Think Tank Blog

28 June 2024

Andy Halford: “It makes sense for businesses to speak out.”

Andy Halford is a non-executive director at UK…

5 June 2024

Adrian Lewis: “Creating information is one thing; getting people to take it seriously can be another altogether.”

Adrian Lewis, CFO at Inchcape, explains how…

20 May 2024

Rita Akushie: “Supporting local businesses is a crucial way to enhance our impact.”

Rita Akushie, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Finance &…

20 May 2024

Debbie Beaven: “We’ve got some truly inspiring companies where they’ve said, ‘This wealth isn’t mine but is for us to do good with.’”

Debbie Beaven, portfolio NED and former CFO at…

15 May 2024

Andy Agg: “Finance has a critical role around how we measure non-financial performance and set non-financial targets.”

Andy Agg, CFO at National Grid explains how…

3 May 2024

Can we expect CFOs to save the world?

Explore how CFOs are driving towards a fairer…

28 April 2024

CFOs are redefining value beyond just financials. If they don’t, who will?

CFOs are redefining value beyond financials by…

23 February 2024

Eamonn Hughes: “The story isn't just in the numbers.”

Eamonn Hughes, CFO at Peabody, discusses the…

12 February 2024

Sally Johnson: “We can't just chase profits in a specific quarter.”

Sally Johnson, CFO at Pearson, explains why…

26 January 2024

Stephen Oxley: “Integrate non-financial metrics into everything you do and sustainability becomes a natural part of decision-making."

Stephen Oxley, CFO at Johnson Matthey, explains…

10 November 2023

John Worth: “The best legacy that anyone can leave is to pass on your experiences and knowledge.”

John Worth, Group CFO at Hastings Group Holdings,…

3 November 2023

Aidan Connolly: “The CFO’s role is, by definition, a contradiction.”

Aidan Connolly, Group CFO at Travelodge, sums up…

27 October 2023

Carole Cran: “The CFO has an opportunity to act as a catalyst.”

Carole Cran, CFO at Forth Ports and Non-Executive…

25 September 2023

Alison Dolan: “Look to yourself to embrace new things.”

Alison Dolan, CFO at Rightmove, discusses the…

21 September 2023

Louise Britnell: “Rampant short-termism is a real and credible danger to making progress.”

Louise Britnell, CFO at The Co-operative Bank…

21 September 2023

Brad Greve: “Businesses need talent, communities need fair representation, and everyone needs a chance.”

Brad Greve, CFO at BAE Systems, shares insights…

21 September 2023

Candida Davies: “We don’t just want to deliver on time, we want to be sure we did it in the right way.”

Candida (Candy) Davies, CFO at RWS Group,…

8 August 2023

Declan Hourican: “We can't fight fraud on our own, we need all stakeholders to help us tackle it.”

Declan Hourican, CFO at TSB Bank, highlights…

24 July 2023

Are you connected with the soul of your company?

We must all search harder for the soul of our…

10 July 2023

Discovering and nurturing tomorrow’s wealth creators

Project Can Do is empowering young students to…

28 June 2023

Andy Morrow: “If you have a business that is anti-societal then that’s a problem.”

Public Digital's CFO, Andy Morrow, shares his…

26 June 2023

Romaney O'Malley: “Ensure you’re getting an outcome that’s good for everyone, and not just your bottom line.”

Romaney O'Malley, bolttech's Group CFO, shares…

25 June 2023

Asylum — Is business playing its part?

Businesses and their boards should play their…

22 June 2023

Clare Swindell: “Take a broad strategic view of your business beyond the typical CFO agenda.”

Camelot's Co-CEO, Clare Swindell, shares insights…

21 June 2023

Sarah Pollard: “It's not just a question of capturing data but it's knowing what your destination is.”

Sarah Pollard, CFO at PZ Cussons plc, explains…

18 June 2023

Memo to the chair: Unhappy about ticking those ESG boxes? Then lead from the front

Shouldn’t company boards now be on a war footing?

7 June 2023

Jeff Davies: “We’ve got clarity on what it looks like to be doing the right thing.”

Jeff Davies, Group CFO at Legal and General,…

3 June 2023

Creativity — a basic requirement for business students

Business students aren’t known for their…

2 June 2023

Fay Cooke: “The power to instigate change lies with corporates.”

Here, Fay shares her perspective on the CFO's…

17 May 2023

Jenny Hanlon: “I relish not being the CFO you would expect to meet.”

Jenny Hanlon, CFO at Adnams, shares her thoughts…

12 May 2023

Transparency was yesterday. Tomorrow is about vigilance. Four questions boards need to ask

Boards must prepare for a new era in which…

21 April 2023

It’s fine to set up a youth board, but what is your company doing about intergenerational fairness?

Boards and leadership teams are tackling the…

16 April 2023

Migration — the fairness test to come

“Who is my neighbour?” will increasingly loom…

10 April 2023

Sally Lake, CFO, Beazley PLC: “The scariest thing for CFOs today is also the most exciting thing — it’s change.”

Sally Lake, Group Finance Director at Beazley…

27 March 2023

We need to talk about purpose — but also about values!

The Purposeful Company offers us 6…

10 March 2023

Does your company’s core activity help humans thrive?

Can you genuinely say your company’s activity…

6 March 2023

Patrick Butcher: “Our superpower as a species is our ability to cooperate.”

In our latest CFO interview, Patrick Butcher,…

6 March 2023

Stuart Jackson, CFO, Octopus Energy: “Let things go and see what flourishes.”

Stuart Jackson, CFO and co-founder of Octopus…

5 March 2023

Thinking like an owner — a precious by-product of capitalism

Capitalism displays many faults, but…

26 February 2023

From Jack Welch to Paul Polman — what a change in just 15 years!

We have begun to recognise that the employee is a…

27 January 2023

Nadhim and Ram: two tales about fairness

Most of the coverage of the Nadhim Zahawi story…

27 January 2023

Andy Boteler, CFO, Riverford: “Net zero is a chance to say yes.”

Andy Boteler, CFO at Riverford Organic Farmers,…

22 January 2023

What companies do you most admire?

What companies do 15 year olds most admire and…

11 January 2023

Christiana Figueres: “We live in a truly exciting moment in the history of our species, with a great capacity to improve the world around us for each other.”

Christiana shares her insights as chair of the…

10 January 2023

Saker Nusseibeh: “The market can’t solve problems without social cohesion.”

Saker Nusseibeh is CEO at Federated Hermes…

6 January 2023

Labour and the Twenty-First Century Economy — a twelve point plan for building a better capitalism

What is Labour’s plan for building better…

28 November 2022

What does respect for employees mean in the age of the algorithm?

What questions should boards ask when deploying…

18 November 2022

What if the Chancellor were an Anthropist?

An alternative Autumn statement from Mark Goyder.

10 November 2022

Echoes of a better future

A reflection on the Anthropy conference 2023

2 November 2022

How can boards align company success with the needs of the planet and society?

A discussion from non-executive directors around…

30 October 2022

Harvest economics

A sentimental throwback or idea whose time has…

20 October 2022

Paul Polman: “Being ‘less bad’ isn’t good enough anymore.”

Paul Polman, who helped develop the UN Global…

16 October 2022

What do we mean by growth and why do we want it?

Start with what helps people flourish.

10 October 2022

Education should broaden minds. Too often we are doing the opposite.

Leonardo da Vinci would be horrified.

2 October 2022

Kwasi Kwarteng’s growth “plan” — a twentieth-century response to twenty-first century challenges

The Chancellor’s speech turns us back to the 70s.

25 September 2022

Saving ESG requires a radical change in its definition of “governance”

Learn about the challenges facing ESG governance…

5 September 2022

A little less wishful thinking, a little more listening, please

Running things isn’t governing.

14 July 2022

Fairer Future case study: Greg Turner-Smart

Greg Turner-Smart, Group Inclusion and Diversity…

11 July 2022

Chaos, crisis, and hope

Building a new manifesto for Britain.

3 July 2022

What DAOs teach us

Will crypto’s nonsense birth better governance?

28 June 2022

Net or not?

Isabelle Green, Research Executive from the Board…

27 June 2022

Climate gloom — from chair action to share action

We can do more than glueing ourselves to chairs.

21 June 2022

Leading the Change: Rachel Youngman

Rachel Youngman is the Deputy Chief Executive of…

20 June 2022

How lazy labels about business purpose fuel the indignation industry

Polarisation poses tough choices for companies.

14 June 2022

Fairer Future Case Study: why TSB signed the Good Business Charter

Kate Osiadacz, head of responsible businesses at…

12 June 2022

Stuart Kirk — a finance professional handicapped by his education

Fiduciary duty extends beyond finance.

29 May 2022

The bewilderment brew — how technology, privatisation and outsourcing combined can make life hard for customers

Hard-to-use products reflect insulated boards.

23 May 2022

Fairer Future Case Study: Marnie Millard

Marnie Millard, chair of UA92, talks business and…

22 May 2022

What would make us proud of our country?

The Jubilee is a time to revisit our qualities.

20 May 2022

Leading the Change: Sir Ken Olisa

Sir Kenneth is a technology business leader and…

10 May 2022

Leading the Change: David Bennett

David Bennett chairs the boards of Virgin Money…

8 May 2022

Trust and Russian money — time for the City to look in the mirror?

Can we be accused of wilful blindness?

24 April 2022

The Madness, Let Alone Unfairness, of US Executive Pay

Share-price-driven pay is a dangerous game.

10 April 2022

What Will It Take To Get Companies to Care About the Next Generation?

Values-driven companies act ahead of the law.

31 March 2022

Leading the Change: Baroness Patience Wheatcroft

Baroness Patience Wheatcroft is a journalist,…

23 March 2022

Too polite to make progress? Social mobility in the boardroom calls for a rude awakening

Is now the time for a review of social background…

21 March 2022

Football’s Ownership Problem: Empower the Fans

What can British clubs learn from a Swedish bank?

7 March 2022

Master or Servant — A New Agenda for Teaching Business

Business is about profitably serving others.

28 February 2022

Leading the Change: Richard Burge

Richard Burge is chief executive of the London…

27 February 2022

Lithuanian Chocolates and Global Shocks

What questions must boards ask in a warring world?

13 February 2022

The High Road To Improved Productivity

Wealth creation requires more than higher public…

7 February 2022

Leading the Change: Sir Brendan Barber

Sir Brendan Barber is deputy chair of the…

6 February 2022

Yes to Levelling Up. No to Divisiveness and Ignoring Nature.

How can long-term focus be sustained?

4 February 2022

Fresh Voices: The Benefit of Foresight

The new generation of workforce are highly aware…

4 February 2022

Leading the Change: Stephen Welton

Stephen Welton was founder CEO of BGF and is now…

30 January 2022

Stewardship — a joint responsibility that we have yet to crack

Shareholders and directors share the same duty.

23 January 2022

Stakeholder Capitalism - Fink Again

Exploring "stakeholder capitalism" with a focus…

16 January 2022

How Do We Stop Organisations Doing Stupid Things?

Discomfort now can prevent stupidity later.

10 January 2022

Has Private Equity Lost Its Way?

PE pioneers thought in terms of stewardship.

23 December 2021

Fairer Future Case Study: Louise Parkes

Louise Parkes, CEO of GOSH Charity, talks EDI —…

13 December 2021

What Is the Role of Business in Creating a Fairer Future?

The Think Tank 2021 inquiry’s findings are out.

12 December 2021

Listening Is OK. Acting on What You’ve Heard Is Harder

If your organisational design sucks, what then?

8 December 2021

Leading the Change: David Dickson

David Dickson chairs Family Business Matters,…

8 December 2021

Leading the Change: Lord Bob Kerslake

Lord Bob Kerslake is the chair of Peabody and the…

8 December 2021

Leading the Change: Sarah Flannigan

Sarah Flannigan chairs Riverford, Yeo Valley…

6 December 2021

Guilty — of Reshaping Someone’s Mind?

Thinking through unintended consequences.

14 November 2021

More Foxes, Please

Why are our debates — and thinking — so narrow?

31 October 2021

Where’s the Pulse?

Our understanding of governance holds us back.

24 October 2021

Governance — My Gut Instinct

Good governance comes in many forms.

17 October 2021

Make the Journey Your Own

Beyond “Don’t worry; everybody does it.”