Show Notes
In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Sarah Waddington, Chief Executive of the PRCA, the world’s largest professional body for public relations and communications. She discusses what it means to represent the PR sector through uncertain times, and why the moment calls for a renewed understanding of what PR is and what it does. Sarah brings two decades of experience across agency leadership, governance, and industry development, and she discusses how she has reoriented the PRCA's mission and unify the membership body through changing times. In their conversation, they discuss: • Why public relations is not media relations or crisis management, but a strategic management discipline — and why that distinction matters enormously for how organisations use it and what they get from it. • What Sarah found when she stepped into the CEO role, and how she rebuilt confidence by renewing the vision, mission and values and making them the basis for every decision. • The PRCA’s two-pronged strategy: First, to increase understanding of what PR is and does, backed by a new industry definition. Second, to build a sector that is inclusive by default. • The AI and reputation challenge — why organisations that are not actively managing their brand narrative and monitoring for misinformation are exposed in ways they may not fully appreciate, and what a strategic PR adviser can do about it. • What drew Sarah to the role: her conviction, built over years of industry engagement, that PR has a larger contribution to make — not just to commercial outcomes, but to the wicked problems of fractured communities, damaged trust, and the narratives that either divide or bring people together. PRCA: https://www.prca.org.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.
More from The Purposeful Strategist
In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Richard Bruce, CEO of Carter Jonas, a leading UK property consultancy working across commercial, residential, rural, planning and development and infrastructure. Richard explains how their LLP structure, management approach, and company culture enables Carter Jonas to bring together expertise from across the property lifecycle to support clients throughout the UK.
In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Juho Jalkanen, CEO of Faron, a biotechnology company on a mission to bring cutting-edge immunotherapy to as many patients as possible, currently focused on difficult-to-treat cancers. In their conversation, they discuss: How immunotherapy uses the patient's own immune system to attack disease, and why that makes it such a promising treatment. Faron's business strategy, rooted in absorbing the financial risk of scientific research, and how they keep pharmaceutical partners updated as they "de-risk" the product through clinical trials. Why Faron's steadfast commitment to research, rather than shedding it for a safer business case, as many biotech companies do, is its greatest commercial asset. Juho's own path from vascular surgeon to CEO, rooted in his desire to help as many patients as possible.
In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Rory McKeand, CEO of TSG, an IT services company helping UK businesses fit technology seamlessly into their operations. TSG is among the largest Microsoft training partners in the UK and helps clients implement and adapt to new technologies. In their conversation, they discuss: How TSG has embedded customer focus into its culture, from paychecks reading “brought to you by the customer” to having dedicated support staff for their customers. How TSG uses AI while keeping customer support a human job. TSG's history of consolidation, acquisition, and transformation, as well as what’s coming next. TSG's journey into employee ownership and its choice to partner with Pictet for PE investment.
In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with David Ferguson, Executive Chair at Seccl, about how a broader purpose can drive a successful business strategy in the financial sector. Seccl provides the back-end infrastructure for numerous investment and wealth management companies including Monzo’s pensions and GoHenry’s Junior ISA. In their conversation, they discuss: How Seccl has matured since David joined in 2022. What a financial sector which promotes “investing well” should look like. Seccl’s choice to work with companies who have transparent consumer-facing practices, and to decline working with companies who don’t. How Seccl’s financial infrastructure can serve as a springboard for smaller companies to enter the market, increasing competition in the marketplace. David’s thoughts on the current and future state of the wealth management sector.
In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Peter Haden, Chief Executive of Fletchers Group, one of the UK's leading personal injury and clinical negligence law firms. As a PE-backed firm, a major focus for Fletchers is scaling while maintaining service and values. In their conversation, they discuss: The relatively new role of private equity in the legal space, and how it plays out at Fletchers. How Peter and his exec team manage through rapid change, including weekly review meetings across every aspect of the practice. The strategic thinking behind how Fletchers approaches acquisitions. The unique challenges of a firm built around caring for clients who are facing serious injury or malpractice. Why Peter sees doing right by people and doing right by the business as the same thing.