The Lemonade Principle

Jonathan Chen is Director, Markets and Acquisitions at Mastercard in New York and he's had a truly global managerial career.

In this episode, we discuss Jonathan's life and career to date including his time in China, Austria, Germany and the United States, not to mention Durham where he is currently in the final years of a PhD.

We explore the challenges of relocating internationally, and Jonathan tells us about his role at Mastercard, including the impact that Covid 19 has had since he started in early 2020 as the global pandemic was beginning. We also find out about M&A in general before hearing how Jonathan has been able to balance a senior position with a PhD and family life.

This week we speak with Carl Stephen Patrick Hunter OBE.

We discuss his company's response to the Covid 19 pandemic and how he adapted his business to not only survive, but to play a role in the UK's response to it. We hear about how they adapted their technology to create a brand new product for the fight against Covid 19, and Carl tells us about the culture that has driven the business forward through a difficult year.

We also hear how the last 12 months has changed Carl's view of leadership, and it's clear he has a passion for his business and the team that he considers his family.

Carl Stephen Patrick Hunter OBE is the CEO of Coltraco Ultrasonics, British manufacturers of ultrasonic technology operating across a multi-sectoral customer base including shipping, offshore, power generating and safety engineering in 120 countries around the world. He was awarded an OBE for Services to Business and International Trade in 2019, the Lifetime Exporting Achievement Award, and his company The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade. Coltraco Ultrasonics was also named as one of the Top 100 Best British Innovators by Innovate UK. Carl is a Department for International Trade Export Champion, a Commonwealth Business Mentor, a Professor-in-Practice at Durham University Business School... the list goes on.

This episode is a fitting start to Series 2 and an excellent reflection on a challenging year.

The Lemonade Principle podcast is back for a second series! 

Join me, Chris Roberts, and my brand new co-host Katherine Kirby, as we speak with inspiring and influential people from around the world. 

Episode One lands on the 1st February. See you there!

In Part Two of our season finale with Nicola Short we dive right into the MBA and Nicola's motivations for deciding to go back to the classroom. We also discuss impostor syndrome, something I know a lot of people have experience of and Nicola was really honest about her own. We get Nicola's tips for overcoming self doubt and the "crisis of confidence" that can come with a big change such as a new job or starting an MBA.

Nicola is a huge advocate for women in business and we explore this as well as the coronavirus pandemic, how she got her current role with Redu Group (spoiler alert – she met the founders while doing her MBA), and much more.

Enjoy Part Two.

In the final episode of series one I speak with Nicola Short for a special two part episode.

Nicola is the Managing Director of Redu group and a recent Durham University Business School MBA. In Part One we discuss Nicola's 28 years of industry experience, with Nicola leading us through her career to date. We find out about how she’s really carved out her own path, not being afraid to pivot and change direction when an exciting opportunity came her way. We also talk about life as an MD and Nicola gives us what I think is a really valuable insight that you might not expect.

Enjoy Part One.

Dr David Brauer from Pittsburgh USA completed a DBA at Durham University Business School in 2015 and his career since then has come as a direct result. He started a business, Priority Bridge, off the back of his doctoral thesis and he's also an academic, taking roles at Universities in the UK and USA, including at Durham.

Listen this week as we discuss his decision to study at Durham, how he decided to start his company and the importance of cultural fit during the hiring process. We also explore his multiple academic roles and one of the favourite topics in this podcast - building and maintaining an international network.

Shirin Gerami has made an impact. Joining the triathlon society whilst studying at Durham, she went on to be the first woman to represent Iran in the sport of triathlon at a World Championships in London in 2013. Shirin is an example of someone who is able to push past the word "impossible" and discover what is actually possible through persistence, passion and grit.

Listen as we discuss her time at University and her entry into the sport that would become her career. We talk about the moment she received approval to represent Iran (the night before the race itself!) and her approach to racing now, with a real focus on making an impact. 

Shirin is a pioneer for women in sport. Listen and learn that "there is no such thing as impossible".

Note: Due to a few issues in recording this episode there is some lag and overlap towards the end of the conversation with Shirin. It's a common problem when recording online but luckily it takes nothing away from the amazing conversation we had.

This week i speak to Hans Geffert, a graduate from the most recent MBA program in 2018/19. Hans is now back in his native Australia and is working in a social policy role for the Queensland government on strategic projects relating to issues such as concussion in sport and the impact of the coronavirus.

As a recent graduate I was keen to speak to Hans about his experience on the MBA program and his approach to life afterwards, including how it felt when the job search began and some of the key factors in the decision-making process when deciding where in the world to live and work.

It was great to catch up with Hans and it was fascinating to hear about the work he is doing now on some interesting and important areas of sport and recreation in Brisbane.

Enjoy!

This week I catch up with Anna Champion from her current base in Vietnam. Anna is Head of Early Careers Learning at Jardine Matheson, a family owned conglomerate who she describes as the “best unknown company in the world” with around 450,000 employees worldwide, primarily in Asia.

Anna is from Durham University’s “Class of 2000” and she tells me about the initial difficulties she had in securing that elusive first graduate role, before going on to set up graduate schemes and hiring graduates herself for companies including Barclays and Jardines around the world. The irony isn’t lost on Anna and we touch on the value of failure and mistakes, and the contribution these can make to your own success in the recruitment process and beyond.

We also get a sneak peek into the Jardines’ recruitment process and Anna gives her advice to current students soon to embark on their own recruitment journey after University.

Enjoy the conversation.

This week I'm joined by Mike Burkly for a truly inspirational conversation about his life, work and study. Mike completed an MBA at Durham University Business School in the late 80s and has spent almost his entire career since working on humanitarian projects around the world. He's been with USAID since 1997 and is now Director of International Security Programs, currently contributing to their work on the global coronavirus pandemic from his base in Washington DC.

In this episode we discuss the impact an MBA had on Mike's work in the non-profit sector, and how a strong knowledge of business, particularly in marketing, was instrumental to many of the programs he worked on later around the world. We discuss the importance of finding a career that aligns with your values, and how he knew by the end of his MBA that he "wanted nothing to do with business".

This is a special one and gives a completely different perspective on the "traditional" MBA career path.