Show Notes
In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Marina Stenos, Managing Partner of FINN Partners’ Global Education Practice. Marina has spent her career working at the intersection of education, public affairs, and strategic communications—supporting foundations, school systems, universities, philanthropies, and education organisations as they navigate complexity, reform, and change. Marina shares how education clients can modernise without losing the trust or expertise of the people they exist to serve. Drawing on work ranging from the updating of US science standards to advising education providers and institutions around the world, she reflects on why large-scale change requires disciplined communication, protection of process, and deep respect for educators and communities. She describes why access to learning remains one of the most powerful levers for human potential and how storytelling and representation shape how we see ourselves. In their conversation, they explore: • Why education is a system built on trust and how that trust can be protected during change. • What “protecting the process” means in large-scale, high-stakes education reform. • Why alternative pathways and lifelong learning are reshaping what it means to be educated. • How AI and misinformation are changing the role of communication in education. • Why education remains one of the most important drivers of social and economic mobility. FINN Partners MenKus & Associates Supported by Norman Broadbent Belden Menkus, Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, works with CEOs and senior leaders to align their strategy and purpose. Working with organisations where leadership is shared rather than centralised, Belden's work is defined by intellectual clarity, collaboration, and a commitment to practical results. Drawing on his experience at McKinsey & Company and decades spent advising complex organisations, he supports mid-sized institutions—particularly law firms and membership bodies—as they navigate strategic inflexion points and build enduring value during periods of uncertainty. He is a public speaker and strategic thinker with a wide intellectual range, bringing together business insight, historical perspective, and cultural curiosity—combining the instincts of a consultant with those of a historian and an explorer of ideas. In addition to consulting, he hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a weekly podcast discussing how business leaders themselves bring purpose into real strategic action.
More from The Purposeful Strategist
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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.
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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.