Better Under Pressure

Rob Bullock is Executive Producer at Left Bank Pictures, one of the UK’s leading independent drama production companies, where he’s headed the production of a slate of premium drama productions for Amazon, HBO, Sky, and YouTube. He’s currently in production for two new returning dramas on Netflix. Before joining Left Bank, Rob produced the multiple award-winning show, The Night Manager, for BBC/AMC. He began his career as a graduate trainee at Granada TV, where he later became a producer in the comedy department. After completing an MBA at London Business School, he went on to produce a string of prime-time dramas, including the much-loved Monarch of the Glen series for BBC, Wild at Heart, and The Suspicions of Mr Whicher for ITV.  He is the proud father of three teenagers who keep him in line.  During our conversation, Rob shares his strategy for managing the pressure of tough conversations, the importance of connecting with positive people, what he does to protect himself from absorbing other people’s fear, and what he learned from a near-death experience.

Louise Moore is the Managing Director of Michael Joseph, one of Penguin Random House’s biggest commercial publishing lists, specialising in women’s fiction, crime, thriller, cookery, memoir, and lifestyle books. She made her way up the editorial ladder, starting as a PA, and joined the division as an editorial director in 1997, before being made publishing director in 2001. She’s been MD for over 15 years.  Now, Louise leads a talented publishing team that delivers the best commercial fiction and non-fiction. Her authors include household favourites like Jamie Oliver, Nadiya Hussain, Dawn French, Jojo Moyes, and many others. She is also an External Governor at the University of the Arts in London. Last year, she was Head Judge on Channel 4’s Great Cookbook Challenge with Jamie Oliver to find and publish untapped cooking talent. In our conversation, Louise talks about how the fear of judgment impacted her physically, the journey she is on regarding her emotions and is, in her words, “still trying to crack,” and the value of locking herself in the loo for five minutes.

Julie Harris has over 30 years of experience working with both B2B and B2C content and tech platform organisations. As an accomplished media, marketplace, and subscription business specialist, Julie has led multi-discipline teams, has a wealth of international experience, including living and working in Asia and positively thrives in high-pressure complex environments, particularly in private equity-owned businesses. Her executive roles include Global CEO of WGSN Group, the world’s leading fashion and retail trend forecasting company, as well as Immediate Media and Upper Street Events. Currently, Julie is CEO of Comparison Technologies, a private equity-backed comparison and customer acquisition platform business. Julie has built a strong reputation as a strategic and cultural transformation expert, exceeding revenue and profit targets, successfully integrating acquisitions, as well as driving significant shareholder value. She’s also been a Non-Executive Director on the board of Which? the consumer champion since 2015. During our conversation, she shares the importance of punctuating the start and end of her week, the three questions she asks her team to stay connected during moments of pressure, and what she learned when she lost both her parents within three days of each other.

Helena Maus is the CEO of Archetype, a global communication and marketing agency. She describes herself as an atypical CEO and is passionate about furthering Archetype’s vision to build a model of the agency of the future and driving Archetype’s client charter, in which success is mutual and excellence is pursued relentlessly.  Previously Helena served as CEO at Bite, was partner at the OutCast Agency and held several in-house roles, including chief of staff at Yahoo. In our conversation, she shares how small moments of humiliation became a source of conveying her truth, How growing up in a government-assisted social housing experiment impacts the way she leads, and what happened when her husband told her to quit.

Anna Rafferty is The Lego Group's VP of Digital Consumer Engagement. She leads the Lego Group's direct engagement with consumers of all age groups, which takes many forms, from magazine, publishing, community management and social engagement to digital products like apps and websites, creator programmes and events. She also takes additional responsibility for Digital Child Safety, Rights and Wellbeing in the company.   Prior to her experience in The Lego Group, Anna worked as Digital Director at BBC Studios, Director of Product, Content & Creative at Pottermore, and Managing Director at Penguin Books. She is also Chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, a Commissioner for the Digital Futures Commission and sits on the Media, Entertainment & Sports Council for the World Economic Forum.   In this episode of the Better Under Pressure podcast, we discuss how Anna 'backs herself' in moments of pressure, the power of procrastination, and why she relates to the song 'Surface Pressure' from the Disney film Encanto.

In this episode of Better Under Pressure, I sit down with Cheryl Giovannoni. Cheryl is the CEO of the Girls' Day School Trust, one of the UK's leading charities, taking on the education of over 180,000 girls in 23 schools and two academies across the UK. She leads an organisation of 4,000 team players who dedicate daily to fulfilling their mission of 'helping girls learn without limits.' In our conversation, we discuss how her team's helped her identify what she needs when she is feeling under pressure. As well as the significance of having a job she genuinely cares about rather than enjoys and why it's become vital to have a team that can, as she puts it, "turn on a dime."

Fran Boorman is an award-winning business leader, having built and exerted a multi-million-pound turnover business while bringing up two young children. Subsequently, Fran launched groundbreaking Goal 17, a mentor training company known for innovative social impact programs. She was voted the UK's number 1 female business influencer by Global Woman and is featured in Forbes and on the BBC.  Her businesses now partner with some of the biggest global sporting brands, including premier league football clubs and premiership rugby clubs. In addition, she is a non-executive director of several high growth businesses and is currently creating an exciting new technology platform to bring millions of people together in meaningful mentoring partnerships to improve equality.   In our conversation, she reveals how she borrows from the lesson she learnt as a semi-professional skier, the importance of surrounding yourself with people who are limitless and how the word "Yes" forced her to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

In this episode of Better Under Pressure, I sit down with Alan Jones, Head Teacher at Fulham Cross Academy in West London. Alan has over 20 years of experience as a teacher, and the last sixteen he's spent as a school leader.   I had the pleasure to work with Alan just before the pandemic when he was working at Fulham Cross Girls School, where he invited us to work with the girls on supporting them as they prepared to deal with the pressure of exams. In our conversation, he talks about the difference between boys' and girls' reactions to dealing with the pressure of exams, anticipating Ofsted and the inexplicable power of an orange tie.

On this episode of Better Under Pressure, I am joined by Nilema Bhakta-Jones, Group General Counsel for Kantar, the world's leading data, insights and consulting company. Nilema and I first crossed paths at the Courageous Leadership event she founded to fund an education project run by the charity Plan International to continue the education of disadvantaged girls in Zimbabwe, where she was born. She is a qualified Barrister and, in 2020, was named one of the 100 Women to Watch by Cranfield University. During our chat, she talks about navigating pressure when it feels deeply personal, the strength that she gains from connecting to family legacy and sacrifice, and how the image of a lioness got her through a moment of immense pressure.

In the second episode of "Better Under Pressure", I am joined by Anabel Hoult, CEO of Which?, the UK's most prominent consumer rights organisation. Her experience as a leader across multiple industries, including retail, charity, consumer services and fintech, makes her a natural choice as a guest to speak about pressure and how she handles it. During our time together, she shares the power of a pen and a piece of paper, what her conversations with herself look like as she heads into high challenge situations, and what it was like to be the first Head Girl in a boys' boarding school.