Enter the Boardroom with Nurole

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

Do you aspire to Chair your board? Or better understand how your Chair thinks? Uber NED Roger Parry sits down with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to reflect on his 20+ years chairing global organisations like YouGov and Future Publishing. Tune in to hear his answers to the following questions: How do you prepare to become a Chair? (1:24) What are the different Chair archetypes, and are some better than others? (3:54) Can you become a Chair without being a CEO or CFO? (8:04) What are the key things you learnt from your Chair mentors? (9:28) What is the Chair’s role, and how should it be distinct from the CEO? (11:48) How involved do you get with strategy, and how much time does it take? (15:05)  When and where have you added most value as a Chair? (22:11) Where can Chairs add value, beyond managing shareholders? (26:06) When and where have you got it wrong as a Chair? (29:04) What else can you do to prepare to become a Chair? (36:43) How do you hire for genuine diversity of thought, and what is its value? (39:00) ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(46:00) 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

Dr Shefaly Yogendra, Chair, NED and Advisor with a PhD in decision-making, discusses promoting good decision-making frameworks, managing biases, embracing discomfort, retrospecting past decisions, and navigating conflicts of interest in boards. Lightning round insights add a fun twist to the conversation.

Now on the boards of two Fortune 500 companies, Shellye Archambeau began building her board portfolio whilst she was a Silicon Valley CEO. Tune into Shellye’s conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her answers to: Why did you take on your first board role whilst you were still a CEO? (0:40) How did you make the time to be both CEO and board member? (4:29) How much time did you allocate for your board role? (6:04) How did you develop your non-exec skillset? (8:13) How did you use the audit committee to develop your strategic value? (9:46) How did you gain credibility as a non-exec in a new sector? (11:50) What’s your approach to reading board papers? (13:57) What are the right questions to raise in board meetings (versus outside them)? (15:48) What role have pro bono roles played in building your portfolio? (18:11) How have you thought about the overall construction of your portfolio? (19:48) How did you turn one board role into a portfolio? (21:24) How do you strike a balance between questions and advice? (24:12) What does a good board member look like to you? (26:34) When have you experienced impostor syndrome the most severely? (28:15) What tactics do you have for overcoming impostor syndrome? (31:56) What can boards do to minimise potential impostor syndrome? (34:31) How do you know when to quit, when to stick, and when to swerve? (36:48),  and ⚡The Lighting Round ⚡(40:11).  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

The tech revolution and Covid have brought seismic changes to the way organisations engage and assess their employees. Traditional approaches don't cut the mustard. So what do board members need to do to keep on top of their most valuable resource in the digital era? Daniel Kasmir has managed people issues for over 30 years, as a Chair, Remco Chair, Trustee and executive at TalkTalk, YouView TV and others. Tune into his conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to discover: what are the pros and cons of combining the Chief People and Procurement Officer roles? (1:19); how do you calculate return on investment when it comes to talent? (5:19); why aren’t boards more excited by people analytics? (10:03); how do you show employees you're acting on their data? (12:27); how regularly do you have employee development sessions? (14:49); how are you approaching hybrid working? (16:43); are CEOs wrong to think in-person work is more valuable? (19:28); what is the role of the Remco, and how does it differ across ownership structures? (23:29); when can non-execs add the most value to Remcos? (25:34), and The Lightning Round (27:54). 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

What are the key ingredients of high-performing boards? As High Mistress of St Paul’s, Clarissa Farr worked with her board of governors over a period of marked success. Now a trustee, fellow and board consultant - at the Royal Ballet School, Winchester College and British Museum amongst others - Clarissa shares her key characteristics of high-performing boards. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to discover:  what value did the board add for her as High Mistress at St Paul’s (1:43); what were the key characteristics that made the board so effective (5:13); how did she balance high-performance with wellbeing (7:58); do enough boards think about how this balance is struck in their organisation (12:08);  where does she think the boards she's worked with could have done better (15:08);  does ageism work against older board members as well as younger ones (17:33); how can smaller boards access fresh perspectives without compromising on experience (18:38); what’s the best way to do reverse mentoring (20:11); what tactics can Chairs use to get the most out of board members (23:03);  what are the different ways board members and consultants can add value (27:18); where does the Chair-CEO relationship most commonly run into problems (31:50), and the lightning round (36:38). 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

Over 90% of startups fail. How can boards help founders beat the odds? Having begun life as a founder, Marta Krupinska has continued to work with start-ups as an investor (Google Startups UK, Climate VC) and Chair (Youth Business International). Marta sits down with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to reflect on how boards add most value to founders and how founders add value to boards. She answers the following questions: what can boards do to stop start-ups failing (1:28);  where do founders most often go wrong with their boards (4:11); when have you seen investor-directors add the most (and least) value (7:35); do you have any hacks for founders or CEOs wanting to get more from their board members (12:57); how do you measure the value of your board members (15:37); what common problems have you seen people run into as boards scale (17:59); what is the value of independent directors (22:42); why do you sit on boards as a founder (26:24), and the lightning round (31:59).   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 board members have difficult conversations about topics like diversity and inclusion? As a founder, coach, chair and NED, Rory Campbell has deep experience of this question in theory and practice. Join Rory and Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings in a discussion that covers: how we can have difficult conversations in the boardroom (1:33); examples of conversational best practice (4:48); the pros and cons of asynchronous conversations versus dialogues (7:58); whether we really communicate more effectively in person (12:33); the toughest challenges boards face with diversity (19:42); what makes Rory an expert on diversity (24:46); examples of D&I best practices (29:12); what board members need to do to ensure their leaders’ outlooks are evolving (33:31), and the lighting round (37:45).  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

In 2019, Jane Routledge decided to leave her impressive executive career behind and take a new non-executive path. After initial set-backs, she now has three board positions. Jane sits down with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to reflect on lessons learnt from the journey. Tune in to discover: why Jane decided to make the non-exec leap (1:28); the biggest surprises of the board world (3:22); how she knew she had what it took to be a NED (4:02); her strategy for getting board roles (5:37); how she differentiated herself as a candidate (7:36); how she dealt with rejection (10:36); how she prepared for interviews (12:42); the best and worst questions she was asked (16:21); the one thing she wished she knew before she started applications (18:33); the impact of pro bono work on her commercial board career (19:38); the advisory experience of MAT boards (22:30); her best and worst onboarding experiences (24:52); tactics for speeding up regulation-bogged discussions (28:30), and how to humanise boardrooms (31:38).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