Effective leadership involves both leading and supporting the team. John Partilla joins David outside the boardroom to explore what this actually involves.

John is a seasoned executive with a deep background in the media and advertising sectors. As the CEO of Screen Vision Media, he has demonstrated strong leadership and strategic vision, particularly highlighted by his steering of the company through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. With over 30 years of experience, Partilla has built his career across various high-profile positions, including roles at Young & Rubicam, Time Warner, Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia), and Dentsu.

The three main takeaways you’ll get from this conversation are:

· Leadership Adaptability: John Partilla highlights the importance of adapting leadership styles to both lead and support teams effectively, demonstrating how flexibility in leadership is crucial during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

· Significance of Talent: Throughout his career and especially in his role at Screen Vision Media, Partilla underscores talent as the fundamental driver of success, advocating for investment in talent development and management as key to sustaining business growth.

· Navigational Skills in Crisis: The episode delves into how decisive action and strong partnership with private equity helped Screen Vision Media navigate through the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic, illustrating the critical need for quick decision-making and strategic agility in leadership.

How do you keep the innate part of your culture and values as you expand?

Nina Spencer joins David outside the boardroom to tell us.

Nina is a seasoned professional, beginning her career at Accenture before moving to fledgling wealth management consulting firm Alpha Financial Markets Consulting. As one of the first ten employees she witnessed the company's growth from its early stages to a significant player in the consulting industry. After 15 years with Alpha, Nina rose to CEO of one of their business lines, Alpha Data Solutions.

The three main takeaways you’ll get from this conversation are:

· Building Long-term Relationships: Nina emphasizes the importance of sustaining strategic relationships in business. "It’s about really building those longer-term relationships.”

· Adaptability in Operations: Nina discusses the need for businesses to remain flexible and focus on essential services during fluctuating market conditions. "We need to think about what services clients need even in an economic downturn.”

· Global Strategic Thinking: She stresses the importance of leveraging global opportunities by considering different geographical markets. "Thinking globally about where we have the most opportunity to realize potential is crucial.”

Nina and David highlights how crucial it is to keep a strong company culture when growing internationally. Strong, yet flexible company values are needed to achieve ongoing growth and success in what we all know is a rapidly-changing business world.

David Heron is joined by leaders from across the PE and corporate world to discuss the best ways to drive growth. They give candid opinions, stepping outside the boardroom, on how they've grown culture and fostered success.