MBS Intelligence
People, leadership & talent

“The key to solving disability inequality is business”: in…
It was in January 2021 that I interviewed Sara Weller for my Boards of the Future manifesto. I have known Sara, who is former MD at Argos and is now on her fourth FTSE 100 Board role, for about 20 years, so when we...

14 million workdays: Why it’s time for employers to…
Around this time last year, Channel 4 aired an important documentary. Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause lifted the lid on a topic that had previously be shrouded in stigma and misinformation, dispelling myths...

“Change is way past overdue”: in conversation with Mursal…
It has been simultaneously uplifting and disheartening to see the outpouring of support for Ukrainian refugees over the past few weeks. Uplifting to witness the humanity and strength as people rally together to provide...

Why disability inclusion is an investment, not a cost:…
Writing for Vogue in March last year, journalist and model Madison Lawson recounted her experience at New York Fashion Week. “At one point,” she wrote, “my personal assistant had to throw me over her shoulder and...

Reflections and thanks on a thirty-year client relationship: “it’s…
Thirty or so years ago, a year after I founded MBS on my dining room table, I had a call from the then CEO of French Connection, Mike Shen. This was to be my first retained plc client and the first rung on the ladder to...

How Compass Group is investing in its people, prioritising…
In May, I wrote a column looking at the hospitality sector’s labour shortage and how we might look to address it. Our industry hadn’t even fully opened yet, and already vacancies were skyrocketing and organisations...

Global HQs, flexibility and retention
I have never been so excited to be boarding a plane. Last week I made my first international trip since Covid and it was an eye-opener in many ways. Landing down in Geneva in under two hours highlighted how small...

Taming unicorns: governance, blood and WeWork
One of the unexpected pleasures of interviewing remotely has been the chance to glance at candidates’ bookcases. A recent recommendation was John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood, detailing the multi-billion-dollar Theranos...

Seeing difference as strength: in conversation with Sara Weller,…
Years ago, I was on the team of external advisors tasked with replacing the old guard at Sainsbury’s. I knew Sara Weller, who at the time was Co-Managing Director at Sainsbury’s and had a formidable...
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