Enter the Boardroom with Nurole

Dr. Margaret Heffernan is author of seven books, including Wilful Blindness, Uncharted and Embracing Uncertainty. A former CEO of InfoMation Corp, ZineZone Corp, and iCast Corp, she was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2024. In this episode, we discuss: Balancing rigidity with flexibility in board meetings (1:35) What great board agendas look like (6:47) When ice -breakers help, and when they don’t (8:35) Helpful versus unhelpful challenge (10:58) Wilful blindness - and why smart people suffer from it (13:32) How to mitigate wilful blindness (16:36) Collaboration versus competition - lessons from The Human Genome Project (18:39) The super-chicken problem, and what should boards can learn from it (21:32) And the ⚡Lightning Round⚡(24:06) 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

Dr. Margaret Heffernan is author of seven books, including Wilful Blindness, Uncharted and Embracing Uncertainty. A former CEO of InfoMation Corp, ZineZone Corp, and iCast Corp, she was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2024. In this episode, we discuss: What uncertainty does to board decision-making (2:47) Practical ways boards can mitigate it (6:25) Squaring “take your time” with decisiveness (11:10) What a robust boardroom decision process looks like (14:36) Being agile without flip-flopping (18:13) When and how to use cooling-off periods (21:22) What deep hanging out means in practice (22:37) Absorbing context beyond datapoints (25:38) The value of unstructured time in the boardroom (27:54) An example of reaching the right answer without an agenda (32:10)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

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 Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Carl-Peter Forster is Chair of Vesuvius plc and Keller Group plc. Tune in to hear his thoughts on: What experiences from your executive career have shaped your non-executive career? (2:09) How would you counsel a new CEO coming into a business looking to set up their own team? (7:06) What lessons did you learn from the General Motors crisis? (10:12) What did you learn from your time at Tata Motors? (13:56) How do you advise a headstrong founder? (17:11) How do you navigate different business cultures? (21:16) What's been the most difficult board conversation you’ve had as a CEO? (22:36) What frameworks best help a new NED navigate an industrial company? (26:57) How useful is spending money on R&D? (31:05) What risks should boards be most alert to in the defence industry? (35:47) And the ⚡Lightning Round⚡ (40:48)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

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 Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: 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 Cummings Producer: Will Felton Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kold Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Yvonne Bajela is Partner at LocalGlobe and Latitude. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: What value can a board bring to startups? (1:28) What is a North Star metric for startup boards, and should  they be looking for one? (5:28) How do you effectively challenge a founder as a NED? (8:58) How do boards  navigate hypergrowth, with the associated challenges? (10:47) What have been the three most challenging situations you've faced as a board member? (12:02) What have you learnt about dealing with founder breakups as a board member?? (12:54) How should boards navigate a rapid change in market dynamics, such as a pandemic or the introduction of AI? (18:26) What approach should organisations take with regard to AI? (25:20) What heuristics can you use to determine whether an AI business has a moat? (28:13) At what stage should founders build a board? (30:32) What are the moments where you've seen independent directors add transformational value? (32:42) How can founder-CEOs ensure their board is giving them a high return on investment? (36:12) What makes a good investor director? (41:05) And the ⚡ The Lightning Round ⚡ (42:54)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

Rita Clifton CBE is Chair of Simplyhealth and Deputy Chair of the John Lewis Partnership. Tune in to hear her thoughts on: Why should boards care more about brand? (1:52) What framework do you use to assess brand when joining a board? (5:49) How should CEOs think about return on brand investment? (8:03) How should boards manage the lag between internal changes and market perception?(17:59) When has your brand expertise helped unlock board-level value? (20:18) What did you do at ASOS when the share price collapsed? (28:17) How should boards handle intense public scrutiny of  their brands? (31:29) Where do boards most often go wrong on brand? (37:19) And ⚡The Lightning round ⚡(40:44)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

Fred Destin, founder of Stride VC and lead investor in notable startups like Cazoo and Deliveroo, shares insights on the complex dynamics of startup boards. He discusses how bold equity strategies, such as Zoopla's 30% giveaway, can redefine value creation. Fred argues that many boards often destroy value, advocating for a shift in approach where board members act more like scientists than prosecutors. He emphasizes the importance of curiosity, early indicators, and collaboration to foster an effective governance environment.