Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Professor Richard Barker is an expert in accounting, which usually focuses on how companies make and spend money, but he is clear that businesses also need to show how they impact the planet. Saïd Business School's Green Impact Group, a group of staff volunteers, spoke to Richard about his research, career and how financial institutions may be more socially responsible. Featuring: Richard Barker,...

Abrar Chaudhury's experience growing up in Pakistan, a country often impacted by extreme climate events, helped shape his understanding of climate challenges and has been the impetus for his work. Saïd Business School's Green Impact Group, a group of staff volunteers, spoke to Abrar about his career, teaching and research. Featuring: Abrar Chaudhury, Senior Research Fellow at Saïd Business School,...

It was Christer Holloman’s passion for Lego that inspired his career in business. Even though the toy company told the 8-year-old Christer that he was too young to run a LEGO store, his enthusiasm for launching his own company remained undimmed. It culminated in his founding of the ‘buy now, pay later’ fintech company Divido. Christer tells Kathy about the struggle to raise the first tranche of fu...

Lieutenant General (retired) Tom Bostick served in the US Army for 38 years, from Iraq to Afghanistan to The Pentagon. As the leader of the Military Command Center during the events of 9/11 he carried the key to the nuclear codes for then President George W. Bush. But none of this would have happened if, decades earlier, a retired general hadn’t visited his school. He encouraged the young Tom to a...

Tobyn Brooks was 11 when he started taking drugs, within a couple of years he was a heroin user. He left school at 16 and worked as a drugs mule for many years. Now he’s the owner of the Figaro Shop, a specialist car restoration business, and he’s a graduate of the Oxford MBA. Tobyn talks about the moment – with his health ruined by addiction – when he had to decide between life and death. He expl...

As the lead in the UK’s Ministry of Defence Warhead Group, overseeing the country’s nuclear deterrent, Dr Rebecca Weston is one of the most senior female leaders in the European nuclear industry. Rebecca is also a graduate of the Oxford Executive MBA, taking time out from a demanding job at the Sellafield nuclear site to complete the course. In this episode she chats to Kathy Harvey about how the...

James Hall is an entrepreneur with a long track record of building successful businesses. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan and after dropping out of high school worked as a bricklayer, before he fell – in his words – into the insurance sector. His latest venture, Oka, offers insurance in the carbon credit market. James chats to Kathy about his belief in service to others, his views on leadership an...

Episode 4 - Taking the 1% chance Thabiso Foto is the Chief Financial Officer of Founders Factory Africa, which invests in early stage tech start ups across the African continent. It also has an interest in south-east Asia and the UK. Thabiso chats to Kathy Harvey about her early life growing up in a big family in a small town in Zimbabwe, the influence of her older siblings and what she’s learned...

Patrick Grant is a serial entrepreneur, who is probably best known in the UK as a judge on the popular TV show The Great British Sewing Bee. He is also a graduate of the first Oxford Executive MBA programme and actually put in the bid to buy his first business, Savile Row tailor Norton and Sons, when he was still at Oxford. Two decades and three ventures later Patrick talks to Kathy Harvey about h...

Cully talks to Kathy Harvey about growing up in an oil and gas family and the moment he realised he wanted to take his career in energy in a more climate-friendly direction. He discusses the company’s new focus on AI and reflects on the balance between work, extreme sport and family life – which, since his conversation with Kathy, has been blessed with the safe arrival of his second child. Featuri...

Leadership and the team As a member of the coxless four that rowed to victory in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Tim Foster MBE has reached heights that most of us can only dream of. He talks to Kathy Harvey about what it takes to play your part in a tightly disciplined team of elite athletes. reflecting on the tension between competing and collaborating. After taking Olympic gold, Tim honed his leaders...

Welcome to The Application, the podcast series from Saïd Business School, featuring some of the extraordinary personalities who were offered a place on the Executive MBA here at Oxford University's Saïd Business School. Presented by Kathy Harvey, Associate Dean. Saïd Business School - https://oxsbs.link/KathyHarvey. https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/programmes/mbas/oxford-executive-mba

The climate crisis is one of the biggest challenges facing our planet and healthcare providers are often on the frontline dealing with its impact on our physical and mental health. However, the healthcare industry is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (some reports put it as high as 4.6% of global GHG emissions.) In our final episode of Transformational Healthcare Leadershi...

‘The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition’. This is a founding principle of the World Health Organisation which was set up 75 years ago. But the reality is that there is a huge disparity in access to healthcare across the world and within cou...

In episode 4 of Transformational Healthcare Leadership, Dr Mark O’Brien talks to Annie Flamsteed, the Australian Founder and Executive Chair of iNSPiRETEK. ‘How can we use technology to better support or accelerate access to care to prevent burnout rather than dealing with it once it is already upon us.’ Annie started her career as an elite competitive gymnast but chose to exit the sport in her la...

In episode 3 of Transformational Healthcare Leadership, Dr Mark O’Brien hands the microphone over to his colleague Eleanor Murray, Academic Director of the Oxford Healthcare Leadership Programme. The setting for this episode is India where Eleanor explores the innovative approach to healthcare in the world’s most populous country, with Professor Anupam Sibal. ‘It doesn't always take huge amounts o...

In episode 2 of Transformational Healthcare Leadership, Dr Mark O’Brien talks to Natalie Smith, a specialist in digital transformation in health and community services in Australia. ‘You can't pay someone else to do your exercise and expect to lose weight.’ Natalie’s career has been grounded in and around technology projects in a range of industries. In her early career, she was a systems and data...

In episode 1 of Transformational Healthcare Leadership from Saïd Business School, Dr Mark O’Brien talks to Professor Bruno Holthof, a Visiting Professor of Health Innovation in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University and an investment partner of the EQT Health Economics Fund. “My advice is if you really have some important issues to solve, make sure you prioritise and be ruthless...

Transformational Healthcare Leadership is a new podcast from Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. Join Dr Mark O’Brien as he speaks to leaders across the globe on how they are addressing the post Covid threats, and technological opportunities in healthcare leadership today.