Mission One: The Executive Edge

In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton are joined by David Gardner, a General Partner at London Venture Partners, who opens up about the lessons that shaped his four-decade career, from joining EA at just 17 years old to navigating a public company turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis. Mission One: The Executive Edge is brought to you by Mission One...

In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton welcome back Nick Button-Brown, Chair of the UK Video Games Council, to unpack what it really takes to serve as a board adviser or non-executive director, especially at early-stage startups. Mission One: The Executive Edge is brought to you by Mission One. They ensure founders and senior leaders make the most importan...

How do you actually land your first board seat? In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton are joined by Nick Button-Brown, Chair of the UK Video Games Council, to detail the path from executive to board director. Mission One: The Executive Edge is brought to you by Mission One. They ensure founders and senior leaders make the most important hires they’ll ever...

AI is changing how executives work, hire, and lead, however, not always in the ways people assume. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton share what they’re hearing from senior leaders about AI, recruiting, and the future of executive work. Mission One: The Executive Edge is brought to you by Mission One. They ensure founders and senior leaders make the mo...

Compensation negotiations are some of the most important conversations in executive hiring, and many senior leaders approach them without a clear strategy. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton break down the art of compensation negotiation from both the candidate and hiring manager perspectives. They explore how to research your market value, when...

A single product leader can transform a mobile game from a struggling launch into a billion-dollar franchise. But identifying and attracting that level of talent is one of the hardest challenges in gaming. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton break down the realities of hiring elite product leaders in mobile gaming. They explore why product has bec...

The final stage of executive hiring is where most companies lose their best candidates. Not because the role is wrong, but because the offer, references, or onboarding were mishandled. In this episode, Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton break down how to run back-channel references without risk, structure offers that actually excite top-tier talent, and use the notice period as a strategic advantage ins...

There’s a notion, today, that good talent is just too hard to find. But what if your hiring process is the problem? In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton dive deep into structuring an interview process that actually works. Together, they unpack how to select the right stakeholders and when to involve them, why timeline matters more than you think an...

Great executive searches are won or lost before the first message is sent. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton continue their hiring miniseries by unpacking how elite hiring teams approach research, target mapping, and outreach - not as a volume exercise, but as a precision craft. They explain why sending fewer, more thoughtful messages consistent...

Contrary to popular belief, there is no one size fits all blueprint to climbing the C-suite ladder. And, if 2025 taught us anything, it’s that winning the game is about telling a compelling story, understanding what you're actually solving for and learning to spot potential beyond the resume. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Gerard and Dan reflect on their most impactful c...

Every strong hire starts long before outreach, interviews, or offers. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Dan Hampton and Gerard Miles open a new mini-series on world-class hiring by showing how to get clear on the specific problem the role must solve, the outcomes you expect in the next 12–24 months, and the kind of leader who can deliver them inside your stage of growth. Th...

Senior leaders often talk about strategy, but few speak honestly about the reality of career risk, decision-making under pressure and the discipline of hiring. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, host Gerard Miles sits down with Alexis Bonte, Group CEO and President at Stillfront, to explore what it takes to build on curiosity, courage, and smart timing. From the founding days of l...

Leadership at scale demands clarity, consistency, and care. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, host Gerard Miles sits down with Jonathan Knight, Head of Games at The New York Times, to explore what it takes to lead creative teams, build high-performing cultures, and make thoughtful hiring decisions in fast-moving industries. From his early years at EA and Zynga to shaping the glob...

Working with headhunters is one of the most misunderstood parts of the executive job search. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Dan Hampton and Gerard Miles pull back the curtain on how recruiters actually operate, what retained and contingent searches mean, how to tell them apart, and how to stand out in both. They share the unspoken rules that make a candidate memorable, f...

Approaching the executive job search takes precision from sharpening your story to activating the networks that actually move opportunities forward. Even the most seasoned leaders lose traction when their narrative is unclear or their outreach is passive. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Dan Hampton and Gerard Miles continue their three-part series with Part 2: Approach to...

Executive job searches aren’t about chance; they’re about prep: building a target-company ecosystem, warming your network, and being clear-eyed about where your skills fit. Even seasoned leaders stumble when they skip the groundwork. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Dan Hampton and Gerard Miles kick off a three-part series with Part 1: Prep for the Job Search. They share p...

Getting to the C-suite isn’t just about snagging a bigger title or a corner office, it’s about shifting from tactics to strategy, leading through layers, and surviving the politics (yes, they exist). In this debut episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton unpack what separates great VPs from true executives, why empathy and gravitas matter more than charisma, a...

Interviewing isn’t just about surviving a few tough questions; it’s about knowing your audience, backing your story with real metrics, and asking the kind of questions that make you memorable. Even seasoned execs get rusty, and hiring managers can trip themselves up with clunky, repetitive processes. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton share the s...

Mission One: The Executive Edge goes deep into how you can hire the best teams and secure the best jobs for yourself. Hosted by Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton, co-founders of the boutique global executive search firm, Mission One, the show reveals the insider view on how senior leadership hiring really works. With decades of combined experience, Gerard & Dan have led on some of the top searches in t...