The Chief Executive Optimist: Recent Episodes
The Chief Executive Optimist
The Chief Executive Optimist Podcast delivers resilience recipes for leaders and high-performers, helping to preserve your sanity and humanity in a paradigm of relentless change. Launched in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic, the series focuses on mindset hacks and development tools for values-driven businesses in the post-pandemic globalised economy, where importance is placed on integrity, sustainability, respect and societal impact.
Business Transformation Consultant and Coach, Gareth Hawkins, welcomes guests to discuss topics on the themes of Conscious Capitalism and Inclusive Leadership, as well as exploring emerging trends and the challenges of management.
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Gareth reports from the biz4Biz Sustainability Conference at the Rothamsted Institute of Agricultural Research near St Albans, Hertfordshire. The event – which took place on 3rd of March 2022 was attended by over 170 business leaders from the region and had an amazing line-up of keynote speakers, on topics across the ESG spectrum.
To learn more about the event, visit the conference page on the biz4Biz website.
The line-up of keynote speakers who are interviewed in this episode includes :
Bim Afolami
MP for Hitchin & Harpenden and Chair, APPG for Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Richard Roberts
Leader, Hertfordshire County Council and Chair, Hertfordshire Growth Board
Richard Whitehead
Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership Board Member and Chair, Herts IQ
Stephen Ainsworth
Head of Eastern Region, Barclays
Marco De Benedictis
Head of Sustainable Finance, Barclays
Philip Webb
MD and Founder, Investors In Community
Leon Reed
CEO & Founder, Verisio
Monica Kanwar
Director of Sustainability, University of Hertfordshire
Yanina Aubrey-Gimenez
Head of Business Growth & Entrepreneurship, University of Hertfordshire
Mark Pashley
Corporate Tax Partner, Mercer & Hole
Andrew Griffiths
Director of Community and Partnerships, Planet Mark
David Hawes
Co-Founder, Net Zero International
Rondi Allan & Nick Reilly
Co-Founders, Sustainable X
Adrian Hawkins OBE and Ian Taylor
from the event organisers, biz4Biz
Gareth speaks with Graham Gillen, founder of Eccountinc, and a B-Leader who assists companies across the UK and Republic of Ireland in pursuing and achieving B-Corp status. Graham shares his insights on the processes available to both established and early-stage businesses, and gives some examples of sustainable companies he has helped become B-Corps, together with their compelling reasons for doing so.
The following are mentioned in this episode :
- BCorp UK
- Purposely
- Green Salon Collective
- CleanTheWorld
And for founders of startups who are seeking to incorporate with B-Corp-ready Articles of Association, etc, an example platform that simplifies this process can be found at :
- FounderCatalyst
Graham can be contacted via LinkedIn or via email to graham@eccountinc.com.
Gareth speaks with Paul Hargreaves, founder and Chief Executive of Cotswold Fayre, a speciality and fine food wholesaler and purpose-driven company that seeks to reduce poverty, injustice and environmental damage by balancing the needs of people and the planet with the pursuit of profit. Paul discusses his 20-year journey of building his company and defining his style of inclusive leadership.
Paul is also a B-Corp ambassador, with Cotswold Fayre having been one of the earliest companies in the UK to achieve certification as a B Corporation, in 2015.
In addition, Paul is a published author, having written 2 books on purpose-driven business and compassionate leadership :
Forces For Good (2019), and
The Fourth Bottom Line (2021)
Paul is an inspiring keynote speaker and shares his powerful insights at events, conferences and retreats. To learn more about Paul, or to enquire as to his availability for speaking engagements, visit www.paulhargreaves.co.uk.
Gareth speaks with Bim Afolami, Conservative member of Parliament for the UK constituency of Hitchin and Harpenden and current Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Renewable And Sustainable Energy Group. Recorded in the Autumn of 2021, with all eyes on the UN Climate Change Conference following the IPCC's publishing of its sixth climate-change assessment report.
Bim shares his thoughts on a range of solutions, and speaks candidly about what he considers necessary in order to achieve the UK's target of Net Zero Carbon status by 2050.
You can learn more about Bim Afolami MP at his website, or contact him via the UK Parliament.
This episode is sponsored by biz4Biz, the members’ association for business Founders and Leaders in the South-East of England. Join or discover more at www.biz4biz.org
Gareth speaks with Growth Leader and US Digital Healthcare Strategist, Corey Feldman, about how his military service in the Middle-East shaped him as an empathetic and objective thinker, and how his experiences have enlightened him to seek truths in both sides of a dispute.
They discuss his recently-published memoir, ‘A Line In The Sand’, and his pursuit of innovations in improvements to healthcare.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Corey enlisted in the IDF, where he served for 3 years and now holds the rank of Staff Sergeant as a reservist. Corey is an Erickson certified professional coach, holds an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology, and a Masters in Healthcare Innovation from The University of Pennsylvania.
Since leaving the military, Corey has spent his career helping early stage digital healthcare SaaS companies scale their commercial offerings as a growth-leader, advisor, and investor.
He is a volunteer EMT with the Central Park Medical Unit, a published author and hosts 2 podcasts - The Lone Soldier, and Healthcare Reimagined, which can be found on Spotify and Apple podcasts.
Corey's book is available in eBook and print at the Amazon UK and Amazon US stores. His diverse and detailed blog can be found at The Examined Life NYC.
Gareth is joined by blockchain technology veteran and payments app entrepreneur, Michael Lawal, whose company, Sendit.Money, is set to play a revolutionary role in democratising remittances across emerging markets, making funds-transfers cheaper, faster and easier to, from and within Africa.
They discuss the challenge faced in sending and receiving money throughout the developing world, and the pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals which address these challenges. They discuss several blockchain protocols, such as :
- Stellar
- Cardano
- Ripple
PSA: Gareth is an investor in, and advisor to, Sendit.Money.
Gareth speaks to Ameena Ahmed, a lead social-impact consultant and coach with experience leading in the public, private and 3rd sectors.
They discuss Ameena's journey, mission and values, as well as leadership, independence, gender, faith, lifelong learning and collaboration.
Ameena shares her insights into stepping boldly into the unknown, living a values-driven life with 'alignfulness', through Buddhism, and remaining centred in a turbulent and discordant world.
Ameena's Reading List from this episode : * Proof of Heaven by Dr Eben Alexander
Reach-out to Ameena via her consultancy, Direct Path
Gareth speaks with Ian Windle, author of recently-published book 'The Leadership Map' and co-host of the Gritty Leaders Club podcast.
As well as a deep-dive into several principles put forward in the book, Ian and Gareth discuss Ian's 2018 TEDx talk on having 'An Unreasonable Dream', the revelations that come from his work with business leaders in the Peer Advisory Group he chairs, and his admiration of Asian business culture, high-performing sportspeople and those who challenge the status quo.
Touching on numerous sources of leadership theory, this episode namechecks several inspiring books, such as :
- Blue Zones, by Dan Buettner
- Vivid Vision, by Cameron Herold
- Fear Less, by Dr Pippa Grange
You can learn more about Ian's work at www.ianwindle.com
Gareth has a comprehensive discussion with Dave Clarkson, a co-founder of charity-engagement blockchain platform, 'Investors In Community' (IIC) and founder of the 'Family Business Network'.
In addition to discussing Leonardo Da Vinci, Britain as an Ideas-Factory and the inherent values-based culture of family businesses, Dave describes the IIC service for measuring CSR achieved through the 5 ways of charitable giving, which community-conscious companies are increasingly using to connect with local charities in their region.
You can register for free on the Investors In Community platform at www.investorsincommunity.org and you can learn more about the work of the Family Business Network at www.fambiznet.co.uk
The revenues of most established businesses depend on their established product or service offering, and this often involves the continued exploitation of former innovations that become increasingly commoditised.
By contrast, startup businesses focus on the exploration of new ideas and innovations, in order to penetrate a market with interesting new value-propositions.
In this episode, Gareth speaks with Jonathan Macdonald, the Sunday Time Bestselling Author of Powered By Change – his 5th book – who has recently published his 6th book, The Rise of Advanced Thought.
Jonathan's experience as a serial-startup tech entrepreneur, business coach, cryptocurrency CMO and TEDtalk thought-leader make for some fascinating discussion, which focuses primarily on the paradox that many businesses face over how to best balance their activities to address both the exploitation and exploration that they require in order to stay ahead and drive market change.
The 12 insightful tenets in Powered By Change are now delivered as an impactful Business Leadership Coaching platform, available online here. Coaches are currently able to become accredited for free, for a limited offer period via this link.
Gareth speaks with Jane Bayler : Coach, Entrepreneur, Author, Founder of the ‘Ideal Client Success’ 90-day Accelerator Programme and Host of the Smart Connector Podcast.
Jane shares her insights on making the right connections – both professionally and personally, and on how to embrace the myriad social-media channels in order to drive new connections, whilst preserving a consistent, authentic voice – quite literally, in the case of Clubhouse, where Jane is an active host of several rooms.
Learn more with Jane at her website, or check-out The Smart Connector Podcast
In this episode, we discuss the growing importance of ESG values and behaviours in companies of all sizes - from corporations through to SMEs, and look at some simple steps that businesses can take to align themselves with ESG goals, including :
- Investors In Community - CSR Platform
- Good Business Charter
- Footprint Tracker from the Carbon Trust
We also explore mindset tools for conscientious leaders to help manage feelings of guilt, and we share thoughts on how companies can create value through values, for clients, colleagues and wider stakeholders in society.
In this inaugural episode, we discuss emerging from COVID lockdowns, the potential benefits of a 'reset' and the possible consequences for leaders, their workforces and workplaces.