Nothing Moves Without It: Logistics, National Resilience, and the Case for a Seat at the Top Table

Ben Fletcher, Chief Executive - Logistics UK

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What does it take to keep an economy moving? In this episode, Ben Fletcher, Chief Executive of Logistics UK, makes the case that logistics isn’t just the backbone of the economy: it’s the precondition for almost everything else.

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s largest business groups representing the buyers and suppliers from the transport logistics sector. To lead this organisation, Ben draws on more than two decades of experience spanning government, manufacturing, and industry leadership. He explains what it means to represent 22,000 members across a multimodal industry spanning road, rail, sea, and air, and envisions how the logistics sector could better bolster economic growth if its strength were fully understood at the highest levels of government.

The conversation starts with strategy: how Logistics UK is pushing to become the single voice for the whole industry, and why winning that position means making an economy-wide argument, not just a sector-specific one. Ben also shares what drives decisions: data gets you in the room, but a story unlocks action. From there the conversation turns to what COVID revealed about the sector's public role, how AI is beginning to shift what's possible for firms of every size, and why logistics may be one of the best industries in the UK for a young person starting out — if government policy can catch up.

Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/

Ben Fletcher

Prove Who You Are: Identity, Displacement, and the 123 Million People Whose Credentials Cannot Cross Borders

Colin Walsh, Founder & Board Chair - Civitas ID

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For hundreds of millions of people forced from their homes, the barrier to rebuilding a life isn't just poverty or conflict, it's the inability to prove their identities in a way that government and banking systems recognize. In this episode, Colin Walsh, founder of Civitas ID, explains why identity is the foundational problem of forced displacement, and what it will take to solve it.

Through US nonprofit Civitas and its partner public benefit corporation Etymos, Colin and his team are building the credential infrastructure that makes it both technically viable and commercially attractive to connect displaced people to the banks, employers, and service providers they need access to. It's an approach grounded in direct engagement with displaced communities, and in the conviction that technology works best when it's backed by advocacy and policy reform.

The conversation explores what that looks like in practice: the lessons from running pilots in Kenya and Colombia, the contrast between how each market is moving, and why genuine listening, alongside direct engagement with displaced communities, has shaped Civitas's approach.

Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/

Colin Walsh

Trust, Standards, and the Strategic Case for PR

Sarah Waddington, Chief Executive - PRCA

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Public relations is widely misunderstood – sometimes reduced to media handling, crisis management, or spin. Sarah Waddington, Chief Executive of the PRCA, the world's largest professional body for public relations and communications, makes a different argument entirely: that PR is a strategic management discipline, integral to organisational success, and urgently needed in a fractured world where trust is at an all-time low.

In this episode, Sarah talks about what she found when she stepped into the CEO role — an organisation that had been through a challenging period and needed a unifying sense of direction. She shares how she crystallised and reoriented the PRCA's mission, and what it looks like to lead a vocal and diverse membership body through changing times.

That mission has two clear ambitions: to make the case for PR at the level it deserves, and to make PR a profession that is inclusive by default. Sarah discusses the PRCA’s commissioning of a new industry definition, bolstered by a CBI Economics impact study, that speaks to the economic and societal contribution of the profession in addition to its mechanics. Sarah also discusses the plan to bring together the industry's many diversity groups under one coordinated effort, to identify structural gaps, and start to close them.

The conversation also covers where PR sits relative to advertising and marketing, why reputation in the age of AI demands a more prominent role for PR, and how Sarah sees strategic communications as a force for tackling some of the most intractable social challenges of our time.

Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/

Sarah Waddington

Growing Great Things Together: Culture, Acquisitions, and the Long Game in Professional Services

Scott Heath, CEO - DJH

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What does it take to grow an accountancy firm from 60 people to over 800 in just five years — and keep the culture intact? In this episode, Scott Heath, CEO of DJH, reflects on two decades with the firm and the strategic choices that have shaped its rapid expansion through acquisition.

Scott delves into the realities of PE-backed growth: the pressure of performing against peak valuations, the discipline of building infrastructure before scaling further, and why culture sits above strategic fit in every acquisition conversation. He shares how DJH has developed a model where acquired firms bring their own specialisms into a shared platform, creating something more than the sum of its parts.

The conversation also explores how DJH is approaching AI, how B Corp accreditation became a useful framework for honest self-assessment, and what Scott has learned about leadership as the firm has grown beyond what any one person can control.

Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/

Scott Heath

Leadership Means Improving The System

Patrick Heath-Lay, CEO - People's Partnership

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Leaders often talk about scale and efficiency. But how do you grow without losing sight of the people you serve? Patrick Heath-Lay, CEO of People’s Partnership, shares how the organisation evolved from its roots in construction into the force behind The People’s Pension, now serving millions across the UK, following a pivotal moment of legislative change.

Patrick reflects on leading a purpose-driven organisation through reinvention, balancing commercial discipline with member outcomes, and using a simple set of values to guide decisions at scale. He also explores the changing pensions landscape, from industry consolidation to new investment expectations.

At the heart of the conversation is a bigger question: how do you design a system that works not just for engaged savers, but for everyone? From “moments of truth” in customer support to the future of pension policy, Patrick makes the case that leadership means improving the system itself, not just the organisation within it.

Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/

Patrick Heath-Lay

Reframing the Energy Transition

Will Gardiner, CEO - Drax

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What is the energy transition really about and how should leaders be talking about it now? In this episode, Will Gardiner, CEO of Drax, reflects on how the narrative is shifting from a narrow focus on net zero to a broader story about affordability, energy security, and enabling an electrified future.

He shares how Drax’s strategy has taken shape in practice, moving from investing across multiple opportunities to focusing more clearly on flexible generation in a system increasingly defined by volatility and rising demand. The conversation also explores the realities behind the headlines: grid constraints, misaligned incentives, and the challenge of building new infrastructure at pace.

At the heart of the discussion is a leadership question. For Will, the role is not just to operate within the system, but to help reshape how energy is understood — communicating its importance, rebuilding trust, and making the case for why it underpins everything from AI to modern life.

Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/

Will Gardiner

Engineering A Safer World

Ruth Boumphrey, Chief Executive - Lloyd's Register Foundation

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Leaders want to create impact. But how do you lead for impact when the problems you are trying to solve are global, systemic, and often invisible until something goes wrong? Ruth Boumphrey, Chief Executive of Lloyd’s Register Foundation, explains how the Foundation is working to make the world safer by shaping the necessary evidence and standards that help knowledge translate into action at scale.

Ruth reflects on the Foundation’s unusual model as a charity that owns a business, and how that independence allows it to take a long-term view. She describes the shift in strategy under her leadership: a stronger focus on maritime systems, safer and more sustainable infrastructure, and the skills needed to support both, alongside a growing commitment to locally led decision-making.

Looking ahead, she discusses the importance of better safety data, the role of leadership in creating safer organisations, and why difficult conversations matter in high-risk environments. From the World Risk Poll to community-led safety programmes, Ruth makes the case that progress starts by seeing problems clearly and building systems designed to keep people safe.

Supported by Norman Broadbent

Ruth Boumphrey

Building a “Sky of Social”: Inside the Creator-Led Media Economy

Alistair Gosling & Ben Brown, Co-Founders - Wavelength

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The media landscape is being rebuilt around platforms, algorithms, and creators. Alistair Gosling and Ben Brown, co-founders of Wavelength Network, are building a business designed for that reality bringing together publishing channels, creators, and brands into a new kind of media network spanning sports, gaming, automotive, and youth culture. Rather than creating a new platform, Wavelength operates across existing ones, focusing on owned distribution, audience scale, and commercial partnerships to build what they describe as a “Sky of social.”

In this episode, they explore how media consumption has shifted toward feed-driven, “lean back” experiences, why creators are increasingly the source of new formats and intellectual property, and how Wavelength helps talent move beyond fragmented revenue into longer-term value. They also discuss the future of the industry — from micro-format content and new platforms to physical creator hubs and live experiences — and why the next generation of media will be shaped less by institutions and more by individuals building their own platforms in real time.

Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/

Ben Brown and Alistair Gosling