The Friday Fix

What is DE&I? It’s easy for businesses to see these terms - diversity, equity, equality, inclusion and belonging - as buzzwords. How can businesses move beyond this mindset to create real change? 

Ria Kalsi, founder of Matriarch Ltd, talks to Keira Marron from Powerscourt’s HR team about how to have difficult conversations about racial inclusion - and why organisations should care about anti-racist work.

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Does the British monarchy have a comms issue? Steve Marinker, Head of Powerscourt 360, talks to Powerscourt’s Georgia Way about the Coronation, and the PR winners and losers of the 6th May 2023. 

Media coverage of this historic occasion has been positive, but social media has told a vastly different story. Is the traditional media - and the Royal Family - at odds with the British public over the future constitution of the United Kingdom?

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The boards of 2023 face the challenges of a complex, interconnected world: cybersecurity, geopolitical risk, and ESG transparency and action. Are they hiring the right board members to protect themselves against future risks? 

This week’s guest is Alice Breeden, Partner at Heidrick & Struggles, which has just released its 2023 Board Monitor UK. Powerscourt’s Victoria Palmer Moore hears how boards fared on diversity in 2022, and whether boards have the diversity they need to meet diversified modern risks. 

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The UK’s local elections are taking place on 4th May. As more than 8,000 seats at 230 councils are contested, what could the result tell us about the prospects for the Conservatives and Labour, as the runway for the General Election comes into view?

Mark Leftly, Powerscourt’s Head of Public Affairs, talks to his colleague Harold Amoo to discuss what constitutes a good result for each party in the current political environment.

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As the private equity “wall of money” eyes up deals in the UK, and public companies face ever more requirements, do the costs of being listed outweigh the benefits?

Mervyn Metcalf, founder of Dean Street Advisors, argues that onerous reporting requirements and nervy markets make listing less attractive than private equity ownership. Is it better to have a committed private equity owner? And what can the government and the regulator do to ease the burden on UK plc and attract IPOs?

Victoria Palmer-Moore, Managing Partner at Powerscourt, interviews Mervyn Metcalf in this week’s episode of the Friday Fix.

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One banking collapse might be seen as isolated - but does two indicate a systemic issue?

Andy Smith, Powerscourt’s in-house banking expert, examines the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the rescue of Credit Suisse in the context of the 2008 financial crisis. Are these isolated or related events? What was the root cause? What causes a bank run? And is there anything communicators can do to reduce the risk? 

Managing Partner Victoria Palmer-Moore poses all these questions and more on this week’s episode.

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Does London still have momentum as a great capital market – and what can be done to address the cost and complexity of listing? What needs to change to connect companies with capital on the public markets? This week’s episode of the Friday Fix covers the MiFID II, Silicon Valley Bank, and everything in between.

Russ Lynch, Director at Powerscourt, turns the tables on his former boss, James Ashton, CEO of the Quoted Companies Alliance, for a wide-ranging interview about the City. Did the Chancellor deliver a Budget for growth?

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“This is a place marking budget.. setting a platform from which you can have a crack at limiting the damage at the next general election.” 

Mark Leftly, Head of Public Affairs at Powerscourt and former economics editor at The Telegraph, Russ Lynch, look ahead to next week’s Spring Statement from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. With the Conservatives still struggling in the polls, can the Budget offer any hope of a turnaround?

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Developing stories to catch the attention of the media is an art form, “not rocket science”, according to Russ Lynch, Powerscourt’s ex-journalist hosting this week’s podcast. But how does one FTSE100 company, Auto Trader, generate consistent media interest in an age of overstretched newsrooms? Auto Trader’s Director of Communications, Laura Harvey, talks through the secret ingredient: data.

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Simon Olsen, Partner in Deloitte’s Equity Capital Markets team, worked on his first IPO back in 2002, and knows what sets the successes apart from the failures. This week James White, Director in Powerscourt’s Industrials team, gets up to speed with the importance of business preparedness and the outlook for 2023. 

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