Enter the Boardroom with Nurole

Professor Atewologun is the former Dean of the Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford and is currently the Founder and CEO of Delta, Advisor to the board of the Tearfund and Trustee at the Old Fire Station. In this conversation, we cover: What did the Parker review get right and where did it go wrong? (01:47) Is there a relationship between diversity and performance? (5:39) The difference between equity and equality, and when it’s right to pursue one versus the other (09:50) Should boards ditch DEI? (20:43) Practical examples of boards that get DEI right (29:07) Examples where they get it wrong (32:48) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(37:04)Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Tessa Clarke is co-founder and CEO of Olio, which  has over 8.5 million users, across 65+ countries, who have together shared over 125 million meals and 15 million household items. Tessa is a member of the Small Business Growth Forum, Advisory Board Member at Stop Ecocide International and Venture Partner at Mustard Seed MAZE. Listen to hear her thoughts on: The Olio story  (02:08) The three moments the board added most value (3:19) The hardest moments in the journey (4:23) Where board members can add more value to founders (7:58) How Tessa decided to stick or quit with strategy and tactics (10:19) How boards members can help founders set time and ambition frames (14:18) Where uncertainty is helpful and necessary (16:01) Why Tessa felt she needed non-exec board members (21:01) Key qualities Tessa looks for in board members (23:58) Critical moments where board members have added value (25:48) Tessa’s unique “rules of the road” board document (28:27) Why Tessa does board assessments (34:22)  ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(39:45)Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Dame Marie Gabriel CBE is Chair of the NHS Race and Health Observatory and NHS North East London Integrated Care Board and former Chair of NHS Improvement’s London Regional Board. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: Creating a positive culture in board meetings open to the public (2:11) Laptops in meetings (4:23) Creating a sense of psychological safety and humanity in board meetings (5:52) Marie’s unique way of compiling board agendas (7:43) Using temporary committees to bridge the gap between sub-committees and the main board (9:42) How to deal with the length of public board papers (13:02) Lessons on time discipline (17:39) How to maintain board member engagement in the face of such a challenging environment (19:04) How to develop junior board members (20:57) Why public boards need entrepreneurs to balance risk appetite (23:34) What public boards can do to increase innovation (26:18) How to create sufficient psychological safety for innovation, risk and mistakes (30:43) The most challenging conversation Marie has had on a board (32:23) An overview of NHS boards (34:48) How Marie dealt with 50% cuts to NHS funding (38:18) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(42:02)  Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Tune in to the conversation to hear about: The three moments that have had the biggest impact on how Thomas chairs today (01:48) International cultural differences every board member needs to know about (04:15) Practical steps to bridge cultural gaps with younger generations (6:22) The benefits of reverse mentoring versus surveys (12:15) How to de-mystify the board beyond the C-suite (13:22) Why and how boards should share board meeting conclusions with the rest of the organisation (17:35) The Ørsted story: dropping the core product, breaking into the US and managing an IPO (24:49) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(41:01)Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Professor Alison Taylor is a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Stern School of Business and author of Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World (Harvard Business Review Press, 2024). Tune in to hear her thoughts on: Why it’s so hard for businesses to be “good” (01:37) Should boards speak up or shut up on divisive issues (04:06) Where boards get it wrong with stakeholders (11:08) Should boards continue selling into Russia (18:17) The Astronomer Romance: lessons for board members (24:32) What are the most common challenges businesses face when trying to be “good”? (30:50) How sustainable is the competitive advantage of AI? (32:26) How can boards get better at navigating ethical questions? (39:01) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(41:07)Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Charles McManus is co-founder, non-executive director (NED) and former CEO of ClearBank, the UK’s first new clearing bank in more than 250 years. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: The three most important calls Charles made as CEO (02:08) How the board helped Charles with strategic focus (06:45) The board’s role in navigating 26 regulatory stakeholders (12:14) How the board helped balance risk and growth (17:30) How Charles would have changed his board’s composition to deliver more value (22:31) Lessons from Charles’s transition from CEO to plural non-executive (24:19) How to add value as a NED without becoming too hands-on (29:30) The key ingredients of a high-performing board (30:48) ⚡ Lightning Round (33:56) ⚡Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

David Dein MBE was Vice-Chair of Arsenal, where he signed Arsène Wenger, co-founder of the Premier League, and trustee of the Twinning Project. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: Betting on potential, not just past performance (2:19) David’s distinct approach to deal-making (4:46)  The Sol Campbell and Ian Wright deals (6:29) How David created such a successful relationship with Arsene Wenger (12:04) Superforecasting: Why David started the Premier League (14:35) Innovation: the importance of looking elsewhere (16:23) How David thought about investing in women’s football (19:33) Asset allocation: How the Arsenal board thought about investing in the Emirates stadium (23:47) Strategy and stakeholder management: lessons from the failed Super League and Arsenal investors (25:29) Lessons from David’s role as trustee of the Twinning Project (31:56) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(37:30)Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Louise Hill is Exec Chair, former CEO & Co-founder of GoHenry. Her board roles include Sibstar and Innovate Finance’s Unicorn Council for UK FinTech. Listen to the conversation to hear about: Louise’s sources of support and challenge in the early stages of GoHenry (2:01) How the board helped her with product market fit and go-to-market strategy (4:27) Three key strategic decisions where the board added value (10:22) Why it can be better to target end-users than distribution partners (12:56) The pros and cons of crowdfunding: the story behind the $5.6 million raise on CrowdCube, the highest ever at that point (14:28) Key principles of fundraising every board member should know (21:19) Where Louise could have got more value from her board (26:11) Board and founder lessons from The GoHenry exit (30:38) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(34:22) Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Professor Randall Peterson is a Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School, where he focuses on CEO personality, top management team interaction, board dynamics, leading diverse teams, and the effects of member personality on group interaction and performance. Listen to the conversation to get his thoughts on: The biggest mistakes board members make when trying to influence people (2:14) How board members can get better at influencing (4:27) The difference between executive and non-executive influence (5:25) How power dynamics and key individuals shape decisions boards (8:37) How expertise really influences decision-making on boards (14:27)  The six archetypal board members and how to influence them (16:20) The stakeholder representative challenge: a cautionary example (24:28) How board members can influence organisational culture (27:50) Strategy vs. culture: how board members should think about the balance (36:58) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(40:09)Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Fiona Hathorn is CEO and co-founder of Women on Boards UK, now known as WB Directors and recently acquired by Nurole. Listen to the conversation to hear about: What motivated Fiona to help more women get board roles (1:40); One woman’s success story that illustrates how to get board roles (5:32); The benefits of taking on external board positions as an executive (8:15); The biggest misconception CEOs and CHROs have about board positions (16:02); The most common challenges faced by board members today (18:35); Why culture is such a challenge for boards and what to do about it (21:24); Key advice for those at the start of their board journeys (25:24); The most common mistakes people make when applying for board positions (28:40); How to transition from pro bono to paid board roles (30:02), and ⚡the Lightning round ⚡(33:17)Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom