Explore every episode of the podcast The Venari Podcast

Sean Tribull, our Hospitality & Leisure Lead, has launched Suite Talk, a new series for the Venari Podcast covering the latest insights on hospitality leadership. His second guest is Barbara Muckermann, CEO of Kempinski Hotels.

Sean Tribull, our Hospitality & Leisure Lead, has launched Suite Talk, a new series for the Venari Podcast covering the latest insights on hospitality leadership. His first guest is Orient Express Group CEO and Chief Strategy Officer at Accor, Gilda Perez-Alvarado.

In this episode of the HealthTech CEO series, Venari Partners Senior Consultant Cristian Owen speaks with Jens Noerterhaeuser, CEO & Co-founder of Kranus Health

Nuclear medicine is finally having its moment. Radiopharmaceuticals are poised to bring about a sea change in the treatment of cancer – though to make sure innovation in the space remains at the cutting edge, having the right talent is arguably the single most important aspect.   It was this topic that led Ken Herrmann and Valentina Ambrosini, from Essen University Hospital and the University of Bologna respectively, to co-author an article for the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. This, in turn, caught the attention of our Senior Oncology R&D Consultant, Matthew Palmer.   Matt invited Ken and Valentina to speak about their findings and their own insights on this topic on the Venari Podcast. So, what do the co-authors think about addressing the generation gap in nuclear medicine, and what are the implications of their research?

‘Employee engagement remains such an important part of the work that we do as HR leaders – and, really, as business leaders,’ says Amy Rodgers. She’s been Chief Human Resources Officer at PPC Flexible Packaging since November 2022, and has plenty of wisdom to share about managing talent in the packaging space. Tim Hartnell, Senior Consultant for our Sustainable Packaging practice, caught up with Amy on this episode of the Venari Podcast. Here are some of the key things we learned from their conversation!

‘I’ve always really loved the biotech space,’ says Sonya Montgomery. An experienced Chief Medical Officer (CMO) with a strong focus on genomic medicine for rare diseases, Sonya has over 20 years of experience developing drugs across the US, Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands. Having most recently worked at Evox Therapeutics, Sonya has also offered her services as an independent consultant for the past decade. Paula Doust Alba, CNS & Rare Disease Consultant for our Life Sciences team, was delighted to catch up with Sonya on the Venari Podcast to discuss Sonya’s career to date, her thoughts on building teams in the space, and prevalent trends within research and development.

Matthew Palmer, Senior Oncology Consultant for our life sciences practice, caught up with ARTBIO CEO Emanuele Ostuni for this episode of the Venari Podcast. You can read the transcript of the interview below for more on Emanuele’s career, what ARTBIO are working on, the challenges of being a CEO, and his thoughts on building teams for success.

It’s fair to say that Tiffany Olson has always kept herself busy. ‘When other girls were playing Barbie, I played store and I was making a profit at five years old,’ she notes. Tiffany took her entrepreneurial spirit and drive to the pharmaceutical industry, where an early taste of working life was enough to give her the bug: ‘Once I saw and experienced that patient impact, I was hooked on this industry. And I’ve stayed in it my entire career.’ Tiffany told Matt Palmer, Senior Oncology Consultant for our Life Sciences team, all about her career on this episode of the Venari Podcast’s Talking Radiopharma series.

Matthew Palmer, Senior Oncology Consultant for our Life Sciences team, caught up with Ian for the first episode of ‘Talking Radiopharma’, Matthew’s new series for the Venari Podcast. Read on for Ian’s thoughts on life as a CEO, ImaginAb’s R&D in theragnostics, and key challenges the company looks set to face going forward. Ian also has some fascinating insights on team building, the key skillsets he looks for in talent, and advice for budding scientists and developers in his nuclear medicine.

‘One of the things I’ve learned is you’re only as good as your team’.

Michael Ferguson joined Abivax as Chief Commercial Officer earlier this year, since then they’ve IPO’d on Nasdaq (largest French Biotech IPO ever - $212m) and Michael has been building and shaping the commercial strategy and team. We discuss all this and more in the next episode of The Venari Podcast – have a listen!

‘I’m a huge proponent for working in large, established companies earlier in one’s career.’ With an enviable track record across Big Pharma and small biotechs, it’s worth noting what Rani Therapeutics’ Chief Business Officer, Kate McKinley, has to say – which is why Joe Knight, Commercial Consultant for our Life Sciences practice, invited her to appear on an episode of the Chief Commercial Officer series for the Venari Podcast.   Read on for more on their conversation on commercial strategy in life sciences, as well as preparing – and hiring within – organisations for commercialisation!

Mohamed Issa knows all about what is needed for successful life sciences launches. Before his current role as SVP of Immunology at Janssen, he held varied positions – including juggling the foundation and successful exit of Noor Pharmaceuticals at the same time as his previous day job – making him more than qualified to discuss launches both at startup and Big Pharma level.

 Joe Knight caught up with Mohamed to gear his thoughts on leadership, team building, and the decisions that made him the executive he is today!

‘Technology changes fast – and I like that. I think the people that are in it for a long time enjoy that.’   With over 25 years of experience working in technology, Joel Goldberg has seen trends come and go – but, for him, some working principles remain constant. They’ve served him well over a varied and successful career, which has taken in a number of C-level positions at various companies, including Chief Digital Officer at WizzAir most recently.   Tom Woods, our Senior Digital & Technology Consultant, caught up with Joel on the Venari Podcast to discuss digital transformation, leadership, team building – and more! Check out the full conversation now.

Consulting gave Rachel Goldberg has ‘a helicopter view of different aspects of business’ early in her professional life – though the chance to work on longer-term projects in retail was tempting. Over the course of a career that’s taken in stints in consulting as well as household names in retail, Rachel accrued vast experience of both sectors prior to attaining her current role as Group Head of Strategy at Currys.   Rachel spoke to Mhairi Geraghty, our Senior Interim Solutions Consultant, on the Venari Podcast about the challenges – and pleasures – of transitioning from consulting to retail, her advice for career success, and how to manage work-life balance and burnout in demanding roles.   Click below to see the full interview!

‘Am I happy in the work that I’m doing, and am I growing and developing? I think when I’ve answered “No” to either of those questions is when I found it’s the right time to make a change.’   Emma Butler has enjoyed a varied career that has taken in stints at Deloitte, the BBC, and Burberry. Now, she has transitioned from finance and auditing into a transformation role, as Commercial Transformation Lead at Mulberry.   Mhairi Geraghty, our Senior Interim Solutions Consultant, caught up with Emma on this episode of the Venari Podcast. Check out the interview to hear about Emma’s career moves, her thoughts on mentorship, and the advice from a line manager that’s served her well!

Christian Tullberg Poulsen’s journey as a HealthTech founder began when a friend gave him an old device for training the lungs of people suffering from asthma and COPD. He gave it to some classical singers – and when the quality and pitch of their singing improved, Christian didn’t waste any time, buying worldwide rights and stock of the device to sell to singers.   Now, the Airofit has proven beneficial for weekend warriors, athletes – and even long COVID sufferers. In this episode of the Venari Podcast’s HealthTech CEO series, our Digital Health Consultant, Cristian Owen, found out all about Christian’s fascinating journey with Airofit – as well as the importance of good lungpower for all!   Check out the fascinating interview!

‘In order to empower people, of course you need to trust them.’ Sevinç Yener has over 25 years’ experience in executive management – and now, as CEO of Mondi Corrugated, she must navigate the challenges of providing effective sustainable packaging solutions in a challenging economic climate, with plenty of competitors. It’s been a success so far – and Tim Hartnell, our Senior Sustainable Packaging Consultant, heard the reasons why when he spoke to Sevinç on the Venari Podcast. Check out the full interview to hear about Sevinç’s career, her thoughts on effective, ‘people-first’ leadership, and how Mondi are building for the future!

‘Number one, at the end of the day, is understanding who our end consumer is.’ Akhil Anumolu’s career has taken in digital product management, engineering, commercial strategy and digital marketing. As Vice President of Global Digital Product Management and Engineering at a renowned global fast food chain, he helps to shape the company’s digital transformation and innovation all over the world. Tom Woods, Senior Consultant for our Digital & Technology team, got Akhil’s thoughts on team building, meeting customers’ needs, and staying ahead of the curve in digital transformation. The full podcast is out now – check it out here!

‘I think an appreciation for translational research has really started to emerge over the past few years.’ Dr Chris Winrow has had an excellent vantage point from which to observe how approaches to translational research have changed in recent years. An expert in neurodegenerative disease, with over 20 years’ experience in pharma and biotech in a variety of research, translational, and clinical roles, he joined Lucy Therapeutics as CSO in March 2023. Paula Doust Alba, our CNS & Rare Disease Consultant, welcomed Chris to an episode of the Venari Podcast’s R&D Hiring Strategy series to discuss his career, his thoughts on team building, what he looks for in new hires, and the future of translational research.

'Serendipity and interests combined' - talking healthcare startups with Fount CEO Andrew HerrAndrew joined us on the Venari Podcast to discuss what he’s learned across his career.

‘You can’t afford to drag with suboptimal performance.’Johanna Rossell, SVP General Manager Rare Diseases at Sumitomo Pharma America, has a wide range of professional experience to draw on when it comes to commercial biopharma. Her career has taken in stints in marketing and commercial across South America, Switzerland, and the US for a number of large companies prior to her recent experience as CCO of Enzyvant. Joe Knight, our Life Sciences Commercial Consultant, welcomed Johanna to the Venari Podcast for another episode of the Chief Commercial Officer series, where she opened up on what she’s learned from launches, when to bring in commercial teams, and her leadership philosophy of the ‘coach manager: the coach that can lead the multi-functional team’ while thinking long-term.

With over 20 years’ experience of leadership roles in multiple sectors across the globe, Lance Burn is more than qualified to talk about what it takes to reach the C-suite. In this episode of the Venari Podcast, Lance – who was most recently CEO of IG Design Group, where he was responsible for a business unit worth $650 million – spoke to our Senior Sustainable Packaging Consultant, Tim Hartnell, about leadership, team dynamics, and why he’s optimistic about the coming months.

Dr. Tatiana Fofanova’s journey towards establishing Koda Health took off in earnest during COVID. She was inspired to provide a patient-facing web application for users without access to certain treatments and medical documents.

Despite the necessity of such offerings, however, startup life has been a rollercoaster ride – particularly as female-founded companies rarely get the same levels of investment as male-founded ones... Tatiana spoke to Cristian Owen, our Specialist Digital Health Consultant, for the Venari Podcast’s Healthtech CEOs series. Check out the episode to learn more about Koda’s work, the unequal playing field for startup funding, and Tatiana’s leadership insights.

Dr Dean Carson’s professional expertise in neuroscience spans preclinical research, clinical development, medical affairs, and business operations. A neuroscientist and psychopharmacologist by training, he earned his PhD at the University of Sydney and did postdoctoral work at Stanford before leaving academia for industry to work in small, early-stage biotechs. Dean has held multiple operational, clinical, and scientific leadership positions, resulting in successful exits, funding, and drug approvals.

In the next episode of the Chief Commercial Officer Series on the Venari Podcast, Joe Knight, who leads the Commercial function within the Life Sciences and Healthcare practice at Venari Partners, was joined by Everett Crosland, Chief Commercial Officer at Cognito Therapeutics. This isn't Everett's first CCO gig; he was previously CCO at AppliedVR and has a strong pricing and access background across both large and small organizations. In this podcast episode, they talked about building high-performing commercial teams, becoming a CCO from an access perspective, and commercial trends in the coming years.

‘Let's be transparent so that people can learn.'   Amy Mahery has over 20 years’ experience in multiple commercial roles in Big Pharma and biotech. Now, as CCO of Roivant Sciences, she’s responsible for the company’s commercial strategy as they build out their team and develop their leadership talent.   Joe Knight, our Life Sciences Commercial Consultant, was delighted to welcome Amy to the Venari Podcast for an episode of the Chief Commercial Officer series, where they discussed launch strategies, building commercial teams, advice for execs looking to become biotech CCOs, and more.

What advice does Mycovia Pharmaceuticals CCO Tiffany Ahlers have for aspiring executives? ‘Take every experience given to you. A lot of times, I would take on additional responsibilities or roles [...] I got exposure to other areas of the business.’

Our Life Sciences consultant, Joe Knight, was delighted to welcome Tiffany to our Chief Commercial Officer series for the Venari Podcast recently. Check out the full episode now!

"External consultants can be a great way of bridging the capability gap".

Independent consultant and McKinsey alumnus Dr. Robert L. recently sat down with Senior Consultant in our Interim practice, Mhairi Geraghty, to give his thoughts on how to scope a project or interim need. He shares what good (and bad) looks like, and what it takes to increase the chances of your project’s success.

Rhenus Logistics’ Head of Ocean Freight Americas spoke about the current market and future of the logistics industry on the Venari Podcast.

Having worked on 15 different launches in nine different therapeutic areas – and in varying leadership roles – Lauren D'Angelo, MBA has ample experience in the commercial side of life sciences. Now, as CCO of CNS (central nervous system) start-up Alpha Cognition, Inc., she focuses on developing corporate strategy – but what are the most important lessons she’s learned from building out commercial teams?Lauren spoke to Joe Knight, our Life Sciences & Healthcare Commercial Lead, as part of our Chief Commercial Officer series for the Venari Podcast. She gave insights from across her varied career, and offers her top three tips for biotech start-up success.

"You have to sprinkle in people who are complete disruptors, I think with the mix of experienced folks and those contrarian thinkers, you can come up with some really interesting and innovative marketing ideas."When discussing crucial capabilities for Biopharma companies, Catherine Collis, CCO at Vibrant Gastro, explains how people are the foundational piece to the puzzle.  In our latest episode of the Chief Commercial Officer series with Joe Knight, Cathy gave her insights on launch lessons and latest trends in commercialisation strategy from both big Pharma and small Biotech.

🤝 ‘You’ve got to be able to love what you do, and love what the company’s trying to achieve.’Jawad Bisbis, Global VP of Marketing & Partnerships at Ball Corporation, knows a thing or two about talent acquisition strategy.With 25 years’ experience in marketing, he’s well aware of the need to establish an entrepreneurial culture for his teams – not to mention a company mission and purpose that talent can get behind.

🕒 When should clinical Biotechs start building their commercial team? Joe Knight, Commercial Lead for our Life Sciences & Healthcare practice, asked Robert Francomano, CCO at SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc., when is the right time to begin a commercial build-out. Stay tuned for the full interview – it will be the first episode of our new Biotech Chief Commercial Officer series!#cco #chiefcommercialofficer #biotech #pharma #goitalone #executivesearch #interview #lifesciences

📈 How can consulting prepare you for a C-suite role?As PepsiCo CFO North Europe Sam Wolfenden notes in this episode of The Venari Podcast, transitioning from consulting into executive roles isn't always clearly defined. Analytical skills may get you far – but what else do you need to be an effective business leader?Stay tuned for the full interview releasing soon!#consulting #executivesearch #csuite #insights

For someone who professes not to have had a plan for how his leadership career might go, things have worked out well for Ed Alford. After long, successful stints as a consultant (Andersen/Accenture) (BP, where he was Global CIO and Senior VP in the Group Leadership team), in April 2021 Ed changed course entirely when he became CTO at New Look.   Senior Digital & Technology Consultant Liv Britz caught up with Ed at the Venari Partners office recently, where he discussed his experience in – and philosophy of – leadership. After getting over the urge to do everything himself, he now credits his role in various projects he oversaw as ‘allowing people to have the space where they were trusted’.   https://www.venaripartners.com/post/leadership-insights-transformation-success-humility-ed-alford-cto-new-look

📈 How can emotional commitment from your employees give your organisation a competitive advantage?2022 HR Trends Report discovered that 31% of employees who quit their jobs in the Great Resignation did so after gaining perspective on what's important in their lives.Therefore, when Tim Hartnell spoke with Martin Falkenberg, former CHRO at SUEZ North America, it came as no surprise that he stressed the importance of discretionary effort – employees willing to give more than is expected to their organisation – through driving engagement and value.📽Watch the trailer below now, and the full podcast will be released soon!#hrexecutive #engagement #talent #employeeengagement #podcast

Nearly 90% of healthcare spending, $3.7 trillion annually, and about 20% of U.S. economic output, is spent on therapies for conditions that could be prevented or treated through lifestyle changes. Dominik Burziwoda, CEO and co-founder at Perfood, takes us through the science behind digital therapeutics, and how monitoring your blood sugar level could change your life. Perfood develops and markets digital prevention and therapeutics products. All of Perfood’s products have a common basis – personalized low-glycemic diet and lifestyle modifications.

Industry ➡️ Consulting ➡️ Industry Matt de Moraes, recently appointed Operations Director at Compass Box, takes us through his Retail & Consumer Goods career journey and shares his advice on how to smoothly transition from industry to consulting, and vice versa. From Sainsbury's to PwC, PepsiCo later on, and now his favourite boutique whisky brand, learn how Matt acquired his strategic, commercial and operational generalist skillset, and his top tips to becoming a business leader.   #retail #career #consulting #leader #consumergoods

Cristian Owen, Senior Consultant in Digital Health, asked Kal Patel, CEO & Co-Founder at BrightInsight, about the challenges of recruiting and retaining talent in the current digital health market. Learn more about Kal's entrepreneurial leap of faith, the "Great Resignation", and Kal's advice to retain your talent.

Is the Great Resignation really happening? For the first episode of 2022, Gov Kandola had the pleasure of discussing this pertinent topic with Susan Frick, SVP Human Resources for a global shipping company. What it is, the knock-on effects for employers and the economy, and what could be done by businesses to help overcome this recent mass exodus.

Wais Shaifta, former CEO at Push Doctor, answered Cristian Owen's questions about Virtual Care. Is telemedicine as good as in-person consultations? What about the patient journey? And what does the future look like?

Thinking about a career change? Unsure where to begin? Vieran Hodko & Gov Kandola discuss navigating a CAREER CHANGE during a pandemic. Find out how to begin your search, why Vieran considered his move and top tips for candidates thinking the same. Vieran Hodko, who is an Expert within Brand Development & Growth initiatives (most recently within the mobility space) recently decided to make a career change during the pandemic. He was in a leadership position in a very successful mobility start-up that was growing… So what made him want to consider a move? Gov Kandola leads Venari Partners’ Surface Transport and Logistics space. Gov works with many of the leading brands across these verticals, and is very active in the industry, having attended events across the world to continuously build upon his extensive network.

This week, tune into The Venari Podcast and listen to Steve Browne and Jason Rieff's Q&A session! What are their top priorities while looking for the perfect candidate? Their pet hates when it comes to CVs? What about the most awkward situation they've faced during an interview?

In this episode of the Venari Podcast, we met Jennifer Fox, a successful female leader within the Hospitality industry. Jennifer has been a leader in the hospitality industry for over 25 years. Until the sale of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI), Jennifer was President of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and was responsible for the luxury brand’s global hotel portfolio in addition to being responsible for operations of the Raffles and Swissotel brands outside of North America. With an extensive background in hotel operations, branding and marketing, Jennifer was responsible for operations, product and service strategy, global brand development, human resources, owner relations and development. Jennifer has a strong international track record having worked across North America, Asia-Pacific, China, Europe, Africa, India, CIS, Middle East and Australia, she has developed an extensive global network of luxury industry contacts and connections in the media, owner and investment communities. Pre-pandemic, Jennifer was spending up to 300 days a year travelling! Learn about her incredible career path, her ways of maintaining a healthy work-life balance and her advice to the next generation of Hospitality Executives.