Dan Blundell, Engineering Director at Gymshark, joins the show to talk about his journey from an aspiring musician to self-taught developer.
He reflects on his experiences in the public sector, including working on the UK's Covid-19 test and trace application, and his transition to the fast-growing retailer Gymshark, where he has learned the importance of understanding business needs, hiring for culture, and the significance of maintaining leadership capacity during periods of rapid change.
00:00 The MySpace years and discovering the spark
09:00 Becoming an accidental manager
12:00 Lessons learned from the public sector
15:00 The fear of joining Gymshark and navigating leadership challenges
21:00 The importance of understanding business needs
24:00 Dan's Priority Zero: Scaling at Gymshark
27:00 Hiring for culture and values
Dan's recommendation: The Engineering Leader by Cate Huston
