The Standard for Everything: Leadership and Long-Term Impact at the National Physical Laboratory

Peter Thompson, Chief Executive - National Physical Laboratory

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In this episode, Dr. Peter Thompson, Chief Executive of the National Physical Laboratory, explains that measurement is the invisible infrastructure of the modern world, and discusses NPL’s role in maintaining it.

Peter reflects on leading a government-owned organisation that must operate as a business, win contracts on merit, demonstrate impact from public money, and sustain the long-term scientific capability that makes its role possible. He describes how he has reoriented NPL from a culture of excellent science for its own sake towards one that is externally focused on what society, industry and government need.

The conversation explores NPL’s purpose to act as the connective tissue between scientific expertise and the economy, using its ultimate certainty of measurements to help companies innovate beyond that and scale their businesses. They also discuss Peter’s approach to leadership in a rapidly changing society: what got us here won’t necessarily get us there, so what do we need to do now?

Listen here and on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

NPL: https://www.npl.co.uk/

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

Peter Thompson

Ports Are the How: Infrastructure, Energy Transition, and Long-Term Thinking at Forth Ports

Stuart Wallace, CEO - Forth Ports

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How to lead one of the UK's most prominent port groups in our changing times? Stuart Wallace, Chief Executive of Forth Ports, brings a rare operational depth to its leadership. He reflects on what ports do and why they matter, from keeping supply chains moving to facilitating offshore energy. He also shares what has kept him at Forth Ports for nearly 25 years, and what nine different roles inside the organisation taught him about leadership.

On strategy, Stuart outlines the discipline of building around long time horizons and investing in infrastructure. How Forth Ports moved into the renewables market before they even had a contract, why the organisation took the risk, and how that has played out at the ports of Dundee and Leith.

The conversation also explores how Stuart leads a business that is simultaneously a commercial enterprise, a statutory harbour authority, and a cornerstone of the communities it operates in.

Listen here and on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

Stuart Wallace

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.

Listen here and on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

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.

Listen here or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

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.

Listen here and on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and check out Drax on their website.

Supported by Norman Broadbent.

Will Gardiner