Nottingham Business School Business Leaders

Nottingham Business School’s Business Leaders’ Podcast

Andy Bostock - Leadership and career development insights from KMPG

Episode 46

Summary

Andy Bostock manages more than 1,000 staff as a senior partner with one of the world's Big Four audit companies KPMG. He also leads the annual audits of some of the biggest local councils and hospitals in the Midlands (of the UK).

In discussion with Honorary Visiting Professor Mike Sassi, Andy reflects on three decades with KPMG - and on the need for better funding for local government and the NHS.

He also highlights why local business people must talk up their cities; why staff who want to get on should spend more time in the office; and how the most successful leaders have built their careers on being kind to their colleagues.

Introduction

Andy Bostock is a Senior Partner with KPMG, one of the Big Four professional services companies.

He has been with KPMG for almost three decades – and has been a partner for more than ten years.

Based in Birmingham – from where he manages more than 1,000 staff – Andy’s expertise is in working with the Public Sector.

In recent years, he has audited some of the Midlands’ biggest local councils and NHS hospitals.

Andy is a season-ticket holder at Stoke City and has two sons who are professional and semi-professional footballers, at West Brom and Hanley Town.

Key takeaways from the conversation with Andy Bostock:

On the importance for staff to spend a wedge of their working week in the office…

He says: “If you are a junior person at the firm, where do you get your learning? [From] other people! You don’t get it from a laptop, sitting on your own, at home.”

On the long-running cuts to local, council-run amenities…

He says: “We’ll have to put more funding into some of these services if we value them… and some stronger leadership.”

On headlines created by the ‘bankruptcy’ of Nottingham and Birmingham city councils…

“It’s beholden on us as business leaders to talk up our cities.”

On the leadership benefits of taking on challenges outside your comfort zone…

“When I was younger, I was seconded to the CBI for a year and ended up as bag-carrier to the Director General Sir Richard Lambert. It was a wonderful experience. It took me to a completely different place.”

On what he looks for when he is recruiting new staff…

He says: “It’s all about getting on with people… emotional intelligence and understanding… We focus too much on hard outcomes, like As and stars. It’s the personable bits that make the difference… People don’t appreciate how important these things are.”

Andy’s advice to anyone starting out on a leadership career…

He says: “Be kind! In the world of work… treat people as you would want to be treated yourself. If you’re collegiate and positive, people will always want to work with you.”

Related links

Read more about Andy Bostock on the KPMG website here

Andy Bostock’s LinkedIn profile is here

Andy Bostock’s appointment as senior partner was reported by The Business Desk here

If you enjoyed this episode of the NBS Business Leaders’ Podcast, listen to previous episodes with…

MD of global financial services company Experian Jose Luiz Rossi

Forensic accountant at KPMG Kathryn Wasteney

Global Vice Chair at professional services company EY Errol Gardner

Nottingham Business School’s Business Leaders’ Podcast

Leadership roundtable: The future of business education

Summary

To mark the opening of Nottingham Business School’s new Postgraduate and Executive Education Centre, three experts come together to discuss the future of business education.

They are, the President of the European Foundation for Management Development Professor Eric Cornuel, the Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools Flora Hamilton, and the Dean of Nottingham Business School Professor Baback Yazdani.

In a candid discussion hosted by Honorary Visiting Professor Mike Sassi, they talk about impactful research, challenging technologies and why business schools will only be truly successful if they embrace a higher purpose.

They also agree that business schools should be proud to generate the revenues that underpin other university departments.

Introduction

•Professor Eric Cornuel has been President of the prestigious European Foundation for Management Development for more than 15 years.

•During a career spanning more than three decades, Eric has helped establish world-class standards of management education and research in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.

•His work has set new benchmarks for the impact of management teaching on business practice across the globe.

•Eric has held leadership positions at management schools in Europe and Asia, including HEC Paris and the Catholic University of Louvain.

•He is a fellow of numerous universities – and sits on the boards of several international business organisations.

•In recognition of his outstanding contribution to higher education, Eric has been awarded France’s highest honour, the Légion d’honneur.

•Flora Hamilton is Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools.

•The chartered association is an organisation that promotes the UK business schools that offer the most effective support for small business.

•Flora became CEO last year, having previously spent ten years as Director and Head of Financial Services at the CBI.

•Professor Baback Yazdani has been Dean of the Nottingham Business School for 17 years.

•NBS is now the fourth biggest business school in Britain and a global exemplar for the sustainability of its research and education.

•It is also among the one per cent of business schools across the world, recognised by all three international accreditation bodies, EQUIS, the AACSB and the AMBA.

•NBS is a global leader in experiential learning and personalisation of education.

•NBS is also acknowledged as a major innovator in the delivery of its programmes and in its connectivity to business.

Nottingham Business School’s Business Leaders’ Podcast

Leadership roundtable: What is the future of business education?

Episode 45

Summary

To mark the opening of Nottingham Business School’s new Postgraduate and Executive Education Centre, three experts come together to discuss the future of business education.

They are, the President of the European Foundation for Management Development Professor Eric Cornuel, the Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools Flora Hamilton, and the Dean of Nottingham Business School Professor Baback Yazdani.

In a candid discussion hosted by Honorary Visiting Professor Mike Sassi, they talk about impactful research, challenging technologies and why business schools will only be truly successful if they embrace a higher purpose.

They also agree that business schools should be proud to generate the revenues that underpin other university departments.

Introduction

•Professor Eric Cornuel has been President of the prestigious European Foundation for Management Development for more than 15 years.

•During a career spanning more than three decades, Eric has helped establish world-class standards of management education and research in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.

•His work has set new benchmarks for the impact of management teaching on business practice across the globe.

•Eric has held leadership positions at management schools in Europe and Asia, including HEC Paris and the Catholic University of Louvain.

•He is a fellow of numerous universities – and sits on the boards of several international business organisations.

•In recognition of his outstanding contribution to higher education, Eric has been awarded France’s highest honour, the Légion d’honneur.

•Flora Hamilton is Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools.

•The chartered association is an organisation that promotes the UK business schools that offer the most effective support for small business.

•Flora became CEO last year, having previously spent ten years as Director and Head of Financial Services at the CBI.

•Professor Baback Yazdani has been Dean of the Nottingham Business School for 17 years.

•NBS is now the fourth biggest business school in Britain and a global exemplar for the sustainability of its research and education.

•It is also among the one per cent of business schools across the world, recognised by all three international accreditation bodies, EQUIS, the AACSB and the AMBA.

•NBS is a global leader in experiential learning and personalisation of education.

•NBS is also acknowledged as a major innovator in the delivery of its programmes and in its connectivity to business.

NOTES

Key takeaways

Eric Cornuel is an advocate for business schools to be moral institutions that perpetuate strong values…

He said: “We [business schools] have to teach respect for stakeholders. We have to get back to our roots. A business school is an academic institution.”

Professor Cornuel believes private business must be “more than just a cash machine”…

He said: “Companies have a role in society… in the middle of an eco-system of stakeholders. Everybody has to take care of everybody[else], otherwise the system simply collapses.”

And Baback Yazdani agrees…

He said: “Companies today are more than just profit-making entities. They need to be guardians of the environment… to respond to societal needs… to play their part…”

Flora Hamilton believes business schools should be proud of the prominent role they play in helping to underpin university finances…

She said: “UK business schools enjoy a fantastic global reputation… That’s why they have been able to step in and bridge the gap where the absence of funding [for other university departments] has been… let’s celebrate that.”

Baback Yazdani highlights how keeping up with technological change is one of the great challenges for universities…

He said: “The time that elapses between invention and adoption used to be 30 or 40 years. It is now just months. Business schools need to understand this – and utilise it.”

Eric Cornuel says management and leadership research undertaken by business schools is often too hypothetical…

He said: “The connection with the reality of management is very doubtful sometimes… Research should be more connected to the current management of organisations.”

Flora Hamilton agrees…

She said: “We have to have a focus on impact… and ask [researchers], why are you doing this? What is the economic impact of that research?”

As does Baback Yazdani…

He said: “Research needs to be linked to the reality of what is happening in society… so we see that the ideas make a difference in the real world.”

So, what does the future hold for UK business schools?

Baback Yazdani said: “We need to be more connected to the world… to our regions… to the people we serve. At the end of the day, we are here to serve society, so our connectivity with it needs to be deeper… so we understand what to produce.”

Eric Cornuel said: “We have to produce sense, through research, then disseminate this sense through the population. And that sense has to be much more than simply being profitable. It is about being a citizen that plays a full part in society.”

Flora Hamilton said: “The future is bright for our world-leading [UK] business schools… because we are able to show the true societal impact of what they can deliver… Universities are about improving lives – and business schools sit at the heart of that.”

Related links:

Find out more about Professor Eric Cornuel here

Read more about Flora Hamilton here

There’s more about Professor Baback Yazdani here

If you enjoyed this episode of the NBS Business Leaders’ Podcast, listen to previous episodes with…

The MD of global financial services company Experian Jose Luiz Rossi

Entrepreneur and broadcaster Michael Hayman MBE

The Vice Chancellor of Nottingham Trent

Nottingham Business School’s Business Leaders’ Podcast. Episode 44

Mary Storrie – Turning a tragedy into something positive

Introduction

•Mary Storrie is CEO of international charity The Rosie May Foundation.

•She and her husband Graham set up the Foundation after their daughter Rosie May was suffocated at a Christmas party near their home in Bottesford, Lincolnshire, in December 2003.

•A 17-year-old boy, who the family knew, was sentenced to life in prison for Rosie’s murder.

•In December 2004, Mary and Graham went on holiday to Sri Lanka, to escape memories of the previous year, and were caught up in the Asian Tsunami.

•More than 230,000 people died in the tsunami. But the couple survived – as did a tiny palm tree they had planted in Rosie May’s memory the previous day.

•In the last 20 years the Rosie May Foundation has raised more than three million pounds to educate children, empower women and help families lift themselves out of poverty.

•It established organisations in Sri Lanka after the tsunami and in Nepal after an earthquake there in 2015.

•It’s first project was building the Rosie May Home for Girls in Sri Lanka, for orphans who lost their parents in the tsunami.

•The Foundarion has also had great success training single-parent mums in Sri Lanka to be tuk-tuk taxi drivers, through its Think Pink campaign.

•Its staff rebuilt schools and established clean drinking water in Nepalese villages destroyed by the earthquake.

•The Rosie May Foundation has offices in Nottingham; Seenigama, Sri Lanka; and Tennyson, Australia.

Key takeaways

•On why Mary set up international charity The Rosie May Foundation…

“The charity has given me a channel for my grief – to turn something tragic into something positive. It’s given me a sense of purpose.”

•On studying for a degree and Masters, while running the Foundation…

“On reflection, [going to university] was the best thing I ever did. It gave me confidence. It opened so many doors for me.”

•On the Foundation’s work to empower women in Sri Lanka…

“We try to get to the root cause of the issue, which is always poverty. We try to get to women before they have no choice but to give their child to an orphanage.”

•On helping women in Sri Lanka to become Pink tuk tuk taxi drivers…

“We wanted to enable women to earn a man’s wage, in a man’s world.”

•On bringing Think Pink taxis to Britain…

“It’s always been my vision to bring the concept here. In the UK, less than three per cent of taxi drivers are women – for no good reason.”

•On the need for leaders like herself to have a succession strategy:

“I had a mentor who said: Tell me, what’s going to happen to your charity if you go under a Number 23 bus tomorrow? I said: Ah…”

•Mary’s advice for other leaders and would-be leaders…

“Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Every day!”

Related links

•Read more about Mary Storrie here

•Read more about Mary’s story here

•Read more about the Rosie May Foundation here

Nottingham Business School’s Business Leaders’ Podcast

Lorna Holder – How successful leaders reinvent themselves

Episode 43

Introduction…

• Lorna Holder is the Managing Director of the Full-Spectrum and Tuareg Productions companies.

• She was born in Jamaica, raised in Nottingham, and became the first black fashion graduate of Nottingham Trent University in 1975

• Lorna started her career as a designer with Birmingham-based House of Lerose – and in the 1980s, was made Head of Fashion at dressmaker Davies & Fields.

• In 2002 she was Executive Producer of the inaugural Black Film and Television Awards.

• She has delivered six Heritage Lottery Fund productions, based on research and oral histories of Caribbean people and other communities in Britain.

• Her productions have included collaborations with the V&A, British Museum, Rich Mix, BFI, Theatre Royal Nottingham and London Metropolitan Archives.

• Lorna’s book, 'Style in My DNA,' chronicles 70 years of British Caribbean fashion.

• Lorna has been a member of the Board of Governors at Nottingham Trent University for more than six years.

Nottingham Business School’s Business Leaders’ Podcast

Charlotte Henshaw MBE – Learning from your failures

Episode 42

Introduction

Charlotte Henshaw was born and brought up in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

• She was born with the condition bilateral tibial hypopplasia, which meant her lower legs were underdeveloped.
• When she was 18-months-old, her parents decided to have her legs amputated.
• Charlotte started swimming at the age of four and at the age of 16 she was picked to represent Britain.
• She was selected for her first Parlaympic games – in Bejing, China, in 2008 – when she was studying at the University of Sterling.
• At the London 2012 games, she won a silver medal. Then at Rio 2016, she won a bronze.
• After Rio, Charlotte retired from swimming and took up paracanoeing.
• She subsequently became World Champion in the KL2 200m and VL3 200m paracanoeing events and won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
• In 2020 Charlotte discovered that she had been suffering from the painful condition endometriosis for more than ten years.
• Charlotte (now aged 37 and still World Champion) will compete for Paralympic GB again this summer at the Paris 2024 games.

Key takeaways – What Charlotte told the NBS podcast

On having her legs amputated, at the age of 18 months…

“I feel fortunate having never known any different from my disability… I don’t remember any time before I had my amputations. The earliest memories I have are of using my prosthetics.”

On meeting Paralympic swimmer Emily Jennings – who won gold at the Atlanta games – at the age of ten…

“It absolutely inspired me. Now I’m that person who people ask for a picture – and I know how powerful it can be.”

On coming fourth (and missing out on a medal) as a swimmer in her first Paralympics, in Bejing 2008…

“Maybe I wouldn’t have had the drive to carry on if I had achieved everything at that first Games. The thought I’d still got things to prove was the catalyst that set me off on a very successful, ten-year swimming career.”

On transforming from a world class paralympic swimmer to a world class paralympic canoeist…

“I had to put myself in a position I really wasn’t comfortable with… to try new sports. It was a real learning curve… but it has led me to a whole new career that I never anticipated.”

On struggling to deal with nerves and the anxiety of expectation…

“I’m a naturally anxious person. I’ve had to learn to be more rational… I find going into the gym and embracing the challenge of [physical] pain relatively easy. But working on the psychology of sport has been a real difficulty for me.”

On having a ‘melt-down’ early in her paracanoe career…

“I had all kind of thoughts and feelings… I went to counselling and off-loaded all those feelings to someone else who helped me learn the tools to deal with them. Now I feel more able to… navigate tricky situations. Learning to tackle my mental state has been one of the most impactful pieces of work in my career.”

On managing to overcome every hurdle she encounters…

“I have an in-built tenacity, stubbornness, whatever you want to call it… I have the will to see the positives and take the learnings from every situation.”

On what she has learned looking back on her career (so far) …

“It’s important to recognise that ‘failure’ isn’t always a bad thing – but you can always learn something from it.”

Her advice for fellow leaders…

“The most inspiring leaders have a willingness to collaborate, to be open… Being a good leader is about being part of a bigger picture; about recognising that it’s not just you driving – it’s actually a collaborative thing.”

Related links:

There are more details about Charlotte Henshaw here

And her glittering career, on the Paralympic GB website here

And on Instagram, here

And her endometriosis diagnosis, on the BBC here

If you enjoyed this episode of the NBS Business Leaders’ Podcast, listen to previous episodes with…

Women’s Rugby World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi MBE

Paralympics GB Chef De Mission Penny Briscoe OBE

Chair of the English Football Association Debbie Hewitt MBE

Nottingham Business School’s Business Leaders’ Podcast

Rob Swann – From trainee to MD, leadership in an SME

Episode 41

Introduction

Rob Swann joined SME Termate as an engineering apprentice in 1989, when he was 16.

Termate manufactures electrical insulating products at its factory in Nottingham, for customers all over the world.

Rob graduated from Nottingham Trent Polytechnic (now Nottingham Trent University) after studying engineering, business and finance. He is now an Alumni Fellow of Nottingham Business School.

Rob lead a management buy-out of Termate in 2007. Company growth since then has largely been based on international sales.

Key takeaways: What Rob Swann said…

On the benefits of starting his career as an apprentice engineer…

“Engineering is very precise. It puts a discipline into your work process. Engineers tend to like a bit of order.”

On leading a management buy-out – when his dad owned the company…

“I saw an opportunity for the business to diverge from where it was. My dad was happy with where the business was. There was an element of disagreement. So, I bought him out.”

On taking over the company while still in his early 30s…

“I was young. I had young kids. There was a lot of risk involved. It was a scary amount of debt… and I felt the burden.”

On his biggest leadership challenges…

“Covid was the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced. It was so unknown. There was no-one you could talk to… not a mentor, not anyone. No-one had any experience.”

One being a leader who wears his heart on his sleeve…

“I like opening cans of worms. I like turning over stones. I’m curious. And curiosity is a hugely valuable thing [for leaders and everyone in business].”

On the importance of staff in small businesses having a variety of skills…

“As an SME we often can’t afford to employ specialists. We need capable generalists. We can’t afford to have an SEO specialist, a content developer and someone who can do a podcast. One person has to try to do all of that!”

On working himself to the verge of a nervous breakdown…

“Just before I turned 40, I realised I was going to break if I didn’t give myself something outside of work. I tried rock-climbing and found it cleared my mind. It took every ounce of my mental capacity.”

On persuading his wife to start rock-climbing…

“My wife joined in – and now she is as passionate about climbing as I am. It’s a great shared experience.”

His one piece of advice for leaders…

“Look after yourself. You are a key asset of the business. So, don’t forget about looking after you!”

Related links:

There are more details about Rob Swann here.

Termate’s company website is here.

If you enjoyed this episode of the NBS Business Leaders’ Podcast, listen to previous episodes with…

The former Chairman and Chief Exec of Experian Sir John Peace

The CEO of Capital One UK Lucy Hagues

Two Michelin starred chef Sat Bains

The CEO of 200 Degrees coffee Rob Darby

Nottingham Business School’s Business Leaders’ Podcast

José Luiz Rossi: Staying relevant in a rapidly changing world

Episode 40

Introduction

• José Luiz Rossi was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s and started his career as a mechanical engineer.

• He is currently MD of Experian in Britain and Ireland – and previously ran the company’s operations in Latin America.
• In 1986 he created a consultancy called Result Systems, in Brazil, that pioneered information systems based on microcomputer networks.
• The company was bought by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where he subsequently became a partner for 13 years.
• José went on to be CEO of Brazil’s biggest IT services company CPM Braxis.
• He joined Experian UK at the start of Covid lockdown, in April 2020. During his first months in post, he was forced to run the Nottingham-based operation from Brazil.

Key takeaways: What José Luiz Rossi said…

• On the importance of winning…

“I like to win in the marketplace. The adrenaline of running a successful company is something very nice. I’m a competitive person. Winning by doing the right thing is something that motivates me.”

• On the changing face of leadership…

“When I started [40 years ago] management was all about hierarchy… command and control. There was no appreciation of softer skills. Today you need to think about being inclusive… giving autonomy to people.”

• On the need for leaders to adapt to stay relevant…

“A lot of my colleagues have left the market because they couldn’t adapt… more have become obsolete [as a result] of management change, than technology change.”

• On self-promotion…

“It took me years to realise the importance of networking… and building your personal brand. I wish I had understood that earlier.”

• On knowing the right time to change career – and leaving one job before you have another…

“If you have a good job, it’s difficult to [force yourself] to move. You have a good salary; you are in a comfortable position you don’t move. Leaving gives you a compelling reason to change!”

• On what he may do differently if he had his time again…

“I would invest in mastering public speaking, earlier in my career. [Leaders] need the skills to talk to bigger audiences.”

• On working in different cultures…

“If we a do a good presentation to Americans, they say: That’s awesome… fantastic! The Brits will just say: That’s not too bad!”

• On the importance of showing leadership on global, social issues…

“You need to show you care. I come from a very humble background. My great grandparents were peasants… they were illiterate. I know how important it is for people to be given opportunities. Being open and inclusive is the right thing to do.”

• On the lack of economic stability around the world…

“The time of cheap money, cheap energy and cheap logistics is gone. There is no stability. Continuous change is the norm now. Leaders need to adapt to stay relevant.”

• Advice for leaders and would-be leaders…

“Jobs end at 5pm – but careers don’t! You need to do more than the average person if you want to differentiate yourself.”

Related links:

• There are more details about José Luiz Rossi here
• His biography on the Experian UK website is here
• José Luiz Rossi’s blog posts are here

If you enjoyed this episode of the NBS Business Leaders’ Podcast, listen to previous episodes with…

The former Chairman and Chief Exec of Experian Sir John Peace

The CEO of Capital One UK Lucy Hagues

International business executive Sir Ken Olisa OBE

Nottingham Business School’s Business Leaders’ Podcast. Episode 39.

Brendan Donnelly: Manufacturing on the side of a mountain – small business leadership in a remote corner of England.

Introduction

• Brendan Donnelly and his wife Cherry own the Coniston Stonecraft slate-carving company, based in Victorian workshops, in the foothills of Coniston Old Man.
• The mountain stretches 2,600ft above them. They look down on Cumbria’s Coniston Water, where Donald Campbell crashed his Bluebird at 300mph, trying to break the world speed record in 1964.
• Brendan and Cherry bought Coniston Stonecraft out of administration in February 2020 – just weeks before Britain’s first Covid lockdown.
• The company’s staff craft slate signs, door numbers, rolling pins, clocks, wine coolers and other kitchenware for retail and private customers all over Britain. They also collaborate with other Cumbrian heritage craftsmen and women to make bespoke art pieces.
• Coniston Stonecraft was founded in 1976 and uses only Cumbrian slate or stone – including Westmorland Green and Brathay Blue-Grey – quarried on fells around the Lake District.

Key takeaways

• On running a manufacturing business on the side of a mountain…

Brendan said: “It’s incredibly difficult up here [on Coniston Old Man]. Not least because there are no roads. We drive our slate up and down a track.”

• On turning locally-quarried Cumbrian slate into high-quality kitchenware…

Brendan said: “The courier comes to the bottom of the hill… picks them [our pieces] up and takes them off to London. Our rolling pins sell very well in Fortnum and Masons!”

• On the difficulties, for small businesses, of dealing with Covid…

Brendan said: “Nowhere in my business plan did I write, Close for four months due to worldwide pandemic – and almost go bankrupt!”

• On the importance of leaders being able to sell…

Brendan said: “If you’re in business, you need sales. If you have a factory... and it's not producing anything, you’ll soon go out of business.”

• On why good planning is at the heart of any successful business…

Brendan said: “We know, to the final pound, how much we should be producing every week.”

• On running a traditional English craft manufacturer…

Brendan said: “We’re one of the last five or six slate masons in England. This business, this way of life, is too important for me to allow it to vanish.”

• On cheap Chinese imports with a carbon footprint 14 times that of Cumbrian slate…

Brendan said: “It’s very, very difficult to compete. We all want to reduce our carbon footprint. Let’s start by buying products made of slate from English quarries.”

• On advice for leaders running small businesses…

Brendan said: “Every day, go an extra inch, not an extra mile. Make sure you’re better than everyone else. But remember, you only need to win the race by a nose!”

Related links

• There are more details about Brendan Donnelly, here.

• Details of Brendan's book, Slow Selling, are here.

• The website of his Coniston Stonecraft company is here.

Nottingham Business School Business Leaders’ Podcast

Penny Briscoe OBE – Paralympics GB team leader

Episode 38

Introduction

• Penny Briscoe will lead Paralympics GB at this summer’s Paris 2024 games, as the team’s Chef de Mission.

• She was previously Chef de Mission at the Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 games, when the team finished second in the overall medals table.

• Early in her career, Penny represented GB as a canoeist. She then trained as secondary school teacher, before coaching the GB canoe team.

• She was appointed Director of Sport at the British Paralympic Association in 2002 – and has been Chef de Mission for every Paralympic Games – five, summer and winter – since 2014.

• In that time, the British team has won 108 gold medals, 85 silvers, and 97 bronze, across 23 sports.

Key takeaways

• On starting to prepare for each Paralympics, five years in advance...

Penny said: “The leadership journey is a long one. Once the host city is announced we try to embed ourselves in its culture… make the important relationships.”

• On the importance of a leader’s vision…

Penny said: “I have a very clear vision of how I think Paralympics GB should compete… engage… behave. We’re a world leading nation on the field of play. I want us to lead the world off it too.”

• On the importance, for a leader, of staying positive...

Penny said: “I never dwell on the negatives. We have to create an environment where 23 different sport teams can thrive.”

• On being driven to achieve coaching success by ‘unfinished business’...

Penny said: “I competed [as a canoeist] for GB but never made the Olympics... I had regrets.”

• On being appointed Director of Sport (2002) when Paralympians competed in the shadow of Olympians...

Penny said: “I worried I wasn’t going to be able to have an impact. I thought, well I can either moan and groan or roll my sleeves up and try to make a difference.”

• On dealing with the disappointment of not being chosen as Chef de Mission (team manager) for London 2012…

Penny said: “I was absolutely gutted. But I reflected on what a hypocrite I would be if I walked away. When you’re a leader it’s not about you – it’s about the team.”

• On the emotion of being appointed Chef de Mission for Rio 2016…

Penny said: “The guy who didn’t appoint me in 2012 did appoint me in 2014. I remember it to this day. I was offered the job in Starbucks, in Birmingham New Street… I had a little cry!”

• On the most important part of being a leader…

Penny said: “Ultimately, leadership is about inspiring and developing others. Never lose site of the privilege of being a leader.”

• Her advice for other leaders and would-be leaders?

Penny said: “Leaders evolve… learn from your experiences. But be authentic. And treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.”

• On her hopes for the Paris 2024 Paralympics…

Penny said: “It was a very quiet games in Tokyo 2020, behind closed doors [because of Covid]. We’re hoping there will be lots and lots of Brits in Paris this summer, cheering us all on.”

Related links:

You can read…

• More about Penny Briscoe OBE

• More about the British Paralympics Association

• More about Paralympics GB

• More about Paris 2024

If you enjoyed this episode of the NBS Business Leaders’ Podcast, listen to previous episodes with…

• The Chairman of the English Football Association, Debbie Hewitt MBE
• England Women’s Rugby World Cup winner, Maggie Alphonsi MBE
• The Vice Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University, Professor Edward Peck CBE

Nottingham Business School Business Leaders Podcast

Kathryn Wasteney - Leadership, fraud and the importance of being nosey| Episode 37

Introduction

• Fraud now accounts for 40 per cent of all crime in Britain, making forensic accountancy an increasingly important business.
• Forensic accountants have played a crucial role in exposing hundreds of financial frauds - including the Enron Scandal and Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme in America, plus the collapse of British Home Stores and demise of Patisserie Valerie in Britain.
• Kathryn Wasteney is a Director of the Forensic Investigations team at accountancy firm KPMG. She started her career as an auditor, but has spent the last decade in forensic accounting - investigating accounts, identifying risk, and uncovering fraud.

Key takeaways

• Kathryn believes businesses underestimate the power of fraudsters. She says: "People committing these crimes are incredibly intelligent, incredibly well resourced and spend lots of time researching targets. You might think, 'I wouldn't fall for that!' But that's not what we see."
• Confidence is a key skill for forensic investigators, says Kathryn. And a leader has to be able to inspire it in their team. She adds: "Some people have [great] quantities of confidence. For other people, it's there - they just need a bit of a push. That's the job of the leader."
• Kathryn is certain a background in accountancy is good for business leaders. She says: "So many leaders come through accountancy. It gives you a really good skill set. If you want to run a business, what better way of starting [as an accountant] and visiting 20-plus businesses a year to find out how they work?"
• She also believes it's important for leaders to be nosey. "Having an interest outside of your own small world is crucial. For leaders, you have to be able to see what's out there - the wider picture. You've got to be able to see the wood, not just the individual trees."
• Kathryn has a very specific reason for accepting the responsibilities of a directorship. She says: "I wanted to own the conversation - to have the primary relationship with clients. The buck now stops with me. That gives me ownership."
• And as a director, Kathryn believes her role is to create the next generation of leaders. "It's important to have good role models. You can't be what you can't see.... And I get a real sense of achievement from seeing people grow; building their confidence and their abilities."
• Her advice to fellow leaders is simple. "Develop empathy. Appreciate when something is not working... and what you need to do to make it work really well. That's the most important leadership skill. Everything else cascades from that."

Related links

• Kathryn Wasteney, Director, Forensic investigations, KPMG
• If you enjoyed this episode of the NBS Business Leaders' Podcast, listen to this previous pod with England World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi.

More about Nottingham Business School

• Visit the Nottingham Business School website

• Follow Nottingham Business School on LinkedIn