Interviews

CEO, Chairman, Non-Executive Director & Board Member

Trent Larson shares his journey to the boardroom and how he went from executive to Non Executive Director and built a portfolio career. Trent is a CEO, Chairman and Board Member working mostly with Private Equity firms. His expertise includes M&A, Technology, IoT, AI, Cyber, Cloud, Software and SaaS, to name but a few. Trent is a NED with Magnetic North Acquisition Corporation, a Private Equity firm building value applying capital and management.

Watch Trent’s interview here

Global HR & Transformation Consultant, Chief People Officer, Board Director & RemNoms Chair

Mandy is a commercial HR, OD & Transformation Consultant with over 25 years’ international & multi-sector experience.  She has significant board-level expertise in HR strategy & change management to improve organisational performance; and delivering success through people.  She has extensive experience of leading & coaching large multi-disciplinary teams, work streams, bids & projects.

Mandy is an experienced Non-Executive Director with expertise in governance, remuneration, audit, risk, nominations and strategy, having held the roles of Chair, Deputy Chair, Senior Independent Director and Committee Chair of Remuneration & Nominations.

Watch Mandy’s interview here

Delivery Consultant, Board Practice at Eton Bridge Partners Ltd.

Eton Bridge Partners is a leading Executive Search, Interim Management & Consulting firm with specialist practices covering the breadth of corporate leadership. Eton Bridge support businesses to find the executive talent they need to achieve their goals, partnering with a wide range of clients from start-ups, to SMEs, to global blue-chip organisations (listed and PE backed) across all sectors.

Watch Jessica’s interview here

Managing Partner of Insight Business Advisors and Non-Executive Director of Early Settler

Richard Gomersall is the Managing Partner of Insight Business Advisors and Non-Executive Director of Early Settler, a 54-strong network of stores operating throughout Australia and New Zealand.

A strategic, commercially focused business leader and Non-Executive with 20 years experience at Board level, Richard has a strong financial background and a proven track record in driving significant sales, profit and return on capital improvements, by focusing businesses on their customers.

Watch Richard’s interview here

Chairman of The Chemistry Group, Non-Executive Director and Board Advisor

Warwick is an independent Private Equity chair and Non-Executive Director, with international expertise in sales and marketing, and extensive experience of supporting privately owned businesses manage the transition to having external shareholders for the first time.

Warwick is the Chairman of The Chemistry Group, a PE backed professional services firm. Its mission is to create opportunities for everyone to be brilliant at work. Its clients are some of the world’s leading businesses, where talent issues are addressed at the Board. As chairman, he works closely with the management team & investors to develop this fantastic business.

Warwick’s journey and insights were so fascinating, we have divided his interview into 2 parts!

Watch Part 1 of Warwick’s interview here

Watch Part 2 of Warwick’s interview here

Director at George James Executive Search

george james help their clients realise the full potential of their business through people by finding the best available talent to fulfil business critical roles, whether that is top level people or niche specialists. Their global network supports companies of all sizes in Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Chemical & Petrochemical market sectors. For the past 27 years as a recruitment consultant Jayne has used her broad scientific and business experience to successfully complete many international search assignments.

Jayne works across all high tech sectors, Pharma , Biotech, Diagnostic , Medical technologies, Oil & Energy, Novel Electronics, instrumentation (R&D, Clinical and production), game changing construction technologies, innovative chemicals and materials with applications in all sectors from aerospace to food and personal care.

Watch Jayne’s interview here

Non-Executive Director of Danske Bank UK and Coventry Building Society

Martin Stewart is a Board-level business leader, Board Advisor and Government Policy Advisor, as well as Non-Executive Director of Danske Bank UK Board Member, Senior Independent Director, Chair of the Board Remuneration Committee and member of Board Risk, Board Audit and Board Nomination & Governance Committees, and Non-Executive Director of Coventry Building Society, Chair of their Board Risk Committee, member of both the Board Audit Committee and Nomination & Governance Committee.

Martin’s recent career includes being part of the UK senior team that moved into the public sector post-financial crisis to reform global banking, as the Head Regulator for UK Domestic Banks. As Director UK Banks, Building Societies & Credit Unions at the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), he oversaw 600+ firms, the authorisation of new UK Banks and was a member of the Executive Team responsible for PRA public policy.

Non-Executive Director for the Financial Conduct Authority

Jeannette Lichner is a Non-Executive Director on several financial services firms, including the Financial Conduct Authority and Miller Insurance Services LLP. She is a strategic business and governance advisor to boards and senior executives of wholesale banks, retail banks, wealth managers, insurance companies and a number of start-up firms, several of which are technology enabled.

Non-Executive Chairman of Weird Fish

Andrew Stafford is the Non-Executive Chairman of Weird Fish, and a proven Chief Executive with a combination of PLC, Private Equity and Public Sector experience. His main Board experience includes strategy setting and review, together with participation in Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees. Leadership of multi-national organisations has included Chairmanship of subsidiary Boards encompassing businesses in Europe, North America & Asia.

Experienced portfolio Non-Executive Director 

Marianne Okland is a Non-Executive Director for WRU, the Professional Rugby Board, Hermitage Offshore, Penguin International Rugby Football Club and Scorpio Tankers Inc.

Chair and Non-Executive Director of Commonwealth Games England

Jenny Ashmore is a Chair and Non-Executive Director for Commonwealth Games England, and SID and Non-Exec Vice Chair of the Saffron Building Society. She is a seasoned Non-Executive leader across sectors: Financial Services, Private Equity, International Sports plus Charities, as well as former President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Jenny consults, advises and coaches across the spectrum of B2C, B2B, Service and Not-for-Profit organisations. She combines clarity of thinking and broad strategic expertise with real implementation experience during organisational change and transformation, often in SMEs where there is a need to span the practical day-to-day coaching needs with the strategic alignment with the senior team and Board.

Non-Executive Director of Roffey Park Institute and Board Trustee of United World Schools

Janet is an accomplished global sales and marketing leader with experience in general management, strategy, marketing communications, business development and customer experience. Her experience ranges across a variety of organisations including commercial, not-for-profit, regulated and government bodies; in a variety of industry sectors including international education, technology, environment, professional services, construction & property, public sector, professional services and transport.

In a permanent capacity her roles have been with Cambridge International Education, part of the University of Cambridge (which operates in 160 countries around the world); and BAA the international airport operator. She spent ten years as a senior interim director / interim CEO in a variety of organisations including Swissair, Sabena, Ordnance Survey, OCR, MEPC, Energy Saving Trust, Osborne, RNIB, Lexis Nexis Martindale Hubbell and Farrer & Co.

Non-Executive Director, Financial Services, with full Value Chain expertise

Food Industry Expert, Board member, Facilitator and Ambassador, Jane has been described by Deborah Meaden as ‘… an advisor and an investor in some of my food businesses…ahead of the game.’

Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Advisory Board of the British Independent Film Awards, and Member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence (APPG AI)

Non-Executive Director of Home Instead and Mutual Vision, Entrepreneur and Co-founder of Dynamic Boards