Talent Smart Podcast

Season 2 - Episode 23 - Craig Randell – CIO of HotelPlan – “The Future of hospitality and the impact of technology”

Craig is currently serving as the Group Director of IT at Hotelplan Group, overseeing technology strategy and operations for some of the UK's most respected travel brands. His leadership has been pivotal in enhancing operational efficiency and delivering exceptional customer experiences. Recognised for his strategic vision and ability to lead Global cross-functional teams, Craig has been instrumental in implementing agile methodologies, enhancing cybersecurity measures, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. His expertise encompasses IT governance, project management and delivering technology solutions with evolving business needs.
In the episode, we asked Craig what are the biggest shifts you’re seeing right now in how travellers interact with technology across the entire journey (from mobile apps to in-destination experiences), also how is he seeing technology bridge the gap between the booking stage and the actual adventure.
We also spent some time looking ahead at what emerging technologies will have the biggest impact on the hospitality and adventure travel sectors, together with how to balance investing in cutting-edge innovation while ensuring it aligns with the core guest experience and commercial reality.
Craig also gave us an insight into what role will data and AI play in shaping the next wave of personalised, immersive travel experiences, and also how sustainability and digital innovation working hand-in-hand—particularly in the context of adventure travel and global exploration.
Craig shared with us an amazing idea of using virtual and augmented reality to create travel experiences for those who may not be able to physically go to places; whether due to cost of differability restrictions.
Finally, Craig shared some advice for other tech leaders in hospitality who are trying to push boundaries without losing sight of what makes travel magical.

Season 2 - Episode 22 - Jessica S Hall - "Building World-Class Products in an AI Era"

Jessica S. Hall is the Chief Growth Officer at OpsCanvas, leading product strategy, market positioning, and go-to-market execution. A seasoned product and design leader, she has extensive experience in guiding companies through digital transformation and building customer-centric products.
A TEDx speaker and Co-author of The Product Mindset, Jessica has led multimillion-dollar product redesigns, built global teams, and developed AI-driven strategies that drive business growth. A sought-after speaker and coach, she excels at aligning product, marketing, and sales to fuel innovation and revenue.
In this episode, we talk with Jessica about the AI-Driven product revolution and how has AI fundamentally changed the way we build and scale world-class products today. We explore balancing AI and human-centred design and how to ensure that products remain intuitive, ethical, and user-centric.
Jessica also gives us her insight into how to Leverage AI for a competitive advantage, sharing some strategies to integrate AI into products in a way that provides real competitive differentiation and the challenges in AI-First Product Development.
We also discuss the role of data and how AI and product roadmaps are changing as organisations seek to build and scale AI products at pace.
As AI continues to evolve, Jessica offered some advice into what product leaders should be preparing for in the next few years.

Season 2 - Episode 21 - Charlotte Bemand – Secrets to strategy in a fast paced digital world

Director of Digital Product and Business Partnering at HBK - Hottinger Brüel & Kjær, Charlotte Bemand is an accomplished executive with extensive experience working across global FTSE 100 corporations, family-owned enterprises, multinational organisations, and the public sector.
She specialises in strategic development, transformation, and scaling delivery, with a focus on new market entry, M&A due diligence, and integration.Key highlights of her career include:
Leading the development of a digital strategy to 2030 at HBK, building digital product teams, and establishing a digital business partnering model.
Driving transformation projects at Carnival UK, including technology optimisation, product operating model and cultural change initiatives.
Serving as a Programme Director for the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme across England, overseeing the mobilisation of primary care networks and improving vaccine uptake strategies.
Board Trustee roles advocating for change and accountability, leveraging her skills in strategic planning, program management, and change management.
Charlotte is recognised for her compassionate leadership style, excelling as a facilitator, collaborator, and coach who empowers teams to deliver impactful outcomes.Endorsements & Recommendations:Charlotte has been praised for her ability to navigate complex organisational change with clarity and empathy, achieving both commercial results and practical insights. She is known for her tenacity, intellect, and unwavering commitment to making a difference.
In this episode, Charlotte shares with us a little bit about her career journey and what led her to specialise in strategy, together with giving us her thoughts on how to define strategy and what does it mean in today’s fast paced world?
Charlotte offers some fascinating insights into how to balance innovation with practicality when shaping an overall strategy and how to meet the challenge when aligning digital transformation with organisational goals. In addition, we discussed how to gain organisational buy-in for digital strategies, particularly in a more traditional or legacy business.
We looked at how one can measure success when implementing a digital strategy and the key metrics to focus on.
Looking into the future, we discussed how digital strategy evolving as businesses become more data-driven and customer-centric
Finally, Charlotte shared with us the biggest lesson that she has learned as a strategy leader ..so far.

Season 2 - Episode 20 - Gurdeep Grewal – Why Predictability is key to an entrepreneur’s success (An investors perspective)

Gurdeep currently serves as an advisor to several private equity firms and IT services companies around the world. In addition to his advisory roles, he’s also an investor and strategic partner in an AI startup behind two innovative products: ConnectingYouNow.ai (CYN) and Firebreak.ai.
His expertise lies in supporting executive teams to build robust go-to-market strategies and drive consistent business performance—from shaping value propositions and developing pipelines to ensuring revenue realisation. Within the private equity space, Gurdeep offers guidance on acquisitions, particularly in the Design and Engineering sectors.
In this episode, Gurdeep shares his entrepreneurial journey and what inspired his focus on creating business consistency and reliability for investors. He provides valuable insight into the concept of predictability in a commercial setting—why it's crucial from an investor's point of view and how it influences funding decisions.
We dive into the key indicators that signal predictability, explore the hurdles companies often face when trying to convey stability, and examine how predictability plays a vital role in scaling successfully. Gurdeep also outlines the pivotal stages in a business’s growth where consistent performance becomes even more important.
Finally, we look ahead at how advancements in technology and data analytics are transforming how companies enhance their predictability and appeal to investors.

Season 2 - Episode 19 - Brenden Mielke (VP of Product Language Learning, Pearson) - How to evolve a legacy analogue business into the digital world

In this episode, Brenden shares his experience in transitioning legacy businesses to digital.  Including the initial impetus for starting the digital transformation. We discussed some of the biggest challenges when transforming a traditionally analogue business into a digital-first organisation. Brenden shares with us how to assess the digital maturity of a legacy business before creating a transformation strategy and what are the key indicators or signals that a legacy business is ready for digital transformation.
We also tackled how to address resistance to change, especially when long-standing processes and mindsets are entrenched in a legacy business and how important the leadership team are in driving digital transformation.
We explored the role that customer feedback plays during a digital transformation, and how to incorporate the feedback into the product evolution process.

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Russell Hornsby-Clifton (Advisory Board Member, Inicio AI) : Keys to business acceleration and scaling a Fintech business

Russell is an experienced senior leader with a proven track record of successfully building business, managing change, developing individuals and leading global projects. Expert in transforming struggling operations by redesigning and achieving organisational goals. Holder of the Institute of Directors Certificate in Company Direction and full Member of the IoD.
Equipped to deliver effective solutions through unique insights from a diverse career as a CEO and Board Director, Entrepreneur, Regulator, Senior Compliance Executive, Army Officer and Barrister who has operated in over 50 jurisdictions, usually in, incredibly challenging conditions. An Executive Coach with a passion for combining emotional intelligence and behavioural science with military discipline to produce results under fire, leading from the front.
In this episode, Russell shares with us the keys to a successful scale up, especially within Fintech from an early-stage startup to a high-growth business. He discusses what are some of the most common challenges Fintech companies face in the initial stages of growth, and how to overcome these obstacles.
We also discuss the importance of market fit in the early stages of scaling, and what are some indicators that a fintech business is ready to accelerate its growth, together with how fintech companies should approach customer acquisition and retention.
Russell also shares his insights into how fintech companies can structure their funding rounds to maximise growth potential.

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Nicola Wadham – Dealing with technical debt & modernisation within tight budget constraints

Nicola’s career has been within organisations that build or make products; with IT as an enabler and a service. She has worked across multiple sectors including - Oil and Gas, FMCG, Engineering, Utilities and government regulatory bodies. Nicola has been a leader in many types of organisations from the very large enterprises to the very small and a range of sizes and ownership models in between. She focuses on organisation design, IT skills, acquisition and retention, sourcing strategy and governance dimension that are all part of the challenge of delivering IT enabled change. 
During this episode, we explore the definition of technical debt and its impact across the business.  Nicola explains more about how to manage when working with tight budgets and we explore how to decide whether to invest in modernising legacy systems or continue maintaining them, including the prioritisation and capacity question. 
Nicola explains when there are situations where she would recommend delaying a technical debt resolution and why so many modern solutions promise to address technical debt, but do they deliver on their promises, or do they sometimes add complexity?
Nicola was very kind and shared some examples from her own career, where modernisation efforts have gone wrong, either by increasing technical debt or complicating IT management.

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Neil Fenton (CEO of 10 Duke) - Managing Multi Country teams to achieve great outcomes

Neil Fenton is a software entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in creating new software products and systems with a particular focus on identity and access management technologies delivered on a SaaS basis.
 
In this episode, we cover the biggest challenges in managing multi-country teams, and to overcome them, together with discussing the technological tools and platforms that can be most effective for managing global teams.
 
We also cover the approach to ensure fair and consistent performance evaluations globally and how to support the professional development and career growth of international employees. This includes “engagement” strategies to keep international teams engaged and feel connected to the company’s mission and values.

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Jora Gill - Technology and the Boardroom (and how to bridge the gap)

Jora Gill is CEO and Co-founder of FireBreak, where they spearhead AI and Graph technologies to improve IT project outcomes and mitigate project risks early. He is also CEO and Co-Founder of ConnectingYouNow, where they lead initiatives to improve organisational productivity through a personalised conversational search and analytics platform, with a focus on accessibility.
Jora holds a number of non-exec director roles where he helps to align IT projects with strategic objectives, manage risks effectively, and cultivate a culture of accountability and transparency. Included are;
Travis Perkins Group - Supplier of building materials to the building and construction industry. Companies under the Group are Travis Perkins, Toolstation, BSS, CCF and Keyline
Phoenix Life - A financial services company for Pensions and Savings. Brands under the Group are Standard Life, SunLife, Phoenix Life and ReAssure
In this episode, Jora gives a real insight into an NED boardroom, what do NEDs actually do and how his past experience has prepared him for a board-level advisory.
We explore the most common reasons why IT initiatives fail in organisations and how a board can help address some of these issues. In addition, Jora shares the key factors to consider when evaluating the feasibility and risk profile of a Technology project and how to present a proposal to the board.
Jora shares his “Five Questions For Success” playbook and how looking through a Boardroom lens will help in your current and future career.  Jora also gives great advice in terms of what skills you need to succeed into the Boardroom or a NED career.
Finally, we learn why a Non-Exec Board can be one of the most successful cross functional teams within an organisation.

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Henry Cohen - Leadership during transformational change

Henry is an experienced and successful CxO and change professional, with excellent stakeholder management and inter-personal skills. He has significant years of experience in managing large-scale businesses and technology change programmes (£5m to £800m), especially in the digital space, for a wide variety of UK and European-based Insurance and Media companies and Central Government departments.
In this episode, Henry shares with us his approach to leading a large-scale transformation, focusing within established organisational structures and he gives us a great insight into what the key first steps are to take when setting a transformation strategy.
Henry also shares his methods that have been the most effective for gaining 'buy-in' from stakeholders across different levels during transformational change and how to balance whilst maintaining current operations with the push for transformational change.
He also advises on how to address resistance to change, and what strategies to employ which help bring sceptical team members on board and what are some essential qualities or characteristics to look for in building a high-performing teams.
We also take a quick Look into the future and Henry gives us his take on what trends or shifts will impact the way high-performance teams are created and sustained.