The Charity CEO Podcast

“To be able to say, in a small way, I moved the needle to make (someone else’s) life better, is actually something that money cant buy...”Leonor Stjepic is Chief Executive of the Montessori Group.Montessori education was created by Dr Maria Montessori over 100 years ago. Leonor talks about Montessori education being an approach rather than a curriculum, providing the framework and structure, within which the child has the freedom to learn. The aim is to prepare children for the current realities of the world they are growing up, whilst instilling them with core values such as curiosity, kindness and collaboration.We talk about leadership and Leonor shares the 3 qualities she thinks are most important in a leader: being authentic, having empathy and being ready with a Plan A, B, C & Z! We also talk about the new Montessori Leadership Programme that overlays Montessori values on to a leadership development framework for Board and Executive level leaders. Leonor shares personal stories from her vast leadership experience and we discuss the #KindnessMatters campaign: the organisation’s quest to share One Million Stories of Kindness. Recorded July 2021.Guest Biography Leonor Stjepic is Chief Executive of the Montessori Group, as well as an award-winning social entrepreneur. The first part of Leonor’s career was spent in the private sector in several senior roles and then running her own consultancy.  In 1994 Leonor decided to volunteer to work with children and women who were victims of the war in the Balkans. Upon returning to London, she then transitioned into the charity sector. Leonor has served as CEO of the Galapagos Conservation Trust and CEO of the medical research institute, RAFT. During her time at RAFT, Leonor created a life sciences company, Smart Matrix Ltd, and was at its helm for five years, whilst concurrently serving as CEO of RAFT.Leonor sits on the Advisory Board of Global Thinkers Forum and the Steering Committee of Karanga.Linkshttps://montessori-group.com/  https://www.edentreeim.com/insights/edentree-sponsor-the-charity-ceo-podcast-season-3 

“(For leaders) it’s about being able to ask the right question at the right time… that’s classic talent nurturing behaviour… trying to help everyone on your team become the best versions of themselves. The trick is to help create the space for us all to reflect on what really motivates each one of us in our unique context, giving us all the courage and the tools to make small, incremental but powerful changes towards it.”Sharath Jeevan is one of the world’s leading experts on ‘intrinsic motivation’ and author of the book, Intrinsic: A Manifesto to Reignite Our Inner Drive.Having recently founded the social purpose business, Intrinsic Labs, Sharath is on a mission to help leaders solve deep motivational challenges. In his book, Sharath lays out a framework and strategies for leaders to align their organisations and their teams around purpose, thereby tapping into that inner or intrinsic motivation that drives us all. We explore the role of leaders in creating space for their teams to co-create solutions and to serve as nurturers of talent and impact. And we discuss the power of creating a Personal Mission Statement. Recorded Aug 2021.Guest BiographySharath Jeevan is one of the world’s leading experts on ‘intrinsic motivation’ and is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Intrinsic Labs, which supports organisations to embed motivation principles in their work. He has previously held senior roles in companies such as eBay and Booz & Co, as well as in government and the social sector.Sharath was the Founder and CEO of STiR Education, an international education NGO, established in 2012. STiR scaled from 12 schools in 2012, to 35,000 schools across India, Uganda and Indonesia in 2021, impacting over 200,000 teachers and 7 million children.  Sharath also founded Teaching Leaders, a leadership programme for inner-city schools in the UK, which was expanded to all eligible schools by the UK government and replicated in 8 US cities with the support of the Obama Administration.  His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Economist, NPR, CNN, CNBC, The Hindustan Times and The Times of India. An accomplished speaker, Sharath has addressed large audiences at the Royal Festival Hall in London, Lego Ideas Festival in Denmark, TEDx Shiv Nadar Conference in Delhi and WISE Summit in Qatar.Sharath holds degrees from Cambridge and Oxford Universities and from INSEAD. He was awarded an honorary doctorate for his contributions to the field, and served on the steering group of the Education Commission, the pre-eminent global body founded by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.  Sharath’s first book “Intrinsic: A Manifesto to Reignite Our Inner Drive” was published in multiple countries in September 2021.Sharath was awarded an OBE in the 2022 New Year's Honours for services to education. Linkshttps://www.intrinsic-labs.com/sharathjeevan Book: Intrinsic: A Manifesto to Reignite Our Inner Drive: UK: https://amzn.to/3kib5wJ Global audience: https://linktr.ee/intrinsicamazonThis episode was sponsored by EdenTree Investment Management.https://www.edentreeim.com/insights/edentree-sponsor-the-charity-ceo-podcast-season-3 

“The BSA (Black Swimming Association) is set up as a bridge… building bridges into disenfranchised and disengaged communities.”Alice Dearing made history at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as the first black female swimmer to represent Team GB at an Olympic Games. Danielle Obe is Chair of the Black Swimming Association, a charity that she co-founded along with Alice. The Black Swimming Association (BSA) is a non-profit organisation set up to diversify the world of aquatics through education, advocacy, support and research. In England currently 95% of black adults and 80% of black children don’t swim. Furthermore, black children are 3 times more likely to drown than white children (Source: Swim England) The BSA is on a mission to change this. To break down barriers that African, Caribbean and Asian communities face in aquatics and to highlight the importance of learning to swim, as an essential and invaluable life saving skill.Alice and Danielle, through the BSA, are determined to make aquatics safer and more accessible to their communities, by inspiring and facilitating participation and inclusion for all.Recorded Sept 2021.Guest Biographies Alice Dearing was 24 years old when she made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Originally from Birmingham, she learned to swim at 5 years old and joined competitive swimming at 8 years old; eventually progressing to elite level. In Tokyo she became the first black woman to represent Team GB in a swimming event at an Olympic Games.Alice has a passion for making swimming accessible to all, which led to her co-founding the Black Swimming Association (BSA) in 2020. Since then she has become a voice for black people in swimming, seeking to promote the life saving benefits, as well as to increase diversity and inclusion in the sport.Danielle Obe is Co-founder and Chair of the Black Swimming Association (the BSA). Under her leadership, the BSA has gone from a simple concept to an internationally recognised organisation, positioned to tackle inherent systemic and institutional inequalities, break barriers to participation, and drive change for more ethnic diversity in aquatics.Danielle's background is in Business Change & Integration Management, with a wealth of experience across the private, public and voluntary sectors. She is also an entrepreneur, mother of three avid swimmers, and inventor of Nemes, a revolutionary tool designed to solve a significant barrier to aquatics - the issue of water and chemical damage to hair and hairstyles, when swimming. Linkswww.alicedearing.comTwitter: @alicedearingx https://thebsa.co.ukThis episode was sponsored by EdenTree Investment Management.https://www.edentreeim.com/insights/edentree-sponsor-the-charity-ceo-podcast-season-3 

“The partnership puts young people at the centre and not brand … we should all be working together to achieve Mission, rather than brand awareness or the size of our turnover or how many staff we employ.”Frank Fletcher is CEO of The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. The Trust supports young people with cancer, engaging them in outdoor activities, to help re-build their confidence and their lives, after cancer. We talk about how the Trust pivoted to a Virtual Summer during 2020 and what it has learnt during the pandemic in order to better support young people recovering from cancer.We discuss the Trust’s newly formed partnership with Teenage Cancer Trust and CLIC Sargent (now Young Lives vs Cancer) - a fantastic example of leaving brand differences at the door to truly focus on what is best for young people. Frank shares his learnings on establishing this formal partnership and strongly encourages other charity leaders to follow suit. Recorded May 2021.Guest Biography Frank Fletcher has been CEO of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust since 2005.The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is a national charity that inspires young people aged 8-24 to believe in a brighter future, living through and beyond cancer. Supporting young people through sailing, outdoor activities and virtual year-round engagement, the Trust helps young people feel more positive, accepted, confident and independent, as they look ahead to re-establish their place in the world.Before his appointment at the Trust, Frank worked at the UK Sailing Academy, another youth charity utilising the power of the outdoors to transform young people’s lives.Unsurprisingly, outdoor pursuits feature heavily in Frank’s personal life; he enjoys walking, paddle-boarding, cycling, swimming, and running. Other spare time is spent relaxing in his allotment, and with his family on the Isle of Wight.Linkshttps://www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org/ 

“Providing support for today and hope for tomorrow.”Baroness Delyth Morgan is the CEO of Breast Cancer Now. Delyth has been leading the charge in the breast cancer space for many years. She is widely credited with achieving consolidation in the sector, having presided over the merger of Breast Cancer Campaign and Breakthrough Breast Cancer in 2015 and the more recent merger of Breast Cancer Now and Breast Cancer Care in 2019. We discuss the significant progress that has been made in research, treatment and care for breast cancer patients. However, there is still a way to go before Breast Cancer Now can achieve its vision of a future where everyone with breast cancer lives. We talk about the impact of Brexit on the medical research sector in the UK; and how pandemic-induced delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment, is costing lives. This conversation is full of Delyth’s wisdom and insights, as she shares her experiences and advice on leadership, on influencing, on collaborating and most important of all, on not giving up hope. Recorded April 2021.Guest Biography Delyth Morgan is the Chief Executive of Breast Cancer Now.Delyth spent 10 years at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, as the charity’s first Chief Executive, from 1996, before which she worked at Shelter, Workplace Nurseries Campaign and Asthma UK. After becoming a life peer she was appointed to Government in 2007, when she served as Children’s Minister for the Department of Children Schools and Families, Minister for Intellectual Property and Quality at the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills and Government spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions in the House of Lords. In 2011, Delyth returned to the field of breast cancer at the helm of Breast Cancer Campaign before going on to become Chief Executive of Breast Cancer Now formed when the charity first merged with Breakthrough Breast Cancer back in spring 2015.Delyth currently sits in the House of Lords as an independent peer. She is a Fellow of University College London and Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Cancer Research and Cardiff University. She is Patron of Pancreatic Cancer UK and The Sheila McKechnie Foundation and Honorary President of Cancer 52. She also chairs the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI).Linkshttps://breastcancernow.org/about-us 

“Being your authentic self makes you a happier person and a better leader.”Helen Moulinos is the Chief Executive of POhWER, Britain’s largest human rights advocacy charity. POhWER was established in 1996 by a group of people with disabilities who were fighting social injustice and challenges in their lives. Today POhWER still operates with these roots at the heart of everything it does: supporting marginalised, vulnerable and socially excluded people through its charitable work. In 2020, POhWER reached over 400,000 people nationally, ensuring their rights were upheld and they were empowered to make independent choices.In this episode we talk about rights-led empowerment, as well as advocacy and rights in the particular context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the controversial ‘vaccine passports’ (or COVID Status Certification) and how during lockdown a number of groups have seen their human rights eroded. Helen also shares the story of her own leadership journey and insights on transitioning in to the charity sector from investment banking. Recorded April 2021.Guest Biography Helen Moulinos is the Chief Executive of POhWER. Over a 27 year career, Helen has held senior positions in the charity sector for Marie Curie, Stonewall, Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society and The Children’s Society; and in the private sector for Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC.Helen has always been an active human rights advocate. She has campaigned for change in Human Rights, HIV/AIDS community, LGBT+ Rights and Mental Health over the last 30 years in the USA and United Kingdom. Her passion is to empower people to live independent lives, to embrace the power of diversity and persuade powerful institutions to drive societal change towards a fairer equitable society.   Helen lives with depression and dyslexia. In 2001 she was caught up in the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York, from which she inherited hearing loss and PTSD. Helen has lived in Britain since 2001 and calls North London her home. She is a keen cook, avid traveller, and aspiring yogi.Linkshttps://www.pohwer.net/  Survey on Human Rights Attitudes and Opinions:https://www.pohwer.net/pohwer-survey-british-human-rights 

“(As a leader) if your head isn’t above the parapet, it’s in the sand”Kate Lee is CEO of Alzheimer’s Society. In this interview we talk about how the organisation supports people with dementia and her own experience of dementia with her mother, who has been living with the disease for over 16 years.We also explore the principle of Radical Candor, as introduced in the book of the same name by Kim Scott, and that in order to be effective as leaders, we need to care deeply and be honest. Giving honest and constructive feedback is key to achieving this. Kate reflects on her own emotional resilience and ability to recharge. She also shares her belief that given the enormous emotional toll of the past year, what is needed now is for everyone to embrace kindness and compassion. Recorded April 2021.Guest Biography Kate Lee joined Alzheimer’s Society as Chief Executive in March 2020. Prior to this role, she was CEO at children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent for four years, during which time she rebranded the organisation, setting new values and building a culture of total team working. She successfully lobbied Government to fund the funerals of all children under the age of 18 and founded the Children and Young People’s Cancer Coalition. She also recently joined the Board of Trustees of World Child Cancer.She was previously CEO of Myton Hospice, an adult palliative care charity in Coventry and Warwickshire, where she worked with many individuals with dementia and their families. Before that Kate spent 16 years at British Red Cross leading UK service delivery, before becoming Director of UK and International Strategy and Deputy CEO in 2005. Kate is a proud Yorkshire woman and lives in Coventry with her husband and two teenage children. She loves gardening and tea.Linkshttps://www.alzheimers.org.uk/ RANKED NO. 6 IN TOP 25 CHARITY PODCASTS TO FOLLOW IN 2021 (May 2021 edition)https://blog.feedspot.com/charity_podcasts/ 

“Despite all the discrimination legislation that exists and despite the equality, diversity and inclusion that we are (all) talking about, the needs of disabled people are not routinely met...”From using augmented reality to help dementia patients make a cup of tea, to building electric powered wheelchairs (the Wizzybug!) for physically disabled children, Designability creates practical products to enable disabled people live with greater independence.Catharine Brown, CEO of Designability, shares with us her charity’s work to improve the lives of the UK’s 14 million disabled people. Creating products based on principles of Design Thinking, the organisation puts the needs of disabled people at the centre of the user experience. Designability’s vision is to ensure that every disabled person has the products they want, to live the life that they choose. We talk about the leadership challenges and benefits of flexible working in a post-COVID world. Catharine shares her personal experiences encountering in-flexible working practices as a young mother and how even today the ‘motherhood penalty’ still affects women and their career choices. However, that certainly did not deter Catharine in her pursuit of doing ‘important work’.Recorded March 2021.Guest Biography Catharine Brown is the CEO of Designability, a charity which creates and provides products to enable disabled people to live with greater independence. Catharine joined Designability in 2019 and created a new strategy for the organisation, helping people with primarily physical disabilities with their mobility needs, as well as expanding the charity’s reach.Before her role at Designability, Catharine’s career has been in two halves – firstly in the commercial sector in marketing and leadership roles for brands including Selfridges, Marks & Spencer and The Economist; and then in the charity sector where she held Interim Director posts for five national charities, as well as provided consultancy services for charities on fundraising, marketing and leadership strategy projects.Catharine has been a Trustee of the Bath Festivals and has served on the Board of ActionAid UK since 2015.Linkshttps://designability.org.uk/  

“Great Chief Executives... they are not (necessarily) the innovators; they might be the change-makers... its about creating the conditions for the team to thrive and for the movement to thrive...”Angela McConville is the CEO of the National Childbirth Trust, also known as the NCT Charity. In this episode we explore how NCT has created a grass-roots, volunteer-led movement providing services for expectant and new parents. Angela describes how embracing the power of digital during the pandemic actually led to a huge increase in the organisation’s reach and in the uptake of its services. NCT campaigns for change and we discuss some key campaigns the charity has led, including mental health support and provision for new mothers (#HiddenHalf). We also spotlight the important work carried out by MBRRACE-UK on improving maternal mortality rates and outcomes for Black mothers. We discuss community organising and how NCT has seen a paradigm shift in the way it empowers and engages its volunteers, as a result of the pandemic. Angela holds that organisations need to do more to remove barriers to volunteering and to really harness the power of ‘hyper-local’ community engagement.Angela also shares personal stories juggling leadership and motherhood and life.Recorded March 2021.Guest Biography Angela McConville is CEO of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), the UK’s largest charity for new parents. Angela joined NCT in January 2020, having previously been Chief Executive of a number of charities working in community development, social and economic regeneration and heritage management.After an early career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Angela has spent her working life in charities and not-for-profit enterprises. Her experience ranges from managing a leading visitor attraction and world heritage site, to creating a new strategy for one of London’s largest community development trusts. Angela has also served on a number of not-for-profit Boards, including The London Apprenticeship Company, City of Westminster College and the London Transport Museum.Angela grew up in Northern Ireland and found inspiration in the work and efforts of her family and local community to forge opportunity and create provision, in the face of social and political turbulence. She studied at Trinity College Dublin and Henley Business School, and also spent a year studying at the University of Paris, Jussieu.Angela now lives in Oxfordshire with her young family.Linkshttps://www.nct.org.uk/ https://www.nct.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/hidden-half-campaign https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/assets/downloads/mbrrace-uk/reports/maternal-report-2020/MBRRACE-UK_Maternal_Report_Dec_2020_v10.pdf  

“COVID-19 has been this reset moment... it has really forced us to pause, to take a breath and to re-evaluate... what do we want to leave behind after the pandemic and what do we want to take forward.”Kirsty Schneeberger was CEO of Synchronicity Earth between December 2019 and March 2021, helping to steer the organisation through some of the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Synchronicity Earth is a biodiversity and conservation funder. Its vision is to create a world where all life is valued, celebrated and flourishing. In this episode we explore how planetary health and human health are interconnected and how the COVID-19 pandemic has served as a great ‘re-set’. We talk about climate change, climate leadership and bio-cultural diversity. Kirsty reveals her personal experiences as a youth activist, determined to save the planet.We discuss the importance of carving out space and time to focus on our personal well-being and the role nature plays in this. Kirsty holds that emotional resilience and nourishing oneself is the key to effective leadership.Recorded February 2021.Guest Biography Kirsty Schneeberger was CEO of Synchronicity Earth between December 2019 and March 2021, helping to steer the organisation through some of the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to that Kirsty was the Head of Strategic Partnerships at the environmental law organisation ClientEarth. Kirsty’s experience ranges from working on the Paris climate process resulting in the Paris Agreement, coordinating environment and development stakeholder engagement for the Rio +20 summit, managing a climate portfolio at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and leading the youth engagement programme for the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change. Kirsty is a qualified lawyer and holds the roles of Chair of the UK Environmental Law Association, and Trustee of the Environmental Law Foundation. Born in Zimbabwe, Kirsty spent her formative years surrounded by nature and has spent her career striving to conserve the environment and address climate change. She was awarded an MBE in 2010 for services to environmental conservation.Linkshttps://www.synchronicityearth.org/ ‘The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review’: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-the-economics-of-biodiversity-the-dasgupta-review