Daniel Hooft, Kelp Blue

In episode 9 Andrew talks to Daniel Hooft, the CEO of bluewater farming company Kelp Blue, about the life skills that prepared him to set up a nature-based solution to climate change.

“I hope there are people looking at what we’re doing and thinking, gosh, that’s exciting, that’s brave but it’s fun and maybe I should do something like that.”

Daniel Hooft was born in the Netherlands, raised in Dubai and Canada, and his journey to founding Kelp Blue has been anything but linear. This is key to his success as an entrepreneurial CEO, he tells Andrew.

Daniel started sculpting while travelling throughout the former USSR after leaving school. He studied engineering back in The Netherlands but kept up his work as a sculptor, and to expand his horizons and inspire his art he went into the oil drilling industry. He spent 20 years working for Shell before setting up Kelp Blue in 2020.

Kelp Blue is a large-scale, zero impact, offshore kelp farming enterprise, which he hopes will provide a for-profit solution to climate change and rewild our oceans. Kelp is a fast-growing giant seaweed that provides a habitat for marine life while sequestering large amounts of CO2 – possibly more than typical land forests. Kelp Blue sustainably harvests the kelp canopy for use in agriculture, food, pharmaceuticals and textiles.

In their conversation Daniel talks to Andrew about his leadership lessons, including tapping into indigenous wisdom to manage for the long-term, getting your team to embrace continual change, and why letting people go is key to creating a forward-facing company. 

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Daniel Hooft, CEO, Kelp Blue

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In episode 8 Andrew talks to ‘turnaround specialist’ Rajeev Suri, CEO of leading satellite provider Inmarsat, about successfully riding the waves of change.

“You don’t get people to join you these days, or stay with you, if you don’t have a purpose that resonates with them, that is above and beyond just focusing on profits. Focus on purpose, remember why you exist, and what impact you make on your industry and society.”

Born in India and raised in Kuwait, for 25 years Rajeev Suri worked for Nokia, and made his name as the CEO who reinvented the company following the sale of its handset business.

Two years ago he was appointed CEO of the global satellite communications company Inmarsat, where he has been focusing on growing the company, its core purpose, and leading the way in the sector on carbon neutrality.

His experience in the telecoms industry, which was one of the first to face wave after wave of intense change, provides key insights for leaders dealing with flux in the business world today.

During his conversation with Andrew, Rajeev shares his leadership lessons, including the importance of building belief, being brave and pushing harder.

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Rajeev Suri, CEO, Inmarsat

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In episode 7 Andrew talks to Pinar Akiskalioglu, the founder of Punk Business School, about what business leadership of the future needs to look like.

“I’m accused of being too romantic for business. But business is about humans helping other humans. There’s always a human element. Business leaders should know how to connect economic structures with human emotions.”

Pinar Akiskalioglu describes herself as a “business activist” who is working hard to be the kind of business leader the world needs today. She is the founder of the Punk Business School and her portfolio of purpose-led and human-centred companies includes the sustainable beauty “anti-brand” TAKK.

Andrew talks to Pinar about running a business that discourages overconsumption, her revolutionary approach to business education, which puts emotions and values at its heart, and what leadership of the future needs to look like.

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Pinar Akiskalioglu (@Akiskali), founder Punk Business School and TAKK.

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In episode 6 Andrew talks to Amit Kapur, the Head of UK and Ireland at Tata Consultancy Services, about rethinking leadership.

“Leadership is all about driving change with empathy. Diversity and inclusion is possibly the biggest source of driving change and the source of our growth.”

TCS is one of the biggest tech companies in the world. It describes itself as a “purpose-led organisation that is building a meaningful future through innovation, technology, and collective knowledge.”

Amit joined TCS as a graduate in 1999, and 20 years later he became the Head of UK and Ireland. In his role he is at the forefront of rethinking leadership to include empathy and respect as core values.

In his conversation with Andrew he talks about his background, Tata’s human-centred philosophy and why diversity and inclusion are key drivers for growth and change.

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Amit Kapur, Head of UK and Ireland, TCS

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In episode 5 Andrew talks to Peter Flavel, the CEO of iconic private bank Coutts, about reimagining its role in an era of rising inequality.

“Most people think this echelon of people don’t care. But they do care, they care a lot, and we need them to care because the amount of capital they control is important.”

Peter has more than 35 years’ of experience in international financial services. Before joining Coutts, he was the CEO of JP Morgan Private Wealth Management in Asia Pacific. He also spent nine years with Standard Chartered in Asia founding their global private bank in 2006.

Since joining Coutts in 2016, Peter has led a significant transformation at the bank, with a new focus on modernisation and responsible investments. Under Peter’s leadership Coutts became the first UK private bank to become a B Corp.

Andrew talks to Peter about modernising one of the oldest banks in the world, and his plans to build a bank that better reflects society.

This episode was recorded in February 2023.

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Peter Flavel, CEO, Coutts

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In episode 4 Andrew talks to Cherrie Atilano, the CEO and President of the for-purpose agribusiness AGREA Agricultural Systems International.

“Every day I always ask myself, is this decision making me sleep peacefully at night. I hope to wake up every day with great optimism and great excitement to be alive because you’re doing something good, you’re changing lives.”

Cherrie Atilano is the “founding farmer” of AGREA, which aims to eradicate poverty for farming and fishing communities, alleviate the impact of climate change, and create food security in her home country of the Philippines.

One of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders of 2022, Cherrie talks to Andrew about how she founded her business on the core belief that dignifying the agricultural sector is key to its productivity, sustainability and being the point of change in the food system.

This episode was recorded in September 2022.

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Cherrie Atilano (@cdatilano), CEO and president, AGREA.

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In this episode Andrew talks to Emma Howard Boyd CBE, the Chair of the Green Finance Institute and former Chair of England’s environmental regulator, about green finance and preparing for the coming climate storm.

“I think it’s about people who are focusing on solutions, who are focusing on a partnership approach, a collaborative approach, and who are listening.”

This decade is the most important in terms of the shift that needs to happen if we’re to meet our climate targets. And Emma Howard Boyd has been at the forefront of that here in the UK, with an extensive career in green finance.

From 2016 until September 2022 she was the Chair of England’s environmental regulator. She’s also the Chair of the Green Finance Institute and a Global Ambassador for the UN’s Race to Zero and Race to Resilience campaigns.

She talks to Andrew about the need for pace, boldness, kindness and compassion – and what’s on her leadership radar.

This episode was recorded in May 2022.

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Emma Howard Boyd (@EmmaHowardBoyd), former chair, England’s Environment Agency.

Emma’s recommended book is The Listening Shift by Janie van Hool

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In this episode Andrew talks to Pinky Lilani, food guru, entrepreneur and champion of women in business, about why kindness is power.

“I like to make connections, make a difference to people’s lives without them even asking. Leaders must do things without people asking.”

Leadership is undergoing a profound revolution - those who show empathy and lead on social issues will thrive in the years ahead. And in this series you’ll meet global leaders who are showing the way.

Pinky Lilani started her professional life as a self-taught chef and author. Today she’s at the helm of a global network of women leaders.

Recognising and developing human potential is her super power. She is the founder and chair of a number of awards recognising influential women, including the annual Women of the Future Awards and the Asian Women of Achievement Awards. And in 2015 she was awarded a CBE for services to women in business.

In her conversation with Andrew she shares her insights into leadership - including why kindness is critical to business success and how to meaningfully improve diversity in an organisation.

This episode was recorded in May 2022.

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Pinky Lilani (@pinkylilani), Founder and Chair, Women of The Future

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In the first episode of a new series, Andrew talks to Jack Sim, the Founder and Director of the World Toilet Organisation.

“Today we say a billionaire is one who took a billion dollars from everyone else. We are incentivising selfishness. We need to define a billionaire as one who improved the life of a billion people.”

Dr Andrew White is a leadership coach and Senior Fellow in Management Practice at Said Business School, where his work focuses on leadership that’s fit for the 21st century. And in this podcast series Andrew is in conversation with exemplary leaders who are showcasing the new rules of leadership.

Kicking off Series 3, Andrew talks to Jack Sim, who is a remarkable example of what can be achieved when you lead for impact and purpose. Jack grew up in a slum in Singapore and describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur” – he has successfully set up 16 businesses - but “retired’ aged 40 to devote himself to changing the world. 

He looked for a wicked problem to fix, and turned his attention to sanitation – and in particular to toilets. According to the World Health Organisation, more than 1.7 billion people still do not have access to basic sanitation, such as private toilets or latrines. Of these, 494 million still defecate in the open.

To improve toilet conditions worldwide, Jack set up the “WTO” - the World Toilet Organisation.

He talks to Andrew about how he created a global movement with – in his words – no money no status, and only two other full-time members of staff. It is a true inspiration for anyone setting out to achieve what might look impossible.

His motto is: “Live a useful life”.

This episode was recorded in May 2022.

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Jack Sim (@jackwto), founder, World Toilet Organisation

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In episode 5 of this bonus miniseries of Leadership2050, Andrew White and co-host Adam Canwell of EY talk to Gaude Paez, Head of Global Corporate Affairs at Riot Games, about reshaping company culture.

Riot Games is the game developer and publisher behind blockbuster PC games such as League of Legends and Valorant. Gaude talks openly about the cultural transformations Riot Games undertook to shift the disruptive communication behaviors that had emerged over the years following a 2018 class-action lawsuit in the US and the impact of a global pandemic. How do you effectively reshape a company’s culture and reset expectations in the wake of a crisis? We’ll hear how co-constructing a social movement with leaders and the workforce is key.

Says Gaude: “The health of your workforce, how people work together towards a common goal, can make or break a company. Don’t underestimate as leaders the distance you might have from the day-to-day experience of some of your employees, so it’s helpful to get folks who are closer to that in the loop early. That really pays off in terms of striking the right tone. It’s all about the human element.”

For this special deep dive into transformation leadership Dr Andrew White has teamed up with research partner Adam Canwell from the EY organisation to explore the journey global leaders and their workforce went through as they successfully led their organisations through significant change. The series is part of a year-long research project in which Andrew and Adam’s team has surveyed 935 senior leaders and direct reports, as well as 1,127 workforce members from around the globe and across multiple industries. Their aim is to demystify the process of transformation.

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Adam Canwell, EY Oceania Workforce Advisory Leader.

Gaude Paez (@GaudeP), Head of Global Corporate Affairs, Riot Games.

Resources:

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https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/

Produced by Eve Streeter for Stabl

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