Private Equity Power Talks: Map of the Maze

In this episode of the PepTalks Podcast, we are joined by experienced Healthcare CEO, Craig Smith… Craig joined healthcare and specialist transport providers E-zec Medical as CEO in 2021 following an MBO by Cairngorm Capital. In 2023 he oversaw a significant merger with ERS Medical resulting in a rebrand to EMED Group where Craig remains as CEO. We discuss how Craig organised and

In this episode of the PepTalks Podcast, we are thrilled to have Tim Ham, CEO of Pearson Ham and distinguished pricing expert, as our special guest. We discuss the findings of a collaborative report between PepTalks and Pearson Ham titled ‘The Six Key Steps to Pricing Implementation’. Tim provides insights into the findings of the report and takes a deep dive into each of the 6

For this episode of the PepTalks Podcast, we are joined by culture, talent and HR expert David Bowes… David is a highly successful and high-growth Chief People Officer under PE ownership, having held the position at WDS, A Xerox Company, Phlexglobal and Xalient. We discuss the role of the chief people officer, including what a good people strategy looks like, building your top te

In this episode of the PepTalks Podcast, we are talking all about strategy and how to build a winning value creation plan under PE ownership with Achilles CEO, Paul Stanley. Paul has held 7 PE backed CEO roles, the last 4 of which he took on when the business was underperforming so he could implement a successful strategic repositioning. Paul shares his approach to building a strat

This episode of the PepTalks Podcast is all about operating models and how they can be successfully implemented into a PE-backed business to drive value, culture, innovation and set you up for a successful exit. Our expert guest is Forge Holiday Group & Sykes Holiday Cottages CEO, Graham Donoghue, who has successfully implemented OKRs into the business resulting in a 9x return

For this episode of the PepTalks Podcast, we are joined by regular guest, Richard Madden, for an update on the state of the private equity deals market. Richard is CEO of DC Advisory UK a leading international investment bank who provide buy and sell-side advice during PE transactions and other M&A activity. We discuss how the economic climate has affected the market over the c

For this episode of the PepTalks Podcast, we welcome David Brennan, Executive Chair of Nexus Vehicle Rentals for the second time to discuss his continuing journey with the business. David was CEO of Nexus for 9 years and steered the company through 3 PE transactions before recently transitioning to Exec Chair. We discuss how to drive organic growth through effective sales and marke

For this episode of The PepTalks Podcast, we are joined by Andrew Dyckhoff, Founder and CEO of Strengths Unleashed, who are experts in assessment, development and advisory, helping energise individual leaders, their teams and organisations to release untapped potential, transform performance and deliver outstanding results. Our main area of discussion is around personal and organis

For this episode of The PepTalks Podcast, we are joined by Neil Rodford, Executive Director of Voly Music and Former CEO of YMU, a market-leading talent agency. Neil led YMU through 3 successful buyouts, delivering a 500% increase in enterprise value and a turnover in excess of £140m. During this time Neil executed over 40 acquisitions which are our key topic of conversation for t

For this episode of The PepTalks Podcast, we are joined by Lois Heywood, CEO of Retail & Asset Solutions who are at the forefront of the audit and stocktaking industry. In 2018 Lois became CEO of Retail & Asset Solutions upon leading a Carve Out from ODS group with the support of LDC. Lois draws on this experience and describes how to transition from corporate to PE-backed leadersh