The Purposeful Strategist

Hosted by Menkus & Associates

Business CareersInterviews guests

Website RSS feed LinkedIn Facebook

Episodes

100

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

About the show

I want to shift the discussion about organisational purpose from being about what organisations and leaders should do – to take a practical look at what they are doing – and what we can learn from that. We’re going to hear from business leaders across a range of industries how they think about purpose in their organisation - and in business more generally. We’ll explore how they make purpose a building block of their strategy and get their insider tips on the “how” of bringing purpose alive.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 10, 2026Episode 194

The "So What" of Energy Data: Cutting Cost and Carbon at IMSERV

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Jo Cox, Chief Executive Officer of IMSERV Europe, about leading change at a trusted and long-established energy business. IMSERV Europe provides meter and data services to the UK’s commercial and industrial energy sector, installing and maintaining meters, collecting consumption data, and ensuring its accuracy for utility providers and the regulator. Jo joined as CEO in early 2025 with the aim of accelerating the business and sharpening its role in the energy transition. In their conversation, they discuss: • What IMSERV does and where it sits in the energy system: the meters behind business energy bills, the data that validates them, and the importance of keeping those bills accurate. • The three pillars of Jo’s strategy: high-performing field engineers, data accuracy across large meter portfolios, and the IMSERV Astral platform which aims to convert the data into high-impact energy and carbon savings. • Working with private equity: how being PE-backed shapes decision-making, why Jo treats investors as business partners, and how she balances investing for growth against de-risking the business. • Jo’s approach to leadership and her advice for any first-time CEO: don’t lead with an ego. IMSERV Europe: https://www.IMSERV.com/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/ Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/ Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the relational experience that complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand. Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a weekly podcast. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy and reflects the same questions that drive the consulting work.

September 3, 2026Episode 193

The Future of British Sports Cars

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Mark Tapscott, Co-Founder and CEO of Longbow, an electric sports car company whose aim is to engineer cars that are fast, ultra-lightweight and will stand the test of time. Mark co-founded Longbow in 2023 after two decades launching electric vehicles into new markets, including for Tesla and BYD. In their conversation, they discuss: · Why the UK is the best place in the world to design and assemble sports cars, and the market factors behind his thinking. · Lightweighting as an efficiency philosophy Mark believes will shape the future of transportation, not just sports cars. · Longbow's strategy of periodically "breaking and rebuilding" the company as it scales, and building small, expert teams that can innovate quickly. · The importance of short-term planning and long-term branding, and how to gather a dedicated pool of loyal customers. · How listening to customers and expert advisors are essential ingredients for success. Longbow: https://longbowmotors.com/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/ Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/ Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the insight that complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand. Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a weekly podcast. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy.

August 27, 2026Episode 192

Navigating the Complexity of Healthcare

In the episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden speaks with James Murray, Chief Executive of HCML, a leading provider of healthcare services to the corporate and private medical insurance markets. Over the course of the episode, James makes a strong moral and business case for investment in high-quality healthcare. In their conversation, they discuss: · How HCML helps patients navigate a healthcare system he describes as “impenetrable,” particularly for longer-term, more intensive care. · Why £1 of investment in healthcare yields £4 of returns, resulting in a healthier and more productive society and workforce. · How PE backer Apposite Capital is supporting HCML’s growth strategy and keeps HCML executives in the driver’s seat. · Why after decades in the industry, James is certain that he will never leave. In his words, the work is “good for the soul.” HCML: https://hcml.co.uk/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/ Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/ Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the relational experience that complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand. Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a weekly podcast. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy and reflects the same questions that drive the consulting work.

August 20, 2026Episode 191

What Mutual Really Means: Purpose, Pride, and the Long Game in Financial Services

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with David Hynam, CEO of LV= about leading a financial mutual with no shareholders, over a million members, and a purpose that dates back to 1843. David joined LV= in 2022 with more than 30 years of experience across financial services and insurance, including senior roles at Barclays, AXA UK, Friends Life, and Bupa UK. In their conversation, David and Belden discuss: · What mutuality really means in practice, and how it creates a different kind of accountability than shareholder ownership. · David’s conviction that colleagues give their best when they feel pride in their workplace. · How LV=’s five-pillar strategy came together, and the disciplines David uses to keep the organisation aligned to it. · Why the CEO’s wish list is not a strategy, and how successful strategies come out of leadership teams who are willing to challenge each other. · David’s belief that the best CEOs are settled and optimistic even amid uncertainty, and why learning to live with uncertainty is part of the job. LV=: https://www.lv.com/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/ Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/ Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, a strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the relational experience that these complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand. Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a weekly podcast. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy and reflects the same questions that drive the consulting work.

August 6, 2026Episode 190

Preventing Hospital Infections at the Source – Without Another Silver Coating

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Dr Georgia Fleet, CEO and co-founder of Zonova, about the science and business sides of stopping hospital-acquired infections. Zonova is a medtech company whose aim is to prevent healthcare-acquired infection, thereby reducing over-reliance on antibiotics. Georgia founded the company in 2023 after completing her doctorate at UCL, and the business now has a dedicated lab and a team working to bring their antimicrobial technology to market. In their conversation, they discuss: ● Where hospital-acquired infections come from: not hospital failings, but the devices themselves, which are sterile in the pack and no longer sterile the moment they are opened. ● Zonova's antimicrobial technology which embeds into medical devices, differentiating it from the typical silver coating solutions. ● The pivot from manufacturing to intellectual property licensing, and how it brings revenue forward and speeds up regulatory approval. ● Growing the company: applying for patents, navigating FDA requirements, choosing to work in-person, and Georgia's shift from solitary scientist to leadership. Zonova: https://zonovatech.com/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/ Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/ Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the relational experience that complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand. Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a weekly podcast. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy and reflects the same questions that drive the consulting work.

July 30, 2026Episode 189

A Big Impact Without a Big Business: Long-Term Thinking at Pottinger

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Nigel Lake, co-founder and Executive Chair of Pottinger, about long-term thinking and what it takes for a small firm to have an outsized impact on the companies, governments, and industries shaping the future. Nigel co-founded Pottinger in 2003, building it from a standing start into an independent global advisory firm working across strategy, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, and public policy. In their conversation, they discuss: • Why short-term prediction is surprisingly hard, yet the long-term trajectory of technology is often knowable, and how that conviction shapes Pottinger's work, drawing on examples from the smartphone to the electric vehicle. • How a small firm built its infrastructure to institutional standards from the outset, so that it could credibly operate alongside organisations many times its size. • Why Pottinger shifted towards founder-led businesses in emerging industries such as the energy transition, and the distinction between a government picking a winning company and backing a winning technology. • Nigel's view on AI: why systems built to be persuasive rather than truthful pose a real problem for businesses looking for a use case, and why leaders have a responsibility to think about the economy and public policy they are helping to shape. Pottinger: https://www.pottinger.com/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/ Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/ Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the relational experience that these complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand. Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a podcast about how business leaders are bringing their organisation’s purpose and strategy to life. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy and reflects the same questions that drive the consulting work.

July 23, 2026Episode 188

People and Process: Lean Empowerment and Productivity Across Industries

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Steve Boam, CEO of Develop Consulting, who shares a bold vision for productivity in the UK. In their conversation, they discuss: · Why Lean is fundamentally about people and process, and how these principles can be applied far beyond the car factory floor, regardless of scale or speed of production. · How Develop works shoulder to shoulder with clients to transfer knowledge rather than simply handing over a report. · What Lean thinking offers UK healthcare: designing care around the patient rather than the institution, and helping the NHS meet its productivity challenges. · Why worker empowerment means flipping the pyramid: putting the person doing the work at the top. · Why middle management is often a sticking point for change, and what to do about it. Develop Consulting: https://develop-consulting.co.uk/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/ Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/ Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, a senior strategic advisory practice that provides strategic clarity for businesses with a public remit, where scrutiny is high, governance is complex, and the answers aren’t obvious. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the relational experience that complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand. Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a weekly podcast. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy and reflects the same questions that drive the consulting work.

July 15, 2026Episode 187

Engineering from the Inside Out: Leading Change at LPA Group

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Dr. Philo Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of LPA Group, about leading the transformation of a specialised engineering business. LPA Group is an engineering specialist in electronic and electro-mechanical components and systems, serving transport, aerospace, defence and infrastructure markets. Philo joined as CEO at the start of 2025 with the goal of redirecting the business. In their conversation, they discuss: · The ‘One LPA’ vision: Philo’s first move was to combine four quasi-independent divisions into a single functional structure. On this, she discusses how a rebranding is helping the new culture to stick. · A strategy for doubling the business in three years: organic growth to a point, then an acquisition of significant scale. · The vertical integration dilemma: Philo weighs having a sovereign supply chain against the commercial reality of competing with businesses that have offshored. · STEM, apprenticeships and the skills pipeline: why Philo sees outreach to schools and colleges not just as giving back to the community, but as a structural necessity for businesses like LPA. · Philo’s experience since joining LPA: being a first-time CEO, the shift from large corporate to smaller listed business, and the importance of both listening and taking decisive action. LPA Group: https://www.lpa-group.com/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/ Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/ Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, a senior strategic advisory practice that provides strategic clarity for businesses with a public remit, where scrutiny is high, governance is complex, and the answers aren’t obvious. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the relational experience that complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand. Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a weekly podcast. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy and reflects the same questions that drive the consulting work.

July 8, 2026Episode 186

Go Far, Go Together: Resilience, Democracy, and the Cooperative Alternative

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Jeroen Douglas, Director General of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), about what it takes to hold together a global movement of around a billion members, and why the cooperative model may be better suited to the coming decades than its low profile suggests. Founded in 1895, the ICA is the global voice of the cooperative movement, representing roughly three million cooperatives across more than a hundred countries. In their conversation, they discuss: • Why Jeroen sees cooperatives as the largest enduring alternative to shareholder capitalism and attributes their resilience to the practice of distributing wealth to the community before profits. • The ICA’s new Practice, Promote and Protect strategy, including the challenge of raising capital without compromising cooperative identity, and building a sovereign cooperative cloud as an alternative to big tech. • How worker-owned models for app-based companies are emerging as a credible answer to the gig economy. • How Jeroen keeps a movement spanning rival nations and rival politics united, and why he believes cooperatives are "builders of peace," able to disagree and still collaborate. ICA: https://www.ica.coop/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/ Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/ Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, a senior strategic advisory practice that provides strategic clarity for businesses with a public remit, where scrutiny is high, governance is complex, and the answers aren’t obvious. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the relational experience that complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand. Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a weekly podcast. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy and reflects the same questions that drive the consulting work.

July 1, 2026Episode 185

Not Afraid to Have a Go: The Challenger Mindset and the Future of IP

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Martyn Fish, Chief Executive and Partner at HGF, about building a challenger firm in a centuries-old profession, and the strategic choices behind its shift from partnership to private equity ownership. Martyn joined HGF over 20 years ago and led its European law team for more than a decade before becoming CEO in 2021. He has since taken the firm from a partnership of around 55 partners to a CBPE-backed business approaching 500 people across the UK and mainland Europe. In their conversation, they discuss: • Why the firm moved on from its partnership model: cumbersome decision-making, capital constraints, and a focus on in-year profit were slowing growth. He discusses what changed once the firm had private equity backing and a long-term view. • What makes a good private equity partner. Martyn explains why they chose a deal with CBPE, why the right investor acts as a critical friend rather than a controller, and how the firm communicated the change to win its people over. • Redefining the role of an IP firm. Martyn elaborates on his ambition to move attorneys from technical specialists to trusted advisors who understand a client’s business strategy, value drivers, and investment needs. • How AI is freeing up higher-value client time, and why strength, depth, and a deliberately nurtured challenger culture matter as the firm continues to grow. HGF: https://www.hgf.com/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/ Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/ Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, a senior strategic advisory practice that provides strategic clarity for businesses with a public remit, where scrutiny is high, governance is complex, and the answers aren’t obvious. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the relational experience that complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand. Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a weekly podcast. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy and reflects the same questions that drive the consulting work.