Enter the Boardroom

Steve Rigby is Co-CEO of Rigby Group, one of the UK's largest family businesses and in the top 500 largest family companies in the world. Listen to the conversation to hear about: Three key career moments that have shaped Steve’s boardroom thinking (2:02) NED lessons from the retail sector and financial crisis (5:01) How to survive a potential future of inflation, rising prices and crashing assets (9:29) Steve’s playbook for growing and selling businesses (11:51) Lessons on internationalisation (13:40) The best markets to aim for (15:29) The one big inflection point per decade of Steve’s career (17:43) Return on net assets as a north star metric (21:50) Steve’s risk-effort-reward-fun framework (23:33) Why Steve has shifted from a scientific to intuitive assessment of risk (27:03) Key lessons from 50+ acquisitions (30:59) When Steve mistakenly overruled advisors (33:17) How boards help navigate family in family businesses (35:23) ⚡The lightning round ⚡(37:58) Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Baroness Dido Harding is a former Chair of NHS Improvement, Executive Chair of NHS Test & Trace, NED at the Bank of England, and CEO of TalkTalk Telecom Group plc. In this conversation, we cover: • How Dido handled Ofcom scrutiny after taking on her first CEO role at TalkTalk (01:50) • Lessons learned from the TalkTalk cyber attack (08:21) • The value of functional experts on boards (24:23) • Governance lessons from leading NHS Test & Trace (26:56) • ⚡ Lightning Round ⚡ (33:18)Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Jock Lennox is Senior Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair at Barratt Developments plc, and Chair of Johnson Service Group plc and Clarion Housing Group. Listen to his thoughts on: the three most definitive experiences in your board career (2:01); approaching uncertainty in the boardroom (6:59); shifting boardroom thinking to focus on what’s possible rather than a binary sense of right and wrong (10:21); how to challenge the executive as a board member (11:47); the best way to harness cognitive diversity (14:40); where boards add the most value (16:51); getting the most from strategy days (20:19); what separates good audit committees from bad ones (24:42); how audit committees can assess and influence culture (32:21); getting past people telling you what you want to hear (37:28); when Jock has misjudged an individual — and what he learned (40:50); and the ⚡Lightning Round⚡ (43:54).Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Dr. Margaret Heffernan, an author and former CEO, dives deep into key topics like balancing flexibility with rigidity in board meetings and the importance of crafting effective agendas. She highlights the dangers of wilful blindness, explaining how even smart groups can overlook obvious issues. Margaret also discusses the lessons learned from the collaborative spirit of the Human Genome Project compared to unhealthy competition. Finally, she shares practical tips on questioning and listening to enhance decision-making in boardrooms.

Dr. Margaret Heffernan, a renowned author and former CEO, dives into the complexities of board decision-making. She highlights how uncertainty can lead to rushed decisions and advocates for the importance of taking time to analyze situations thoroughly. Margaret discusses the concept of 'cooling-off periods' to enhance judgment, along with the value of engaging in 'deep hanging out'—a relaxed approach to gather insights. She emphasizes that effective decision-making requires diverse perspectives and treating decisions as hypotheses rather than absolutes.

Peter Clark is a NED at Clarks. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What makes a great i-NED on a family board? (2:15) What should you look for when recruiting NEDs in a family business? (5:27) What questions do you ask when interviewing a NED candidate? (8:07) What mistakes have you made when hiring NEDs in the past? (11:18) How has Clarks remained a family business for 7 generations? (13:39) What is a family council? (16:01) What discussions do you have on the council? (18:39) How do you navigate a professional relationship with a family member? (21:22) How do you select family members to join the council? (22:28) Where do you think you have added the most value as a NED? (26:42) Why did you bring outside investment into Clarks? (28:10) How did the relationship between the Clarks family and the business evolve post investment? (32:28) What advice would you give to other family businesses looking at external investment as an option? (34:03) And ⚡ The Lightning Round ⚡ (39:19)Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Carl-Peter Forster, an experienced industrial executive and board chair of Vesuvius plc and Keller Group plc, shares invaluable insights from his tenure at renowned companies like BMW and General Motors. He discusses the importance of retaining talent during team changes and offers strategies for advising strong-willed founders. Forster reflects on the lessons learned from GM's crisis and emphasizes that boards should concentrate on strategy, people, and execution rather than governance. He also explores the emerging risks in the defense sector and the relevance of R&D investments.

Laurence Garrett, General Partner at Highland Europe and NED for several innovative companies, shares his extensive experience in venture capital. He discusses the board's crucial role in Featurespace's growth and the challenges faced during its sale to Visa. Laurence provides insights on effective pricing strategies and how boards can aid in product launches. He also dives into the complexities of expanding into the U.S. market, emphasizing cultural awareness and proactive engagement, while offering advice for navigating difficult boardroom transitions.

Ian Phillips is Chair of Watling Park Primary, consultant at Clew Education and author of How to be a great GoaT, a guide to being a brilliant governor or trustee. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What does the role of governor or trustee involve? (1:57) Are there archetypal board member profiles that you think are most needed? (6:20) What questions should candidates be asking to decide whether they take on a role? (10:46) Can board members add value to schools running at a deficit? (17:03) How do you think about the board’s relationship with the headteacher? (18:48) What metrics do you use to assess a headteacher’s performance? (20:31) Why do data and innovation remain such a challenge in the education sector? (24:21) Why should boards encourage headteachers to allocate time to marketing instead of developing a better offering? (29:03) Are school boards doing enough to address the challenge of students for whom English is a second language? (31:26) What did you mean by “the board employs the headteacher, not the other way around”? (32:50) Why do schools get so many exclusion decisions wrong? (35:41) And Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Karen Blackett CBE is NED at Diageo plc and Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: Where have boards added most value for you as a CEO or a president? (2:21) What advice would you give to CEOs going through a transformation? (7:07) What does good internal communication look like? (14:11) What questions should board members be asking to help a transformation process? (15:15) How do you strike the balance of being a proactive vs overbearing NED? (17:24) How does an organisation like Diageo think about transformation, especially with something like AI? (18:31) How can board members add value on the topic of AI? (25:36) How can boards help build brands? (27:08) What questions should board members be asking about their company’s marketing strategy? (34:16)  When have you been proudest of the cultural change you've created at an organization? (36:27) And ⚡ The Lightning Round ⚡(43:09) Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom