The Fiftyfaces Podcast

In Christine's own words: "Horses form a person from within and foster the development of courage, humility, quickness of judgement, self-discipline, self-control and focus".In this latest episode of our love series we revisit one of our most popular podcast guests from 2020.  Christine Chow is a sustainability leader, who will assume the role of Head of Active Ownership and Managing Director at Credit Suisse Asset Management effective April 1, 2023.  She has been a passionate horsewoman for many years, practicing dressage as well as a range of other activities and I wanted to capture what she loves about horses and how it informs her professional life.What a rich conversation ensued - Christine not only meticulously nurtures her passion - she makes notes about the learnings and insights it provides her.  We first speak in detail about dressage, its ingredients and how to work optimally with the horse. We speak about the importance of a strong core and a light touch and the partnership with the animal that is so collaborative and satisfying.  We talk about the innate characteristics of different horses and some of their limitations and how communicating even through a different language can yield such results.  There is a natural parallel here to stewardship and engagement as a light touch but strong core conviction is so important there too.  There is a need to be iterative, responsive and to recognize limitations there too when dealing with companies, but equally to try to speak the same language.We turn then to another recent trip Christine took, on an Idaho cattle drive, where we learned about regenerative agriculture and the adaptive grazing techniques that is restoring agricultural land there. Finally we hear about a corporate initiative that Christine has worked on, in which the outside interests and passions of a group of colleagues are collated in order to promote inclusion, better team building and better mutual understanding. Not unlike this podcast series in fact.

John Harney is a senior consultant with AON where he focuses on helping pension scheme sponsors to manage pension risks and maximize potential upside. He is based in the Oxford area. I came across John through mutual friends in the industry and when I was drawn in particular to his LinkedIn posts that mentioned his joy in cooking and baking.This was initially very promising for our inaugural "Love" series, but what we discovered in our conversation was a veritable "Layer Cake" of a career. We start with John's upbringing on an organic farm in Ireland and the serendipity that brought him to studying to be an actuary. We hear about his first professional role, and the mentors that nurtured him.We move then to a new beginning of sorts - his return to university to study theology and music - both early passions for him and delve into the insights and perspective that those pursuits taught him.  He then "returned to the fold" of his pensions work, and brought with him an additional richness that that further study had afforded him.  We speak about how rare it is to have managers who truly understand and appreciate the depth that further study can bring, and how we should all seek to be that manager.We turn then to John's love of cooking and baking, and his LinkedIn post citing Nigella Lawson that drew me to him. We speak about food's power to heal, to allow one to destress and see perspective in life too - whether that be the incremental improvement that every iteration of a recipe can bring and the need to park "perfection" sometimes. John lets us in on his specialty dish - a "croaf" . . listen in and all will be revealed.Overall, this is a podcast filled with joy, wisdom and perspective, being released early as a bonus to celebrate Love in February 2022, and it will also form part of Series 2 of 2023. 

Caroline Kenyon, broadcaster and serial entrepreneur in the world of food, founder of The Food Awards Company and co-founder of the radio company Food FM.  I invited Caroline to sit down with me to talk about her love of food and how she nurtures it and cultivates it in others.We start with her upbringing in London and how she moved to study law at Cambridge but found she didn't have the mindset to work as a lawyer.  Instead her creative instincts led her to journalism and eventually editing. We talk about how her initial "cheekiness" helped her to find a break in the competitive world of journalism, and how very humble beginnings led to the a flourishing Food PR company after she moved to Lincolnshire.Caroline's career now celebrates every aspect of food - through The Food Awards Company and Food FM radio, and we hear about how we are on the cusp of a global food revolution, where the provenance of food, the importance of food and new innovation in the world of food is creating so much buzz.Caroline talks about the origins of each of these businesses, and how her experience of Covid and looking after her elderly mother saw her seeing food as a healer and a source of joy.  We hear about the innovations that are currently exciting her and how food can be a source of better mental health and better overall wellness.You can find out more about the Food Awards Company on https://www.thefoodawardscompany.co.uk creating and about FoodFM at https://foodfmradio.com

Richard Okello is CEO and Co-founder at Sango Capital, an investment firm he founded 10 years ago that has a particular focus on investing in Africa.  He previously was a principal at Makena Capital, and prior to that in a series of roles at Bridgewater Associates. He sits on several fund advisory boards, portfolio company boards as well as the boards of the African Leadership Foundation and Human Horizons Foundation.Our conversation starts with reflections on Richard's extraordinary upbringing in Uganda, where as a young boy he started arbitraging the price of chickens at 12 years old, then campaigned for and succeeded in the abolition of caning in his school.  His predisposition for adventure continued when he attended Swarthmore College in the US and took on an extra strenuous workload, and then the demands on his time were amplified when he became the legal guardian to his three young sisters, when still in his teens himself.  Juggling these extraordinary duties and his new duties as a parent led to a zealous career focus and he found a welcome home in Bridgewater Associates, which was his first foray into the world of finance of investing.We spend some time discussing the work environment there at Bridgewater, which is known for its radical candor, and learn how this was a good fit for him.  We turn then to his move into the newly founded Makena Capital, an outsourced CIO, and how this was the foundation for his interest in investing in Africa.We discuss Sango Capital then and its origins, and how the opportunity set presents in Africa and how ESG considerations are woven in from the outset. Finally we turn to his reflections on his career so far, how his faith grounds him and where he expects the opportunities to invest in Africa will lie in the years ahead.Series 1 of 2023 is brought to you with the kind support of HarbourView Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused on opportunities in the entertainment and media space. Founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, HarbourView is a long-term investor in content with an industrial platform built to protect, optimize, and enhance the legacy of premium IP. With a vision of becoming a true stakeholder in the global value of content, HarbourView believes creators deserve a seat at the table creatively and economically, owning their narrative and maximizing value for all. https://www.harbourviewequity.com/In celebration of our partnership with HarbourView Equity Partners we have selected a separate piece of music for each of the podcasts in this series.  We hope you enjoy them.

Laura Sage is CEO at Chill Anywhere, and Co-Founder of the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation.  She has previously held a series of advisory and business development roles at different financial institutions including hedge funds. Our conversation starts with her financial career, and the grueling travel schedule that accompanied it.  She describes her pivot to wellness and what led her to think about a solution for employing a holistic approach to health and wellness in the workplace.That business was Chill Anywhere, which was initially conceived as an accessible meditation studio which would target busy professionals.  That was of course, derailed by Covid, and we speak about the pivot that Chill undertook then evolving into an online-based service, including an App, corporate programs and hybrid delivery solutions.  We hear about the evolution going on and the awakening of the importance of wellness to mental health in the workplace and beyond.Laura's other passion project is the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation and we speak about the work of that foundation and the awareness and education that that furthers.There is more information about Chill Anywhere here: https://www.chillanywhere.com/about and a taster video from that on our Fiftyfaces Hub here: https://www.fiftyfaceshub.com/chill-pause-for-your-mental-wellbeing/.This podcast is being released as a bonus to coincide with the month of February 2023 and our love and wellness series. It will also form part of Series 2 of the 2023 Fiftyfaces Podcast.

Sara Bonesteel is Chief Investment Officer- International Insurance at Prudential Financial, located in the NYC area.  She was previously a managing director in Bear Stearns and JP Morgan. She is an Independent Director of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC and holds a number of other Board and Investment Committee Roles. Our conversation starts with Sara's upbringing in Michigan and then her high school and later college debate activities - this was a discipline in which she excelled, and she and her debate partner were the first female debate team at Georgetown.  We speak about the skills required in debate - which include meticulous preparation and performance training and how that prepared her for a professional career later.  We move then to her career in finance and how it started via a brief spell as a paralegal in a law firm which appeared "Dickensian" in its stuffiness, a spell which led to a shift to finance. Sara then layered business training onto her liberal arts background and we cycle through her career that has culminated, to date, in her CIO role at a major US insurer.  We discuss the issues on her mind today, the challenges and opportunities in investing across a checkered fixed income landscape and how ESG factors are slowly trickling in to the US marketplace albeit at a slower pace than elsewhere around the world.Among Sara's extensive other interests are her board roles and we ask the typical question as to what makes an effective Board Director or Chair, particularly on an Investment Committee.  We then explore her love of chamber music and playing the viola in particular and spend a little time considering the "middle voice" of this instrument.  The "middle voice" and its important in creating harmony, bridging differences and providing ballast is a good metaphor for the business world too.Finally we end with a discussion of Sara's personal reflections and people who inspire her, and one of them is her husband who founded and is deeply committed to charity that recycles and repurposes old computer equipment for sending into under-privileged homes. Laptop Upcycle can be found here - you may wish to check it out: Http://laptopupcycle.orgSeries 1 of 2023 is brought to you with the kind support of HarbourView Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused on opportunities in the entertainment and media space. Founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, HarbourView is a long-term investor in content with an industrial platform built to protect, optimize, and enhance the legacy of premium IP. With a vision of becoming a true stakeholder in the global value of content, HarbourView believes creators deserve a seat at the table creatively and economically, owning their narrative and maximizing value for all. https://www.harbourviewequity.com/In celebration of our partnership with HarbourView Equity Partners we have selected a separate piece of music for each of the podcasts in this series.  We hope you enjoy them.

Jonathan Hollow is a writer and commentator on consumer education and protection.  His recent book, How to Fund the Life you Want, distills learning on financial education and evidence-based investing into a manual for pensions and investing.  He is a charity trustee and also doing a part time MA in Ancient History.  His former roles include leadership positions in the Money Advice Service and Money and Pensions Service. Our conversation starts with Jonathan's education, which included a spell in Russia during the 1990s, and his extensive experience with writing and the importance of a plain English approach.  We move then to what inspired him to pursue an MA in ancient history and some of the parallels that is is drawing between ancient Rome and its collapse and the scenarios playing out in geo-politics. We move then to the motivation for writing his latest book "How to Fund the Life you Want", and the gap in financial literacy that exists when it comes to savings, investments and pensions.  Some of this he attributes to a low level of engagement by individuals, in part because the area of pensions and investing is just not considered that interesting. He talks about the different sections of the book including the need to be mindful of Sharks and Charlatans as well as the importance of choosing a financial adviser that is evidence based. We also discuss the different experience of women as pensioners and investor and note the wealth gap that persists well into retirement. Jonathan's new book is a collaboration with Robin Powell, who writes the Evidence Based Investor Blog and is featured on the Fiftyfaces Podcast here: https://www.fiftyfaceshub.com/robin-powell-evidence-based-and-value-driven-myth-busting-across-the-investment-landscape/ There is more information about How to Fund the Life you Want here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/how-to-fund-the-life-you-want-9781399404600/

Dede Eyesan is Founder and CEO of Jenga Investment Partners, a firm that invests globally across growth, turnaround and cyclical equity opportunities. Our conversation starts with his home life and a particularly early introduction to investing.  This sowed the seeds for a passion for stocks, investing and research and what ultimately led him to launch his own investment firm - Jenga Investment Partners - at an unusually young age. Our conversation focuses then on his passion for stocks, and is quite sweeping in its scope.  We cover his concentrated style, the type of stocks that appeal to him, and his passion for writing up detailed pieces of research and sharing them - open source style - with his followers and investors. We move then to the thornier concept of ESG integration and what it means in practice. Dede has had a range of diverse mentors from many different parts of the life, some known to him and some that he admired from afar.  He shares their inspiring stories here in the spirit of sharing wisdom. This podcast also appears in our Nigerian Voices series and is rich in its discussion of the energy of Nigerian life and the impact of Dede's upbringing on his current perspective in life. Series 1 of 2023 is brought to you with the kind support of HarbourView Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused on opportunities in the entertainment and media space. Founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, HarbourView is a long-term investor in content with an industrial platform built to protect, optimize, and enhance the legacy of premium IP. With a vision of becoming a true stakeholder in the global value of content, HarbourView believes creators deserve a seat at the table creatively and economically, owning their narrative and maximizing value for all. https://www.harbourviewequity.com/In celebration of our partnership with HarbourView Equity Partners we have selected a separate piece of music for each of the podcasts in this series.  We hope you enjoy them.

Stuart Heatley is Managing Director at Capita Pensions where he is a Business Transformation and Growth Leader.  He previously held a series of similar roles at AON and Scottish Life.  Based in Edinburgh, Stuart is passionate about creating access to the financial services industry for people of all backgrounds, and is a Mentor with MCR Pathways. Our conversation starts with Stuart's own unconventional path, where he turned his back on a typical university path and followed his passions for music (playing bass in a band) and sport before finding a role in an insurance company in Edinburgh.  He joined at "the bottom of the ladder" and spent his early days splitting paper and delivering it around the firm and then moved into a junior administrator role in pensions.  His career progressed from then to leadership roles, and the rest might be said to be history.  Stuart talks about the role that listening, talking to colleagues, stepping up for new opportunities to take responsibilities and other inter-personal skills played in his career progression. Stuart talks about the importance of being good at problem-solving vs. problem-finding and when discussing what is at the forefront of his mind now as he helps clients navigate the environment for pensions, he mentions the role of digitization as well as the problem of getting beneficiaries to engage. We turn then to talk about a topic that has been a driver for Stuart throughout his career, which is about offering opportunities in the workplace to "cv-less" talent, that has not come through the normal qualification channels. He notes that there is a talent pool that has been missed for a long time, and details initiatives he has put in place in his workplaces to address this over the years. He cites the importance of support and encouragement throughout one's career, especially in the early years and the role played by mentoring and coaching.Some of the highs of Stuart's career derived working with great teams, and we discuss the importance of this and how sometimes leaving a great team can be a low point, but is the normal progression of our work-lives. Series 1 of 2023 is brought to you with the kind support of HarbourView Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused on opportunities in the entertainment and media space. Founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, HarbourView is a long-term investor in content with an industrial platform built to protect, optimize, and enhance the legacy of premium IP. With a vision of becoming a true stakeholder in the global value of content, HarbourView believes creators deserve a seat at the table creatively and economically, owning their narrative and maximizing value for all. https://www.harbourviewequity.com/In celebration of our partnership with HarbourView Equity Partners we have selected a separate piece of music for each of the podcasts in this series.  We hope you enjoy them.

Jessica Goedtel is a Financial Planner and Owner at Pavilion Financial Planning in Allentown Pennsylvania.  She works in particular for tech workers and sex workers and I came across her profile when she presented a robust challenge to a popular personal finance book highlighting its lack of female representation in its case studies. Our conversation starts with Jessica's roots in studying ancient history and archaeology and why she ultimately shied away from that career but still took lessons she took from there to her next act, which was in financial planning.  Attention to detail, patience, and a focus on the long haul were among the transferable lessons. We speak about her focus at Pavilion Financial Planning which is in serving a client base of tech workers and sex workers, and tends to include many women.  We talk about how being a woman in financial planning is important to serve a wide base of clients, and some of the issues that are at the forefront of her mind today. We move then to another aspect of financial planning which is the representation in media of women as protagonists in wealth management stories.  Jessica analyzes a popular personal finance book for case studies of women and how they are portrayed and finds it sadly skewed and lacking.We end with stories of lessons learned through being an entrepreneur and in working in an industry that is constantly evolving.  Series 1 of 2023 is brought to you with the kind support of HarbourView Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused on opportunities in the entertainment and media space. Founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, HarbourView is a long-term investor in content with an industrial platform built to protect, optimize, and enhance the legacy of premium IP. With a vision of becoming a true stakeholder in the global value of content, HarbourView believes creators deserve a seat at the table creatively and economically, owning their narrative and maximizing value for all. https://www.harbourviewequity.com/In celebration of our partnership with HarbourView Equity Partners we have selected a separate piece of music for each of the podcasts in this series.  We hope you enjoy them