Enter the Boardroom

Debbie Wosskow CBE is one of the UK's best-known entrepreneurs. Today, she is NED of Channel 4 and co-chair of the government-backed Invest in Women Taskforce. Tune into this episode to hear about: Debbie's discipline around cash (01:17) Picking your boards wisely: what’s on the line as a non-exec (08:32) Why storytelling is important for founders (09:48) What surprised Debbie the most during her first exit (16:55) The Series B decision that split the Love Home Swap board (18:53) Three questions a NED should ask before accepting  investment (26:07) "Organ donor rejection": why big names don't always survive in startups (28:49) How Debbie built her portfolio career (38:04) ⚡The Lightning Round⚡(42:08)
Host: Oliver Cummings
Producer: Will Felton
Editor: Penelope Coumau
Music: Kate Mac
Audio: Nick Kold
Email: podcast@nurole.com
Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Sir Lloyd Dorfman CBE is founder of Travelex, the world's largest retailer of foreign exchange. Today, he is Chair of the Royal Ballet and Opera and sits on the Mayor of London's Business Advisory Board and is Chair of Dorfman Media Holdings. Listen to this episode to hear about: How Sir Lloyd talked his way into Heathrow Terminal 4 (01:35) How Travelex outbid the clearing banks for the Heathrow contract (09:06) Why entrepreneurial businesses see opportunities incumbents miss (14:04) Why Sir Lloyd bet Travelex on a £440m acquisition (16:05) The integration lesson from the £440m Thomas Cook acquisition (20:47) The challenge of leading a cultural institution after COVID  (24:32) Why he banned hybrid board meetings (28:17) The mistake nonprofits make about commerciality (31:42) ⚡The Lightning Round⚡(34:34)
Host: Oliver Cummings
Producer: Will Felton
Editor: Penelope Coumau
Music: Kate Mac
Audio: Nick Kold
Email: podcast@nurole.com
Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Jacqui Ferguson started her career as a technologist in Scotland and rose to become a divisional CEO at Hewlett Packard. Today, she is a SID at Croda International plc and NED at National Grid plc. Listen to this episode to hear about: How Jacqui found out she was becoming chair of Tesco Bank (01:52) How a board actually decides who becomes its next chair (08:27) Working for Meg Whitman during Hewlett-Packard’s $8bn turnaround (10:12) Leading the search for Croda’s next chair, and why there’s no such thing as a perfect candidate (14:57) The 30 days it takes to run a FTSE 100 chair search (19:21) What separates the finalists in a chair search (22:13) Why Softcat kept its chair past the nine-year limit (25:38) The succession maths that made Jacqui rule herself out at Croda (30:44) Why 12 months as chair designate creates more problems than it solves (33:38)
Host: Oliver Cummings
Producer: Will Felton
Editor: Penelope Coumau
Music: Kate Mac
Audio: Nick Kold
Email: podcast@nurole.com
Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

James Thornton is CEO of Intrepid Travel, the world's largest adventure travel B Corp, operating in more than 100 countries with $809 million in revenue and 317,880 customers in 2025. He became the company's first non-founding CEO succeeding co-founders Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester. Tune into this episode to hear about: The five-year test: how James was quietly auditioned to become CEO (01:38) His advice for any founder building a CEO (04:31) Why becoming CEO felt anticlimactic (08:16) The founder trick for empowering a CEO without micromanaging them (12:55) How to stress-test an acquisition (18:50) What James looked for when hiring board members (22:22) Running a travel company through Covid (34:14) The advice James would give himself looking back on his nine-year journey (37:43)⚡The Lightning Round⚡(39:44)
Host: Oliver Cummings
Producer: Will Felton
Editor: Penelope Coumau
Music: Kate Mac
Audio: Nick Kold
Email: podcast@nurole.com
Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Ilse Howling is Chair of Frontier Developments, the AIM-listed video games company behind Planet Zoo and the Jurassic World Evolution franchise. Previously, she spent over a decade as Managing Director of Freeview. Listen to this episode to learn more about: The three things that actually make a great chair (02:23) How to get shareholders to give up what they individually want for what the company needs (07:18) What Ilse learned from Sky about a ruthless focus on the customer (09:29) How disagreeing with the founder got Ilse the job (17:24) The question Ilse asked in her first board meeting that she was told not to ask (23:25) Frontier's 20% cost cut, and the exec team's surprise offer to the board (30:03) ⚡The Lightning Round⚡(36:24)
Host: Oliver Cummings
Producer: Will Felton
Editor: Penelope Coumau
Music: Kate Mac
Audio: Nick Kold
Email: podcast@nurole.com
Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom