Leadership Insights

In our Leadership Insights podcast, we access the workable wisdom of seasoned CEOs, thought leaders and business experts, whose knowledge can help you to become a more effective leader, and improve your company culture. This new episode features our conversation with Chloe Combi, best-selling author, global speaker, futurist, researcher and consultant.  She is a leading expert on Generation Z (and now Gen A), writing and broadcasting extensively on this subject. Her expertise, research and patented data has her in huge demand with global companies, brands and governments. She is THE go-to consultant for senior leaders who want to better understand their Gen Z colleagues.  Recently, she shared her invaluable insights at our Vital Few: Part Two programme. In this conversation with School for CEOs' Dave Wright, Chloe talks about:The most common myths and misconceptions about Gen ZThe real reason why Gen Z might be depressed or unmotivatedThe best approach to hybrid workingHow the four generations can mentor and

Welcome back to our podcast, where we tap into the minds of successful CEOs, leaders and eminent thinkers.This new episode features our conversation with Jason Barrett, CEO of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Having joined the Tattoo team as Chief Operating Officer in 2020, Jason took over the role of Chief Executive in December 2023.Originally from Colorado, Jason joined the Tattoo with over 10 years’ experience in the hospitality industry and has held various Chief Executive and Management roles in the US. Prior to this, Jason had a distinguished career in the United States Marine Corps. He served 20 years as an infantry officer where he held leadership positions, teaching leadership as well as being involved in high-level strategic planning and on active service with the UK Royal Marines. In this conversation with School for CEOs' David Wright, Jason opens up about:His bold vision for the future of the TattooCommanding a 1000-man unit in the Marine Corps and supporting them through PTSDHis empathic and

We're thrilled to share our 30th episode - this time featuring Jeremy Snape, a former international cricketer and coach. Jeremy is CEO and Founder of Sporting Edge, the digital platform that fuses compelling stories from world class performance with psychological research to create inspiring learning environments for individuals and teams. He is also a valued member of the School for CEOs Faculty.In this conversation with School for CEOs' David Wright, Jeremy shares his journey from playing cricket for England, to becoming a revered sports psychologist and thought leader. He also shares his insights on:Turning his greatest ‘failures’ into catalysts for successSelf-sabotage in career defining momentsBreaking free from a limiting career identityUsing purpose and humility to steer through great adversityWhy resilience and reinvention matter more than natural talentDiscover Jeremy's work:Attend our Vital Few: Part One programme and enjoy Jeremy's session on resilience and performanceListen to Jeremy’s podcast Ins

Welcome back to our podcast, where we tap into the minds of successful CEOs, leaders and eminent thinkers.In this episode, we're joined by Nick Mackenzie, CEO at Greene King - a leading pub chain in the UK, with over 2,700 pubs, restaurants and hotels across the country. In this conversation with School for CEOs' Gemma Sole, Nick shares his experience of leading a major hospitality company of 40,000 employees through the pandemic. He reflects on the coaches and mentors who have been instrumental in his journey to becoming CEO, and how our own Reverse Mentoring programme has changed him as a person. He also shares his commitment to creating a more diverse and inclusive organisation, prompted by the company connections with slavery in the 1800s.

Mary Spillane is one of School for CEOs' longest serving Faculty members and delivers a very entertaining and impactful session on 'Managing Your Brand' at our Vital Few programme for senior leaders.In this new podcast episode with our Business Development Manager David Wright, Mary draws upon her expertise and lived experience to guide leaders on how to:Challenge themselves and take the next career leapConvey confidence in a new senior roleConfront societal limits to build success on their own termsBalance authenticity with strategy in stakeholder relationshipsBounce back from burnout and personal crisesStay relevant and in tuneMary is an executive coach and expert in communications, business development, performance improvement, and personal branding. She works to bring the best out of senior business executives and CEOs in Industry, Financial and Professional Services. She is used as a speech, business pitch and blog writer by these clients.Mary began her career as a special assistant to Presidents Jimmy C

Joanne Lipman is a pioneering journalist and best-selling author.Beginning her career at The Wall Street Journal, she quickly rose to the rank of Deputy Managing Editor, the first woman to attain that post. There she supervised coverage that earned three Pulitzer prizes.She later became Chief Content Officer at Gannett, and was Editor in Chief of USA Today and USA Today Network, also overseeing 109 metro newspapers, more than 3,000 journalists and a further three Pulitzer prizes. She is also a frequent television commentator, appearing regularly across major networks.This interview explores her latest book, Next!: The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work, as Joanne unpicks how individuals navigate through the personal and professional challenges and triumphs of pursuing a purposeful life and career.

Tim Marshall is a leading authority on foreign affairs with more than 30 years of reporting experience across 40 different countries. He was diplomatic editor at Sky News, and before that was working for the BBC and LBC/IRN radio. He joins the podcast to share his view on the importance of geography, drawing on insight from his books, including Sunday Times best-seller Prisoners of Geography, and also recently published Power of Geography (find these alongside Tim's other publications on https://eandtbooks.com/authors/tim-marshall/). All leaders are constrained by geography. Listen to this episode to find out how

Having joined the family business at the tender age of 23, Jonathan Warburton is part of the fifth generation to lead Waburtons Family Bakery. In this episode, he shares insights into the differences between a family-owned business and a large PLC. We discuss succession, sustainability, the curious investments of his father and uncles, working alongside Hollywood actors and more.

Samantha Barber has extensive leadership experience both in the UK and Internationally. After a successful early career in Brussels where she worked as a policy advisor, she first became a Chief Executive at the age of 30. Today she is a Non-Executive Director and mentor and she sits on the Boards of global energy company Iberdrola and Scottish Water, and she chairs the internationally renowned Scottish Ensemble. In this episode, Samantha reflects on her first CEO role, how she has shaped her non-executive career, her views on gender diversity and meritocracy and how multilingualism influences her leadership.

Nels Abbey is an accomplished British writer, media executive, satirist and diversity consultant. Born in London to Nigerian parents, Nels talks us through his perhaps unconventional upbringing and his career as well as his views on diversity in the workplace. In particular, we discuss his personal approach and use of humour to confront the realities of racial discrimination at work, as well as his perspective on how we as a society can overcome barriers to racial equality.

Steve Ingham has been Chief Executive Officer of PageGroup, the FTSE 250 recruitment business, since 2006, having joined the organisation as a recruitment consultant 18 years earlier. In March 2019 he experienced a near-fatal ski accident which caused severe permanent damage including the loss of use of his legs and partial deafness. In this interview Steve talks about his accident, how it happened, how he recovered and how it has affected his leadership. We explore his view on inclusive leadership and his opportunity to influence and inspire and also how changing work practices can create opportunities to level the playing field for wheelchair users and other marginalised groups.

Professor Sir Geoff Palmer OBE is a Professor Emeritus at the School of Life Sciences at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh and a Human Rights Activist. His research in the Brewing and Distilling industry has received international acclaim and revolutionised the way beer is made. Following the Black Lives Matter movement he has been more active than ever, featuring across all forms of media and publications, sharing his views on Black History and the recent abuse of statues of prominent figures who supported the oppression of black people. In this feature episode, we discuss immigration, belonging, race, academia and more.

Katherine Garrett-Cox CBE is a seasoned executive leader in asset management. She has worked across a number of large corporates including Aviva Investors, Aberdeen Asset Management and Alliance Trust and today she leads the UK subsidiary of the Gulf International Bank.In this diverse interview, we explore Katherine's leadership journey, her uncompromising approach to purposeful and socially responsible leadership and her role in tackling the climate crisis.

Mark Logan is an investor, advisor and non-executive director in the internet technology sector. He has held senior leadership positions in a number of tech businesses including Skyscanner, where he was Chief Operating Officer between 2012-2017.In this episode we talk about the importance of being an aggressive learner, developing culture in an organisation going through extreme growth and the importance of thinking. We also also discussed Mark's passion for supporting women in business and his views on leading through the coronavirus pandemic.

In this episode CEO of the Rugby Football Union and former CEO of the British Olympic Association, Bill Sweeney discusses leadership through a pandemic, and the measures he's taking to give the organisation and himself the opportunity to come through this global crisis in the best possible shape.

After 58.5 days and 650 hours of skiing alone in whiteouts, storm-force winds and temperatures hitting minus 45C, Mollie Hughes reached the Geographic South Pole - achieving her second world record by becoming the youngest woman in the world to ski solo from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole.In this episode we explore how she got there, the highs and lows and why she does what she does.

Impostor Feeling is consistently raised as a challenge for both speakers and participants on School for CEOs' leadership programmes. When we discovered that very little research explored how it affected senior leaders, School for CEOs undertook our own study to uncover how prevalent it is among our leaders and what helps them manage it. This episode explores some of the key findings from this research as well as three recommendations that will help you overcome Impostor Feeling.

This episode features sportsman turned entrepreneur and Chief Executive, Matthew Fosh, who shares some of the key pieces of advice he received as a young lad that have helped shaped him as a leader. Matthew also shares lessons from his early career as a first-class cricketer, what drew him towards business and away from sport and his own advice to a new CEO.

In this episode evolutionary behavioural biologist, Dr Mairi Macleod, offers a scientific view on how our ancestral past has nurtured diverging evolved behaviours between men and women. Drawing on her experiences studying animal behaviour in different communities, Mairi has developed an evolutionary approach and offers practical steps that women, men and organisations can take to create an environment where both men and women can thrive.

This episode shares the story of international bestselling author Ian Rankin OBE. Since publishing his first novel in 1987, Ian's books have now been translated into over thirty languages and are bestsellers worldwide. In this interview, he shares an insight into his journey as a writer, from devouring comic books in his bedroom as a child to the challenges of making a profession from his passion.