The latest episode of our Leading Conversations podcast is out now and it's a good one....  Barry has a candid conversation with George Shepherd about his varied career in advertising, spanning 35 years working all over the world on behalf of blue chip brands including Heinz, Kelloggs, KFC, Lego, Star Wars, Nike and the BBC. 

George tells stories from the creation of his company Red Spider, to lock ins at Lego and the inspiration behind the Advertising course that he has curated at Napier University, inspiring the next generation of talent.

This special episode was recorded live at the Marketing Society Scotland's Changemaker conference in Edinburgh. Barry was joined by Ian Duncan and Kathryn Strachan, as they explored how marketers can embrace AI innovation responsibly and what it means for ethics, trust and creativity.

In this special episode of Leading Conversations, recorded live at Lane’s 'AI in the Third Sector' event at Edinburgh’s Everyman Cinema, Barry takes to the stage with a panel of sector leaders to unpack the reality of AI beyond the hype.

Josiah Lockhart (Changeworks), Judith Turbyne (Children in Scotland), John Fitzgerald (SCVO), Lora Vernon(VOCAL) and Declan Mair (Worldwide Cancer Research) share honest perspectives on the opportunities, challenges and ethical dilemmas AI brings to the Third Sector.

With nearly 70 people in the room, this episode captures the energy, debate and inspiration of an afternoon that showed how AI can move from buzzword to strategy. 🎧

In the latest episode of Leading Conversations, Barry meets Ian McAteer, until recently the Chairman of The Union agency - a man of many stories, industry anecdotes, nicknames and wise words.

Ian candidly shares his story from his early days as a barrister, to landing a role at Saatchi and Saatchi, co-founding The Union in a park and subsequently buying a Church, infamous agency parties, why his wife calls him "Heinz 57" and how he recently led transition for The Union to become an Employee Owned Trust.

In the latest episode of Leading Conversations, Barry meets the copywriting legend that is Gerry Farrell.  Their conversation meanders from Gerry’s unconventional start in advertising to making some of the most famous adverts in Scotland over the last few decades.

Amongst many other things, Gerry reminisces on the perfect three-word Irn-Bru brief (“Out Christmas Coke”), how Caledonia was note-perfect for that famous Tennent’s ad, how he received a testimonial from a knight of the realm - and the importance of ‘filling your bin’ - an important lesson for aspiring young creatives…

The latest episode of the Leading Conversations was recorded live at the recent Marketing Society Scotland Digital Day. We were joined by some inspirational speakers from leading brands, platforms and agencies, who shared their learnings, insights and exciting new technologies to a packed auditorium at the Glasgow Science centre. Barry Fearn was joined on stage by some Rising Stars of the Marketing Society, future leader members to reflect on the discussions of the day and to share their own key take outs and learnings.

Barry meets Craig Black, the artist renowned for his innovative 'Acrylic Fusion' technique.  They talk about Craig's initial career in professional football, his chance meeting with his school art teacher that led to his career as a typographer, share stories of London and coming back to Scotland where Craig had his eureka moment, which ultimately led to the launch of his unique Acrylic Fusion technique, originally inspired by his wife Ally's workout leggings!

Barry is joined by the Marketing Society Scotland Star Awards Chair, Kirsteen Beeston and Andrew Dobbie from MadeBrave. They discuss their experiences, learnings and tips for success in creating and curating award-winning entries for this years Star Awards, being held in Glasgow on June 12th 2025.

Barry Fearn Leads the Conversation with the incomparable genius of David Eustace. David is a Scottish photographer and director, known for his fashion, celebrity and art photography. Over his vast and eclectic career to date, David has lived and travelled all over the world on shoots and exhibited his art in both private galleries and public museums.His fascinating story traverses from his early days serving as a prison officer, developing his passion for photography, 90's pop culture, leading campaigns for the likes of Anthropologie and Panasonic, all leading to a crescendo as he curates the most incredible fantasy dinner line up to date.

Barry talks to Nicki and John Denholm from Denholm Associates about their experience over the last two decades in shaping careers over these years. They discuss the entrepreneurial spark which led Nicki to start the business, how they separate (or indeed don't separate!) the professional from the personal when it comes to work and family, their challenges along the way on both their independent and their collective career journeys to date, the importance of having a strong employer brand and 'seeing beyond the CV' - how skills hiring and future promise is now essential in the talent spotting field, as opposed to focusing on past experiences and tenure.