Talent Talks Podcast
The Talent Talks Podcast provides regular insights and guidance to procurement and supply chain professionals. Host, Martin Smith interviews CPO's within large corporations and brands in the UK such as John Lewis, Mars, Babcock International, Managing Directors of procurement specialist companies including as Procurement Excellence and Embedded IT as well as thought-leaders and authors from the sector. Martin Smith, founder of Talent Drive is a specialist procurement and supply chain recruiter. He uses his network and expertise to provide insightful, thought provoking discussions, as well as providing tips on building your own career in the industry. The podcast is just one area of #projectprocurement; Martin's network of like-minded procurement professionals including webinars, content and events. Register your email to find out about our next meet-up and get involved: https://bit.ly/talenttalksmailinglist We'd love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, and do please reach out if you'd like to be a guest; martin@talentdrive.co.uk. All links and references at https://talentdrive.co.uk/
Talent Talks Podcast
The Power of Sport in Business with Stuart Farrell
Summary
What happens when you bring sport, leadership, and purpose into procurement?
In this episode of Talent Talks, host Martin Smith sits down with Stuart Farrell, Group Procurement Director across the FFTL portfolio (including All Points, Cuckoo Broadband and FFTL itself).
With more than 25 years of global procurement experience at companies like Vodafone, Fujitsu and HPE, Stuart shares his journey from “falling into procurement” to leading transformation across multiple industries.
They explore the power of authentic relationships, why remembering people’s names and passions builds better business outcomes and how lessons from sport, especially cricket, shape high-performing teams.
Stuart also opens up about why safety must always come before savings, how procurement’s role is evolving in an AI-driven world and the traits he looks for when hiring top talent.
Whether you’re a procurement professional, people leader or simply curious about the human side of business, this episode offers candid stories, practical wisdom and inspiration in equal measure.
This episode is proudly sponsored by Omnea.
If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share the episode with someone who loves good leadership stories.
Some of the key moments during this podcast include:
How a charity cricket match strengthened supplier relationships.
Stuart’s unconventional entry into procurement and the deal that changed his career.
Why relationships, not transactions, drive business success.
Lessons learned from legendary leaders at Vodafone.
The importance of empathy, curiosity and memory in leadership.
How elite sport data inspired Stuart’s recruitment strategy.
Why “Safety First” is the #1 KPI in his procurement organisation.
The evolving role of procurement in cybersecurity and ESG.
How AI can empower, not replace, procurement professionals.
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction to Stuart Farrell
02:51 - Sports & Business Relationships
05:51 - Stuart's Entry into Procurement
11:51- Building Relationships in Procurement
18:44 - Authenticity in Business
25:49 - Defining Talent and Hiring Strategies
33:42 - The Evolution of Procurement
38:48 - Creating a Mandate for Procurement
45:48 - The Future of AI in Procurement
This episode is proudly sponsored by Omnea.
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