Leading Between the Lines

Leading Between the Lines

By alterniq inspired growthBusinessManagement
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Leading Between the Lines episodes

  • Start Small, Learn Fast

    In our ninth episode of Leading Between the Lines, we meet Chief People Officer, Linda Höglund from Swedish based fintech company, Zimpler.


    Founded in 2012 by Kristofer Ekman Sinclair and Johan Friis, Zimpler offers an account-to-account payment solution for companies that want a quick and simple way to provide incoming and outgoing bank payments for their users. The company is live in over 11 different countries and has over 80 employees. It is expected to double that headcount before 2022.

    Having previously worked for Klarna, another Swedish fintech company, Linda tells us what attracted her to working for a scale-up company and why it was an easy decision to join Zimpler.

    Linda has her finger on the pulse when it comes to people development as she truly understands why taking care of people is so important to the growth of an organisation. She explains why she believes culture is built from the top down, the importance of aligned values, and is refreshingly honest about the areas of growth she is keen to help Zimpler improve on. Linda knows the key ingredients needed for building and maintaining a top team at Zimpler as well as a top team in her personal life. Listen in to find out what they are!

    34 min
  • Empowering People

    The 8th episode of our current series has arrived and we are very pleased to announce our special guest this week, Franziska Terzer who is VP of People Experience at Userlane.


    Founded in 2015 by Felix Eichler and Hartmut Hahn, they provide interactive solutions for software rollouts and empower people to work complex software with ease. Userlane has seen impressive growth with over 28 million global users and a fast growing internal team. They have also recently been recognised by Forbes as a 'big money startup'.

    As a people focused company, Franziska takes us through what this means when it comes to their own people. For her, it’s all about creating an employee experience that empowers and develops talent within the organisation. She is highly invested in the individual growth of people, and she explains why 1:1 coaching plays such a huge role in it. Her genuine passion for her job translates to an infectious energy that our podcast host and senior coach here at AIG, Peter Thorp, cannot help but notice!

    But what is it that keeps Franziska up at night? Listen in to find out.

    43 min
  • Mission Driven

    Founded in 2016 by Lucie Basch and Mette Lykke, ‘Too Good to Go’ has become the world's largest B2C marketplace for surplus food - with over 1000 employees in 16 different countries. In the seventh episode of our second series, we have the privilege of speaking with their Head of People and Culture, David Palliser.


    Having trained originally as an actor, David has successfully transferred his incredible people skills and empathetic nature into his current role. Helping to solve “people puzzles” for managers and being the first person that potential recruits will meet, he prides himself on being able to put himself in the shoes of others.

    As it becomes increasingly important to us that our work lives are in harmony with our personal beliefs, David takes us through how his own values have aligned with the company's. Part of this is the “passion for the mission” - not only for himself, but for all new employees. He also talks about why titles don’t matter, but that collaboration and being a team player is at the core of the culture he is helping to cultivate.

    This episode is "too good” to miss!

    45 min
  • Working in Harmony

    Our guest for the sixth episode of the second series of Leading Between the Lines - a podcast series by alterniq inspired growth - is Lara Waycot. She is the Head of People at digital marketing agency, VERB Brands.


    Founded in 2013 by Chris Donnelly, the company has seen incredible growth and success with offices around the world. They work with affluent and aspirational brands, such as Bugatti, Grosvenor, and Jimmy Choo. Chris and his business partner, Ben Askins, have been recognised for their achievements by being named in the ‘Forbes 30 under 30’ in the media and marketing category. Chris was also recently labelled ‘Britain's best boss’ in the press, after giving his employees a paid day off to go see loved ones following the lifting of the Covid-19 regulations.

    Lara, a self-proclaimed introvert, is a key figure behind the scenes and is in charge of the entire employee journey. This includes personally coaching the heads of the business.

    She speaks to us about engagement over happiness and the importance of being challenged in the workplace. As well as offering other insightful ways in which VERB recruit and develop their staff.

    Lara is extremely self-aware and always puts people first, which is reflected in her passion for her job. An accredited coach and counsellor, Lara explains why she is a good listener. But what is it that makes her shudder? Listen to find out...

    37 min
  • The SGI Way

    In episode five of the second series of Leading Between the Lines, we chat to Nick Gatenby - the Director of People at Source Group International.


    Founded in 2015 by Gavin Tew and Lawrence Hargreaves, this fast-growing recruiter based in London counts Vodafone and Allianz among its clients. Originally focused on the tech sector, it has since expanded into life sciences, project management and executive search. The company has won many notable awards and in 2020 they were ranked 21st in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100.

    Much like Source Group International, Nick is extremely driven and passionate about his work. He tells us about his philosophy and the methods he uses to truly understand people and help them achieve high performance at all levels. As well as explaining about 'the SGI way' - the values, culture and inclusivity shared by everyone at the organisation.

    A family man away from the office, Nick also gives a delightful insight into what makes him tick.

    40 min
  • Still Me

    In the fourth episode of series 2 of our podcast, Leading Between the Lines, we speak to Carly Ash.


    She is Head of Heart at Influencer - an award-winning company founded in 2017 by Ben Jeffries and YouTuber Caspar Lee. Their mission is to build meaningful relationships between brands and creators.

    Carly heads up the people department and is responsible for the entire employee experience at Influencer. She tells us about her passion for the role and how it has helped her; as well as the recent struggles in her personal life which have changed her outlook.

    Carly is hugely inspirational and this is an episode not to be missed.

    40 min
  • Instrumental

    In the third episode of this series, we speak with Alex Jones. Alex is head of talent at City Pantry - a corporate catering delivery service.


    Occupying a unique space in the food sector, it’s perhaps no surprise that the company was acquired by Just Eat for £16 million in 2019.

    Alex reveals his process for attracting, retaining and developing talent; as well as what he looks for in a potential new employee.

    In this refreshing and varied interview, he discusses his passions both at work and in his personal life. Alex approaches all aspects in an upfront and honest way and offers a great insight into how a young and fast-growing organisation is looking after its people.

    46 min
  • Starting from Scratch

    This latest episode features special guest, Alex Anderson. She is the People Operations Manager for fast-growing tech accessories company, Mous.


    Mous was founded by Will Mullen, James Griffith, Lucy Hutchinson and James Day in 2014 and after an award-winning and record-breaking crowdfunding campaign, their Limitless iPhone case was launched in 2017. It raised a total of $2.5m.

    The company has enjoyed huge growth since then and now employs over 70 people at their bases in the UK and China.

    Alex joined the company in 2019 and has played a key role in that growth. In this episode, she gives details and insight into how she built an entire talent management department from scratch.

    She is also a huge advocate for positive mental health in the workplace and explains how she promotes this at Mous, just as she does in her personal life.

    38 min
  • Aligned Values

    We're delighted to say that Leading Between the Lines is back for a second series and in this first episode, we're speaking to Thomas Forstner.

    Thomas is the Head of People and Talent Lead at Juro - a fast-growing start-up company which has doubled its employee numbers since he joined just over a year ago.

    Founded in 2016 by Richard Mabey and Pavel Kovalevich, Juro is a contract automation platform that helps legal counsel and the teams they enable to agree and manage contracts in one unified workspace.

    Their clients include, Deliveroo, Secret Escapes, and Babylon Health.

    Thomas discusses his move from a large corporate firm into a smaller start-up company and how he does things differently to attract and retain top talent.

    We also get a glimpse into the more challenging areas of his work - such as women’s health, religion and neurodiversity - as well as his personal goals and aspirations.

    It's great to be back and sharing more inspirational business insight with you.

    54 min
  • Completing the Circle

    In the final episode of the present series, I (Peter Thorp) summarise the major takeaways from our interviews with Paul Aggett, my fellow coach at alterniq inspired growth.


    Hear how each of our guests give us exceptional insights into the way they are managing their professional and personal lives in these unpredictable and testing times, with particular reference to;

    - Leadership

    - Mental health

    - Resilience

    - Empathy

    - Courage


    - Creativity

    All our guests give us something unique and special to them and this episode wraps it up to illustrate just how much we’ve learnt during the series.

    With special thanks to everyone I’ve interviewed, it was such a pleasure.

    45 min

About Leading Between the Lines

From the publisher's feed

We're delighted to bring you Series 3 of Leading Between the Lines.