The Leader Insights Series Podcast

For this episode, I had the pleasure of talking to the inspiring, global leader Dr. Stella Peace. Stella is the Chief R&D and Quality Officer at the largest Frozen Food Company in Europe, Nomad Foods.

Packed full of insight and information to help inspire you no matter where you are in your career. Join us as we discuss Stella's impressive career in R&D, the importance of finding your purpose, good role modeling and communication as a leader.

Stella is a member of the Nomad Executive Team and she currently leads a team of over 150 scientists across Europe. In this episode, she explains her beginnings in the industry and the attributes that have helped her along her incredibly successful journey. We discuss the idea of good leadership during a pandemic and how it has forced us to 'innovate the way we innovate'.  We also discuss staying on top of emerging trends such as sustainability and plant-based diets and the shift into online shopping.

Finally, Stella shares some of the lessons she's learned over the past year, the future of Nomad Foods, finding the right work-life balance and the benefits of taking time out to engage with team members.

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch you can reach me at [email protected] 

My guest for this week's episode is the truly inspirational Mary Wilson, the Global Marketing Director of Lil-Lets.

Mary has nearly 25 years’ marketing & brand building experience and has worked within a number of environments such as multi-national Seagram Distillers & Vintners, Premier Foods through to a privately owned food & drink innovation business. She is deeply passionate about making a difference for both the brands and the people that she works with.

In this episode, Mary explains how the pandemic has changed our rules of engagement. She stresses the importance of rewriting how we interact with team members to understand their unique individual experiences of working from home, without any assumptions of their accessibility. While highlighting the importance of finding your tribe and aligning yourself with companies that share your intrinsic values, we also touch upon the traits that have helped her through her incredible journey including hard work, understanding what makes you motivated and knowing when to recharge or switch off.

Join us in conversation as Mary shares her story and offers insight on 'finding your tribe', brand accountability, the importance of demonstrating empathy and investing in people as a leader.

"Finding your place, finding your tribe and finding your fit is key to role fulfillment and enjoyment"

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130

Or, you can email me directly at [email protected] 

Recorded just before Christmas 2020, my guest for this episode was the engaging and insightful Jon Symthe.

Jon is the Sales, Marketing and Supply Chain Director at Grupo Bimbo UK, The UK subsidiary of the world-leading, £15Bn turnover Mexican bakery group, Grupo Bimbo. 

Jon is an inspiring and results-focused leader with a wealth of experience spanning his 20+ year career. In this episode, Jon explains the importance of having a strong work ethic and how his desire to keep learning has helped him advance and grow within his career. He also talks about how good leaders must be able to effectively delegate - giving people accountability can help further their development and help build a strong sense of teamwork that stimulates growth within the organisation.

Jon also talks about the importance of recruiting the right people to help strengthen the overall team dynamic as well as organisational growth.

Join us as we navigate through discussions on what good leadership looks like during a pandemic, the important role of recruitment in building a well-rounded team, the challenges of pandemic fatigue and remote working, and the importance of establishing a sense of trust and humanity amongst team members during these trying times.

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130  

Or, you can email me directly at [email protected]

In this episode, I had the privilege to sit down and have a fascinating conversation with Clive Moxham for the next instalment of the Podcast. 

Clive is the Group Commercial Director with Leathams', the privately-owned premium speciality food supplier into the Foodservice, Ingredient and Retail channels across the UK, and has been a major driving force in their success over the past decade. 

In this episode, Clive and I discuss the traits and attributes of successful leaders, adapting ways to manage remote teams, Brexit and some great tips to achieve work-life balance. Since joining Leatham’s over a decade ago, Clive has been a major driving force in their success, achieving growth every single year over the past 10 years. 

With Clive’s help, Leatham’s have grown turnover to in excess of £100m and a workforce of over 170+ people. 

We kick off this episode with Clive's beginnings in this industry and talk about his successful career to date. Clive explains the importance of working hard and being trustworthy as a leader. He says his mindset is always that of working 'with' his team, communicating and motivating his colleagues and leading by example. We also discuss the very relevant issue of remote working - how to adapt and keep remote teams motivated, keeping up communication and ensuring productivity levels are high. 

Join us as Clive gives out some brilliant tips for striking a good work-life balance and the importance of being present, as well as some great advice for those looking to start or advance their careers and become a successful leader like Clive. 

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130  Or, you can email me directly at [email protected]

I am thrilled to be joined by my guest for this episode, Alex Demetriou. 

Alex is the Managing Director for Regency Purchasing Group, a key player in supporting the UK Food & Drink supply chain servicing over 3000 customers. Join Alex and I as we talk about his introduction into this industry and the influence his family has had on his career. He also shares some extremely valuable tips and advice about leadership, management styles and the importance of holding the team together during tough times.

We discuss the attributes he believes makes a great leader and also what good leadership truly means in the time of Covid. Alex tells me Covid has removed our predictable future and emphasises the danger of 'decision paralysis', encouraging listeners to make decisions quickly and move forward.

Alex describes how important it is to invest in both your knowledge and your reputation, as well as the positive impact of surrounding yourself with good people, taking advice and building strong foundations. 

We conclude the episode by discussing Alex's hugely successful charitable trust - raising an impressive £1.6 million to fund local charities and individuals in need of medical support and corrective surgery.

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130

Or, you can email me directly at [email protected]

Join me in conversation with John Weaver. 

Quite simply, John is a first-class CEO with a proven track record of success and in recent times he's developed a very successful non-exec portfolio career. 

John was Chief Operating Officer for Petty Wood & Co, which he successfully sold in 2015 as part of an MBO after doubling revenue. Subsequently, he had similar success as CEO with the Tree of Life, the UK’s largest distributor of natural & healthy products – here John was attributed with tripling revenue before becoming a non-executive for them in 2019.

In this episode, we talk about his incredible career history and the attributes that make a great leader. John emphasises that leadership is situational, and that a good leader must be in tune with their team and the end goal. 

Finally, John is a certified Executive Coach via the International Coach Federation, ICF (the gold standard in Exec Coaching).  You'll hear how he is a strong advocate for professional executive coaching - we delve into the benefits of having a coach to aid with unlocking ideas, and help discard repetitive work patterns to gain traction within your career.

Enjoy! 

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130

Or, you can email me directly at [email protected]

In this episode, I'm in conversation with the hugely successful Gavin Bown, Vice President for Global R&D at the world's leading chocolate and cocoa manufacturer, Barry Callebaut. 

Join us as we discuss Gavin's career in the FMCG industry, how to successfully manage a large international team whilst remote working and what great leadership looks like within high-performing organisations.

We talk through Gavin's success within the FMCG industry and the traits and behaviours that helped him along the way. While talking about the importance of a continuous learning mindset, Gavin explains he is 'allergic to his comfort zone' and constantly pushes to further develop himself. He also provides some valuable knowledge on successfully managing an international team whilst remote working.

In this insightful episode, we also navigate through conversations about the future challenges facing the industry, the importance of establishing a culture of trust and destigmatizing failure.

Enjoy!

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130 

Or, you can email me directly at [email protected] 

John is the UK Sales, Marketing and R&D Director at Rich Products, the privately-owned premium global Bakery manufacturer. As an experienced Sales, Marketing and Innovation leader, John has over 20 years experience gained from the industry with companies such as Ginsters, Lyons Seafood, Adelie Foods and currently Rich Products.

We touch upon his brilliant career within this dynamic industry, great leadership traits and the opportunities and challenges of remote working.

Being a self-professed rule bender, John emphasises the importance of embracing change, having the right people in the right roles and providing support to teams rather than micromanaging.

We also discuss tips on promoting mental wellbeing in the era of remote working, as well as his thoughts on how Covid-19 and Brexit will impact UK businesses.

Join us as we talk about great management, understanding consumer behaviour and the importance of leading by example.

Enjoy! 

In this episode of The Leader Insights Series, I get the chance to sit down with the highly engaging Lawrence Trist.

Lawrence is the Managing Director for the Finsbury Food Group Cake division, the 2nd biggest cake manufacturer in the UK with a 20% market share and a workforce of over 2,000 people, across 3 manufacturing sites.

After graduating with a degree in Retail Marketing, Lawrence’s very first job was in the Food industry. Over a 25 year period he’s successfully progressed through companies such as Allied Bakeries and the Finsbury Food Group but he’s also experienced running his own business.

Since joining the Finsbury Food Group in 2009 he’s been Sales Director, Commercial Director and in 2017 became the Managing Director for the Cake Division. His legacy involves building high performing teams, achieving a market-leading presence and increasing revenue substantially.

Enjoy!