Culture de-cooded

Damian Hughes is an international speaker, bestselling author and co-host of the High Performance Podcast . From formative years in a Manchester boxing gym shaped by his father’s belief in community and belonging, to a career spanning Unilever, elite sport and academic work as a visiting professor, Damian combines his background in sport, organisational development and change psychology to help le...

Dan Strode, a culture and innovation strategist with a track record of transforming organisations across 32 countries, opens Season 2 of Culture de-cooded with a masterclass on leadership at scale. From his formative years as Global Culture Lead at Santander Group to his current role as Principal at Coode , Dan shares a deeply practical, human approach to shifting behaviours and embedding cultural...

Kerem, a London-born conductor with Cypriot roots, has gained international acclaim from his early win at the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival’s Young Conductors Award in 2017 to serving as Chief Conductor of the Tiroler Symphony Orchestra in Austria and performing globally, Kerem shares invaluable insights into his craft. He emphasises the importance of collaboration, active listening and adaptation...

In this episode Paul shares his experiences of the AI and tech industry and discusses the trials and tribulations of building culture and founding a business. Before founding Thought Machine, Paul successfully launched two companies, the second of which was acquired by Google  in 2010. At Google, he led the text-to-speech team, which developed the cutting-edge technology that is now found in all o...

Lieutenant General Sir Nick Borton KCB DSO MBE is a former Senior British Army Officer who commanded NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps from 2021 to 2024. Commissioned into the Royal Highland Fusiliers in 1991, he served in multiple global locations and held key instructional and leadership roles. He commanded 16 Air Assault Brigade from 2013 to 2015 and the 3rd (UK) Division from 2016 to 2018. Pr...

In this episode, Charlie speaks to Dame Sally Davies, the 40th - and first female - Master of Trinity College Cambridge and also the first female Chief Medical Officer for England and the UK's special envoy on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Recorded in the Master's Lodge at Trinity College, Cambridge, the episode delves into Dame Sally's illustrious career and her lifelong dedication...

In this episode, Charlie speaks to Sir Anthony Seldon, political author and the current head of Epsom College. Anthony has led three of the most influential independent schools in the UK and was the vice-chancellor of Buckingham University, the UK’s first private university. As the official biographer of No. 10 Downing Street, Seldon has also written the authorised biographies of consecutive Prime...

In this episode Tamara Rojo shares her experience as artistic director of both English National Ballet (2012-2022) and more recently San Francisco Ballet (since 2022). Tamara speaks of her love of dance as an art form and its ability to change lives. Having been at the forefront of cultural transformation at the English National Ballet (ENB) for 10 years, Tamara champions the importance of persona...

In this episode, Martin reflects on his diverse career, spanning 15 years at PepsiCo, 9 years in private equity as CEO of Iglo (Birdseye in the UK) and United Biscuits followed by a jump to the FA as CEO in 2015. Following this, Martin transitioned to a non-executive career, being appointed as chairman of the Football Foundation, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and Britain’s...

In this episode, David Tait candidly dissects his life experiences and discusses how they have impacted his leadership style and mindset during his role as CEO of the World Gold Council.   David describes the cultural transformation he has led at the World Gold Council since joining in 2018, and highlights his determination to fundamentally shift the culture within the gold industry, through his c...

In this episode, Charlie speaks with Chris Jones, CEO at BMJ. Chris talks about his experience of joining BMJ in lockdown, BMJ's role in the pandemic and the role Purpose plays in guiding decision-making and priorities. Chris also frankly shares his lessons from his own leadership journey. https://www.bmj.com/company/ Chapters 00:00:00-Welcome to Episode 2 00:01:42-Chris's role and backgro...

In this first episode of The Culture de-cooded podcast, Charlie talks with Sam Galsworthy, founder of Sipsmith Gin. Sam talks about his journey as an entrepreneur, the founding story of Sipsmith and the development of the business and its culture through the early stages, rapid growth and acquisition by Beam Suntory. Throughout, Sam is candid and personal in his reflections on leadership, culture...