with the University of Aberdeen before joining Autistica and being recognised as a rising star by the ⁠Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) ⁠and named in ⁠The Shaw Trust 100 Disability Power 100⁠ a list of the most influential disabled in the UK.

Throughout his career as a researcher and with Autistica, James has championed the needs and rights of those diagnosed with autism. James most recently unveiled ambitious goals that aim to transform the future of autistic people by 2030.

Podcast Outline

• Early Years & Influences

• Career Path

• ⁠Dame Stephanie Shirley⁠ - The Autistica Story

• Autism and Leadership

• Neurodiversity in the Workplace

• ⁠The Future - 2030⁠

• Sharing an insight that could help others in a leadership role

Bio – Dr James Cusack, CEO - Autistica

In 2015 James became the national autism charity, Autistica’s, Director of Science. During this time, he has been at the heart of the charity’s growth and impact, including devising and overseeing its national research network; identifying, supporting and funding high-impact scientific studies; making Autistica a global leader in authentic community involvement and making health inequalities a priority for the charity, its beneficiaries and governments around the world.

In August 2020 James became the first openly autistic charity CEO and leads the world-renowned organisation.

Before joining Autistica, James had a successful career working for the University of Aberdeen in autism research.

James has a degree in psychology, a PhD in Biological Motion perception and undertook post-doctorate research with the University of Aberdeen before joining Autistica and being recognised as a rising star by the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) and named in The Shaw Trust 100 Disability Power 100 a list of the most influential disabled in the UK.

Throughout his career as a researcher and with Autistica, James has championed the needs and rights of those diagnosed with autism. James most recently unveiled ambitious goals that aim to transform the future of autistic people by 2030.

Podcast Outline

• Early Years & Influences

• Career Path

• Dame Stephanie Shirley - The Autistica Story

• Autism and Leadership

• Neurodiversity in the Workplace

• The Future - 2030

• Sharing an insight that could help others in a leadership role

• Close

Series 7 (Leadership) - Episode 1. 100% Fluff-Free ED&I Sue Johnson

Our guest, Sue Johnson, has had a fascinating and very successful career, from the shop floor, and supply chain to becoming a leading voice in all matters concerning diversity and inclusion.  She’s working with corporations around the world.  Sue has a direct, engaging and highly effective way of covering key aspects, of what can lead to challenging introspection within the boardroom.  She is highly adept at conveying the importance of introducing an effective Equity Diversity and Inclusion strategy within a business.

A podcast that is well worth a listen if ED&I is on your to-do list, for improvement, implementation or review.

Content

·      Early Years & Influences

·      Sue’s Career path Nestle, PwC, Odgers Berndston

·      What is EDI and why is it important for employers?

·      Examples of EDI failures, and how not to do it.

·      A word about being “fluff-free”.

·      Addressing bias, unconscious or conscious  

·      Advantages of a proactive approach

·      Recruiting for success

·      The future – where should we be in 5 years?

·      A lesson learnt/ single insight to share that could help others.

Q&A - A sample of the questions provided by our audience ahead of recording the podcast. A big thank you to all who submitted their questions.

Q1. Holly Marsh, Talent Development Manager in London asks - 

"Many organisations use apprenticeships as a tool to bring in new talent and diversify the workforce. What are the the main challenges associated with this and what solutions can be put in place?" 

Q2. Kiera in Birmingham asks "Can you give an example of how you make your direct reports feel a sense of inclusion, belonging, and equity on a daily basis?"

Bio ⁠– Sue Johnson⁠

 Sue Johnson is the Managing Partner of ⁠Inclusion & Diversity Consulting at Odgers Berndtson⁠. Having spent the first 15 years of her career in Operations and Sales, Sue has first-hand knowledge and experience of how and why Inclusion & Diversity, as an integral part of the organisation DNA, will step change business performance.

Prior to joining the Odgers Berndtson group, Sue was the Global Chief Diversity Officer for the Nestle group, and then led the Inclusion client practice at PwC Switzerland. Sue has worked cross-industry and cross-border, with clients from: Private banking, Sporting organisations, Pharma & Life science, Humanitarian sector, FMCG and Life sciences.

Sue is a renowned and passionate advocate for Inclusion and has spoken at the United Nations, Catalyst, women’s forum etc. and specialises on educating Executives, guiding, and challenging them to deliver results as organisations embark on their journey of cultural change.

Sue is ensconced into Warwickshire village life, being a School Governor (a much easier task in some ways than running the PTA!), writing grant letters to rebuild the local scout hut (£24k down this year, £41 to go), baking cakes for the local Library café, entering multiple categories in the village show and playing for the local B tennis team - whilst spending as much time as possible on adventures with her kids.

Nestlé: Good food, Good life | Nestlé Global

PwC UK - Building relationships, creating value

Executive Search and Recruitment - UK & International | Odgers Berndtson

IDCN - Home

Get a flavour of our fabulous chat with Sue Johnson, covering key aspects and the importance of introducing an effective Equity Diversity and Inclusion strategy within your business.

Full episode release date - 11th September.

·      Early Years & Influences

·      Career path

·      What is EDI and why is it important for employers?

·      Examples of EDI failures, how not to do it.

·      A word about being “fluff free”.

·      Addressing bias, unconscious or conscious  

·      Advantages of a proactive approach

·      Recruiting for success

·      The future – where should we be in 10 years?

·      A lesson learnt/ single insight to share that could

Bio ⁠– Sue Johnson⁠

 Sue Johnson is the Managing Partner of ⁠Inclusion &

Prior to joining the Odgers Berndtson group, Sue was the

Sue is a renowned and passionate advocate for Inclusion and has spoken at the United Nations, Catalyst, women’s forum etc. and specialises on educating Executives, guiding, and challenging them to deliver results as organisations embark on their journey of cultural change.

Sue is ensconced into Warwickshire village life, being a School Governor (a much easier task in some ways than running the PTA!), writing grant letters to rebuild the local scout hut (£24k down this year, £41

In this special episode we meet hugely experienced and successful business owner and Health & Safety Consultant Sarah Daniels.

This video features three individuals who have reviewed this years survey and work directly with HR teams across the UK.

Each provides a view on key aspects of the findings.

Innes Clark - Head of Employment at Morton Fraser

Lucy Cotterell - HR Consultant at Mogers Drewett

Sarah Daniels - Health & Safety Consultant at The RedCat Partnership

Business owners have faced more challenges

To obtain a copy of the survey email [email protected]

The recession of 2008 was tough, however,

For this year’s HReSource survey respondents

The results highlight the need for businesses

Headline findings feature the highest-ranked

The greatest challenges facing employers.  

Plus this year’s report also highlights the

HR professionals are at the sharp end of tackling the issues arising out of the mix of local, national, and global

These findings reflect the difficulties employers are having in retaining talent and subsequently resourcing

Julie Ouzman Group HR Director at Holdcroft

Ceri Mallon, HR Manager at Everun,

Innes Clark, Head of Employment Law at Morton

David Laud of HReSource

The answer may not be as simple as implementing a 4-day week, which most respondents will consider over the next

In this episode of Insight we meet someone I’ve not seen, in the flesh, for over 40 years. We were at school together, a Grammar school in Gloucester of which he is now rightly regarded as one their high achiever alumni. After exams one of us formed a punk then indie band, getting signed by Virgin and the other joined an insurance company… 

My guest has had a quite the career, not least because he penned and performed one of the all time classic alternative rock tracks “Unbelievable” but essentially he didn’t rest on his laurels and has gone on to work and continue to collaborate with some of the biggest stars in the music industry.

Bio – Ian Dench

Ian Dench is a highly successful and critically acclaimed musician and songwriter. He originally found fame as the guitarist and primary songwriter for the electronic rock band EMF, best known for their 1991 hit "Unbelievable”. The band enjoyed eight top 30 hits in the UK Singles Chart and three UK top 30 albums. Of course, “Unbelievable” was the big hit, making no.3 in the UK charts and no.1 in the US. His song writing talent has earned both Golden Globe and Grammy nominations for his work on Beyonce’s "Once In a Lifetime." He also won an Ivor Novello award for composing Beautiful Liar, performed by Beyonce and Shakira, in the Best-Selling British Song Category, 2008. As is often the case successful song writing can result from the spark of collaboration and Ian has worked on a number of joint projects notably with music executive and composer Amanda Ghost.

His career in music has also included time as an industry exec as Vice President in charge of A&R at Epic Records in New York.

Before Fame

Ian attended The Crypt Grammar School in Gloucester from 1975, where one year at Prizegiving, his chosen prize of "100 Greatest Rock Licks" was somewhat frowned upon. Ian began his music career with Gloucester punk band Curse. He later became a member of the bands Apple Mosaic (signed with Virgin Music), EMF and Whistler.

Trivia

His guitar riff for "Unbelievable" was named as one of the 100 Greatest Guitar Riffs by BBC Radio 2 in 2014.

Family Life

He learned classical guitar from his father, Harold Dench.

Also Associated With

Ian has worked with many artists in addition to Beyoncé and Shakira these include Brian Eno, Tom Jones, Dido, Ian Brown, Amanda Ghost, Florence and the Machine, Texas, Sub Focus, Beverley Knight, Alesha Dixon, All Saints, Tina Arena, Boy George, Daniel Merriweather and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks.

Ian Dench – Twitter @liveid6

Outline

· Early years - Cheltenham

· School – prize giving and beyond choosing a career path

· Musical influences

· Punk, Curse and Apple Mosaic

· EMF origin story – honorary forester

· Writing, rehearsing, and releases

· Chart success and dealing with fame, fans, friends and family

· Sustaining the band, brand and business

· Creative collaborations – Amanda Ghost

· VP A&R New York - Epic Records

· LGM Records, Sine Digital Marketing Agency

· Future plans and projects

· A lesson learnt/ insight to share that could help others.

POD PEEK - Extracts from the full 50 minute podcast

Bio – Ian Dench

Ian Dench is a highly successful and critically acclaimed musician and songwriter. He originally found fame as the guitarist and primary songwriter for the electronic rock band EMF, best known for their 1991 hit "Unbelievable”. The band enjoyed eight top 30 hits in the UK Singles Chart and three UK top 30 albums. Of course, “Unbelievable” was the big hit, making no.3 in the UK charts and no.1 in the US. His song writing talent has earned both Golden Globe and Grammy nominations for his work on Beyonce’s "Once In a Lifetime." He also won an Ivor Novello award for composing Beautiful Liar, performed by Beyonce and Shakira, in the Best-Selling British Song Category, 2008. As is often the case successful song writing can result from the spark of collaboration and Ian has worked on a number of joint projects notably with music executive and composer Amanda Ghost.

His career in music has also included time as an industry exec as Vice President in charge of A&R at Epic Records in New York.

Before Fame

Ian attended The Crypt Grammar School in Gloucester from 1975, where one year at Prizegiving, his chosen prize of "100 Greatest Rock Licks" was somewhat frowned upon. Ian began his music career with Gloucester punk band Curse. He later became a member of the bands Apple Mosaic (signed with Virgin Music), EMF and Whistler.

Trivia

His guitar riff for "Unbelievable" was named as one of the 100 Greatest Guitar Riffs by BBC Radio 2 in 2014.

Family Life

He learned classical guitar from his father, Harold Dench.

Also Associated With

Ian has worked with many artists in addition to Beyoncé and Shakira these include Brian Eno, Tom Jones, Dido, Ian Brown, Amanda Ghost, Florence and the Machine, Texas, Sub Focus, Beverley Knight, Alesha Dixon, All Saints, Tina Arena, Boy George, Daniel Merriweather and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks.

Ian Dench – Twitter @liveid6

Outline

· Early years - Cheltenham

· School – prize-giving and beyond choosing a career path

· Musical influences

· Punk, Curse and Apple Mosaic

· EMF origin story – honorary forester

· Writing, rehearsing, and releases

· Chart success and dealing with fame, fans, friends and family

· Sustaining the band, brand and business

· Creative collaborations – Amanda Ghost

· VP A&R New York - Epic Records

· LGM Records, Sine Digital Marketing Agency

· Future plans and projects

· A lesson learnt/ insight to share that could help others.

In this episode, we meet a guest whose career is one that can only leave us, mere mortals, in awe.  A stellar career made all the more remarkable for our guest’s very humble yet wonderfully grounded starting point.

Dr Fiona Hill worked as an intelligence analyst for George W. Bush and Barack Obama and in 2017 was invited in to work with a 3rd president and ultimately provide a witness testimony at Donal Trump's impeachment hearing.

Dr Hill’s latest book, “There is nothing for you here” uses as its title a phrase from her dad Alf, an ex-miner, who simply wanted the best for his bright inquisitive and determined daughter. A bonus point for anyone who guesses the word missing from the book title phrase, the clue is that Fiona is from County Durham.

If I tell you it took 12 months to arrange this chat you’ll appreciate how very much in demand our guest is. I can also confirm it was most certainly worth the wait.

Bio – Dr Fiona Hill the Robert Bosch Senior Fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution.  Fiona is also the newly appointed Chancellor of Durham University.

From 2017 to 2019, she served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council. From 2006 to 2009, she served as a national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council. She has researched and published extensively on issues related to Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, regional conflicts, energy, and strategic issues. Co-author of Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin and The Siberian Curse: How Communist Planners Left Russia Out in the Cold, she holds a master's degree in Soviet studies and a doctorate in history from Harvard University and a master's in Russian and modern history from St. Andrews University in Scotland. She also has pursued studies at Moscow's Maurice Thorez Institute of Foreign Languages. Hill is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and lives in the Washington, DC, area.

“There Is Nothing For You Here” Dr Fiona Hill’s latest book

Fiona grew up in a world of terminal decay. The last of the local mines had closed, businesses were shuttering, and despair was etched on the faces around her. Her father urged her to get out of their blighted corner of northern England: "There is nothing for you here, pet," he said. The coal miner's daughter managed to go further than he ever could have dreamed. She studied in Moscow and at Harvard, became an American citizen, and served three U.S. Presidents. But in the heartlands of both Russia and the United States, she saw troubling reflections of her hometown and similar populist impulses. By the time she offered her brave testimony in the first impeachment inquiry of President Trump, Hill knew that the desperation of forgotten people was driving American politics over the brink--and that we were running out of time to save ourselves from Russia's fate. In this powerful, deeply personal account, she shares what she has learned, and shows why expanding opportunity is the only long-term hope for our democracy.

Find out more about our guest Dr. Fiona Hill: https://www.brookings.edu/experts/fiona-hill/

Dr. Hill’s Latest Book: There’s Nothing For You Here

https://www.brookings.edu/books/there-is-nothing-for-you-here-finding-opportunity-in-the-twenty-first-century/