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Welcome to Hidden Growth Champions - real innovators, real conversations, real lessons about growth in the midst of uncertainty. We explore why growth truly matters, as we learn to navigate new and unfamiliar terrains, what forms it can take in innovative organisations (e.g. new markets, acceleration, closing the innovation gap or transformation and renewal), and how ‘growth champions’, situated not just in developed tech centres but across emerging markets, go about discovering, preparing for and powering growth. Every second week, we meet one of these growth champions for a conversation about what growth means to them – not about dry theory, complex methodologies or formulas promising a ‘sure way’ to navigate our way beyond the crisis. Rather, real innovators, real conversations, real lessons.
Episodes
Monday Aug 16, 2021
S2: E24 In conversation with Bennie van Rooy
Monday Aug 16, 2021
Monday Aug 16, 2021
For podcast S2:E24 we have Bennie van Rooy, Managing Director of Access Bank South Africa. Bennie is a financial services veteran, having worked across a diverse set of financial institutions, both private and public sector. He shared his insights about leadership in Financial Services and making difficult decisions in an environment that is being disrupted. With Access Bank becoming a catalyst for growth and innovation, growing its presence across markets, he provides a valuable perspective into how one innovates beyond borders…
Monday Jul 26, 2021
S2: E23 In Conversation with Otis Tawanda Makahamadze
Monday Jul 26, 2021
Monday Jul 26, 2021
In S2:E23 we hosted in our virtual studio Otis Tawanda Makahamadze, Executive at OmniContact BPO Services, an ambitious and fast-growing business, in the Econet group, one of Zimbabwe’s leading organisations and a recognised innovator on the continent.
Otis and I first met quite a few years back and I recalled during our conversation how the idea of growing Econet’s contact centre in Zimbabwe, from an internal centre of excellence into a fully-fledged provider of outsourced services, came to life. One could have looked at it at the time as just one idea on the periphery of our reality. However, we gave this glimpse of reality some attention, recognised its potential early on and now, some years later, OmniContact BPO Services not only serve clients in the county or in neighbouring states, but in the United States, the United Kingdom and other far-away destinations – a testament to the ingenuity and courage demonstrated by Otis and his team. It is a story of meeting reality where it mattered most.
Monday Jul 05, 2021
S2: E22 In conversation with Charles Carey
Monday Jul 05, 2021
Monday Jul 05, 2021
In S2:E22 we speak with Charles Carey, a seasoned banker who has travelled the African continent building financial services organisations.
We spoke about what makes a banking institution truly distinctive, the importance of speaking to people who are different to us, outside our ‘echo chamber’ and how misinterpreting disruption as merely a tough and competitive environment may have long and far-reaching implications for banks on the continent – a conversation not to be missed.
Monday Jun 21, 2021
S2: E21 In conversation with Jan Pilbauer
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Monday Jun 21, 2021
S2:E21 we speak to Jan Pilbauer, CEO of BankServAfrica, an innovator at heart. In this podcast episode, he shares with us how modernising a national payments system requires more than just the right technology but (importantly) innovating how we work and collaborate with others - regulators, financial services firms and communities. In an era where payments are becoming ubiquitous and digital inclusion is a must, we spoke about the resistance to innovation and the practices which enabled various ecosystem players, to work together, discover and adopt a world-class solution.
Enjoy the episode!
Monday Jun 07, 2021
S2: E20 In conversation with Sarah Elkins
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Monday Jun 07, 2021
In S2:E20 we speak with Sarah Elkins, is a professional storyteller. She works with clients to find the stories that resonate and help shift the people they would like to inspire, connecting with audiences and building brand ambassadors who will support their big ideas. We met up (virtually, of course) to discuss the power of narratives in leadership – what impact these can have on the individual leader and on their organisation.
Enjoy the episode!
Wednesday May 26, 2021
S2: E19 In conversation with Roger Longden
Wednesday May 26, 2021
Wednesday May 26, 2021
S2:319 - Ascent Growth Partners and There Be Giants (TBG) have been collaborating for several years now and so, when the opportunity came up, to share from our combined experience in setting bold objectives and executing on them, we invited Roger Longden, Founder of TBG to our virtual studio. What followed was a fascinating conversation on Objectives and key Results…where they matter most.
Enjoy the episode!
Monday May 10, 2021
S2: E18 In conversation with Colin Browne
Monday May 10, 2021
Monday May 10, 2021
In S2: E18 we speak with Colin Browne aka The Culture Guy. We have known Colin for several years now and collaborated on occasion. When Colin mentioned that he was in the midst of writing his latest book “So you’ve opened an office in Yemen, what now?“, a rather apt title for 2021, we thought – we invited him to our offices for a face-to-face conversation about challenging paradigms, experimenting with management innovation and asking (sometimes often), Why not?
Enjoy the Episode!
Monday Apr 26, 2021
S2: E17 In conversation with Zipporah Maubane
Monday Apr 26, 2021
Monday Apr 26, 2021
S2:E17 Today Zipporah Maubane, Digital Transformation and Marketing Executive, joins Hidden Growth Champions host Saar. We speak about the state of digital transformation in 2021 and how it is unlocking value, not only in the much-spoken about areas of customer experience, supply chain and operations, but in the relationship with other key stakeholders, including investors. She illustrates the premium placed over digitally-transformed organisations, from diverse corporate environments such as BP, Sasol, Coca Cola and most recently South-Africa ICT company Altron.
A marketer at heart, she brings a unique perspective into how organisations can transition successfully, in an increasingly digitised, post-COVID environment.
Monday Apr 12, 2021
S2: E16 In conversation with Lesley Baxter
Monday Apr 12, 2021
Monday Apr 12, 2021
S2:E16, today, Lesley Baxter joins Hidden Growth Champions host Saar for a fascinating discussion. Lesley is an executive at Total, the French energy giant and an organisation in the midst of the Energy transition, while operating in more than 130 countries. A Finance professional, Lesley has travelled the world, always learning about new environments, striving to grow and lead with diverse teams, and discover how much one can achieve when we open ourselves to growth.
Enjoy the Episode!
Monday Mar 29, 2021
S2: E15 In conversation with Adrian Saville
Monday Mar 29, 2021
Monday Mar 29, 2021
Today in S2:E15 we chat to Adrian Saville, Professor of Economics at the GIBS Business School, joins Hidden Growth Champions host Saar to talk about how the world's best businesses produce win-win outcomes with their stakeholders, one such outcome (among many) being sustained profitability. In fact, measured over a ten year period, the evidence is compelling. These innovative organisations outperform their peers by a factor to 2:1.
We speak about our work with such organisations, in measuring their impact in a credible way and how this data-rich approach can (and should) inform investment decision-making. A fascinating conversation on how one can bring Business value, Sustainability and Impact together.
Enjoy!