The NABS Podcast

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? From crisis to coach: overcoming late ADHD diagnosis t/w: suicide Alan Stracey is an ICF-accredited ADHD coach who leads NABS workshops as well as running his own practice. Alan came to coaching after experiencing the darkest of times, following 20 years in a creative career. A late ADHD diagnosis empowered him to understand himself and drove him to help others...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Xavier Rees is AMV Group CEO and one of our industry’s most formidable leaders. His track record in speaking out about mental wellness is as strong as his outstanding career history, demonstrating clearly how senior leaders can be vocal role models for supporting mental wellness. Xavier has spoken previously about supporting his family through challenging times...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Rob Beevers is chief effectiveness and analytics officer at MG OMD. He’s also an ADHDer and hugely insightful about AI, especially on how it affects neurodivergent people – and how we can best use AI to create inclusive teams. Rob combines quick-fire thinking with humour and insight, making this a fascinating and non-stop conversation. Rob’s also one of our men...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? James Cornish is SVP of international sales and partnerships at Vivo. He’s also a fitness enthusiast who turned his passion into a brilliant community fundraiser for NABS, bringing together people from across adland to compete in the ATHX Games fitness challenge to raise much-needed funds. In this inspirational chat, James – still recovering after undertaking h...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Charlotte Coughlan is managing partner at Leo UK and a mum to two young children. Which makes her super busy – yet impressively she’s still found the time and energy to create Parental Guidance, a mentoring scheme for working parents across adland. Charlotte is passionate about helping other working parents, having been through the mill herself. During Charlott...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Get cosy, festive and fundraisy as we celebrate NABS' amazing donor community with the publication of the Yay List, in partnership with Campaign - this year's industry list to be on.   Grab an eggnog and a mince pie and settle down for a celebratory chat with top NABS supporters James White and Michelle Sarpong, along with Sue Todd, CEO, NABS. 'Y...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Steven Ballinger, known best to the industry as Bally, is chief commercial officer at Astus. He is also a huge advocate for mental wellness after experiencing a breakdown. It's a turnaround for somebody who was raised to carry on, no matter what: he now checks in on himself and his team daily and encourages us all to do the same. Also joining us for this e...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Rachel Peace is the MD of Hearts and Science and a proud dyslexic and neurodivergent leader. Rachel is also, excitingly, the new chair of Fast Forward, NABS' flagship training course that teaches people how to pitch in real time. In this episode, Rachel shares her experience of burnout - a hot topic across adland right now. To this day, Rachel has an activ...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Davina Barker, sales director at DCM, gives both clarity and good vibes in this relatable and uplifting conversation.   Davina discusses how family life can be a stress as well as a joy; how to reframe work to your children to get them engaged in the joy of having a job; and why and how she and DCM are such great supporters of NABS. As a previous Campaign 40 Ov...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Hamish Nicklin is co-founder and CEO of Agent Flow, who build AI solutions that help businesses to grow. Hamish Nicklin is a life force and one of the industry’s best-known names, having held senior positions at Dentsu Media UK, Guardian Media and Google. He is also a trustee of NABS and pulls no punches when describing how vital NABS is to adland, and why ever...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Beth Sutherland is associate director of programmatic services at Essence MediaCom and vice-president of Bloom North, the organisation for women in adland in the north of England.  In this insightful conversation, Beth discusses the mental wellness transformation behind her successful career, going from someone reaching to external validation to someone working...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Tom Tapper is the co-founder and CEO of Nice and Serious, a B Corp-certified creative agency committed to only making work the world needs. He joins us for a special live episode recorded at the Festival of Happiness in November 2024. Tom discussed his agency’s ethical approach to work, including how his team uses the Moral Compass to decide whether briefs fit...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? The Media Lad is loved throughout adland for his funny takes on the industry as well as his insights into where we're doing brilliantly, and where we can work together to make things better. He champions those underrepresented in the industry and in his own life has come through tough times to be a practical and positive force for good. You'll never k...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Caregiving in adland: Ben Waters' devoted double life Ben Waters is a producer at Mother and a caregiver for his partner. He also founded and  runs the caregivers’ support group at Mother, which meets regularly for support and chats in an informal setting. Ben is absolutely brilliant and down-to-earth and talks about caregiving in such a relatable way, ack...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Gen Kobayashi is UK group chief strategy officer at M+C Saatchi. Gen also knows the pain of bereavement first-hand, as he sadly lost his sister-in-law to cancer. Gen is a key industry voice on grief and bereavement. In this beautiful conversation he shares the profound impact of loss on his family. Gen explores what true support looks like, and shares why grief...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? How to manage your team's mental wellness - and your own, with Sue Todd, CEO, NABS Sue Todd is the CEO of NABS, the industry's charity, helping everybody to move forward. She's not just in charge of adland's mental wellness; she's also responsible for the mental wellness of the NABS team. To mark Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May)...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? How to make a big impact without burnout, with Bianca Best Bianca Best knows about burnout - she experienced it, and has now written a book on how to avoid burnout while making an impact at work. Bianca is an adland powerhouse, a solo mum of four (five if you include her dog), a coach and a speaker, so she certainly knows about fulfilling your potential without...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? TW: premature birth; miscarriage How we created a dads' community at work, with Ben Irons and Joe Dolan of Microsoft Advertising Ben Irons and Joe Dolan are advertising leaders, coaches and working dads. Together they run Dads at Microsoft, a group that supports dads - and mums - across the world in the company. The group's listening circles are where...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? tw: suicide Emma Flaxman is senior commercial comms lead at Channel 4 and a mental wellness influencer in adland, having led on mental health for the likes of PHD and Omnicom Group UK. Emma is superbly open about her own challenges, especially where they relate to becoming a single parent. She blogs about her experiences on her blog . In this brilliant conversa...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? tw: alcohol addiction, depression Natalie Bell is CEO, MG OMD and one of the industry's most prolific leaders, with a string of accolades to show for it. With her focus on people and mental wellness, she's well-placed to talk about leading with empathy. Natalie also has a moving story to tell: that of living with her mother's alcohol addiction, a...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? James Fox is the outgoing CEO of Havas. First and foremost though, in his own words, he's a dad, and in this conversation he talks about the truth of being a working parent and a leader in adland with refreshing honesty and perspective. It shouldn't be unusual for an adland leader to say that it's OK and natural for parents to put their children...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Trevor Robinson OBE is the co-founder of Quiet Storm, which he runs with his wife Rania (also a NABS Podcast guest) and Create not Hate, which works with young talent from underrepresented groups. Trevor is the brains and creativity behind the legendary Tango advert in the 90s, having adopted a fearless attitude cultivated as a young creative, on the dole, tryi...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Rania Robinson is CEO of Quiet Storm Advertising, co-founder of Create not Hate and a former president of WACL. She's also a naturally early riser, using her body-clock attuned 5am starts as valuable me-time to support her mental wellness. Rania realises 5am isn't a time for everyone, and in this easygoing chat Rania shares her tips for sustaining sel...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Jade is executive creative director at Huge, a design and innovation company based in London and New York. A graduate of St. Martin's, Jade describes herself as a creative adventurer. She's worked on brands from Sony to Starbucks and also runs Creative Adventures, where she supports founders and entrepreneurs. Jade is also helping to drive forward NAB...

Got a question for The NABS Podcast? Josh Krichefski is CEO of GroupM, EMEA and UK and president of the IPA. This industry influencer is also a huge advocate for mental wellness in our industry, and at the IPA has introduced the People First Promise to promote mental health awareness and support across adland. Has your organisation signed up to it yet? Josh talks about his own struggles - anxiety...