The Purposeful Strategist

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Clare Montagu, CEO of Poppy’s, a funeral director serving Greater London from three premises. Clare joined Poppy’s as Chief Operating Officer in 2021 and became CEO in 2022. Under her leadership the business has grown to three premises and achieved B Corp status.In their conversation, they discuss:Why Poppy Mardall founded Poppy’s in response to television exposés on poor care of the dead and exploitative pricing, and how Poppy’s approaches funerals and the care of the dead differently.Why Clare urges everyone to talk about death and dying, and the basics worth discussing with the people who will arrange your funeral.How Poppy’s recruits for emotional intelligence and supports its team through boundaries, reflective sessions and rituals like their culture breakfast.Why Poppy’s is growing at a sustainable pace, funding expansion itself for now and opening premises selectively, and how its culture can outlast its current leaders.Poppy’s: https://www.poppysfunerals.co.uk/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the insight 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.

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Tom Woolgrove, Chief Executive of Benenden Health, a not-for-profit mutual healthcare provider with over 875,000 members across the UK. Founded in 1905 as the Post Office Sanatorium Society, Benenden has stayed true to its mutual roots even as it has grown into one of the UK's largest private healthcare providers.In their conversation, they discuss:Why the mutual model, where they are run for, and answerable to, members and not shareholders, is a strength in private healthcare rather than a hindranceHow Benenden's structure frees its board to make long-term decisions for members' healthWhy Benenden specialises in diagnostics and routine, elective procedures like cataract surgery, deliberately complementing the NHS rather than competing with itHow Benenden's discretionary, mutual model keeps membership rates low, challenging the assumption that private healthcare is only for the wealthyBenenden Health: https://www.benenden.co.uk/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the insight 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.

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 their conversation, they discuss:How Carter Jonas's LLP structure enables fast, expert decision-making and a culture of accountability and empowermentThe culture of open debate they've cultivated, and Richard's view that when an idea is put forward, constructive challenge is much better than silence.Why "property is personal" sits at the heart of Carter Jonas's purpose, and how that necessitates a high level of expertise in their services.Carter Jonas: https://www.carterjonas.co.uk/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the insight 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.

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.Faron: https://faron.com/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the insight 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.

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.TSG: https://www.tsg.com/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the insight 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.

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.Seccl: https://seccl.tech/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. 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.

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.Fletchers: https://www.fletcherssolicitors.co.uk/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the insight 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.

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Janette Bell, Managing Director of First Bus, the bus division of FirstGroup Plc and one of the largest bus operators in Britain, running around a fifth of all bus services outside London across a fleet of more than six thousand vehicles. Janette has a simple, steadfast purpose since she entered the role in 2020: “to get more people on the bus!”In their conversation, they discuss:The myriad social, economic, and environmental benefits of increased bus coverage and ridership.How their steadfast focus on the local benefits of bus transit fuels their business strategy.The strategic choices they have made in their pursuit of net zero, from fleet electrification to collaborations and partnerships.Janette’s conviction that “winning” means focusing on the social benefits, knowing that they will translate directly to the fare box.First Bus: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. 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.

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Jo Cox, Chief Executive Officer of IMSERV Europe, about leading change at a trusted and long-established energy business.IMSERV Europe provides meter and data services to the UK’s commercial and industrial energy sector, installing and maintaining meters, collecting consumption data, and ensuring its accuracy for utility providers and the regulator. Jo joined as CEO in early 2025 with the aim of accelerating the business and sharpening its role in the energy transition.In their conversation, they discuss:What IMSERV does and where it sits in the energy system: the meters behind business energy bills, the data that validates them, and the importance of keeping those bills accurate.The three pillars of Jo’s strategy: high-performing field engineers, data accuracy across large meter portfolios, and the IMSERV Astral platform which aims to convert the data into high-impact energy and carbon savings.Working with private equity: how being PE-backed shapes decision-making, why Jo treats investors as business partners, and how she balances investing for growth against de-risking the business.Jo’s approach to leadership and her advice for any first-time CEO: don’t lead with an ego.IMSERV Europe: https://www.IMSERV.com/Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. 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.

In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Mark Tapscott, Co-Founder and CEO of Longbow, an electric sports car company whose aim is to engineer cars that are fast, ultra-lightweight and will stand the test of time. Mark co-founded Longbow in 2023 after two decades launching electric vehicles into new markets, including for Tesla and BYD.In their conversation, they discuss:Why the UK is the best place in the world to design and assemble sports cars, and the market factors behind his thinking.Lightweighting as an efficiency philosophy Mark believes will shape the future of transportation, not just sports cars.Longbow's strategy of periodically "breaking and rebuilding" the company as it scales, and building small, expert teams that can innovate quickly.The importance of short-term planning and long-term branding, and how to gather a dedicated pool of loyal customers.How listening to customers and expert advisors are essential ingredients for success.Longbow: https://longbowmotors.com/ Menkus & Associates: https://www.menkus.com/Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/Belden Menkus is the Managing Director of Menkus & Associates, the strategy firm for businesses with a broader purpose. His McKinsey training combined with more than 30 years working at Board and ExCo level gives him both the analytical rigour and the insight 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.