ERUPT

Welcome to the first episode of our brand new podcast series, 'HR Heroes'.

This series is focused on shining a light on the inspiring people leaders driving real change in their organisation and beyond.

In this debut episode, Becky Finnegan, Associate Director at Annapurna, is joined by Peter Zielonka for a discussion on his career journey.

Peter opens up about his early days working in London to leading international change progra...

In this episode, Tom Walsh, Executive Search Manager at Annapurna, sits down with Glenn, SVP of Sales, EMEA at Kollective Technology, to uncover what it really takes to scale a high-performing sales team using the MEDDIC methodology.

Having spent nearly 13 years at Kollective Technology, Glenn has gone from being a member of the sales team to leading revenue functions across EMEA and uses his experience to share insights on:

✅ Avoi...

Welcome back to part two of our conversation with Ralf Hellebrand, Head of Division IT Transformation at Vodafone, hosted by Charley Lucas, Interim IT Manager at Annapurna.

In this episode, they dive deeper into the challenges and opportunities organisations face in 2025 and beyond, with a strong focus on how artificial intelligence is driving transformation.

Ralf explores how changing motivations and increasing complexity, bot...

Charley Lucas (Interim IT Manager at Annapurna) continues his latest podcast series with leaders in the IT space by sitting down with Ralf Hellebrand (Head of Division IT at Vodafone) for an insightful discussion on ‘Gliding Through Transformation’.

In this episode, Ralf delves into the growing pressures of today’s accelerated and unpredictable business climate and its impact on leading transformations.

Ralf highlights that bus...

In this week’s episode, we are thrilled to be joined by Estelle Hollingsworth, who was the Chief People Officer at Virgin Atlantic at the time of recording and is now the Chief People Officer at McArthurGlen Group.

Estelle is a firm believer in the idea that employees perform at their best when they feel happy, secure, and valued - a belief that challenges the traditional idea that high performance comes solely from pressure and re...

In this episode, Cristina-Gabriela Nita (Senior Tech Director) talks to Charley Lucas (IT Contracts and Senior Appointments Manager at Annapurna) about a phrase that she has coined herself, BizDecSecAIOps.

The BizDevSecOps methodology has now been around for a number of years with the aim of optimising the software development lifecycle through the efficient collaboration between the business, development and ops teams.

The evoluti...

In this week's episode, we are delighted to be joined by Rui Casias (CEO at Funcom) to discuss the role of the CEO in one of the most exciting and fast-paced industries in which to work, the gaming industry.

Funcom are one of those organisations that you may not have heard of themselves but you'll definitely know the games they build and develop, which include the Conan series and the highly anticipated, Dune Awakening.

In this fas...

In this episode, Charley Lucas, IT Contracts and Senior Appointments Manager at Annapurna, talks to Cristina-Gabriela Nita, Senior Tech Director, about AI and the opportunity that it presents to businesses when used correctly.

One of her key messages is that AI shouldn't be feared or seen as a job stealer. Instead, she encourages business leaders and employees to embrace AI's capabilities, seeing it as a tool to revolutionise the w...

This week's episode is rather special as we look back to 2020 when the late Professor Peter Saville (Chairman and Founder at 10x Psychology) sat down virtually to chat with James Ballard, Managing Partner & Co-Founder at Annapurna.

In this exclusive session, Professor Peter Saville introduces 'Workplace Psychology'.

James Ballard (Co-Founder at Annapurna) talks to Peter about his life, his experiences as a serial entrepreneur, ...

Continuing the new series of ERUPT, and the first episode of the series in 2025, we open up the conversation on 'Start-up Stories: When To Bring in a CRO/ CCO?'

Tom Walsh (Executive Search Manager at Annapurna) is joined by Angeley Mullins (CMO & CCO) for a fascinating discussion on the key stages start-up organisations go through and where the focus should be to excel.

Falling back on her own experiences, Angeley describes the...

Have you ever felt that there is something greater you could be contributing to the world, either personally or professionally?

Alistair Palmar, an experienced Mindset & Performance Coach at 49 Consulting LLP, recently sat down with James Ballard, Managing Partner & Co-Founder at Annapurna, to educate us on how to listen to that voice that’s telling us we want something more, and act on it, rather than pushing it to the bac...

Amanda Rajkumar, an inspiring HR leader with experience at global giants like BNP Paribas and Adidas, recently joined James Ballard, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Annapurna, for an open and honest chat about her incredible journey, both personal and professional.

From her early days growing up in Northampton, UK, to stepping into the world of tech headhunting, and later taking on exciting challenges abroad in New York and Ge...

This week, we welcome Gergo Safar, Strategic Workforce Manager at BT Group for a conversation around 'The Cost of Not: Strategic Workforce Planning'. During his discussion with Hope Milne, Gergo stressed that workforce planning is never as straightforward as setting a plan in January and sticking to it through to December. With unexpected challenges constantly reshaping the market, Gergo emphasised the need for adaptable workforc...

Join us as Andrea Marston, Talent Acquisition Director EMEA at Nutanix, sits down with Hope Milne, Manager at Annapurna for a discussion on ‘The Cost of Not: Internal Mobility’. ♻️🤸

Andrea sheds light on how her team navigated a complex company acquisition by introducing a system of internal movement, giving TA employees the chance to explore different departments and even geographical areas. This approach not only gave employee...

Aaron Beider, Head of Talent Acquisition at Vertical Aerospace, recently sat down with Hope Milne, Manager at Annapurna, for a discussion on 'The Cost of Not: The Best Athlete'. 🧠🏋️‍♂️ Aaron shares why, in the fast-paced aerospace industry, finding exceptional talent and moving quickly when you do find it is non-negotiable. The 'Best Athlete' concept allows them to hire extraordinary individuals without the red tape, enabling th...

In the first episode of the newest season of ERUPT, we are opening up the topic of 'Building Future Ready GTM Strategies'.

Tom Walsh (Manager at Annapurna) is joined by Louis Fernandes (GTM and Sales Revenue Leader, ex VP Sales at Uberall) for a fascinating conversation around productivity and how we use productivity to coach, equip & train our teams within a sales environment.

Louis introduces the topic as we look to get our s...

On this episode, we meet with Daniela Lück (VP of Engineering at SimCorp) to discuss overcoming hurdles and thriving as a senior female leader in the technology world. Daniela shares her personal journey from her home country to moving abroad during a Civil War where she started University and got stuck into her career in Germany and eventually in Copenhagen. 

Daniela shares some advice for young women considering a career in the I...

Our ForTheFounders network has showcased some sensational leaders over the past few years and this session brings together 3 CEOs for a discussion about what our employees are looking for in a leader in an uncertain climate.

What do we need from our leaders? How important is it for our leaders to be the champions of ethical practices? How we are navigating some of the continued challenges with an ever-growing remote workforce?

Join...