The Venari Podcast

Heather Repenning from L.A. Metro | The Sustainability Series

‘We are on the verge of a significant transition. The Olympics is going to be a catalyst for that.’ Can you imagine zero-emission public transport in your area by 2030? For many people, this might sound unrealistic – but not if you’re one of the 10 million residents of Los Angeles County. Los Angeles Metro, the region’s public transport provider, has pledged to make their vehicles zero-emission by the beginning of the next decade. This might sound like a challenge, especially in a city as car-dependent as L.A. – but it’s one that Heather Repenning, Executive Officer for Metro, has positively embraced.

Michael Ferguson On His First 6 Months As CCO At Abivax | BioTech CCO Series

‘One of the things I’ve learned is you’re only as good as your team’.
Michael Ferguson joined Abivax as Chief Commercial Officer earlier this year, since then they’ve IPO’d on Nasdaq (largest French Biotech IPO ever - $212m) and Michael has been building and shaping the commercial strategy and team. We discuss all this and more in the next episode of The Venari Podcast – have a listen!

Supply Chains & Regulatory Compliance: JAS Are Preparing For The Future | The Sustainability Series

Happy New Year from everyone at Venari Partners! We hope you enjoyed the holiday season.
 
We’re pleased to have plenty of podcasts coming up in 2024 – and here, Gov Kandola, our Head of Transportation & Logistics, is kicking off a new podcast series on sustainability in his sector. In this interview, Gov speaks to Andrea Goeman, SVP for Sustainability at the shipping company JAS Worldwide.
 
Check out the clip to hear their conversation, which touches on subjects including Andrea and JAS’ sustainability initiatives, the challenges of adjusting to net zero goals, and building teams to meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) targets.

The Changing Landscape of AI & Customer Experience, With Ocado Director & Bain Alumnus Amanda Yu

You could be forgiven for thinking that making the move from consulting to industry might be a huge challenge – but Amanda Yu, Director of Customer Experience at Ocado, ‘really loved the transition’. Having had experience of project-based work in consultancy, Amanda was keen to gain more commercial and operational experience and she hasn’t looked back since.
 
Mhairi Geraghty, Senior Consultant across our Interim Solutionspractice, was delighted to catch up with Amanda on the Venari Podcast. Tune in to hear them discuss Amanda’s career and thoughts on topics ranging from mentoring to AI – as well as the future of retail!

Power of a Commercial Mindset in all C-level Roles | Kate McKinley, Biotech CEO, CCO and CBO

‘I’m a huge proponent for working in large, established companies earlier in one’s career.’
With an enviable track record across Big Pharma and small biotechs, it’s worth noting what Rani Therapeutics’ Chief Business Officer, Kate McKinley, has to say – which is why Joe Knight, Commercial Consultant for our Life Sciences practice, invited her to appear on an episode of the Chief Commercial Officer series for the Venari Podcast.
 
Read on for more on their conversation on commercial strategy in life sciences, as well as preparing – and hiring within – organisations for commercialisation!

Succession Planning, Entrepreneurship & High Performance Strategy | With SVP, Mohamed Issa | The Venari Podcast

Mohamed Issa knows all about what is needed for successful life sciences launches. Before his current role as SVP of Immunology at Janssen, he held varied positions – including juggling the foundation and successful exit of Noor Pharmaceuticals at the same time as his previous day job – making him more than qualified to discuss launches both at startup and Big Pharma level.
 Joe Knight caught up with Mohamed to gear his thoughts on leadership, team building, and the decisions that made him the executive he is today!

Strategy, People & Trends - Life of a Chief Digital Officer, with Joel Goldberg | Digital Transformation Series

‘Technology changes fast – and I like that. I think the people that are in it for a long time enjoy that.’
 
With over 25 years of experience working in technology, Joel Goldberg has seen trends come and go – but, for him, some working principles remain constant. They’ve served him well over a varied and successful career, which has taken in a number of C-level positions at various companies, including Chief Digital Officer at WizzAir most recently.
 
Tom Woods, our Senior Digital & Technology Consultant, caught up with Joel on the Venari Podcast to discuss digital transformation, leadership, team building – and more! Check out the full conversation now.

The Impact of Tech In Healthcare With BrightInsight CEO & Founder, Kal Patel | HealthTech CEO Series

Founding a company wasn’t in the script for BrightInsight CEO Kal Patel, though he did want ‘to work on really interesting problems that, with great people, can have a huge impact.’ Having previously worked in consulting and pharma, Kal left his role at Amgen to co-launch BrightInsight, bringing digital innovation for biopharma and medtech customers through the company’s platform – and he hasn’t looked back since!
 
Cristian Owen, our Digital Health Consultant, caught up with Kal for this episode of the Venari Podcast’s HealthTech CEO series, where they discussed Kal’s career journey, how BrightInsight works and strives to stay innovative, and the CEO’s advice for future HealthTech founders.
 
Check out the full clip here!

Strategy Executive Rachel’s Journey From Consulting to Industry | Female Leaders in Retail

Consulting gave Rachel Goldberg has ‘a helicopter view of different aspects of business’ early in her professional life – though the chance to work on longer-term projects in retail was tempting. Over the course of a career that’s taken in stints in consulting as well as household names in retail, Rachel accrued vast experience of both sectors prior to attaining her current role as Group Head of Strategy at Currys.
 
Rachel spoke to Mhairi Geraghty, our Senior Interim Solutions Consultant, on the Venari Podcast about the challenges – and pleasures – of transitioning from consulting to retail, her advice for career success, and how to manage work-life balance and burnout in demanding roles.
 
Click below to see the full interview!

The Future Of VR In Healthcare With Floreo CEO & Founder, Vijay Ravindran | HealthTech CEO Series

’We believe in the long-term that over telehealth using virtual reality, children can receive a superior service to in-person therapy.’
 
Vijay Ravindran has had a fascinating career path, taking in transformative roles at household names such as Amazon and The Washington Post. His background may be in software engineering, but – as he told our Digital Health Consultant, Cristian Owen, on this episode of the Venari Podcast’s MedTech CEO series – a personal connection to the neurodiverse community led him to found Floreo, a VR therapy company.
 
Here's the full interview – check it out to hear Floreo’s fascinating origin story, the future of VR and AI for digital therapy, and Vijay’s top tips for budding entrepreneurs!