What We Don't Know with Matt Brittin & Hayaatun Sillem – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to What We Don't Know with Matt Brittin & Hayaatun Sillem. The show about better leadership in a truly chaotic world. Across the series, episodes are hosted by Matt and Hayaatun as well as a range of other leading figures, bringing different perspectives to each conversation. Subscribe to not miss an episode! ▶️ ⚡️ Powered by Boxlight.io https://www.boxlight.io/ Today we meet our co-host, Matt Brittin! After 18 years at Google - including a decade running Europe, the Middle East and Africa — Matt Brittin has stepped away from one of the most powerful roles in global tech. In this first episode of What We Don’t Know, hosts Hayaatun Sillem and Matt turn the lens inward - unpacking what happens when high-performance leadership stops, and what comes next. Matt opens up about his “midlife gap year,” life after intensity, and learning to be present again following the loss of his father. From a disruptive childhood to rowing for Great Britain — and a very public defeat in the Cambridge Boat Race — he reflects on the moments that shaped how he builds teams and leads under pressure. They also go deep on what really drove Google’s success: hiring at scale, building diverse teams, setting ruthless clarity of priorities, and the simple principle - put the best people on the most important problems, then get out of the way. Plus: navigating public scrutiny on tax, YouTube extremism, and what leadership looks like when you have to say “we got this wrong” — and fix it. This is a conversation about leadership after the job title — and why the most important lessons often come from what we don’t know. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:33 What We Don’t Know 02:14 Meet Matt Today 02:40 Midlife Gap Year 04:52 Family Time and AI 07:29 What He Misses 09:02 Pottery and Reset 10:28 Growing Up Britain 12:05 Bored at School 13:22 Rowing Changes Everything 15:13 Teamwork Lessons 19:02 Failure and Turnaround 23:52 From Sport to Business 27:32 Why Google Won 28:57 Day One at Google 30:38 Scaling and Hiring 33:21 Culture of Help 33:59 Hiring for Scale 35:07 Fixing Hiring Bias 37:04 Becoming Public Spokesperson 39:44 Stories Backed by Data 41:17 Crisis Comms on YouTube 45:14 Select Committees Pressure 46:54 Leadership Lessons Learned 48:37 Big Tech Backlash 51:06 Next Chapter Purpose 52:39 Resilience and Energy 55:09 Why This Podcast 01:01:57 Making Podcasts Work 01:06:55 Rapid Fire Wrap 01:11:32 Closing and Thanks Follow Matt and Hayaatun below 👇 https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayaatun/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-brittin-cbe-5aa6391/ Credits: Producer: Sunny Winter Producer: Thuy Dong Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Post Producer: Ben Alexander Kippen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a world that feels increasingly chaotic and uncertain, what does leadership really look like - and what do even the most experienced leaders still not know? Hosted by Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE and Matt Brittin, What We Don’t Know explores the realities of leadership today. Having both recently stepped down from major roles, they reflect on their own experiences while speaking with extraordinary guests from business, politics, technology and beyond. Together, they unpack the moments that shape leaders: crises, difficult decisions, unexpected lessons, and the questions that don’t always have easy answers. From negotiating with world leaders to navigating corporate chaos (and even finding lessons in nature), this podcast explores the human side of leadership - what works, what doesn’t, and what we’re all still figuring out. Follow the show and join the conversation as we explore the biggest question of all: what don’t we know about leadership yet? Credits Production Company: Boxlight Creative Studio Hosts: Matt Brittin CBE and Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE Executive Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Lead Producer: Sunny Winter Junior Producer: Thuy Dong Editor: Ben Alexander Kippen Guest Booker & Operations: Vicki Gostling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to What We Don't Know with Matt Brittin & Hayaatun Sillem. The show about better leadership in a truly chaotic world. Across the series, episodes are hosted by Matt and Hayaatun as well as a range of other leading figures, bringing different perspectives to each conversation. Subscribe to not miss an episode! ▶️ ⚡️ Powered by Boxlight.io https://www.boxlight.io/ Mark Read on Leading WPP Through Chaos: Succession, Return-to-Office, AI & Creative Culture In this episode of What We Don’t Know, hosts Hayaatun and Matt interview Mark Read, who recently stepped down as CEO of WPP, about the realities of leading a 100,000-person global public company serving major clients like Google, Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Ford. Mark discusses moving from head-office “pigeon” roles to running a business, following a founder with a very different style, and why succession planning enables promotion. He shares CEO disciplines like fast responsiveness, balancing urgent vs important work, and communicating at scale during COVID. He explains his controversial return-to-office policy, handling a large employee petition, and learning to engage better. Mark also argues AI will transform work but won’t replace human judgment and creativity, illustrating with a “Fitbit on a chicken” campaign, and reflects on early-tenure decision-making, career risk-taking, and his next chapter. 00:00 Beachside Leadership Hook 00:45 Meet Mark Read 02:29 CEO Scope and Pressure 05:12 Early Career Origins 08:47 Learning by Doing 12:51 From Pigeon to Operator 15:54 Stepping Up to CEO 19:30 Taking the WPP Helm 22:39 Succeeding the Founder 26:03 Inbox Discipline and Introverts 29:08 Leading Your Own Way 30:18 Interviewing Visionaries 31:05 Elon Musk Takeaways 31:54 Showing Up as CEO 35:07 Return to Office Debate 39:25 Data Behind Attendance 40:06 Optimism in AI Era 41:52 Fit Chick Creativity Story 43:38 Building Creative Culture 46:49 Leadership Lessons Ahead 49:18 Next Chapter Plans 51:38 Quickfire Round Finale 53:42 Hosts Reflect and Wrap Credits: Producer: Sunny Winter Producer: Thuy Dong Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Post Producer: Ben Alexander Kippen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Time Management for Leaders: The 4Ds, Being Present, and Making Busy Work Matter Welcome to What We Don't Know with Matt Brittin & Hayaatun Sillem. The show about better leadership in a truly chaotic world. Across the series, episodes are hosted by Matt and Hayaatun as well as a range of other leading figures, bringing different perspectives to each conversation. Subscribe to not miss an episode! ▶️ ⚡️ Powered by Boxlight.io https://www.boxlight.io/ Hayaatun and Matt explore why leaders obsess over time and how choices, not sheer scarcity, shape outcomes. They discuss practical tools for overload, including Hayaatun’s “4Ds” (delegate, delay, drop, do), getting worries out of your head and into reliable systems (quadrant to-do lists, calendars, colored pens), and tackling the scariest task first to reduce stress. Hayaatun shares formative lessons from the high-pressure pace of the House of Commons and the value of trusted teamwork, while Matt reflects on preparing for leadership “set pieces,” using low-meeting days, processing time (commutes), and block time for deep work. They cover signals leaders send through calendars, the importance of hiring and tough conversations, meeting waste, and why sleep matters despite occasional crunches. 00:00 Zombie Consultants Intro 00:33 Time Choices Question 01:32 Meet The Hosts 02:09 Leader Time Signals 04:30 Four Ds Framework 06:10 Drop And Do 08:30 Quadrant List System 12:07 House Of Commons Pace 16:40 Fast Drafting Lesson 20:02 Prepared CEO Style 22:54 Safety Valves And Fridays 24:47 Calendar As Choices 27:02 Sauna Politician Aside 27:49 PhD Roots Of Time 29:01 Overwhelm And Fear 29:41 Do Scary Thing First 30:52 PhD Stress Triggers 32:20 Emotions As Data 34:19 Peak Hours Block Time 35:23 Travel Energy Management 37:42 Busy Leader Signals 40:48 What Leaders Cant Delegate 43:53 Chunk Time Strategy 46:16 Calendar And Team Alignment 51:15 Time Audits And Meetings 53:56 Sleep And Crunch Times 56:36 Key Takeaways On Time Management Credits: Producer: Sunny Winter Producer: Thuy Dong Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Post Producer: Ben Alexander Kippen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Positive Leadership in a Chaotic World: Natasha Frangos on Culture, Growth, and Leading a Partnership Welcome to What We Don't Know with Matt Brittin & Hayaatun Sillem. The show about better leadership in a truly chaotic world. Across the series, episodes are hosted by Matt and Hayaatun as well as a range of other leading figures, bringing different perspectives to each conversation. Subscribe to not miss an episode! ▶️ ⚡️ Powered by Boxlight.io https://www.boxlight.io/ ------ Recorded at the Anthropy Conference at the Eden Project in Cornwall, Hayaatun interviews Natasha Frangos, managing partner of accountancy firm Haysmac, about leading with energy, authenticity, and optimism amid industry headwinds. Natasha shares how her Greek Cypriot upbringing, resilient grandmother, and accountant father shaped her leadership and view of trusted advisory relationships. She traces her path from leading the firm’s Creative Media & Tech sector to a firm-wide corporate role during COVID, then being elected as the firm’s first female managing partner in its first contested election. We cover partnership leadership and governance, culture as a driver of growth, developing and retaining homegrown talent, mentoring outside the sector, AI and automation strategy, competing as a mid-tier firm, staying independent amid PE consolidation, and sustaining energy through family, yoga, and theatre. 00:00 First Female Managing Partner 00:33 Rainforest Podcast Setup 02:27 Natasha Role Overview 03:47 Family Roots and Resilience 08:18 Ambition and Peer Support 09:45 Ant Trail Interlude 10:14 First Leadership Sector Focus 12:22 Founder Lessons and Investors 15:29 COVID Board Leadership 18:03 Chief Herder of Cats 19:47 Election and Imposter Feelings 23:03 Mentors and Outside Perspective 24:37 Growth Is Never Done 25:43 Creating Shared Momentum 27:31 People Over Numbers 29:24 Defining Culture In Practice 31:49 AI Anxiety And Upskilling 34:51 Mid Size Edge And Partnerships 37:22 Staying Energized As Leader 39:03 Role Model Pressure And Legacy 41:53 Big Priorities For The Year 44:25 Quickfire Leadership Round 47:50 Consolidation And Career Loyalty 51:25 West London And Final Takeaways 53:59 Closing Reflections And Wrap Credits: Producer: Sunny Winter Producer: Thuy Dong Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Apartheid to Ubuntu: Paul’s Journey with Mandela, Tutu & the Truth Commission Welcome to What We Don't Know with Matt Brittin & Hayaatun Sillem. The show about better leadership in a truly chaotic world. Across the series, episodes are hosted by Matt and Hayaatun as well as a range of other leading figures, bringing different perspectives to each conversation. Subscribe to not miss an episode! ▶️ ⚡️ Powered by Boxlight.io https://www.boxlight.io/ ------ Paul recounts growing up white in apartheid South Africa with parents who opposed the regime, joining the anti-apartheid student movement, working on death penalty cases for a young black lawyer who was assassinated, and helping victims’ families build Kule Manni. At 26 he helped develop the Truth and Reconciliation Commission law and became its executive secretary under Archbishop Tutu, sharing leadership lessons about preserving opponents’ dignity and Mandela’s openness to hearing testimony about ANC abuses. He discusses empathy and Ubuntu as foundations for resilient societies, the role of information ecosystems and economic breakdown in modern polarization, and ways to embed Ubuntu in organizational culture. He describes the personal toll of trauma, later scaling transitional justice support globally by offering comparative experience rather than prescriptions, and founding London’s Conduit to convene coalitions tackling complex challenges like UK flooding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to What We Don't Know with Matt Brittin & Hayaatun Sillem. The show about better leadership in a truly chaotic world. Across the series, episodes are joined a range of other leading figures, bringing different perspectives to each conversation. Subscribe to not miss an episode! ▶️ ⚡️ Powered by Boxlight.io https://www.boxlight.io/ ------ This week, Hayaatun is joined by Jimmy McLoughlin OBE, host of ⁨@jimmysjobs⁩ , to welcome Baroness Sharon White. Sharon White traces her journey from a working-class East London childhood — daughter of Windrush generation parents who left school at 11 and 14 — through 26 years as one of Whitehall's most senior but deliberately invisible civil servants, to leading OFCOM and later the John Lewis Partnership through COVID and financial turbulence. She shares why being impossible to read became a strategic asset, how the insider/outsider experience of growing up as a minority shaped her willingness to hold unpopular positions, and why she believes the problems facing political leaders today are categorically harder than a generation ago. She reflects on what it takes to lead 80,000 partners through a democratic business structure unlike anything in the private sector, why a reluctant regulator is a better regulator, and how to tell the difference between noise and what's actually real when everything feels urgent. She also discusses building crisis-ready teams before the crisis hits, the leadership skill she thinks nobody talks about enough — and what her teenage son taught her about inclusion. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:38 Introducing Sharon White 03:56 What To Expect Today 04:30 Backstage At Number 10 06:53 Politics In The Social Media Age 08:36 Childhood And Immigrant Roots 13:43 Finding Her Voice 20:02 Purpose Across Career Switches 29:03 Earning Trust In New Worlds 32:50 Becoming Public Facing 36:40 Reluctant Regulator Mindset 40:28 Partnership Democracy Model 41:12 Customer Love and Stakeholders 43:20 Employee Ownership Pride 45:25 Resilience and Gratitude Mindset 47:30 Growth Needs Brave Leadership 51:12 Leading Through Constant Crises 53:07 Parenthood and Inclusion Lessons 56:18 Bravery and De Klerk Story 59:05 Quickfire Leadership Questions 01:01:33 Hosts Reflect on Key Takeaways 01:07:33 Duolingo Taxi Hiring Test 01:11:54 Meta AI Leader Avatars Debate 01:14:12 Wrap Up and Stay Connected Credits: Producer: Sunny Winter Producer: Thuy Dong Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Awards, AI, Co-CEOs & Loyalty | What We Don't Know Watercooler Hayaatun and Jimmy pull up a chair at the coffee machine to catch up on what's been catching their eye - the City AM Awards, The Devil Wears Prada 2, a controversial Airbnb CEO interview, and your questions on noise, loyalty, and whether AI will swamp the best human ideas. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome to the coffee machine 00:45 Are awards overrated, or do we actually need them? 02:00 The UK startups that got away: why the post-pandemic story isn't as bleak as you think 04:00 The Devil Wears Prada 2 and what pop culture gets right about loving hard work 05:30 Brian Chesky personally hires Airbnb's top 200 — genius or quietly disempowering? 08:30 Co-CEOs: bold leadership model or recipe for confusion? 12:00 Q from Flora: how do you find the signal in the noise? 16:30 Q from the comments: how long should you stay loyal to an organisation? 19:30 Q from Ken: will a billion AI ideas drown out the one great human one? 22:30 See you next time Resource: 🎙️ Brian Chesky: AI Founder Mode — Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy — https://colossus.com/episode/ai-founder-mode/ 📰 Pilita Clark: Why co-CEOs might suit our tumultuous times (FT / Irish Times) — https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2026/05/04/why-co-ceos-might-suit-our-tumultuous-times/ 📖 Reid Hoffman: Tours of Duty — The New Employer-Employee Compact (HBR) — https://hbr.org/2013/06/tours-of-duty-the-new-employer-employee-compact Episodes mentioned: ▶️ Mark Read — Leading 22,000 Employees Who Bet Against You: https://youtu.be/O6oWoVf5X3I ▶️ Natasha Frangos — The Imposter Feeling Every Leader Faces: https://youtu.be/a9AHf_pMHgg ▶️ Sharon White — Why The Best Leaders Are Impossible to Read: https://youtu.be/JluTfnfJYD4 📧 Send us thoughts and questions at whatwedontknow@boxlight.io 💼 Follow us on socials!: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatwedontknow.pod/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-we-dont-know-podcast/ Jimmy's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-mcloughlin-obe/ Hayaatun's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayaatun/ Credits: Producer: Sunny Winter Producer: Thuy Dong Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lord John Browne on Engineering Thinking, Leading BP, Climate Risk, Negotiating Putin & Coming Out in Business | What We Don’t Know Welcome to What We Don't Know with Matt Brittin & Hayaatun Sillem.  Matt Brittin is the former President at Google EMEA. After 18 years at one of the world's biggest companies, he stepped down, took a gap year, and recently became the Director General of the BBC. Dr. Hayaatun Sillem spent a few years leading the Royal Academy of Engineering and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.  This is the show about better leadership in a truly chaotic world.  Across the series, episodes are joined a range of other leading figures, bringing different perspectives to each conversation. Subscribe to not miss an episode! ▶️ ⚡️ Powered by Boxlight.io https://www.boxlight.io/ ------ In this episode of What We Don’t Know, Hayaatun and Matt sit down with Lord John Browne. He discusses how he describes himself as a businessman, author, and above all an engineer, explaining how engineering training shaped his systematic approach from writing to boardrooms and science.  He reflects on childhood habits of dismantling clocks, the importance of proper tools, and his early life at King’s School Ely and Cambridge, influenced by a soldier father and a Holocaust-survivor mother who stressed self-sufficiency and looking forward.  Browne recounts joining BP in 1966, learning about unions and refinery work, and formative engineering experience on Alaska’s North Slope, including early computer optimization work. He describes leadership lessons from Stanford Business School—purpose, inclusion, listening, and negotiation—and his path to becoming BP CEO in 1994, reorganizing BP around customer-oriented business units, and addressing climate risk through internal analysis, methane reduction, carbon pricing, and renewables. He shares negotiation insights from dealings with leaders including Putin, Gaddafi, and others, then explains writing The Glass Closet after being outed in 2007 and arguing for workplace environments where people can be themselves, with safety and pragmatism.  00:00 Intro 01:38 Taking Things Apart 02:50 Joining BP in 1966 03:15 School and Rowing Days 05:06 Parents and Upbringing 07:41 Lessons From His Mother 09:22 Early BP Apprenticeship 11:41 Alaska and First Big Break 15:10 Stanford and Learning Leadership 19:50 Becoming BP CEO 24:18 Rebuilding BP and Climate Wakeup 28:51 Oil And Climate Reality 29:44 Speaking Up On Climate 31:10 Negotiating With Putin 35:39 Hard Lessons In Dealmaking 37:19 Writing The Glass Closet 39:09 Being Outed As CEO 44:05 Inclusion With Pragmatism 45:48 Resilience And Reinvention 50:25 Optimism And Future Tech 52:44 Speed Round And Farewell Credits: Producer: Sunny Winter Producer: Thuy Dong Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leading Through Uncertainty: Clarity, Vulnerability & Decision-Making in a Chaotic World | What We Don’t Know Welcome to What We Don't Know with Matt Brittin & Hayaatun Sillem. The show about better leadership in a truly chaotic world. Across the series, episodes are joined a range of other leading figures, bringing different perspectives to each conversation. Subscribe to not miss an episode! ▶️ ⚡️ Powered by Boxlight.io https://www.boxlight.io/ ------ In this episode of What We Don’t Know, Hayaatun and Matt explore how leadership must evolve to meet chronic uncertainty, shifting from alpha certainty to humility, adaptability, and earned trust. They discuss why clarity of purpose matters more than false certainty, how strategy can provide agency while leaving room for flexibility, and why leaders need faster shared learning cycles and better “intel” from across their networks. Hayaatun shares how the pandemic forced her to blend personal and professional life, show vulnerability, and finally ask for help when she felt close to unraveling, reframing self-monitoring as being “safe to drive the bus.” Matt Brittin reflects on learning decisiveness in ambiguous choices and describes leading Google’s response in Russia after the Ukraine invasion, prioritizing people’s safety and values. Matt and Hayaatun also answer audience questions on fear, decisiveness, resilience, and admitting “I don’t know.” 00:00 Welcome and theme 01:21 Leadership playbook shifts 02:35 Pandemic as pivot 05:02 Strategy under pressure 06:56 Clarity and agency 09:50 Collaboration and intel 12:59 Sandstorm metaphor 13:57 Vulnerability in public 16:09 Asking for help 19:19 Decisiveness lesson 23:35 Russia Ukraine crisis 27:44 Chronic uncertainty stamina 29:41 Personal boardroom 30:31 Cognitive diversity 31:28 Facing Worst Cases 32:59 Welcoming Dissent 34:06 Admitting Not Okay 35:26 Peer Support Breakthrough 39:18 Safe to Drive Bus 40:18 Asking for Help 41:21 Leadership Inspiration 42:23 Learning Model Mentors 44:03 Books Beyond Leadership 45:07 Zak Brown Authenticity 47:51 Dystopian Leadership Lessons 50:25 Sleep as Leadership Fuel 51:57 Audience Questions Rapidfire 53:21 Decisive Versus Right 54:33 Resilience Not Denial 55:17 Leading Without Answers 56:43 Beyond Crisis Identity Credits: Producer: Sunny Winter Producer: Thuy Dong Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices