Pioneer stories
Pioneer stories is a podcast series in which we interview business founders and leaders who are pioneering new management practices and ways of working to create inspiring organisational cultures. It’s a podcast for business founders and people leaders who are striving to make their own workplaces deliver for their people and who want their culture to be a source of strength that drives the future growth of their company. We interview business founders and leaders who we think we can all learn something from. We get past the conceptual ideas to bring you the day to day habits and practices these businesses use to create and sustain their cultures. We’ll bring you one pioneer each episode so tune in for 30 minutes of wisdom and practical ideas for you to test in your own organisation each week.
Episodes
14 episodes
Wazoku: enabling people to share and act on their ideas
In this episode Bee interviews Simon Hill, Founder and CEO of Wazoku. Wazoku builds idea management software and as you might expect – ideas are central to the way things work at the company. Listen to hear how enabling people to share and act ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 5
•
25:49
National Emergencies Trust: creating culture through a crisis
In this episode Bee interviews Helen Killingley, Head of People and Values at the National Emergencies Trust. Helen shares how NET essentially created a culture from scratch as they grew from 3 to 80 people in a matter of weeks during the coron...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 4
•
32:11
The Social Element: giving people choice in how they work
In this episode Bee interviews Tamara Littleton, founder and CEO of The Social Element. Tamara saw an opportunity to help brands create online communities before social media was a thing. And unlike the swanky offices of the social media giants...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 3
•
35:09
The River Group: nurturing a company culture through growth, sale and buyback
An interview with Nicola Murphy, founder and CEO of The River Group – a content marketing agency. Nicola knows what it’s like to create a business from scratch, sell it and buy it back again. In this interview she graciously shares the lessons ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 2
•
27:15
SmartRecruiters: putting purpose at the centre of decision making and action
An interview with Jerome Ternynck, founder and CEO of Smart Recruiters. Jerome is on a mission to eradicate unemployment and it’s this sense of purpose that drives the caring actions of the people at Smart Recruiters. Jerome shares how he's kep...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 1
•
30:52
Honest Burgers: putting your people first during a global pandemic
An interview with Dub Lee, Learning Architect at Honest Burgers. From the day they opened their first doors in Brixton Market, Honest Burgers has been famous for their food and customer experience and recently they've been working hard to bring...
•
24:27
Culture Amp: taking your business to a new geography
An interview with Nick Matthews, VP and General Manager of Culture Amp EMEA. Culture Amp was founded, and remains headquartered, in Melbourne, Australia. Nick was brought in to launch Culture Amp in Europe. Learn how he's grown Culture Amp in a...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 4
•
33:21
Costello Medical: growing your people and your company at the same time
An interview with Sophie Costello, founder and CEO of Costello Medical. Before they’d even hired their first employee, Sophie was determined to create a company where people could find their niche and fulfil their potential. By listening to wha...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 3
•
36:38
MAMA.codes: making flexible working work for everyone
An interview with Liane Katz, Founder of MAMA.codes, a company that’s transforming the way children (and their parents and teachers) learn to code. Liane's thrown out the notion of a 9 to 5 job and has given a community of people opportunities ...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 2
•
27:24
Northcott Global Solutions: putting military principles into practice in civvy street
In this episode Bee interviews Ted Jones, Founder and CEO of Northcott Global Solutions. NGS applies military principles not only to the services they offer their clients, but also to the way they run their teams – starting with having an ex Dr...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 1
•
27:08
Atom Bank: being a values led digital bank
An interview with Stewart Bromley, Chief Operating Office of Atom Bank, a company that prides itself on being entirely values led in everything they do. Atom Bank have built a culture based on the values of their customers in the firm belief th...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 4
•
37:34
100%Open: leading by practicing what you preach
An interview with Roland Harwood, founder of 100%Open and We Are Liminal, on aspiring to practice what you preach when it comes to leadership and open collaboration. Discover how important early working habits, leadership behaviours and values ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 3
•
34:40
AND.Digital: structuring a people system for rapid company growth
An interview with Debbie Martin, Chief of Talent Experience at AND.Digital, on how they set out to build a people first company from day one and put the structures in place to support a robust and collaborative culture. Learn how she's structur...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 2
•
27:32
Novoda: building company culture across multiple geographies
An interview with Kevin McDonagh, founder and CEO of Novoda, on his instinctive and unconventional approach to developing company culture at Novoda. Learn how he's introduced habitual 'ceremonies' and a few key items of technology to support hi...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 1
•
27:12