Enter the Boardroom

Jurga Zilinskiene, a leading AI thinker and founder of multiple successful businesses, discusses the transformative power of boards in her entrepreneurial journey. She shares insights on how her board has added value and shaped strategy, especially in navigating the challenges of AI integration. Jurga emphasizes the need for diverse perspectives in boardrooms and outlines effective recruitment processes for non-executive directors. Additionally, she explores the importance of strategic geographic focus and how adaptive boards can drive growth.

Gerry Murphy is Chair of Tesco and Burberry, Trustee at The Burberry Foundation and Senior Advisor at Perella Weinberg. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What were the three most consequential boardroom moments for you as a CEO? (1:42) How can boards assess how much control they have over external factors? (6:26) What frameworks do you use to assess risk? (9:33) What megatrends should be shaping strategy today? (12:29) How do you decide whether a trend is structural or cyclical? (15:01) What are the practical, board-level implications of the AI megatrend? (16:51) As CEO and Chair, where have you seen CEO succession work best? (20:30) Where do you see boards adding most value now? (27:01) How should boards strike a balance between long and short term issues? (28:34) What KPIs do you ask for from the exec team? (33:32) What can private and listed boards learn from each other? (34:22) What’s stopping them from learning these lessons? (36:11) If you could design an ideal management incentive structure, what would it look like? (37:27)⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(38:24) Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Cindy Rampersaud is NED at Sage Homes and formerly SID at Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: How have you decided which pro bono roles to take on? (1.47) What have you gained from pro bono opportunities? (3.36) How do you build relationships on boards? (5.19)  How does a board recruit the right CEO? (10.42) What role should the board play in shaping digital strategy? (13.15) What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a trustee? (18.16) How do you navigate the pro-bono to commercial transition? (21.14) What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a commercial board member? (28.38) How do you ensure constructive dialogue on a board? (33.41) What have you learnt about crisis management in the boardroom? (37.16) And ⚡The Lightning round ⚡(40:01)Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Kate Swann is Chair of Moonpig, Beijer Ref, Parques Reunidos, and IVC Evidensia and former CEO of WH Smith. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: As a CEO, where have seen boards add most value? (1:56) Are board members more valuable as individuals, or as a collective? (7:35) What boardroom archetypes are  most useful to a CEO? (8:54) What have you learnt from being a NED that would have made you a better CEO? (12:24) What can listed boards learn from  PE boards? (14:53) What's the thread that goes through your portfolio roles? (18:53)  What has been hardest for you during your CEO to chair transition? (21:57) Are there different CEO archetypes? (27:04) What have been the most challenging situations you have faced as a chair? (28:26) How do you allocate your time as a chair? (31:15) How have you dealt with acquisitions as a chair? (32:32) What is the difference between chair leadership and CEO leadership? (37:46)  What personal development are you doing to get better as a chair? (39:48) and ⚡The Lightning round ⚡(41:24)Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Annemarie Durbin is Chair at YBS. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: How did you become comfortable as Chair of the Yorkshire Building Society (YBS)? (1:50) How much time did you commit, as a new chair, to YBS? (4:45) What lessons have you learnt from previous chair transitions? (7:48) How valuable was having a mentor during your chairship? (9:30) Who are some examples of good chairs you have served under? (11:15) What are some examples of bad chairing? (14:09) What are the most difficult situations you face as a chair?  (16:24) What is the difference between a subsidiary board and top co board? (18:38) How does the relationship between a CEO and a chair differ from that between a CEO and their coach? (21:00)Do coaching qualifications make you a better chair? (25:43) What are building societies? (28:11) What are the strategic threats facing Yorkshire Building Society? (33:18) Has previously being a company secretary made you a better NED? (36:40) Has the fact that you sat on a ‘sin-stock’ board ever been an issue in finding new non-exec opportunities? (39:54) And ⚡The Lightning round ⚡(41:55)Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Richard Meddings is Chair of NHS England. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What is the governance landscape of the NHS? (3:48) Which parts of the system are most interesting to get involved with as a NED? (6:17) What are the typical challenges NHS Trust board members face? (11:40) Do NHS and commercial organisations approach strategy differently? (16:01) Where have you seen NHS board members add most value? (22:02) Is the turnover of ministers a bad thing for the NHS? (31:11) How power does the NHS England board have to influence long term strategic thinking? (33:26) How did NHS England help resolve the pay dispute? (37:26) Do chairs need prior sector knowledge? (40:11) What board archetypes are NHS England looking for? (42:32) And ⚡The Lightning round ⚡(45:21)Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

 Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is the Chief Innovation Officer at ManpowerGroup and a Professor of Business Psychology. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: How can board members add value during a CEO recruitment process? (2:05) Why do boards still hire incompetent leaders even when they know what traits and behaviours to look out for? (5:51) How should board members assess CEO’s? (13:06) Are psychometric tests useful and worth using? (18:59) What assessments show if a candidate is ‘smart, driven and honest’? (25:57) How do you identify if your CEO is a psychopath? (31:51) How do you remove a narcissist from a board? (37:33) Should boards invest in leadership development for their executives? (38:50) How do you assess someone’s coach-ability? (42:34) and ⚡The Lightning round ⚡(44:47)Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Rain Newton-Smith is CBI CEO and NED at F&C Investment Trust. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: What advice would you give to CEOs preparing for a new position? (1:45) How have you built a relationship with your Chair? (8:47) How do you ensure a distinction between the roles of CEO and Chair? (13:36) How do you decide whether to share something with your Chair? (17:17) Can you offer some examples where your board has added value to you? (20.01) How has your background as an economist helped and hindered you? (23:10) What sources of support & challenge do you use as CEO? (27:27) How have your non-exec positions informed the way you operate as CEO? (30:13) And ⚡The Lightning round ⚡(35:01)Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

John Allan, CBE, is Co-Founder of J&A Mentoring Partners. He was Chair of Tesco PLC and also served as President of the CBI. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Why did you feel like you had to step down from your roles at Tesco and the CBI? (1:54) How should boards handle personal reputational risk? (5:15) Would you handle the situation differently now?  (7:07) When should chairs step down in a crisis? (7:57) As chair, how did you help turnaround Tesco? (10:14) How can boards balance financial returns with ethical conduct? (13:33) How did you think about strategy at Tesco? (15:48) What questions mould a good strategy? (19:39) As Chair, what frameworks do you use to help organisations with international expansion? (26:06) How did you navigate competitive threats? (28:26) How well did the Tesco board understand competition ? (32:37) How can board members get comfortable that management are on top of competitors (33:58) And ⚡The Lightning round ⚡(39:33)Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Pamela Dow chaired the government's Inclusion at Work Panel. She is the COO at Civic Future and former exec director at the Cabinet Office. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: What were your key takeaways from the government's D&I review? (1:57) Common mistakes organisations make with DEI? (7:50) What data should inform boards decisions on DEI? (10:02) Which organisations are getting DEI right at the moment? (19:28) What are the biggest barriers to implementing D and I strategies? (26:46) Should boards get involved in politics? (30:11) What is 'HR Britain’? (34:23) And ⚡The Lightning round ⚡(40:00)    Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom