For many people their dream job or ticket out of their day job, is sitting on the boards of companies in Chairman or Non Exec Director roles. My guest for this episode is living that dream. 

It was an absolute pleasure to sit down with Simon Burke a few weeks ago. Simon has held senior leadership positions from early in his career and is a sought after board member for organizations across the UK and Ireland currently serving on the board of BBC, Bakkavor, Blue Diamond Group, The Co-operative Group and others.  

From being hired by a young, Richard Branson to run his Virgin Entertainment division and then turning around the fortunes of Hamleys toy stores, Simon’s experience at the top tier of industry spans four decades. 

 We discuss a range of topics including how retail buried it’s head in the sand in the early days of e-commerce and how it’s playing catch up today, the history of experiential retail, the shift in the BBC's business model to compete with online content streaming services and how Simon successfully cultivated a portfolio of professional board positions for himself. 

Thank you Simon for inviting me to the BBC to record and for being so generous with your time. There’s plenty more I wold have liked to cover - perhaps a ‘part two’ is in order?

My guest for this episode is the head of SuccessFactors for UK and Ireland, Leila Romane. From early ambitions of becoming a hairdresser, Leila's career has seen her climb the corporate ladder to become one of the most highly respected leaders in the enterprise technology industry. 

Leila is charming and affable and it was a pleasure to sit down and speak with her about life inside and outside of the corporate world. Our conversation centered around three key areas:

Managers and non-managers alike will take a lot from this conversation. 

I'd like to thank Leila for being so generous with her time and for being open to share her experience and outlook with me and the loyal What We See listeners.  

It’s not everyday you get to chat with a rocket scientist! For this conversation, I was lucky enough to do just that. 

When you’re with Anthoula Madden you’re made instantly aware that you’re in the presence of one of those people who possesses the enviable and rare ability to combine deep intellectual thinking with common, practical language – a real talent.

A deep curiosity in the Universe led Anthoula to study Astro Physics and get a Doctorate in Medical Physics, but the world of management consulting came calling and Anthoula’s analytical mind was put to work providing business and technology solutions for the largest brands in the world. Academia’s loss was Capitalism's gain!

Some highlights from this conversation, we discuss:

- Why innovation is messy

- Anthoula shares her experience from working on many technology projects that were approached from the wrong angle. 

- We explore why it’s essential to have the right mindset and culture in place to ensure a technology change project is delivers success. 

Finally, I couldn’t let Anthoula go without talking to her about one of my favourite topics, space and distant galaxies.

Thanks for listening, I hope you enjoy the conversation. If you did, please subscribe to the podcast and share any feedback. 

With the 6 Nations in full swing this conversation couldn't come out at a better time. Out of the thousand's of people playing elite level sport, very few make it to the top. In an instant your professional sporting career can end and you have to start again.

This episode is "Part 2" of our conversation with former Gloucester professional rugby player turned Tech Startup Founder Shane Monahan. My co-host for this episode Beth Casey comes into her own as she subtly, but expertly steers the conversation away from rugby and into topics like the importance of strong leadership, and what does that look like, dealing with a crisis of identity and the dangers of poor communication.

While professional sport forms the backbone of this conversation there are some excellent life, business and career lessons that can be applied to all walks of life. 

Thanks again to Beth Casey for co-hosting and adding the much needed female voice and Shane for joining us to share his story with our audience. 

Shownotes:

3:30 Life as a start up CEO 

5:00 Hustle Culture

6:35 It's easy to sell the truth

8:30 Dealing with rejection

10:30 Leadership 

14:30 Having a clear vision / life purpose

17:20 Johnny May: Mad Man or Genius?

18:30 Do it all over again

27:30 Communication

33:00 Industry 'norms'

35:45 Great leaders instill confidence

39:00 Earning the respect of your peers

40:30 Identity crisis

49:30 A happy team or a hard working team

51:30 Getting perspective from trauma

62:30 Beth dealing with her own identity crisis

68:30 It's good to talk

76:30 The Conspiracy

If you're a sports fan or interested in innovative technology and the dynamic start-up culture - this episode is a must listen!

Part 1 of 2: This was a fascinating conversation for a couple of reasons. We had our first non-SAP guest and our first founder / CEO on the podcast. Shane Monahan is the founder and CEO of the 'social audio' app LIMOR. 'Social audio' is an entirely new concept that Shane has created and he has big ambitions and ideas for Limor and how it will capitalise on the next evolution of the social media which will centre around voice and audio.

Shane has had a colourful career to date and he tells us his story of his life as a professional rugby player in Ireland and England. He has an art and design business and even had a brief stint as an amateur Mixed Martial Artist. We discuss how all those experiences, especially the mental and physical struggles that come with a career in professional sport, have helped him pursue his vision for Limor .

Shane clearly explains exactly what 'social audio' is, the infinite future applications and commercial possibilities for the platform and how he sell his vision to the London based VC community. 

Finally, a very special thank you to the brilliant Beth Casey for joining me as co-host for this episode as Charlie was unable to attend the recording.