Evolve to Succeed

Rachel Pendered is co-founder and managing director of Media Zoo, an award-winning creative communications agency. Amongst other things, she talks about her former career with the BBC, pursuing personal and professional purpose, the future of PR and how she nurtures young talent through her 'Zooniversity'.

Rachel Pendered is co-founder and managing director of Media Zoo, an award-winning creative communications agency. Amongst other things, she talks about her former career with the BBC, pursuing personal and professional purpose, the future of PR and how she nurtures young talent through her 'Zooniversity'.

Jo Colman is head of sales and marketing at Summerdown, the Hampshire farm that has been growing and harvesting its signature Black Mitcham mint for almost three decades. Jo—who is part of the Colman's Mustard family—discusses topics from sustainability and family values, to his love of poetry and 50 year plan for the farm and the business.

Arabella Lewis-Smith is founder and MD at award-winning digital agency Salad Creative. She recently made the decision to turn the company into an employee owned business or EOT. Arabella talks about why she made this decision, what the process involves and how its affected both Salad Creative as a company, and her own role as MD.

Sarah Turner is co-founder of health tech company CeraThrive, as well as host of the Rebel Scientist podcast. She has a science research background with a particular interest in the application of light in biology, including photo-biomodulation, circadian biology, chronobiology, lifestyle modification and biohacking. She is also curious about in the role of physics in relation to biology and is currently exploring the fields of quantum biology, photomedicine and consciousness studies.

Justin Hedges OBE is the founding partner and executive chairman of Prevail Partners, an intelligence, strategic advisory and risk management company.

Justin was also one of the youngest Royal Marines ever; he retired from the Royal Marines and Specialist Military Units in 2018, and was awarded his OBE for outstanding leadership in operations. His deep insights in the formulation of strategies and operational plans, drawn from top roles in the UK’s National Security Architecture, give him tremendous authority on the subject of leadership, risk management and crisis response.

On this episode, Evolve founder Warren Munson reads through three articles from the Evolve blog—“Why founders often fail as CEOs”, “Is your mindset stopping your growth?” and “Here’s how to sacrifice better”.

Morag Ofili is the founder of Kiltered, a diversity and inclusion company that helps start-ups and SMEs promote better diversity and inclusion policies and increase business performance. Included in the episode are discussions around the effects the great resignation has had on driving diversity and inclusion, the vulnerability of stepping out of your familiar profession into entrepreneurialism, and the significant influence Gen Z has had on igniting real and sustained change. 

Sam de Reya, Deputy Chief Constable for Dorset Police, talks about the pleasures and pressures of leadership in law enforcement. Also addressed are topics around self-development, public responsibilities, how Covid affected crime, and her time at the FBI National Academy. And, we had to ask—how do police dramas on TV compare to the real thing?

Rosie Radwell recently marked her 20th year as MD at the Marsham Court Hotel in Bournemouth. During that time, both the hotel and Rosie herself have won multiple awards, and Marsham Court continues to be a flagship venue on the south coast.

Rosie's family have been hoteliers in Bournemouth for 70 years, and she talks about the impact this has had on her, and about the pleasures and pressures of continuing that proud family legacy.

Also covered are the importance of building loyalty with guests, staff and contractors, how she competes with the big hotel chains, coping with the upheavals of post-Covid travel, and what she learned from a significant period of family loss and turbulence.