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This week we stopped writing 80085 on our pocket calculator and started doing proper sums in order to catch the mathematical eye of one of the world’s leading financial and marketing thinkers, Moira Creedon. If there’s a fancy, famous and highly respected teaching institute in the world, then Moira has almost certainly been there, sharing the stuff in her enormous brain with students, leaders and top businesses. From Fontainebleau to UCC and the IMI – not to mention the legendary Mark Ritson Mini MBA – Moira has taught at them all, passing on her knowledge and experience as one of the world’s leading financial strategists. Also, as well as being multi-brilliant and multi-nice, she’s multi-lingual and often delivers her talks and lectures in English, Spanish, French and German. This episode is proudly dedicated to the late and great Gail Gunderson. ///// Follow Moira on LinkedIn Visit her website here. Timestamps: (02:19) - Quick fire Questions: (05:47) - Moira's Career Path: Early Jobs and Experiences (09:51) - First Proper Job: General Motors (12:02) - Moira's Extensive Travel Experience (17:16) - Marketing and Finance: Bridging the Gap (19:12) - Understanding the Language of Finance (23:43) - Career Management for Marketers (25:50) - The Role of CMOs in Organisations (28:18) - Low Margin Industries and Marketing Budgets (32:04) - Cultural Differences in High vs. Low Margin Companies (35:00) - Jaguar's Marketing Strategy Discussion (39:51) - Perception of Marketing in the C-Suite (41:06) - Finance's View of Marketing as a Cost Centre (44:33) - Finance and Marketing Decision-Making (46:54) - The Role of Finance in Modern Business Moira’s Book Recommendation is:  The ascent of money by Neil Ferguson  /////

This week we strapped on a Motorola pager and stole a briefcase off our dad in order to look businessy enough to chat to the Batman of the B2B world, LinkedIn legend and co-founder of Evidenza, Peter Weinberg. Peter Weinberg has effectively grabbed B2B marketing by the ankles and dragged it out of the dull and dreary hole into which it had buried its head. World famous for his time in charge of the game-changing B2B institute at LinkedIn – alongside his pal Jon Lombardo – Peter is now the extraordinary human brains behind AI powered research platform Evidenza, where he continues to be a champion for the kind of B2B that’s never bland. ///// Follow Peter on LinkedIn Here’s his website Here is Rory Sutherland Eurostar TED Talk Timestamps (02:37) - Quickfire Questions (03:34) - Peter's Career Path (06:36) - Transition to Advertising (11:22) - The B2B Institute at LinkedIn (15:50) - Pivotal Moments in B2B Marketing (17:37) - Contrarian Views in Marketing (19:05) - The Role of Synthetic Data (24:32) - Launching Evidenza (30:50) - Validating Synthetic Research (34:13) - Scepticism Towards AI in Marketing (40:15) - AI and Advertising Effectiveness (45:45) - Using AI for Strategic Planning Peter’s Book Recommendations are: Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson How Brands Grow by Bryon Sharp   Building Distinctive Brand Assets by Jenni Romaniuk  How Not To Plan – Les Binet & Sarah Carter Antifragile by Nassim Taleb  The Elephant In The Brain by Kevin Simler & Robin Hanson /////

This week we very tentatively clambered on top of our desks to bellow ‘Oh Captain, my Captain’ to the most inspirational educator in advertising, Ally Owen. The brains behind one ad-lands most invaluable teaching programmes, Brixton Finishing School, Ally has done more than literally anyone to help young, multicultural and neurodiverse creatives find a way into advertising – kickstarting hundreds and hundreds of creative careers, while most big agencies were sat fiddling with the font on their DEI policy PowerPoints. For most people, transforming all those lives would have been enough – but Ally has also gone on to launch ADcademy, a free virtual programme that provides 2,500 students a year with top-class creative training. Ally is also one of the brains behind Visible Start, an incredible program designed to help women over 45 to re-enter the workforce. So, in a nutshell, just imagine what a huge stinky poo-fire the creative industries would be without her. In this episode we ponder everything from the real value of diversity and inclusion in all kinds of business, the financial and emotional hurdles she helps young creatives navigate at Brixton and how a Friday-night shift at Portsmouth McDonald's gave her the skills of a UN negotiator. ///// Follow Ally on LinkedIn Visit the Brixton Finishing School website or follow them on Instagram Head to Career Adventures where tomorrow’s creatives are being inspired ///// Timestamps  (04:10) - From Selling Shoes to McDonald's: The Early Gigs (06:49) - The Skills of a UN negotiator: Friday night in McDonald's Portsmouth (09:23) - The Great Escape to University (10:56) - From Pharaohs to Advertising and the House of Stolen Things (13:39) - Pure Luck or Destiny, The Path to Advertising?  (15:22) - A Relentless Career Pursuit (18:04) - Setting out to make things better with Brixton Finishing School (24:13) - Building a Bridge into Advertising  (28:04) - Office Etiquette, Don’t Microwave Fish (31:36) - How to Support Brixton Finishing School  (33:07) - The Finishing School Foundation: Practical Help for the NEET  (41:19) - Four Pertinent Poses  (45:45) - Honouring Carol Tully     Ally’s book recommendation is: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. /////

This week we pulled on our most dramatic tights and tried not to mumble our lines in order to catch the attention of one of the theatre world’s most charismatic – and mischievous – characters, Christian Edwards. The comedy genius behind one of Twitter’s greatest spoofs – the mysterious West End Producer – Christian eventually pulled back the curtain to reveal, with glorious theatrically, that it was him all along. And this is entirely typical of a man whose creative adventures, and commitment to putting on a show, encompass writing regularly for The Stage and starring in sell-out shows in both the West End and Edinburgh Fringe. Like a nonchalant spoon, he has never been afraid to cause a stir, and while that may have knocked the occasional nose out of joint, he has amassed a cult following and a well-earned reputation for being one of theatre-lands wittiest wags. As well as re-living his starring role in that big, weird show we used to call Twitter, we chat about the life – and challenges – of a professional actor, what the future holds for both Christian and his West End Producer, and hear a magnificent yarn about the time he ran into an ex-fiancée dressed as a giant cigarette. Discover the homepage of the latex mask The Twitter account that launched the star View West End Producer’s snaps on Instagram Follow Christian Edwards (the real one) on Instagram Follow the real Christian Edwards on X ///// Timestamps (02:15) - Early Jobs and Humorous Experiences (05:06) - First Proper Acting Role: A Journey Begins (06:05) - Discovering a Passion for Acting (08:41) - The Challenges of Early Acting Roles (10:08) - The Variety of In-Between Jobs (12:10) - Lessons from Early Jobs in Acting (14:09) - The Birth of the West End Producer Persona (18:31) - The Rise of West End Producer on Twitter (20:31) - Validation and Identity: Christian vs. West End Producer (23:30) - The Evolution of the West End Producer Character (25:51) - Impact on the Theatre Industry (30:06) - The Importance of Mental Health Advocacy (32:22) - Unmasking: The Transition from West End Producer (35:21) - Future Projects and Creative Outlets (41:21) – Listener Questions (53:00) – Four Pertinent Posers ///// Christians Book Recommendations are: Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop? by Chris van Tulleken Year of the King by Anthony Sher Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Acting (But Were Afraid to Ask, Dear) by West End Producer Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Going to the Theatre (But Were Too Sloshed to Ask, Dear) by West End Producer