As CEO of Board Intelligence, Jennifer Sundberg has seen what works and what doesn’t across thousands of boards - insights crystallised in her recent book Collective Intelligence. Listen to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her answers to: Do boards still matter? (0:46) How can we determine which decisions need to be made by the board? (2:16) How can boards measure their organisation’s collective intelligence? (5:33) What does critical thinking look like in board papers? (7:27) How can board members encourage execs to do more critical thinking? (8:58) Have you noticed any recurring rituals across the highest-performing boards you see? (16:17) How can boards identify the most important questions they need answered? (18:13) How do the best boards balance thinking in and outside of the boardroom? (19:49) What are the respective roles of execs and non-execs in developing strategy? (22:17) How do you see the ideal Chair-CEO-NED dynamic? (27:42) What are the most common mistakes boards make with communication? (29:00) Does communication really matter? (31:13) What should board members take from your final chapter, “when it all goes wrong?” (34:08) How can boards inoculate themselves against belief perseverance? (35:58) Do you feel like you’ve got it right with your own board? (37:23) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(39:00) Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Editor: Alex Fish Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kolt Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Sir Nicholas is Chair / former Chair of Historic Royal Palaces, Victoria & Albert Museum, British Fashion Council, Professional Publishers Association, Condé Nast Britain and Provost-Designate at Eton College. Tune in to hear his answers to: As a Chair, where have you been most and least effective leading through difficult times? (1:25); How did you know you could handle rapid expansion at Conde Nast? (8:14); When you were Chair of Conde Nast International, how did the board think about cost-cutting? (16:33); What do you think about voluntary redundancy, and how do you balance the welfare of those staying with that of those going? (23:50); What is  your approach to fundraising? (27:49); To what extent do boards have an obligation to hold their organisations to account for their history? (33:58) and⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(41:34) Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Editor: Alex Fish Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kolt Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Wais is CEO / former CEO of PrivateDoc and Push Doctor, and NED & Committee Chair at Snappy Shopper, Reach Plc and The Gym Group. Listen to his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his answers to: How did the Push Doctor board add most value to you as CEO? (1:24) Did you ever get frustrated by board members from big business not understanding the realities of early-stage organisations? (3:58) How did you keep your board engaged? (7:13) How did the board add value beyond their contributions to revenue? (9:54) How have the best boards supported you through challenging times as a CEO? (13:23) How did you think about changing your advisory board members? (21:20) How did you think about the advisory board’s ROI? (22:25) How did the advisory board fit alongside the main board? (25:07) What have you learnt about adversity, as a CEO and non-exec, which others might benefit from? (26:13) How do you think about time management as a CEO and non-exec? (30:21) Why do you sit on listed boards? (34:11), and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(36:51) Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Editor: Alex Fish Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kolt Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

As CEO of the Chartered Management Institute for over a decade, Ann Francke has spent some time thinking about what good management looks like and how organisations achieve it. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her answers to: How can we know that investing in leadership causes high-performance, rather than there just being correlation? (1:31) If investment into management training produces better outcomes, why are market forces not dictating more investment? (5:22) As a board member, how do you handle a visionary CEO who’s a bad manager? (9:13) If you were on the board of a highly-successful organisation and you heard a horror story about the CEO, what would you do? (11:29) How do you decide when to speak up and when to hold your tongue about what you feel is right?  (16:22) How can board members evaluate their organisation’s management? (22:55) How do you balance intuition and data-led questioning? (27:52) How do you think about balancing technical and managerial competence? (29:13) What can board members do, practically, to help their organisation improve its management? (32:56) What other mistakes do boards make, which have the most negative impact on management? (36:27) How do you overcome groupthink in the boardroom? (39:22) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(41:09)Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Editor: Alex Fish Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kolt Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

How can boards help businesses keep hold of the value they create? In “7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy”, Hamilton identifies seven powers organisations can develop to protect themselves from competition. Listen to his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to discover how you can use them as a board member. Hear Hamilton’s answers to: Why are your insights in 7 Powers relevant to board members? (1:58) How do the best boards define strategy? (5:20) How can they use the 7 Powers to inform their strategic input? (13:01) How can boards understand their competitors’ power? (16:51) How can boards assess the power of their brand?(19:49) How do you determine whether your power is subject to diminishing returns? (30:00) How can incumbents use the 7 Powers to respond to new competition? (34:44) Why do organisations struggle to marry strategy and execution?(38:09) How much time do the best boards spend on strategy? (43:30)⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(46:53)  Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Editor: Alex Fish Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kolt Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Sarah is Chair of Bionic, Yeo Valley, Riverford Organic Farmers and Sawdays and Senior Advisor at OMERS Private Equity. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her answers to: Why did you take on your first board roles whilst you were still a busy non-exec? (1:33) What do you know now which you wish you’d learnt then? (4:17) What was the biggest surprise of the boardroom? (7:09) In what ways did your exec and non-exec roles inform each other? (9:09) Did you consciously decide to leave your exec career and go portfolio? (10:53) How did you think about transitioning from pro bono to paid roles? (12:31) What were the most challenging aspects of the transition? (16:30) Did you have a breakthrough moment or was it just persistence? (19:12) How do your boards compare across different ownership structures? (20:43) What characteristics would you take from each structure to create the dream board? (25:57) What have you learnt about chairing which you wish you’d known before? (27:49) How would you design a perfect Chair role? (30:55) What have been the good and bad interview questions as a prospective Chair? (32:31) How do investor-backed Chairs ensure they are even-handed with CEOs? (35:01) How do you ensure your values shape your portfolio? (37:46) As a Chair, what do you look for in NEDs? (41:00) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(43:12)      Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Editor: Alex Fish Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kolt Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Martin sits down with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to consider: How did the board add value during Aberdeen’s organic growth? (1:45) How did the board help through acquisitions? (3:45) How have you learnt from your mistakes? (7:35) How did you balance instinct with analysis? (8:54) How does the board’s role at Revolut compare to Aberdeen? (12:19) Has the world become less forgiving, and what can boards do to help? (17:30) Why do you take on roles at listed companies? (19:26) What value can CEO-NEDs add to boards (and vice versa)? (22:10)  How do you identify high-risk / high-value employees? (24:49) What value have “future” sub-committees added? (26:18) How should boards manage their high-risk / high-value employees? (28:42) How can investment trust boards help their executive decision-makers? (33:15) What are the traits of the best investment trust board members? (35:44) Do investment trusts need cult fund managers? (39:43) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(43:49) Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Editor: Alex Fish Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kolt Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Professor Kakabadse, one of Harvard Business Review’s most influential management gurus, has spent a lifetime working with boards, publishing 45 books and 250 scholarly articles on the subject. Tune in to his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his answers to: How do you define and measure the board’s role and effectiveness? (0:57) Can you unpack the meaning of “board stewardship”, with examples? (5:07) How can boards build requisite psychological resilience? (11:35)  How can Chairs manage domineering board members? (16:14) What can board members do where they feel impeded by governance?(19:23) Where can boards deliver the most value today? (24:25) Which forms of diversity do boards need to add more value? (29:42) What can UK boards learn from other systems? (41:10) Should Chairs play a more dominant role for boards to be more effective? (43:09) What are the respective roles of CEO and Chair? (46:21) How do Non-Execs slot into a close Chair-CEO relationship? (48:51) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(53:05)  Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Editor: Alex Fish Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kolt Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has worked with boards from most angles, across every business stage. Tune in to her discussion with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings as she reflects on her journeys with Snoop and Virgin Money, and hear her answers to: How have you thought about fundraising for Snoop? (1:29) When and why did you first create a board? (6:01) How did your investor directors add value? (7:59) Were the boards more than just rubber ducks? (10:35) How have the best boards and Chairs provided you with support? (13:06) How do you think about getting the best out of your Chairs as a CEO or Founder? (18:23) Who sets strategy - the Board or CEO? (22:53) Are there downsides to customer-driven strategy? (26:03) Practically, how have you engaged with your boards over strategy? (27:47) What was your experience of chairing the company you founded? (31:44) How do you think about board composition at different business stages? (34:55) How did you think about board size at different business stages? (37:57) What mix of execs and non-execs has worked best for you? (40:17) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(43:13)   Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Editor: Alex Fish Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kolt Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

After fifteen years as an investment banker, Matt joined the board of Prostate Cancer Research. Two years later, he was Chair - a job he now does full time. What made him make the leap? Tune in to Matt’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear his answers to:  What advice would you have for someone considering becoming a Chair? (1:36) How did you prepare for your Chair role? (3:36) Why did you want to become a charity Chair, given the risks? (6:29) How can you add the most value as a Chair? (8:36) What have you done to foster a culture where people feel comfortable innovating? (11:13) How have you thought about board composition / hiring? (12:01) What have you learnt about onboarding? (16:17)  Does trustee engagement vary depending on how you recruited them? (18:08) What is your approach to fundraising? (21:45) How do you build a high-net-worth network? (26:10) What have been the biggest challenges of chairing a charity board? (27:14)  Which areas did you need to improve the most when you started chairing? (28:59) To what extent do you choreograph meetings? (34:47)  When do you encourage execs to come with recommendations versus points for discussion? (36:58)  What due diligence do people need to do before accepting a charity Chair position? (38:59)  How did you know you felt passionately enough about your charities? (42:26), and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(45:15)Host: Oliver Cummings Producer: Will Felton Editor: Alex Fish Music: Kate Mac Audio: Nick Kolt Email: podcast@nurole.com Web: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom