S2 Ep5 Cambridge United Football Club - CEO Ian Mather
Business Insights Chat
In this episode, Ian Fitch chats with Ian Mather, so it’s less a tale of two halves, and more the tale of two Ian’s! Sit back and listen to them ‘kicking around’ thoughts on what it really means to pursue a second career. Ian Mather is a retired solicitor and former partner at Mills & Reeves, but decided that retirement wasn’t for him, especially once the job of CEO of Cambridge Football Club presented itself. Ian specialised in employment law and was an advocate of mediation over expensive litigation throughout his career. With the skills he learnt in how to mediate successfully...
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S2 Ep4: Parkrun - Nick Pearson, CEO
Business Insights Chat
Chances are that your local park is swamped with runners every Saturday morning. Parkrun has become the world’s largest physical activity provider, operating in 23 countries, with 7 million members worldwide and over 2000 weekly events. This charitable organisation prides itself on being an accessible access point to exercise for everyone. It works with local communities, relying on volunteer participation to make the events happen. You may wonder how these free-to-attend events make money and Nick gives a fascinating answer by discussing what it’s like to say no to giant corporations like...
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S2 Ep3 - Mediapro - Maria Veronese, Owner & journalist
Business Insights Chat
This week’s chat is a real eye opener. Engagement with media can be make or break for some businesses – ever wondered what it suggests when you say “no comment”? Experienced journalist, and owner of Mediapro, Maria Veronese lets you in on what the journalist really thinks when you say that, and why it’s always best to try and take control, particularly if you find yourself at the centre of a PR disaster! Mediapro offers media training to help business leaders learn how to talk confidently on the record, sticking to key points, and how to get your point or story across effectively. As...
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S2 Ep2 - McDonald's - Kevin Foley, Franchisee
Business Insights Chat
“For any business leader—if it wasn’t for the staff, you wouldn’t have a business.” This is a direct quote from Kevin Foley, the franchise owner of 9 McDonald’s restaurants across the region, and a statement that is intrinsically tied to his success as a businessman. Ian chats to Kevin about how his passion for people, and his investment in his staff, have helped to grow his role as a franchisee. He took the historically derogatory term of “McJobs” personally, as Kevin can testify to just how hard his teams work, and how much they need to learn and implement in order for a site...
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S2 Ep1 - Archant - Lorna Willis, CEO
Business Insights Chat
We were delighted to welcome Lorna Willis, CEO of Archant, as we launch series two of Business Insights Chat. As we move out of lockdown, and start to navigate back to some semblance of normality, the theme of this series steps away from a focus on 2020 and its challenges, as we try to understand what makes successful business leaders in the region tick. We go behind the scenes, and ask what they have learnt from the last year that will take them, and their businesses, forward. Ian chats to Lorna about the role Archant plays locally in the ever-changing technology landscape, and how they are...
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S1 Ep6: Castle Colour Packaging - Mark Ferguson, MD
Business Insights Chat
This week, Ian Fitch speaks to Mark Ferguson, managing director of Castle Colour Packaging, a specialist packaging manufacturer in Norwich. They produce packaging for well-known brands including Pritt Stick and Eat Natural, among many others. The business has a focus on being the best it can be, while leading in sustainability and recyclable products. Mark’s insights into lockdown offer a unique perspective in this series, as they were identified as an essential business at the start of the first lockdown. They were able to continue trading, albeit with new safety measures in place for...
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S1 Ep5: Coes - William Coe, Managing Director
Business Insights Chat
This week, Ian Fitch talks to William Coe, managing director of Coes, an independent company of department stores, who have been trading since 1928! This chat offers an incredible insight into how a prominent local business has learnt, and continued to grow during a tough time for retail, and is not to be missed. William speaks openly about a variety of issues that the business has had to deal with during lockdown, stating that the first lockdown “Couldn’t have been worse timing for clothing businesses” He speaks candidly about the initial worry over suppliers not trading; how being told...
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S1 Ep4: The Boxford Group - Susanna Rendall, Group MD
Business Insights Chat
Partner Ian Fitch talks to Susanna Rendall, managing director of The Boxford Group. The group owns the award-winning Stoke-By-Nayland Resort, Peake Fruit Ltd and Boxford Suffolk Farms. Susanna talks candidly and in depth about the challenges that lockdown, and Brexit, have had on their businesses. She focuses on recruitment, and why they reached out to the community during the last year. Susanna also discusses what life is like in a family-run business. There are tales of pressing apples at her mother’s kitchen table, and how she’s learnt that if a vote is needed, perhaps it’s a sign...
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S1 Ep3: Suffolk Food Hall - Oliver Paul, Co-owner
Business Insights Chat
Partner Ian Fitch talks to Oliver Paul, co-owner of the hugely popular Suffolk Food Hall. Oliver looks back on how the idea for the food hall came about; discusses the learning opportunities that came from expanding in the early days; and how he believes there is now a strong place in the market for small businesses and owner-managed businesses. Oliver is a strong advocate of how listening to your customers is key. He speaks passionately about his team, and how their resilience and commitment to the business has helped them weather lockdown and the fatigue this can bring. He also talks about...
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S1 Ep2: Purcell - Mark Goldspink, CEO
Business Insights Chat
This week, partner Ian Fitch talks to Mark Goldspink, CEO of Purcell, a firm of architects, heritage consultants and master planners. Purcell specialises in historical builds, having worked on projects including Big Ben and The National Gallery. They chat about how Mark and his team coped with the challenges that the first lockdown brought, including a complete stop on the travel that was a key component of their operation, and how this will now change how they approach their travel, particularly globally, moving forward. Mark reflects on the ‘five years of learning in one’ that has...
info_outlineWe were delighted to welcome Lorna Willis, CEO of Archant, as we launch series two of Business Insights Chat.
As we move out of lockdown, and start to navigate back to some semblance of normality, the theme of this series steps away from a focus on 2020 and its challenges, as we try to understand what makes successful business leaders in the region tick. We go behind the scenes, and ask what they have learnt from the last year that will take them, and their businesses, forward.
Ian chats to Lorna about the role Archant plays locally in the ever-changing technology landscape, and how they are adapting, including their new mantra of ‘counting every customer’; how the relationships with their sales teams changed over lockdown; and how even their key performance indicators have changed to include things like ‘customer happiness’!
People are now time-poor, and Lorna lets us in on how the press is changing and adapting to how people now consume their news, and how they’re approaching the new value exchange in delivering local news.
Lorna also talks in detail about the unprecedented ‘talent war’ that now exists post COVID, particularly within digital-based businesses; competitor poaching and how this has impacted recruitment; and how this will impact wage inflation.
Whilst new to her CEO role, Lorna has years of experience within Archant, and is keen on promoting learning and development within her teams; having “skill and will”; changing a stale Board mentality; promoting the significance of mentors; and maintaining healthy staff engagement. Lorna also reflects on how she still has work to do in creating a fully diverse workforce, and how to get women to overcome ‘imposter syndrome’.
Lorna believes that a person’s career is now better off for having Archant on their CV. Customer feedback is at an all-time positive high, which is something that Lorna is proud to have achieved, rebuilding and pushing past a formerly aggressive reputation.
Lorna also discusses the future of office working, including ‘bringing your dog to work day’, and how Norwich City or Ipswich Town winning is great for business… fingers crossed! Going forwards, the feel-good factor is key all round.
You can contact Lorna directly by emailing [email protected]
You can check out Archant here.
We would love to hear from you, get in touch with us on [email protected].
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