The "So What" of Energy Data: Cutting Cost and Carbon at IMSERV

Jo Cox, CEO - IMSERV Europe

Belden Menkus

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In this episode we speak to Jo Cox, Chief Executive Officer of IMSERV Europe, a provider of meter and data services to the UK’s commercial and industrial energy sector. Jo reflects on joining a long-established but under-the-radar business which is trusted by the industry, yet perceived as slow to change. She discusses the choices she has made since arriving in early 2025 to move it forward at pace.

Jo explains where IMSERV sits in the energy system: installing and maintaining the meters behind business energy bills, collecting the data, and making sure it is accurate for utility providers and the regulator. She describes the three pillars of her strategy: high-performing field engineers who keep meters communicating, collecting accurate data across large meter portfolios, and the IMSERV Astral data platform – an acquisition which will turn their data into insights to reduce both cost and carbon. It’s a strategy she’s continuing to build on, with IMSERV’s more recent acquisition of arbnco, a Glasgow based proptech company whose AI-powered platform helps real estate owners and asset managers turn energy data into decarbonisation action, further strenghtening IMSERV’s ability to help customers cut both cost and carbon across their portfolios.

The conversation also explores Jo’s approach to leadership, which is non-hierarchical, fast-paced, and willing to get “into the weeds.” She talks candidly about treating private equity as a partner rather than holding them at arm’s length, and shares her advice for any CEO walking into a business for the first time: don’t lead with an ego, and ask a lot of questions before assuming you have the answers.

Check out the IMSERV website.

A special thanks to Michael Diamond from Norman Broadbent for making this conversation possible!

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

Jo Cox

The Future of British Sports Cars

Mark Tapscott, Co-Founder & CEO - Longbow

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In this episode we speak with Mark Tapscott, Co-Founder and CEO of Longbow, an electric sports car company whose aim is to engineer vehicles that are fast, ultra-lightweight and will stand the test of time. Mark co-founded Longbow in 2023 after two decades launching electric vehicles into new markets, including for Tesla and BYD. He explains their vision for success and the factors behind it, including the UK’s world-class supply chain, a high-powered advisory board, and their dedication to craftsmanship over volume. Mark explains his view that the UK is among the best places in the world to design, assemble and sell sports cars.

Mark describes how Longbow takes the best parts of strategies gleaned from Silicon Valley and China, such as periodically “breaking and rebuilding” the company as they grow and relying on nimble expert teams of engineers. He also goes deeper into Longbow’s focus on lightweighting, describing it as an efficiency philosophy that will shape the future of transportation. In an industry with a longstanding affinity for petrol and heavy design, he has received some pushback on electric lightweight vehicles. However, Mark leaves us with an insight from his early days at Tesla: if enough people tell you an idea won't work, you may be onto something.

Listen here and on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and check out the Longbow website.

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

Mark Tapscott

Navigating the Complexity of Healthcare

James Murray, Chief Executive - HCML

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In this episode we speak with James Murray, Chief Executive of HCML, a leading provider of healthcare services to the corporate and private medical insurance markets. HCML specialises in the bringing clarity to complex health journeys, helping people access the right healthcare, in the right way, at the right time. Through case management, they understand what’s needed and bring together the right specialist support and coordinate the right pathway around the person’s needs, circumstances and goals.

James makes both a moral and a business case for facilitating swift and simple access to high-quality healthcare. He describes the factors behind a striking statistic that £1 of healthcare investment yields £4 in returns, and argues that employers can and should view employee health as a core responsibility. James also elaborates on HCML’s place in the healthcare market in comparison to the NHS, including the market gaps that HCML fills.

Their conversation also covers the how and why behind HCML’s business strategy, from their steadfast focus on their core case management and rehabilitation services, to implementation of AI tools in their day-to-day work. In addition, James describes how PE investor Apposite Capital helps the HCML executive team to grow their impact, while leaving strategic autonomy to them.

Finally, James reflects on his decades-long career in the healthcare industry, and why he will never leave. In his words, this work is “good for the soul.”

Check out the HCML website.

A special thanks to Norman Broadbent’s Luke Horrigan for suggesting this conversation!

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

James Murray

What Mutual Really Means: Purpose, Pride, and the Long Game in Financial Services

David Hynam, CEO - LV=

Belden Menkus

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What does it take to lead a mutual insurer with over a million members and to balance commercial performance and long-term member value? In this episode, David Hynam, CEO of LV=, reflects on more than three decades in financial services and the choices that have shaped his leadership of one of the UK's most recognised financial mutuals. He reflects on what mutuality actually means in practice, what he found when he arrived, and how the organisation has moved since.

David talks about building pride in the organisation, the discipline of translating a five-pillar strategy into day-to-day delivery, and the tools he uses to keep an executive team accountable. He notes the difference between a real strategy and a chief executive's wish list, and about what it takes to avoid the latter.

The conversation also explores what it means to operate without shareholders, how they balance member value against financial sustainability, and what the distinctive mutual model asks of a leader. David is candid about the grey areas, and about why he thinks a CEO who isn't optimistic has no business being in the chair.

Special thanks to Jim Islam for suggesting this conversation!

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

David Hynam

Preventing Hospital Infections at the Source – Without Another Silver Coating

Georgia Fleet, CEO & Co-Founder - Zonova

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In this episode we speak to Dr Georgia Fleet, CEO and Co-Founder of Zonova, a medtech company working to help prevent the infections associated with medical devices and hospitalisation. A large proportion of hospital-acquired infections originate on the medical devices that deliver care, such as IV lines and ventilator tubing. Zonova’s purpose is a simple one: you shouldn't go into hospital and come out more ill.

Georgia explains that devices come sterile, but sterility ends the second you open the packet. Bacteria are everywhere, and they'll happily attach to a device sitting inside a patient. That's the opening for an infection to start. To solve this problem, Zonova’s Z-ROS® additive is embedded into devices during the manufacturing process. While their competitors often fight microbes by adding a silver coating to the device, Georgia emphasises that “this is not another silver coating.”

On the business side, Georgia talks about Zonova’s journey from its founding as a scrappy startup to now, with a full team, a dedicated lab, and patents in process. She describes how they have scaled by pivoting from manufacturing to B2B intellectual property licensing. The conversation also delves into about the patent process and FDA requirements, and the decision to keep the team in-person rather than going remote.

As a leader, Georgia reflects on her own shift from working alone as a scientist to leading and communicating with a growing team. She is also candid about the role of persistence in Zonova’s success: repeated applications, repeated conversations, and knowing when a “no” means “not yet.”

Check out the Zonova website.

Many thanks to Sarah Turner, CEO of Angel Academe, for suggesting this conversation!

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

Georgia Fleet

A Big Impact Without a Big Business: Long-Term Thinking at Pottinger

Nigel Lake, Co-Founder & Executive Chair - Pottinger

Belden Menkus

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Nigel Lake, co-founder and Executive Chair of Pottinger, reflects on more than two decades building an independent global advisory business that works with major companies, governments, and industry bodies. Pottinger remains a relatively small firm, and Nigel explains that unlike many businesses, scale was never their primary focus.

Nigel describes the discipline behind Pottinger's work: bringing strategy and investment banking together so that every strategic question comes with a complete financial understanding, and every transaction serves a purpose beyond simply getting the deal done. With this financial discipline as a backdrop, he makes the case for a resolute focus on the long term in a world full of short-term noise. While the next quarter is hard to predict, the direction technology will take is often knowable years in advance if leaders are willing to look.

The conversation also explores why Pottinger shifted towards emerging industries such as the energy transition, the difference between governments backing a winning company and backing a winning technology, Nigel's reservations about the gap between AI's persuasiveness and its truthfulness, and why he believes business leaders have a responsibility to engage with public policy and the systems they help shape.

Many thanks to R. Paul Herman for suggesting this conversation!

Check out the Pottinger website.

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

Nigel Lake

People and Process: Lean Empowerment and Productivity Across Industries

Steve Boam, CEO - Develop Consulting

Belden Menkus

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What do an auto manufacturer and an NHS ward have in common? In this episode, Steve Boam, CEO of Develop Consulting, explains that the Lean principles he learned on Toyota production lines apply to all types of sectors, including defence suppliers, airports, and hospitals. Since founding Develop in 2018, he and his team have used those principles to support hundreds improvement projects across more than 50 clients.

Steve traces Lean back to Toyota’s drive for continuous improvement, built on two foundations: people and process. He explains how Develop works shoulder to shoulder with clients rather than advising from a distance, why the Lean principles hold regardless of product development speed or scale, and that the hardest part of any transformation is rarely the boardroom or the shop floor, but the in the middle.

The conversation covers productivity challenges as well as the skills mismatch leaving young people without work. As part of this, Steve emphasises the need for education and apprenticeships in industry, as well as worker empowerment: the need to “flip the pyramid” and place the person doing the job at the top.

Check out the Develop Consulting website.

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

Steve Boam

Engineering from the Inside Out: Leading Change at LPA Group

Philo Daniel, CEO - LPA Group

Belden Menkus

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In this episode we speak to Dr. Philo Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of LPA Group, a company who designs and manufactures specialised electrical equipment for rail, aviation, and aerospace & defence. Philo reflects on joining a well-invested but underperforming business and the strategic choices she has made to turn it around.

Philo shares how she reorganised LPA from four quasi-independent sites into a single functional structure, and how that structure is working now. She describes how a major rebranding is helping the new culture and structure stick with her workers and beyond. She also discusses the costs and benefits of being a vertically integrated business – manufacturing components in-house rather than offshore.

The conversation also explores LPA’s pivot towards defence and sovereign supply chain customers, Philo’s thoughts on leading an organisation for the first time, and why she believes engineering businesses like LPA have both a social and strategic duty to invest in STEM outreach and apprenticeships.

Listen here and on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

Many thanks to Norman Broadbent’s John Begley for the introduction to Philo, so that we could have this insightful conversation!

Philo Daniel