The Purposeful Strategist

I want to shift the discussion about organisational purpose from being about what organisations and leaders should do – to take a practical look at what they are doing – and what we can learn from that. We’re going to hear from business leaders across a range of industries how they think about purpose in their organisation - and in business more generally. We’ll explore how they make purpose a building block of their strategy and get their insider tips on the “how” of bringing purpose alive.

The Purposeful Strategist is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a business show with 100 episodes published.

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  Episode #190

  Preventing Hospital Infections at the Source – Without Another Silver Coating

  Aug 6, 2026—S1

  In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Dr Georgia Fleet, CEO and co-founder of Zonova, about the science and business sides of stopping hospital-acquired infections. Zonova is a medtech company whose aim is to prevent healthcare-acquired infection, thereby reducing over-reliance on antibiotics. Georgia founded the company in 2023 after completing her doctorate at UCL, and the business now has a dedicated lab and a team working to bring their antimicrobial technology to market. In their conversation, they discuss: ●      Where hospital-acquired infections come from: not hospital failings, but the devices themselves, which are sterile in the pack and no longer sterile the moment they are opened. ●      Zonova's antimicrobial technology which embeds into medical devices, differentiating it from the typical silver coating solutions. ●      The pivot from manufacturing to intellectual property licensing, and how it brings revenue forward and speeds up regulatory approval. ●      Growing the company: applying for patents, navigating FDA requirements, choosing to work in-person, and Georgia's shift from solitary scientist to leadership.   Zonova: https://zonovatech.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.

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  Episode #189

  A Big Impact Without a Big Business: Long-Term Thinking at Pottinger

  Jul 30, 2026—S1

  In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Nigel Lake, co-founder and Executive Chair of Pottinger, about long-term thinking and what it takes for a small firm to have an outsized impact on the companies, governments, and industries shaping the future. Nigel co-founded Pottinger in 2003, building it from a standing start into an independent global advisory firm working across strategy, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, and public policy. In their conversation, they discuss: •       Why short-term prediction is surprisingly hard, yet the long-term trajectory of technology is often knowable, and how that conviction shapes Pottinger's work, drawing on examples from the smartphone to the electric vehicle. •       How a small firm built its infrastructure to institutional standards from the outset, so that it could credibly operate alongside organisations many times its size. •       Why Pottinger shifted towards founder-led businesses in emerging industries such as the energy transition, and the distinction between a government picking a winning company and backing a winning technology. •       Nigel's view on AI: why systems built to be persuasive rather than truthful pose a real problem for businesses looking for a use case, and why leaders have a responsibility to think about the economy and public policy they are helping to shape. Pottinger: https://www.pottinger.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 these complex, high-stakes leadership situations demand.   Belden hosts The Purposeful Strategist, a podcast about how business leaders are bringing their organisation’s purpose and strategy to life. It explores how senior leaders bring purpose to life through strategy and reflects the same questions that drive the consulting work.

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  Episode #188

  People and Process: Lean Empowerment and Productivity Across Industries

  Jul 23, 2026—S1

  In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Steve Boam, CEO of Develop Consulting, who shares a bold vision for productivity in the UK. In their conversation, they discuss: ·       Why Lean is fundamentally about people and process, and how these principles can be applied far beyond the car factory floor, regardless of scale or speed of production. ·       How Develop works shoulder to shoulder with clients to transfer knowledge rather than simply handing over a report. ·       What Lean thinking offers UK healthcare: designing care around the patient rather than the institution, and helping the NHS meet its productivity challenges. ·       Why worker empowerment means flipping the pyramid: putting the person doing the work at the top. ·       Why middle management is often a sticking point for change, and what to do about it.   Develop Consulting: https://develop-consulting.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, 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.

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  Episode #187

  Engineering from the Inside Out: Leading Change at LPA Group

  Jul 15, 2026—S1

  In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Dr. Philo Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of LPA Group, about leading the transformation of a specialised engineering business. LPA Group is an engineering specialist in electronic and electro-mechanical components and systems, serving transport, aerospace, defence and infrastructure markets. Philo joined as CEO at the start of 2025 with the goal of redirecting the business. In their conversation, they discuss: ·       The ‘One LPA’ vision: Philo’s first move was to combine four quasi-independent divisions into a single functional structure. On this, she discusses how a rebranding is helping the new culture to stick. ·       A strategy for doubling the business in three years: organic growth to a point, then an acquisition of significant scale. ·       The vertical integration dilemma: Philo weighs having a sovereign supply chain against the commercial reality of competing with businesses that have offshored. ·       STEM, apprenticeships and the skills pipeline: why Philo sees outreach to schools and colleges not just as giving back to the community, but as a structural necessity for businesses like LPA. ·       Philo’s experience since joining LPA: being a first-time CEO, the shift from large corporate to smaller listed business, and the importance of both listening and taking decisive action.   LPA Group: https://www.lpa-group.com/ 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.

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  Episode #186

  Go Far, Go Together: Resilience, Democracy, and the Cooperative Alternative

  Jul 8, 2026—S1

  <p >In this episode of The Purposeful Strategist, Belden Menkus speaks with Jeroen Douglas, Director General of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), about what it takes to hold together a global movement of around a billion members, and why the cooperative model may be better suited to the coming decades than its low profile suggests.</p><p >Founded in 1895, the ICA is the global voice of the cooperative movement, representing roughly three million cooperatives across more than a hundred countries. In their conversation, they discuss:</p><p >•       Why Jeroen sees cooperatives as the largest enduring alternative to shareholder capitalism and attribut...

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