Enter the Boardroom with Nurole

Neil Johnson OBE is Group Chair of QinetiQ. Formerly, he was CEO of the RAC, and began his career in the British Army. Listen to this episode to hear about: The three boardroom experiences that most shaped Neil as a board member (01:450) What trade union battles taught Neil about leadership under pressure (04:03) Bringing military command experience into the boardroom (09:47) Prioritising time with people on the ground over board papers (13:47) Firing the chair: inside the RAC boardroom crisis (17:00) How disengaged boards lose touch with reality (24:09) Imposter syndrome at board level (29:38) Deep dive: Neil’s time as Chair of Qinetiq (30:52) Why chairing a board is like managing a football team (34:09) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(38:38)
Host: Oliver Cummings
Producer: Will Felton
Editor: Penelope Coumau
Music: Kate Mac
Audio: Nick Kold
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Maria Molland is former CEO and Board Member of Thinx, the feminine hygiene company, acquired by Kimberly Clark. She is an Executive in Residence at Frazier Healthcare Partners. Tune in to hear Maria's thoughts on: Her first days as CEO (01:15) Lessons from her 90-day plan as a new CEO (05:37) Making the case for HR investment early on (10:54) Where the board misallocated investment when scaling (16:35) A framework for deciding where to invest (20:09) The trade-offs of taking capital from a strategic partner (23:08) The benefits of having someone with the CEO’s ear (28:54) What surprised Maria most on the path to exit (30:58)⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(34:18)

Host: Oliver Cummings
Producer: Will Felton
Editor: Penelope Coumau
Music: Kate Mac
Audio: Nick Kold
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Lubomila Jordanova is co-founder and CEO of Plan A, recently acquired by Diginex, Co-Founder of Greentech Alliance and Advisory Board Member at the European Investment Bank and Chloé. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: The best and worst moments that shaped Lubomila’s boardroom approach (03:00) How and when to create a board with complex stakeholders (04:44) How external board positions have helped Lubomila navigate her own board (11:27 The biggest challenges Lubomila has faced with her board (13:27) How geopolitics impacts board discussions (15:24) How boards can create a safe space for founders to raise personal issues in the boardroom (18:53) Deep dive: one board discussion that changed the direction of the business (25:12) How boards should evaluate a partnership strategy (27:04) The key relationships founders and CEOs need to build (30:43) The biggest mistake boards make on sustainability (40:23) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(42:39)

Host: Oliver Cummings
Producer: Will Felton
Editor: Penelope Coumau
Music: Kate Mac
Audio: Nick Kold
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Sir Ian Cheshire is Chair of Land Securities Group and Spire Healthcare Group. Formerly, he was Group Chief Executive of Kingfisher plc and Chair of Channel 4, Barclays Bank UK and Debenhams. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Top moments where Sir Ian’s seen boards add most value (01:57) How boards can prepare for crises (04:50) Two key ways boards should be engaging with AI (06:03) How Sir Ian’s boards are approaching geopolitical changes (11:34) How they’re assessing inflation risk (14:06) How they’re preparing for a liquidity crisis (17:52) Sir Ian’s resignation as Debenham’s chair (19:34) When and how board members should push back on legal advice (24:25) How board members can deal with activist shareholders (27:21) The role of commercial people on public sector boards (29:45) Mistakes Sir Ian’s made transitioning to public sector boards (33:14) The key lesson every exec has to learn as they transition to non-exec (34:46) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(38:10)

Host: Oliver Cummings
Producer: Will Felton
Editor: Penelope Coumau
Music: Kate Mac
Audio: Nick Kold
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Sir Ian Cheshire is Chair of Land Securities Group and Spire Healthcare Group. Formerly, he was Group Chief Executive of Kingfisher plc and Chair of Channel 4, Barclays Bank UK and Debenhams. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: The three most important interventions boards made to Sir Ian as an exec  (01:28) The main difference between reporting to and sitting on a board (06:04) How CEOs and execs build better relationships with their boards (08:48) How they can make sure boards focus where they can add most value (12:57) How and why boards should use cooling off periods when making decisions (15:39) How NEDs are able to pick up on things execs miss (17:18) The right and wrong way for NEDs to be persistent (19:59) Where CEOs can rely on Chairs to help them with divestments (23:18) Sir Ian’s hardest board meeting as a CEO - firing senior execs (26:32) How CEOs should present redundancy decisions to the board (28:25) The moments where Ian and the board have got things badly wrong (32:07) Heuristics to understand retail boards (33:06) Why organisations continually lose focus on the customer (36:57)

Host: Oliver Cummings
Producer: Will Felton
Editor: Penelope Coumau
Music: Kate Mac
Audio: Nick Kold
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom