The Leader Insights Series Podcast (Jonathan O'Hagan)

In this week’s episode, I had the immense pleasure of speaking with Ross Farquhar – Marketing Director of Little Moons. Ross has a seriously impressive career in Marketing within the Food industry, starting out at Cadbury and Diageo before taking the plunge into the world of start-ups at creative agency 101. After achieving great success as Chief Marketing Officer at Wagamama (from launching an anime-epic in cinemas to vegan tuna), he is now the Marketing Director for Little Moons.

Ross and I had a great time discussing a whole range of topics right from what attracted him to this wonderful industry to advice he can provide to those starting out in their career. We go through Ross’ background, his journey into Marketing and the insight and tips he’s picked up along the way. Ross describes his early days as being “overly ambitious”, looking at career as a ladder that needs to be scaled quickly. While he has no regrets, he does mention the importance of bringing balance into life and the importance of changing focus into what makes you happy.  

We also touch upon the seemingly overnight success of Little Moons, the role TikTok played in achieving this and the strategic and tactical changes they had to meet the soaring demand levels. Ross also talks us through the importance of good communication and clear messaging. Lastly, we gain insight into the key factors Ross believes make a great leader and tips on how to identify the right people and creating an atmosphere where team members can thrive.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

4.32 Key Traits and Attributes for Success

13.22 Factors That Drive Ross’ Career and His WHY

18.01 Journey with Little Moons and their overnight Success

21.28 Strategic Challenges that come with immense demand

25.02 Clarity, Energy and Empathy – insight into what Ross believes makes a good leader

28.50 Importance of Clear Messaging and Communication

34.44 Career Advice and Bringing Balance

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Shaun Smith - Sales Director of Birds Eye UK & Ireland. 

Birds Eye is owned by Nomad Foods, the largest Frozen Food Company in Europe with a 14% market share and generates over £2Bn in revenue. Shaun, who also sits on the European leadership team, started his journey at Warburtons before progressing through Arla Foods, Northern Foods and Aunt Bessie's before joining Birds Eye in 2019. Now managing a team of over 65 people, we can gain a real insight into Shaun's incredible journey to leadership.

In this episode, Shaun and I cover a wide range of topics, including his hugely successful career in the Food Industry. We talk about what first drew him to the industry, what kept him in it and the key attributes he believes have helped him along the way. Shaun emphasises the importance of putting people at the heart of the business and embracing change by working collaboratively. We also touch upon how having a clear career development plan can be extremely beneficial to help visualise and be in control of your future.

We discuss the challenges Shaun and the business faced during the pandemic - Shaun mentions how being open to receiving support helped him and the team during this crisis. Lastly, we couldn't let Shaun go without talking through what he believes makes a great leader. He tells us that learning through periods of change has helped him become a better leader and he also gives some great advice and tips about being authentic and staying true to oneself. An insightful episode no matter where you are in your career, give it a listen today!

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

7:20 Career Reflection and Key Attributes for Success

10:22 Tips for Creating a Career Development Plan

13:30 Business & People in the Time of Coronavirus

20:55 An Insight into Shaun’s Journey

27:34 Adopting a Learning Mindset

29:50 Shaun’s Take on Good Leadership and his ‘Why’

33:57 Career Advice

Enjoy!

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

In this episode of The Leader Insights Series I'm joined by the truly remarkable John Want.     

John is the UK Sales, Marketing and R&D Director at Rich Products, the privately-owned premium global Bakery manufacturer. As an experienced Sales, Marketing and Innovation leader, John has over 20 years experience gained from the industry with companies such as Ginsters, Lyons Seafood, Adelie Foods and currently Rich Products.

We touch upon his brilliant career within this dynamic industry, great leadership traits and the opportunities and challenges of remote working.

Being a self-professed rule bender, John emphasises the importance of embracing change, having the right people in the right roles and providing support to teams rather than micromanaging.

We also discuss tips on promoting mental wellbeing in the era of remote working, as well as his thoughts on how Covid-19 and Brexit will impact UK businesses.

Join us as we talk about great management, understanding consumer behaviour and the importance of leading by example.

Enjoy! 

We’re excited to introduce the next instalment of the Podcast featuring Violetta Stevens– the Managing Director for Union Hand-Roasted Coffee. So Violeta was a joy to talk with. As a leader, she’s very clear on her values and principles...

In our discussion you will hear how her passions lye in building sustainable, purpose-driven business models that add value to every link in the supply chain. Union Hand Roast Coffee are a shining example of how business done properly is not only the right thing to do, but is also a more resilient way to reach profitability.

As an avid learner, Violetta talks about how curiosity, routine and investing in self learning has helped her in her own career journey. Violetta highlights the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people and finally, she shares her own secrets to great leadership and what skills aspiring leaders will need to develop for the future.

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Roger Saul. 

If you’re not familiar with Roger Saul, he is the founder of the iconic UK fashion brand Mulberry and in more times he’s transitioned into the wonderful world of Food founding Sharpham Park, the home of British Spelt!

A truly fascinating conversation with someone who can only be described as a ‘bit of a legend’ from the world of fashion.

Roger is a natural storyteller and straight away, he takes us on an incredible journey from early origins of Mulberry, the growth, the adversity, the highs and also sets backs along the way. Listen in and you’ll hear how, as an early 20 something in the 70’s he pushed through his fears, developed great resilience all the while constantly innovating and ultimately learning the power of creating a true brand.

During this episode we also talk about his new venture - Sharpham Park, which again in it’s own right has an incredible story and a bright future ahead which will shortly see the launch of a new, category changing Spelt drink!

Be sure to check out The Mentors Club - new for 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Finally, our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

In this week’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sue Garfitt, the CEO of Alpro.

Having known Sue for over 10 years, I’ve experienced first-hand her incredible work ethic, her energy and her dogged determination to succeed. Sue’s incredible career in the industry spans over 25 years – having worked with the likes of Britvic Soft Drinks, Burton’s Foods and MapleLeaf Foods to name just a few. She joined Alpro as CEO in 2014 with a clear vision – to change the way the world eats for the better by creating delicious, naturally healthy plant-based foods, for the maximum wellbeing of everyone and with the utmost respect for the planet.

A big supporter of inclusive diversity: Sue champions bringing different people together in a team to collaborate and achieve a singular vision.

In this insightful episode Sue and I discuss her stellar career, including her remarkable 7 years at Alpro, leading a purposeful business to feed our future with plants. We discuss the impact that Covid had on Sue and her team, as well as on the wider business, and the changes implemented to ensure minimal disruption to the production while also prioritising the team’s safety and wellbeing.

Sue gives us some extremely valuable insight into what good leadership looks like. She tells us that while management is about making sure you do things right, leadership is about doing the right things – which takes both courage and determination. She expands on how good leaders must also find a way to prioritise workflow, using her own example of managing her time in a “fluid” way.

Join us as we discuss Sue’s “why”, the key traits that have helped her throughout her career journey and the importance of getting a diverse team on board, providing a clear roadmap and surrounding yourself with the right people that buy into the journey and vision.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

06:30 Key traits and attributes that have contributed to Sue’s success

11:00 Sue’s Journey with Alpro

18:22 The Impact of Covid on Business and People

23:20 Good Leadership and Setting Clear Vision

25:38 Active Listening and the Benefits of Increased Engagement

28:03 The Importance of Recruiting the Right People

30:45 Prioritising Workflow to Get The Best Return

25:46 Career Advice and The Importance of Being Happy

39:20 Tips and Career Advice

Enjoy!

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

For episode 45 we welcomed special guest Jonny Briscoe, the UK Managing Director for Perfetti van Melle.

If you’re not familiar Perfetti van Melle well stay tuned, as Jonny and I talk all about the business, the challenges he faced joining mid-way through the Pandemic and also we talk about what’s on his priority list in order to continue driving the growth of the business here in the UK.

Jonny was a delight to talk with. You'll hear a very authentic and down-to-earth person, clearly motivated by people and helping the people around him to achieve. We delve into his leadership style, his advice for aspiring leaders of the future and he reflects on his own career journey where we can draw out some excellent advice.

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

Trailer for the Leader Insight Series Podcast

For this weeks episode, I had the joy of speaking with the Founder of Little Dish - Hillary Graves.

Hillary founded Little Dish in 2006 and the business has grown from strength to strength ever since, feeding over 200,000 children in the UK every week and is available nationally in all major retailers. In 2016, she was awarded the ‘Aphrodite Award’ by the NatWest Everywoman Awards, recognising an inspiring Mumpreneur who founded her business while raising young children.

In this episode, we’ll touch upon the elements behind Hillary’s career & business success. We kick things off by discussing the journey of Little Dish so far, starting off in a few shops before gradually becoming the well-known brand it is today. Hillary tells us about the highs and lows she experienced while building the business, which is extremely insightful especially to those just starting out in their journey. We also discuss how Hillary identified the real issue of nutrition amongst children and a gap in the market for healthy and convenient food.

Join us as we discuss what motivates and drives Hillary, her thoughts on good leadership, the importance of knowing your strengths and weaknesses and trusting your instincts. Whether you’re looking to start your own business or are well into your entrepreneurship journey, this episode is full of great advice you can apply to your own career and business aspirations.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

• 02:33 The How and Why that led to the creation of Little Dish
• 06:31 The highs and lows of building a business
• 09:17 Working through initial challenges by staying focussed
• 11:45 Hillary’s ‘WHY’ and what motivates her today
• 18:47 Traits, attributes and strengths that helped Hillary along the way
• 23:00 What’s next for Little Dish?
• 32:29 The best career advice Hillary has received

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy Listening!

Recorded just before Christmas 2020, my guest for this episode was the engaging and insightful Jon Symthe.

Jon is the Sales, Marketing and Supply Chain Director at Grupo Bimbo UK, The UK subsidiary of the world-leading, £15Bn turnover Mexican bakery group, Grupo Bimbo. 

Jon is an inspiring and results-focused leader with a wealth of experience spanning his 20+ year career. In this episode, Jon explains the importance of having a strong work ethic and how his desire to keep learning has helped him advance and grow within his career. He also talks about how good leaders must be able to effectively delegate - giving people accountability can help further their development and help build a strong sense of teamwork that stimulates growth within the organisation.

Jon also talks about the importance of recruiting the right people to help strengthen the overall team dynamic as well as organisational growth.

Join us as we navigate through discussions on what good leadership looks like during a pandemic, the important role of recruitment in building a well-rounded team, the challenges of pandemic fatigue and remote working, and the importance of establishing a sense of trust and humanity amongst team members during these trying times.

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130  

Or, you can email me directly at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

For episode 44 we have the wonderful Frank Höving, Managing Director for Symrise UK & Ireland. Originating from Germany, Frank and I have a great discussion ranging from his own personal career journey which includes working with Kraft Foods, Perfetti van Melle and for the past 9.5yrs with Symrise. 

Symrise is one of the world's top suppliers in the Flavouring & Fragrance market. The company has developed over 34,000 products and their customers include manufacturers of perfumes, cosmetics, the pharmaceutical industry, nutritional supplements manufacturers and of course the Food Industry. Under Frank’s leadership, Symrise is the fastest growing company of it’s type in the UK so I was delighted for him to join us on the podcast so I could pick his brains. 

Frank shares the challenges he faced stepping into the Managing Director role in the summer of 2019, some 7 months before the pandemic hit. We talk about current priorities and what he’s focused on the ensure future success for the business. He also shares his principles for leadership success, advice for aspiring leaders of tomorrow and much much more. 

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub 

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com 

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com 

Enjoy!

On this week's episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Duncan Everett - the Group CEO of Noble Foods.

As group CEO, Duncan is working hard to keep Noble Foods thriving for another century, focussing on how to grow and develop the business while also simultaneously creating an environment where its people can truly thrive.

In this week's episode Duncan and I delve into his truly inspiring career journey, from starting on the Kerry Foods graduate programme before ultimately becoming the CEO! We discuss how the past 18 months have been and the key challenges Duncan and the business have faced during these trying times.

We hear about the pivotal decision Duncan took to move from Kerry Foods after 25 years with the company and the reasons behind what ultimately made him make the move. 

Duncan kindly shares his thoughts on what good leadership looks like, and the importance of having clarity and vision as well as a plan to deliver on the business's ambition. As a self-confessed 'massive believer' in collective ownership, Duncan explains that magic happens when we link the feeling of togetherness with ownership.

Listen in as we discuss more about the 100-year-old family-owned Noble Foods, the competitive nature of this industry and the importance of trusting your instincts and loving what you do.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

07:00 Duncan’s illustrious career in the industry

08:24 Key traits and attributes that have contributed to Duncan’s success

12:39 Duncan’s decision to move from Kerry Foods

19:45 Duncan’s ‘WHY’ and his best piece of career advice

23:47 Current challenges and issues facing the industry

35:10 Keeping people motivated during a crisis

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy Listening!

In this, the final episode of 2021, I had the pleasure of speaking with Heather Angus – the HR & Sustainability Director for Bidfood.

This episode is a particularly insightful one, as we discuss all things sustainability! Since joining Bidfood, Heather has brought sustainability to the forefront, driving their sustainability programme, which is now a key part of the overall strategy and one that focuses on 3 core elements: Environment, Social and Governance.

Heather tells us that it’s absolutely critical for an organisation’s leadership team to be involved in sustainability so that it becomes part of everyone’s role and not just sitting with one individual. We discuss the key commercial benefits of this – including customer interest, higher employee engagement and talent acquisition. Plus, Heather offers up some great advice on those just starting out on the sustainability journey.

Finally, Heather has developed an impressive career both in and out of the Food & Drink Industry spanning the past 20 years and so I couldn't resist the opportunity to talk about Heather’s traits and attributes – such as personal drive and a passion for treating people with respect, that have contributed to her career success. In addition, I get Heather's insight into what good leadership looks like and some excellent advice for younger generations.

Here are the key topics with timestamps for the episode:

• 07:42 Traits and attributes that led to Heather’s success
• 10:50 Heather’s ‘WHY’
• 13:31 Sustainability and Bidfood’s sustainability programme
• 18:10 Key commercial benefits of prioritising sustainability
• 26:42 Advice for those looking to start their sustainability journey
• 33:02 What does good leadership look like?
• 41:42 Heather’s advice for younger generations

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy Listening!

My guest for this week's episode is the truly inspirational Mary Wilson, the Global Marketing Director of Lil-Lets.

Mary has nearly 25 years’ marketing & brand building experience and has worked within a number of environments such as multi-national Seagram Distillers & Vintners, Premier Foods through to a privately owned food & drink innovation business. She is deeply passionate about making a difference for both the brands and the people that she works with.

In this episode, Mary explains how the pandemic has changed our rules of engagement. She stresses the importance of rewriting how we interact with team members to understand their unique individual experiences of working from home, without any assumptions of their accessibility. While highlighting the importance of finding your tribe and aligning yourself with companies that share your intrinsic values, we also touch upon the traits that have helped her through her incredible journey including hard work, understanding what makes you motivated and knowing when to recharge or switch off.

Join us in conversation as Mary shares her story and offers insight on 'finding your tribe', brand accountability, the importance of demonstrating empathy and investing in people as a leader.

"Finding your place, finding your tribe and finding your fit is key to role fulfillment and enjoyment"

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130

Or, you can email me directly at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com 

In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking to the inspiring Alison Payne. Alison is the People Director at COOK Trading limited.

For anyone not Familiar COOK Trading, founded in 1997, they are a privately owned ready meals producer with more than 90 shops around the UK, a thriving home delivery business and a network of concessions in like-minded retailers. Most crucially though, they remain the same values centric, purpose-driven business that the co-founders Ed & Dale set out with. They are certified by the Living Wage Foundation AND in 2013 became a founding B-Corp member.

Alison herself is an accomplished HR and People professional and as you’ll hear Alison embodies the values and principles that COOK is built on, she gives us real insight into what makes COOK COOK…

We talk about her own personal approach to creating harmony and finding that all important work/ life balance including role modelling the right behaviours.

We uncover some of the initiatives of how COOK became the No1. Best Food & Drink company to work for in the Sunday Times Best Companies list. Alison also lets us in on what they are focused on right now, including financial wellbeing initiatives and much much more…

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

For the past 9 years, John has been the CEO of Cafedirect - one of the founding businesses of the Fairtrade movement and the UK's first B-Corp accredited Coffee Company.

With a successful career spanning over 3 decades, John can be regarded as a pioneer in the purpose-driven business movement. Especially passionate about supporting people at the beginning of the supply chain, John & Cafedirect work in collaboration with the award-winning charity Producers Direct to deliver real change to Farmers livelihoods.

In this episode, we learn about John's background, how he came to work in this industry and his top tips for career success.

John talks us through what he believes has helped him get through the pandemic - listing determination and an unwavering optimism as two key attributes that kept him going. He talks about how it was crucial that, throughout the pandemic, the business became a bubble of certainty for its employees living in an uncertain world.

John generously shares his thoughts on businesses that have purpose tend to have a better work culture - as they possess a greater meaning than just making money. These organisations then also tend to be better places to work, with a culture based on trust and employees motivated by making a difference.

Finally, John talks us through the importance of the B-Corp movement, his advice on harnessing the true benefits of a purpose-driven culture and his thoughts on why being authentic as a leader is so crucial. We also shine light on the incredible work done by Producers Direct who work closely with farmers to develop their farms and improve their livelihoods.

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn or you can email me directly at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com   

Special thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate - the experts in accelerating your job search and helping you get the job you really want. If you'd like to take advantage of the exclusive offer and get access to the Precision Networking Method and also a free Dream 30 Networking Tracker then simply go to www.obviouscandidate.com/leader

My special guests for this penultimate episode of The Leader Insights Series Podcast are…… Husband and Wife duo Darina Garland and Kristian Tapaninaho, the Founders and Co-CEO of Ooni Pizza Ovens.

Kristian and Darina were great to talk with. The Husband and Wife team share the impressive growth journey they’ve been on since launching Ooni in 2012, starting with the simple vision of replicating restaurant-quality pizzas at home.

We discuss a variety of topics including how crucial an early fundraising Kickstarter scheme was to give them proof of concept for what was not only a new product, but an invention of a whole new category.

They cite optimism & belief as being fundamental in those early days and Darina talks about how she believes having a set of core company values and prioritising culture has been, and continues to be as important as having an amazing product.

So listen in, I hope you enjoy the conversation and of course check out Ooni Pizza Ovens and the amazing range of products. As you’ll hear they have big plans for the future…

Subscribe to the Podcast if you’ve not done so already and you’ll get notified of future guests!

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub 

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Enjoy!

I am thrilled to be joined by my guest for this episode, Bruce Alexander. 

Bruce is the Managing Director of Montezuma's Chocolates - one of the most innovative and fastest-growing SME's around. Described as "Britain's Greatest Little Chocolate Company", they work with the principles of "Business Done Properly", putting substance over style and sustainability over profit.

Bruce has had a successful career spanning 25 years, working within commercial FMCG roles across the UK and abroad including companies such as United Biscuits, Nestle and Kerry Foods.

In this episode, we discuss why Montezuma's Chocolates is one of the most talked-about SME's around, as well as Bruce's role in ensuring the vision and values laid by its founders is reflected in everything they do. We discuss Bruce's highly successful background and how his love for working within the FMCG sector drew him to his current role.

Bruce shares with us the key aspects that have helped him throughout his career - including his naturally competitive nature and a keen desire to keep learning and challenging himself. We discuss Bruce's thoughts on leadership, striving to become a B-corp, the Better Business Act and more!

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

In our third episode this series the focus is all about the future of the workplace. I was delighted to chat with Julia Darvill, Regional Director at Puratos, and Louisa Hogarty, Group HR Director at Noble Foods.

Julia is an experienced leader who cares a lot about legacy and the impact this will have on those in the workplace. Having worked within the drinks industry at organisations such as Molson Coors and Britvic, Julia then went on to join Puratos in 2015. She is now the Regional Director for UK & Ireland, setting their vision and strategic direction in the ever-competitive and evolving bakery ingredients arena.

Louisa is a proven and experienced HR leader who has a keen eye on the future workplace. Her track record since graduating from University in 2006 includes working with SSP, Rail Gourmet, GU Puds, G4S, Wyevale Garden Centres and for the past 8 years as Group HRD with the Family owned, Noble Foods.

In this episode, we delve into how the workplace is changing giving our best insights into what the future workplace will look like, feel like and importantly what employees will truly value in the future. Through the conversation we discuss many topics including the skills people need to support their changing careers moving forwards especially with the rise of the “green collar worker”. We recap on how the pandemic changed our routines and what we value – and how this is shifting again now as we embrace advancements like AI as part of our future.

We also focus on the growing importance of sustainability and how this is impacting roles and objectives across organisations, as well as why it is important to build neurodiverse teams and change the conversation and culture around hiring for neurodiversity in organisations.

I hope you like this epsiode and, as ever, if you’d like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

In this episode of The Leader Insights Series, I get the chance to sit down with the highly engaging Lawrence Trist.

Lawrence is the Managing Director for the Finsbury Food Group Cake division, the 2nd biggest cake manufacturer in the UK with a 20% market share and a workforce of over 2,000 people, across 3 manufacturing sites.

After graduating with a degree in Retail Marketing, Lawrence’s very first job was in the Food industry. Over a 25 year period he’s successfully progressed through companies such as Allied Bakeries and the Finsbury Food Group but he’s also experienced running his own business.

Since joining the Finsbury Food Group in 2009 he’s been Sales Director, Commercial Director and in 2017 became the Managing Director for the Cake Division. His legacy involves building high performing teams, achieving a market-leading presence and increasing revenue substantially.

Enjoy! 

In this episode, I had the privilege to sit down and have a fascinating conversation with Clive Moxham for the next instalment of the Podcast. 

Clive is the Group Commercial Director with Leathams', the privately-owned premium speciality food supplier into the Foodservice, Ingredient and Retail channels across the UK, and has been a major driving force in their success over the past decade. 

In this episode, Clive and I discuss the traits and attributes of successful leaders, adapting ways to manage remote teams, Brexit and some great tips to achieve work-life balance. Since joining Leatham’s over a decade ago, Clive has been a major driving force in their success, achieving growth every single year over the past 10 years. 

With Clive’s help, Leatham’s have grown turnover to in excess of £100m and a workforce of over 170+ people. 

We kick off this episode with Clive's beginnings in this industry and talk about his successful career to date. Clive explains the importance of working hard and being trustworthy as a leader. He says his mindset is always that of working 'with' his team, communicating and motivating his colleagues and leading by example. We also discuss the very relevant issue of remote working - how to adapt and keep remote teams motivated, keeping up communication and ensuring productivity levels are high. 

Join us as Clive gives out some brilliant tips for striking a good work-life balance and the importance of being present, as well as some great advice for those looking to start or advance their careers and become a successful leader like Clive. 

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130  Or, you can email me directly at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

This week I had the pleasure of speaking to Mark Dennis, the Chief Operating Officer of COOK Trading - a thriving manufacturer and retailer of high-quality frozen ready meals with a growing home delivery network across the UK. 

Founded in 1997, it has placed 14th in the most recent Sunday Times 'Top 100 Companies to Work For' and became a founding B-Corp member in 2013. Mark has had an exceptional career spanning over 20 years, 14 of which have been spent with COOK Trading. 

In this episode, we discuss the inspiring and successful history of COOK Trading and how it remains the same values-centric, purpose-driven business that the co-founder's Ed & Dale set out with. Over 24 years, the company has gained a strong reputation not just with their customers but has garnered a huge amount of respect from industry peers too. Along the way, it has received several accolades and certifications - namely from the Living Wage Foundation and The Sunday Times amongst several others. 

We delve into what it truly means to be a B-Corp, a global movement committed to using business as a force for good in society. Mark explains that being accredited allowed them to look inward and use the business to do the right things, mentioning "it's a great way to shine a spotlight on your business, in the areas where you're doing great and those which need improvement".

Mark also shared the key traits and attributes he believes make a good leader and those that have helped him along the way. He listed building and nurturing relationships, constantly learning and being agile to make rapid changes were some of the key aspects that helped him and COOK Trading continue to grow and adapt during the pandemic. We talk about how good role modeling, great benefits and offering support are key factors to creating the right environment for employees to grow in, especially in current times where culture and purpose-led businesses are being actively sought out by new talent.

Finally, Mark shares his tips and advice for career success and we also highlight the incredible initiative 'RAW Talent' - offering second opportunities to those who have been met with hard times and giving them the tools and resources to learn new skills and work within the team.

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy Listening!

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Cathy Port - Head of Food for Costa Coffee.

With a Masters in Creative Talents & Solutions in Business and an early career in product development, over the past 20 years Cathy has successfully worked for the likes of Compass Group, Sainsbury’s, McDonald's, Leon and since 2017 she's been the Head of Food for Costa Coffee and is responsible for the Food growth agenda across the UK & Ireland.

This episode is full of brilliant wisdom and insight from Cathy. We discuss how her love of cooking first attracted her to this industry, along with why she has stuck with it through the years. Cathy tells us about the traits and attributes that have helped her along the way, citing a positive mental attitude and resilience being strong factors in her success.

We delve into the characteristics of good leadership, why Cathy believes coaching and mentoring can truly tap into or refine an individual’s potential and the importance of recruiting diverse teams to find new solutions to problems. We even discuss a little bit about Gareth Southgate’s management style!

Join us as we discuss Cathy’s ‘why’, the positives to come out of the pandemic, shifts in leadership and the importance of thinking big. 

We think you’ll feel truly inspired after listening to this one.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

05.07 Key traits and attributes that have contributed to Cathy’s success

08:00 The Importance of Coaching

11:00 Unconscious Bias and Recruitment

18:04 The Impact of Covid on Cathy, the business and her team

24:18 Having a Growth Mindset Post-Pandemic

30:44 What Motivates Cathy

30:45 Prioritising Workflow to Get The Best Return

32:56 Empowering People To Have More Balance

39:20 Tips and Career Advice

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy Listening!

On this week's episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Global HR Director for Jacobs Douwe Egberts - Toni Cairns.

With a Degree in Psychology and a Masters in Organisational Psychology, Toni has developed an impressive career within the industry spanning the past 18 years. She is also extremely passionate about the development of talent, leadership and culture – and has led numerous business transformations, M&As, cultural projects & capability programs.

This week, Toni joins me from Amsterdam where she is based. We kick off this episode by discussing her personal love and passion for food and drink, and how she first got into the industry. She tells us about the traits and attributes that she believes has contributed to her success – including positivity and energy, pragmatism and courage to make hard choices. We also talk about the pivotal moments in her life - moving to a new country for a new role, and the rewards that come from taking opportunities.

We also hear from Toni about her 'WHY' and the best career advice she has ever received. We discuss what great leadership looks like to Toni, which she lists as having a good level of self-awareness and the balance between head and heart in decision-making, along with a focus on people and the future.

Join us in conversation as we learn how empathy and flexibility are the makings of a good leader, why more companies need to prioritise well-being and Toni’s career advice to those just starting out in the industry.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

• 02:15 What the past 18 months have looked like for Toni
• 04.15 Key traits and attributes that have contributed to Toni’s success
• 06:17 Toni’s pivotal moments in her career
• 11:27 Toni’s ‘WHY’ and the best piece of career advice she received
• 22:48 Toni’s Wellbeing Framework and mentoring with The Female Factor
• 34:48 Career advice for those just starting out

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy Listening!

In this episode I'm joined by Joby Mortimer. With over 20 years industry experience, Joby currently heads up the National Ontrade Channel, a £100m P&L for Brakes, the UK’s leading Foodservice Wholesale supplier.

Ex AB Inbev and Budweiser Budvar UK, I’ve witnessed first hand Joby’s engaging style and his leadership capabilities and how he goes about building, developing and engaging with people to help them perform at their best.

Enjoy! 

This week I was delighted to be joined by the wonderful Julia Darvill. 

Julia is the Managing Director for the UK arm of Puratos, a global Bakery Ingredients supplier with a £1.9Bn turnover. Having worked within the drinks industry at organisations such as Molson Coors and Britvic, Julia then went on to join Puratos as UK Sales Director in 2015. After 3 years of consecutive and successful growth she was promoted to Managing Director and now leads the UK workforce setting their vision and strategic direction in the ever-competitive and evolving bakery ingredients arena.

In this episode, Julia and I dive right into discussing how the pandemic has changed workplace cultures. Julia shares with me her thoughts on how Covid has highlighted the need for unity in crisis and provided the impetus to promote sustainable changes in the workplace. We discuss the importance of the human element in business and the role leaders must play in developing the right culture for their organisation. Understanding the complexities and challenges faced by employees, evaluating the way organisations measure success and refining the company's mission, value and purpose are crucial to creating a favourable climate for employees to develop and thrive.

Finally, Julia describes how she co-developed 'People Fuel' in 2019 - a learning module consisting of 3 components to help accelerate the team's agility and development of self. Through tips, tricks and insight into diagnosing high and low points of energy, People Fuel allows employees to understand their emotional, mental and physical barriers and how to overcome them, thus helping them to sustain their health and wellbeing during turbulent times whilst staying productive.

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy Listening!

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Craig Davis – the Head of Grocery & E-Commerce at Muller Dairy UK & Ireland.

Having known Craig for over 10 years I've watched him progress his career at an impressive rate and so, I was keen to invite him to the show and pick his brains on his career, his leadership principles and much much more! 

In this discussion, Craig offers up some genuine thought-provoking ideas and whatever stage in your career, I’m confident you’ll take something away. Craig talks passionately about comfort zones, how breadth in his career has been pivotal for his success. We delve into his early career, his views on leadership and the principles that guide him.

Finally, we also get his thoughts on some of the wider challenges the industry needs to tackle in order to attract and retain the best talent to our sector.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

• 07:09 Traits and attributes that led to Craig’s success
• 13:35 Craig’s motivations and his ‘WHY’
• 19:32 What does good leadership looks like?
• 22:08 Craig’s personal top 3 leadership principles
• 23:34 Leaders of the future
• 25:13 Current and future industry challenges

Be sure to check out The Mentors Club - new for 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Finally, to take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit our sponsor on: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com 

For this episode, I was delighted to speak to the talented Martin Murray, the Co-Founder and CEO of Waterdrop.

Now some of you may be familiar with Waterdrop, if not, don’t worry I have the pleasure of talking to their Founder and CEO about the business that is revolutionising the way we drink water. Not only that, it’s good for people, the planet and they are growing at a phenomenal rate!

As you’ll hear, Martin is a down to earth, authentic and passionate leader. An entrepreneur at heart he always had a burning desire to start a company – it just so happened he came up with an idea that has created the fastest growing F&B business in Europe as voted for by the FT. They’ve experienced over 400% growth YOY since inception and the future looks even brighter…

This is an all-encompassing conversation, including the early years of founding Waterdrop through to the priorities Martin’s focused on. We discuss the challenges they’ve faced scaling the business including entering new territories such as the US. Martin also shares some superb advice for aspiring entrupreneurs and how he goes about hiring and surrounding himself with the right people, it’s fascinating…

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

For this week's episode, I had the delight of speaking with Sam Simister, the Future Development Director and Board Member at Innocent Drinks and Co-Founder of GenM.

Sam is a highly experienced FMCG professional with a 25-year international track record in multi-national corporations and entrepreneurial companies - including M&S, Safeway and more recently, Innocent Drinks. She is also the co-founder of GenM - a powerful initiative leading the positive revolution on the topic of menopause.

On this week’s episode, we learn first-hand about Sam’s incredible journey through her 25-year career in this industry. We discuss the key traits and attributes that she believes have led her to where she is today, as well as the career-defining moments that proved to be pivotal to her journey. Sam tells us how she is a solution focussed person who likes to find the ‘yes’ when everyone around her says ‘no’. She tells us of the importance of being vulnerable and honest about your strengths but also your weaknesses, and to treat failure as a learning curve to further grow and develop yourself.

We also hear from Sam about what great leadership looks like, the importance of being present and authentic and why it’s important to have the confidence to back yourself.

Sam shares her thoughts and vision on the incredible initiative GenM – a movement that works to normalise the conversation around menopause. GenM and its growing list of partners work together with brands and organisations to help them better understand the effects of menopause, break down the taboo and learn how to support a very large, crucial part of the workforce through this stage of life.

Join us as we discuss Sam’s thoughts on leadership and failure, top career advice, positive takeaways from the past 18 months as well as her big plans for GenM’s global future.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

3:24 Sam’s incredible 25-year career

07:01 Sam’s ‘WHY’

08.18 Career defining moments in Sam’s journey

11:28 Creating a culture where it’s okay to fail

12:47 What does great leadership look like

20:56 GenM: What it is and how you can support it

If you'd like to get in touch with Sam to find out more or support the GenM initiative then you can reach her directly on sam@gen-m.com or visit the website on www.gen-m.com   

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch with me you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy Listening!

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing a young entrepreneur and the Founder of Wellbeans Coffee, Michael Ellis. 

Michael has a truly inspirational story, using his own personal struggles with anxiety and his love of Coffee to create a purpose-driven business that gives back to the community. 

Michael and Wellbeans spread awareness about mental health and simultaneously break down barriers and stigma that still surround the topic. 

The brand supports positive living and encourages the feeling of being part of a community of conscientious coffee lovers. Michael tells us "giving back" is central to Wellbeans, as they aim to use the profits to fund community projects, wellbeing initiatives and mental health charities.

Join us in conversation as we discuss Michael's inspiring story and his own personal journey that has fuelled him to this point. Sharing his story with authenticity and honesty, he talks about his struggles with anxiety and feelings of isolation. This propelled him into creating Wellbeans Coffee, a profit with purpose coffee company that has community at the heart of everything they do. Michael also shares the challenges that come with being a young entrepreneur, their sustainability goals and his big plans for the future of Wellbeans!

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn or you can email me directly at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com  

Special thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate - the experts in accelerating your job search and helping you get the job you really want. If you'd like to take advantage of the exclusive offer and get access to the Precision Networking Method and also a free Dream 30 Networking Tracker then simply go to www.obviouscandidate.com/leader

Enjoy Listening!

Back by popular demand, this New Year's episode is with the incredibly engaging Sam Waterfall, AKA London's Global Career Coach. 

As one of the most popular and downloaded episodes from 2021, I was keen to invite Sam back to kick off 2022 by sharing more brilliant tips and insights on how YOU can accelerate your job search and put some real strategy behind developing your career to the next level. 

As a reminder, Sam is a high-impact career coach with a background in marketing and a no-nonsense approach to getting you the job you really want. Whether it's helping young people overcome their inexperience to land their first job, or it's working alongside senior leaders to build strategies for their career growth, Sam has worked with people in all stages of their career search (helping some land jobs in Nike, Redbull, Virgin, Facebook and the NHS to name a few!) 

Now for this episode... If you’re in any way serious about your career – in ANY field - you need to know about how to market your expertise correctly. It’s not enough to do a great job and hope ‘they’ will notice, ‘they’ won’t. 

The good news is that even in our complex world of multiple digital touchpoints and platforms, you can stand out and win in the hyper-competitive world of job search if you can ACE just two personal marketing assets. 

Your CV and your LinkedIn profile. 

Master these, and you’re performing on paper and online. 

In this episode, we demystify and clarify the handful of simple differences that stand between blending in and standing out with these two critical assets. Apply these expert tips and you’ll transform your impact and your career transition results starting today. 

Be sure to check out The Mentors Club - new for 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub  

Finally, to take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com 

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com 

My guest for this week's episode on The Leader Insights Series Podcast is the inspiring and hugely successful Andrew Selley, CEO of Bidcorp UK. 

Having become CEO of Bidfood UK in 2014 Andrew also sits on the Bidcorp global leadership foodservice group developing their interests in Turkey, the Middle East, the Baltics and Spain. Bidcorp has become the leading supplier of food, beverages and packaging services to the hospitality industry in the UK and has over 50,000 customers via Bidfood, The Caterfood Buying Group and Bidfresh.

In this episode, Andrew and I discuss the massive impact Covid has had on the business and the interesting methods and ideas implemented to shift a primarily B2B business to include B2C offerings and e-commerce supplying directly to the consumers. He emphasises the importance of communicating (both consistently and effectively) to help nurture teams and provide them with the trust and engagement they require during these trying times.

We also talk about how Covid has brought the core values of good leadership to the forefront - Trust, Clarity & Insight.

Andrew further emphasises the importance of authenticity in leadership and unity within the team – both of which are strengthened by the business’ vision and values. We also touch upon personal development and the ‘IGNITE’ business model – drawing from the amazing advice and insight within Andrew’s book, 'Ignite your Business', to help fuel change and allow businesses to flourish.

Join us as we navigate our way through topics such as interpersonal skills, raising people’s aspirations, nurturing team members to bring out the best in them and the importance of being more agile within business.

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy! 

In this episode I have the pleasure of talking with the wonderful Louisa Hogarty, Group HR Director, Noble Foods.

This was a great conversation! Louisa is a proven and experienced HR leader and her track record since graduating from University in 2006 includes working with SSP, Rail Gourmet, GU Puds, G4S, Wyevale Garden Centres and for the past 6 years as Group HRD with the Family owned, Noble Foods.

Louisa and I have a wide-ranging conversation covering a number of topics including what’s on her priority list right now, her thoughts on what makes a great leader, we delve into her career journey understanding what has helped along the way. We also discuss the things both Louisa and Noble Foods are focused on to ensure profitable growth for the future. 

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

In this episode of The Leader Insights Series, I'm delighted to speak to Elizabeth Langley-Jones, the European Vice President for Modern Trade & Food Service at CSM Bakery Solutions.

You'll get to hear Elizabeth's take on the importance of developing the right culture and how to motivate people to reach their potential. You'll also gain some real insight and excellent advice as to how Elizabeth has managed her own career carefully through leading companies such as Nestle, Barry Callebaut and currently with the European leader in Instore Bakery Solutions - CSM Bakery.  

My guest for this episode is an industry leader who's full of insightful knowledge and advice, Sue McVie. 

Sue is a purpose-led growth leader and entrepreneur who unlocks the potential in both people and ideas. Having worked with United Biscuits, her career progressed through the likes of Coca Cola, Pepsico and Vodafone before joining Kerry Foods in 2012 as Shopper Marketing Director and then as Managing Director for Oakhouse Foods in 2017. She is now a vital part of the Kerry Foods Leadership Team leading a portfolio of fast-growth DTC and Accelerator businesses.

In this episode, Sue and I discuss her stellar career in the food and drink arena. We discuss what it means to lead a business with real purpose - achieving business goals while doing good along the way. By assessing, testing and optimising along with the right leadership, Sue and her team were able to reinvent Oakhouse Foods and successfully double the business in a matter of 3 years! Sue explains the importance of continually referring to customer feedback, treating it as a gift and taking on board suggestions to better improve the products and service.

We also talk about what it was like to go through a pandemic while running a successful business. We discuss how leaders had to adapt and make big decisions extremely quickly, and how she used effective communication to combat uncertainty to support team members. Lastly, we talk about what Sue believes makes a great leader - which she says requires a level of authenticity and ability to unlock people's full potential every day.

Enjoy!

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com 

This week on The Leader Insights Series Podcast we have an exclusive extended episode with the incredibly engaging Sam Waterfall. 

Sam is a high-impact career coach with a background in marketing and a no-nonsense approach to getting you the job you really want. Whether it's helping young people overcome their inexperience to land their first job, or it's working alongside senior leaders to build strategies for their career growth, Sam has worked with people in all stages of their career search (helping some land jobs in Nike, Redbull, Virgin, Facebook and NHS to name a few!)

Through this extended episode, Sam and I go through some crucial pieces of advice relevant not only to those who are looking to accelerate their job search but also for those who are developing their career and looking to take the next step. 

We discuss Sam's marketing background and his not-so-traditional coaching method - combining career coaching with marketing consultancy. He expresses the importance of maintaining clarity throughout the job search and having a clear direction to achieve long-term success while focussing on the potential strategies to get there.

We chat about the immense power of networking. Starting with recognising that other people represent your biggest opportunity to advance within your career, Sam shares his top 6 rules for effective networking to help convert people from feeling like strangers to feelings of familiarity. We delve into the Law of Reciprocity and Sam explains his idea behind what he calls The Dream 30 - but you'll have to give this episode a listen to hear it from the man himself!

Take a moment to enjoy our latest episode - It may be a bit longer than the others but we promise it's packed with some incredible information, tips and advice that you can benefit from no matter where you are in your career.

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

You can also get in touch with Sam directly on sam@obviouscandidate.com or visit his website https://www.obviouscandidate.com/ 

Enjoy!

In this episode, I'm in conversation with the hugely successful Gavin Bown, Vice President for Global R&D at the world's leading chocolate and cocoa manufacturer, Barry Callebaut. 

Join us as we discuss Gavin's career in the FMCG industry, how to successfully manage a large international team whilst remote working and what great leadership looks like within high-performing organisations.

We talk through Gavin's success within the FMCG industry and the traits and behaviours that helped him along the way. While talking about the importance of a continuous learning mindset, Gavin explains he is 'allergic to his comfort zone' and constantly pushes to further develop himself. He also provides some valuable knowledge on successfully managing an international team whilst remote working.

He stresses how vital it is to provide team members with clarity and purpose but also the freedom to make decisions (and mistakes), which he believes is crucial for their development.

In this insightful episode, we also navigate through conversations about the future challenges facing the industry, the importance of establishing a culture of trust and destigmatizing failure.

Enjoy!

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130 

Or, you can email me directly at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com 

For the final episode in the series, I had the pleasure of speaking to William Chase, a serial entrepreneur from the Food & Beverage world. 

So William Chase, or Willy to his friends is an entrepreneur from the Food & Drink industry. Having founded Tyrrells Potato Chips in 2002 he successfully developed and ultimately sold the business for an estimated £30m before moving into Gin, establishing Chase Distillery which later went on to be bought by Diageo. Currently leading the development of another business, Willy’s Probiotic Live Foods Will kindly took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with me… at the time of recording Will was on his Boat somewhere between Corsica and Sicily… and if you could, why wouldn’t you be!

Will was great to speak with. Humble, grounded but with a sense of peace at where he is in life after some turbulent times in his 20’s which saw him face bankruptcy. In more recent times Will faced severe illness which you can tell has given him real perspective on the way he approaches both life and business.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did chatting with Will. Do check out Willy’s Probiotic Live Foods, I’m currently 10 days into a 60-day challenge you can sign up to here: https://www.willysacv.com/60-day-challenge/

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with qualified Executive Coach, Chair for "Women in Wholesale" and the Chief Commercial Officer for the DCS Group - Clare Bocking.

From running the foodservice and wholesale divisions for Britvic to being a member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council, Clare has had an extremely successful 25 years of commercial leadership experience in the Food & Drink industry.

Clare and I discuss her career journey to date, what motivates her daily and the traits she believes have helped along the way. Clare tells us about how her unique amount of energy and creativity coupled with her desire to always find solutions has consistently held her in good stead through the years. We also talk about the importance of mentoring and coaching which Clare believes can help tap into an individual's full potential and set them on the right trajectory.

We talk about "Women in Wholesale" - an important movement that addresses gender imbalance in the wholesale sector and gives businesses and individuals the tools they need to ‘Inspire, support and progress’ more women in wholesale and to achieve much-needed gender diversity.

Lastly, we gain Clare's insight into how the business has been affected through the pandemic, the measures they had to put in place and the obstacles they had to overcome. Join us as we discuss how Clare's priorities have shifted over the past 18 months, her thoughts on good leadership, tips and career advice for those just starting out and the importance of new thinking and diversity in the workplace.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

2:50 Discussing Clare’s 25 Successful Years in the Industry

3:36 Career Reflection and The Traits That Have Contributed to Clare’s Success

5:20 The Importance of Mentoring and Coaching

6:47 “Women in Wholesale” and rectifying Gender Imbalance

12:00 Business during Covid: The Impact, Obstacles and Creative Solutions

17:50 The Principles That Underpin Good Leadership

19:38 Tips on Organising and Prioritising Work Load

25:46 Career Advice and The Importance of Being Happy

Enjoy!

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

In this episode I'm delighted to be joined by Peter Allan. Peter is the UK Managing Director for Cargill’s Protein division, a £300m turnover business employing over 350 staff, servicing the Retail, Foodservice and B2B channels.

Having graduated from Westminster University, Peter initially served 5 years with the British Army before joining Cargill in 1995. Having enjoyed a very successful career with Cargill, spanning 25 years, Peter progressed his way through the organisation and became a member of the European Board for Cargill’s 1Bn turnover group.

In 2014 Peter became Chair of the Board for the BFFF (British Frozen Food Federation) and is currently a Member of the British Poultry Council.

Enjoy listening to Peter's thoughts on leadership, how people diversity is critical to a company's success and learn about what he attributes to his own career success to date. 

For this episode, I had the pleasure of talking to the inspiring, global leader Dr. Stella Peace. Stella is the Chief R&D and Quality Officer at the largest Frozen Food Company in Europe, Nomad Foods.

Packed full of insight and information to help inspire you no matter where you are in your career. Join us as we discuss Stella's impressive career in R&D, the importance of finding your purpose, good role modeling and communication as a leader.

Stella is a member of the Nomad Executive Team and she currently leads a team of over 150 scientists across Europe. In this episode, she explains her beginnings in the industry and the attributes that have helped her along her incredibly successful journey. We discuss the idea of good leadership during a pandemic and how it has forced us to 'innovate the way we innovate'.  We also discuss staying on top of emerging trends such as sustainability and plant-based diets and the shift into online shopping.

Finally, Stella shares some of the lessons she's learned over the past year, the future of Nomad Foods, finding the right work-life balance and the benefits of taking time out to engage with team members.

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com 

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Anne Smith, the Talent & Development Lead across EMEA for the Kerry Group.

As a qualified leadership and executive coach, Anne has an impressive career of her own within the industry spanning the past 15 years with a breadth of experience in senior generalist HR management and leadership roles. She currently leads the talent & succession agenda for Kerry’s EMEA region, encompassing over 13,000 people through their Foods, Taste & Nutrition and Primary Dairy and Agri. Divisions.

This week’s episode is all about how businesses, both large and small, can benefit from leadership that focuses on their people. Anne explains that good leaders are those that truly believe that if you grow and develop your people, they will, in turn, help you develop a profitable business. She tells us that storytelling, personal connection and genuine curiosity are key attributes to help get the best out of your teams.

Through the episode, we discuss what talent and succession planning means and why it's so important for businesses. Anne gives great insight and expert advice on what great succession planning looks like, how to prioritise it and how building a succession strategy can help you identify potential future leaders.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

3.26 Key traits and attributes that have helped Anne along her journey

07:03 Anne’s ‘WHY’ and what good leadership looks like

12:52 Talen and Succession Planning: Why is it important?

22:33 How to keep a hold of team members and mitigate flight risk

28:23 Tips on what to look for when bringing talent in

30:20 Positive takeaways from the past 18 months

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy Listening!

For this episode I spoke with the wonderful Shelagh Hancock, the Chief Executive Officer for First Milk, the wholly British farmer-owned Dairy co-operative.

Having graduated with a Degree in Agricultural Biochemistry & Nutrition, Shelagh went on to complete a Masters in Animal Nutrition before embarking on a career within the Dairy industry spanning over 25 years. Shelagh’s successfully worked with the likes of Glanbia Foods, Milk Link, Medina Dairy and for the past 5 years as CEO of First Milk, who we’ll learn more about in the upcoming episode…

Shelagh and I have a great discussion… we talk about:

• Her career journey, including the traits & attributes that have been most helpful in progressing her career so far
• The great growth journey she’s taken First Milk on since joining as CEO back in 2017
• The changing landscape of Dairy and how Shelagh and First Milk are creating not just sustainable but regenerative farming practices
• What Shelagh believes Farms of the future will look like

Shelagh’s clearly very passionate about the Dairy industry and calls out the purpose-driven nature of Co-Operative Farming as one of her main motivators.

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

In this episode I have the pleasure of talking with the inspiring Ally Yates as we talk Behaviour Analysis, Inclusion and Communication Effectiveness in the Workplace.

Ally Yates is a Director, an Author and Leadership Coach and has almost 3 decades of talent development, leadership learning and business experience spread across multiple industries. She is also the author of 'Utter Confidence' - how what you say and do influences your effectiveness in business.

Join us in conversation as Ally and I discuss the benefits and impacts of Behaviour Analysis in the workplace as well as recognising how "affinity bias" can affect talent acquisition and effective leadership. Ally shares some extremely valuable tips on effective communication, separating "task" and "process" and establishing presence. 

We also talk about creating space in the workplace to foster creativity, encourage innovation and build relationships within the team.

Enjoy! 

As ever, if you'd like to get in touch you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com 

This week it was a genuine pleasure to chat with Mark Golder, Managing Director of the Children’s Healthy Food Brand and Manufacturer, Organix Brands.

Mark and I have a wide ranging conversation, firstly covering his own career journey, understanding his biggest influences and drawing out some invaluable advice you can hopefully apply in your own career.

Mark shares with us the world of Organix Brands, their 30-year journey to this point and what Mark and the team are focused on to deliver the next 30 years of growth. As always, I probe Mark for his thoughts on Leadership and draw out his keys that have held him in good stead when leading teams to success.

Finally and above all, what you’ll hopefully takeaway is a sense that Mark is an incredibly humble, positive and curious leader who is driven by making a difference. The insight and clarity of thinking Mark provides, I believe, will be valuable to many.

Be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

I am thrilled to be joined by my guest for this episode, Alex Demetriou. 

Alex is the Managing Director for Regency Purchasing Group, a key player in supporting the UK Food & Drink supply chain servicing over 3000 customers. Join Alex and I as we talk about his introduction into this industry and the influence his family has had on his career. He also shares some extremely valuable tips and advice about leadership, management styles and the importance of holding the team together during tough times.

We discuss the attributes he believes makes a great leader and also what good leadership truly means in the time of Covid. Alex tells me Covid has removed our predictable future and emphasises the danger of 'decision paralysis', encouraging listeners to make decisions quickly and move forward.

Alex describes how important it is to invest in both your knowledge and your reputation, as well as the positive impact of surrounding yourself with good people, taking advice and building strong foundations. 

We conclude the episode by discussing Alex's hugely successful charitable trust - raising an impressive £1.6 million to fund local charities and individuals in need of medical support and corrective surgery.

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130

Or, you can email me directly at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

In this episode, I'm delighted to have the opportunity to talk with Stuart Lee.  Simply put, Stuart is a world-class Operations & Business leader with a wealth of experience gained across the Food Industry. Previously the Executive Vice President of East Balt Bakery for 13 years, he was responsible for the whole of EMEA and during his time was attributed with increasing revenue substantially. Stuart is an expert in capital investment, organisational restructuring, strategy development and industrial capability and he now spends his time consulting, often operating on a global basis, for major international food manufacturing groups. In this episode, Stuart and I discuss his humble beginnings in this industry, why listening is the key to leadership and the importance of a positive mindset to embrace change rather than fear it.  Actively seeking challenges, embracing change and being a disruptor by continually challenging the norm are just some of the attributes that have helped Stuart through his career. He emphasises that responsibility and accountability should be kept at the forefront in order to achieve success. We wrap up this episode by summarising the importance of what this year has brought us. Stuart talks about the opportunities to reshape and reset as well as using what we are learning today to create and implement strategic processes for the future. As always, if you'd like to get in touch with me you can email me directly at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com   Alternatively, if you'd like to reach out to Stuart you can drop him a line via his details below; Email: slee@slassociates.eu  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stuart-lee-1869944a 

We're excited to share this week's featured guest Jonathan Reed – the Managing Director for UK-based privately-owned coffee company Paddy & Scott’s.

An authentic, honest and down-to-earth leader, Jonathan along with Paddy & Scott are on a mission to revolutionise how coffee is traded around the world, and using coffee as a vehicle for change.

Jonathan and I had a really interesting chat – starting with his journey in food and drink and how his entrepreneurial spirit led him to Paddy & Scott’s. We discussed the traits and attributes that have helped him along the way and the importance of making teams feel like they’re part of a community. 

Jonathan is really open and honest with us, even giving us a little personal story about losing 11 stone in 12 months. We touch upon Paddy & Scott’s incredible social initiatives, how they do business differently and its impact on attracting and retaining the best talent.

Join us as we discuss what good leadership looks like to Jonathan, his top book recommendations, his future ambitions and the importance of adding a personal touch – be it in recruitment or customer service.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

• 02:15 Jonathan’s journey in Food and Drink
• 09:57 Traits and attributes that helped him succeed
• 15:18 History and background of Paddy & Scott’s
• 29:05 What does good leadership look like
• 36:05 Skills and attributes that aspiring leaders should develop

Be sure to check out The Mentors Club - new for 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Finally, our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Excited to share this week's guest Giovanni Ghisetti – the Managing Director for snack manufacturer, Eat Natural who are now owned by Ferrero.

An experienced and charismatic business leader, Giovanni has very clear and people-focused principles of leadership. His style is a blend of ‘Economics and Psychology’ which has allowed him to understand how people think. He leads with what he calls ‘Knowledge Authority’- always behaving with authenticity and respect.

In this episode, Giovanni and I discuss what attracted him back to FMCG after a successful period working for some of the largest blue-chips in the world. He tells us it was the combination of his love for tech with the emotional connection you get from food that led him back to this dynamic industry.

You will really get a sense of Giovanni's passion for people and cultural diversity through this episode as we dive into his main motivations and the pivotal moments in his life (both positive and negative).

Join us as we walk about food innovation, career advice, merger & acquisition advice, effective leadership traits and the importance of building trust and how he keeps people engaged and motivated.

Here are some key topics we discussed through the episode:

• 06:54 Traits and attributes that led to Giovanni’s success
• 10:34 Giovanni’s main motivations and his ‘WHY’
• 12:40 What does good leadership looks like?
• 23:18 What does good M&A look like
• 33:50 Economics and Psychology

Be sure to check out The Mentors Club - new for 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Finally, to take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit our sponsor on: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

For season two of The Leader Insights Series Podcast I’ve mixed up the format slightly and every episode will now feature multiple guests, discussing a particular challenge or issue.

In this first episode I had the pleasure of welcoming back Sam Waterfall, London’s Global Career Coach, as well as speaking to Andrew Elder, an experienced FMCG marketeer, for the first time, to discuss how to accelerate your job search in 2024.

As a reminder, Sam is a high-impact career coach with a background in marketing and a no-nonsense approach to getting you the job you really want. Whether it’s helping young people overcome their inexperience to land their first job, or it’s working alongside senior leaders to build strategies for their career growth, Sam has worked with people in all stages of their career search (helping some land jobs in Nike, Redbull, Virgin, Facebook and the NHS to name a few!)

Andrew has amassed around 25 years’ experience working in a variety of marketing roles across FMCG. He’s worked for organisations such as Kellogg’s, Premier Foods and brands such as Birdseye, Quorn and Stella Artois. As an omni-channel marketeer Andrew has worked across insight, innovation and brand strategy but above all, he’s an exceptionally nice guy with an infectiously positive disposition!  

In this episode, we focus on how to accelerate your job search 2024. Through the conversation my guests provide actionable tips of how to help you find your next role including how to get the most out of LinkedIn Premium, the importance of having ‘clarity’ in your job search and the benefits of networking and how to maximise this.

We also discuss the realities of going through a job search and how you can keep yourself motivated and energised during the process.

I hope you like this new format and, as ever, if you’d like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

For this episode, I was delighted to have had the opportunity to talk with the highly engaging Tim Roberts.

After seeing Tim at a ‘Coaching Culture’ conference I was really impressed, and so I couldn't resist inviting him onto the Podcast.

Tim is an Emotional Intelligence coach who delivers leadership coaching for Leaders who want to become the best version of themselves.

As well as being the Founder of Enthuse Coaching and Training, on the 29th April Tim will be publishing his first highly anticipated book called “Break the Mould” which we talk about in the episode.

With over 20 years of Leadership experience in various sectors, Tim’s coaching work includes clients such as the NHS, global digital brands, Housing Associations, Premier League Football Clubs and entrepreneurial start-ups.

Tim is himself a very authentic, ‘people first’ leader who brilliantly communicates what I think, are crucial behaviours and skills that all leaders need to develop to become successful in today’s world.

It was an absolute pleasure chatting with Tim and we wish him every success with his book launch. Please visit www.enthusecoaching.com for more information and to purchase your copy of the book. 

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Join me in conversation with John Weaver. 

Quite simply, John is a first-class CEO with a proven track record of success and in recent times he's developed a very successful non-exec portfolio career. 

John was Chief Operating Officer for Petty Wood & Co, which he successfully sold in 2015 as part of an MBO after doubling revenue. Subsequently, he had similar success as CEO with the Tree of Life, the UK’s largest distributor of natural & healthy products – here John was attributed with tripling revenue before becoming a non-executive for them in 2019.

In this episode, we talk about his incredible career history and the attributes that make a great leader. John emphasises that leadership is situational, and that a good leader must be in tune with their team and the end goal. 

Finally, John is a certified Executive Coach via the International Coach Federation, ICF (the gold standard in Exec Coaching).  You'll hear how he is a strong advocate for professional executive coaching - we delve into the benefits of having a coach to aid with unlocking ideas, and help discard repetitive work patterns to gain traction within your career.

Enjoy! 

If you'd like to get in touch for any reason, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-o-hagan-🇬🇧-b5717130

Or, you can email me directly at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

In our second episode this series the focus is all about innovation.

I was delighted to chat with Sarah Munday, European Head of Research and Development at Innocent Drinks and Rachel Chatterton, Head of Food and Beverage Development at Holland and Barrett.

Sarah has over 25 years of experience working in the food and drink industry, specifically focusing on new product development and innovation. She has made a career out of bringing household names to market working for companies such as Hain Daniels Group, Mizkan and now Innocent Drinks.

Rachel brings years of experience launching market leading new product development with nationally and globally recognised brands such as Starbucks, Gousto and Marks and Spencer. She now works with Holland and Barrett to lead their food and beverage development strategy.

In this episode, we focus on innovation. Through the conversation we discuss the importance of timing in new product development, the impact food security is having on the market and how AI and data are influencing the innovation process.  

We also cover the biggest threats to innovation right now, what the upcoming trends in the food and drink industry are and how you should approach failure.

I hope you like this epsiode and, as ever, if you’d like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!

For this episode, I was delighted to talk about culture fit and leading with the heart with my special guest Marc Cox, Founder of The Company Spirit and Author of the highly regarded book "The Business Case for Love".

Over the past decade, Marc has been hired by CEO's and leadership teams from across the globe who are looking for a different approach to creating an authentic company culture.

Through Marc's unique approach, he helps organisations understand what the company stands for and what makes it different. Marc is also the author of the highly acclaimed book "The Business Case For Love" in which he shares the secrets of how you can get your company bragged about in today's ever-competitive world!

We kick off this episode discussing Marc's incredibly successful career and swiftly move on to his predictions for UK retail trends and what the future holds for the high street. Marc, in his usual candour, tells me how there is a big shift in customer priorities, and it is imperative that, moving forward, organisations should shift their focus from "product and price" to understanding customer insight and employee & customer experience.

In the second half of this week's episode, we delve into Marc's book and his philosophy of "The Business Case for Love".  Marc explains how more and more employees are now looking for a cultural fit and an organisation with a clear purpose and vision. We discuss how employees refuse to put up with toxic leadership, instead looking up to leaders that truly believe in what they stand for and lead with the heart. We talk about how Marc's unique approach helps organisations create authentic company values and a set of beliefs that, in turn, result in truly memorable experiences for customers and high levels of employee engagement.

We hope you enjoy the listen and if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jonathan.ohagan@leaderexecutivesearch.com

You can also reach out to Marc directly via his website: www.thecompanyspirit.com