Values, People and Culture

This JLA breakfast looked at culture and values, and their increasingly important role in driving a company. Today’s successful organisations are those that understand and bring together all of their people, fostering collaboration and openness, and reflecting their values throughout. Reflecting on how the best companies need to understand their people and how that understanding can translate into a competitive advantage was the former UK MD of Nando’s and Operations Director at Five Guys, the former SVP of International Sales at Viacom, and the outgoing Creative Director of Virgin Money.

The speakers will were:

Marcel Khan

In almost 15 years at the top of some of the most distinctive restaurant brands, Marcel has defined how to stay ahead in a notoriously difficult market. At both Nando’s and Five Guys he and his teams were driven to create a culture where everyone felt valued and passionate about what they did. As businesses they marked out where they could compete and focused on being the best in that area, conveying a clear message about what they offered, andm ensuring they consistently delivered on that promise.

Cally Beaton

Starting out in television production, Cally joined ITV as the only woman and the youngest person on the board. At Viacom she was responsible for global sales of programmes on Comedy Central, Paramount, MTV and Nickelodeon. She looks at the creative and the commercial sides of business and what each can learn from the other, as well as how thinking differently inspires change and brings together colleagues from all areas to create a confident, innovative culture.

Tim Arthur

After stints working in theatre, journalism and charity, Tim was appointed Global CEO of Time Out and, faced with the decline of print publishing, made the magazine free and focused on digital and brand extensions. Joining Virgin Money he oversaw a range of concerns from marketing and brand to digital and customer experience. He considers the duty a business has to understand and serve their customer and the role that insight plays in company culture, strategy and innovation.