PeopleTalks: Recruit, Develop, Retain

We Are Zenith
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PeopleTalks explores the strategies, stories, and insights that help organisations attract great people, develop talent, and build workplaces where employees thrive. Featuring conversations with HR leaders, recruiters, learning professionals, and business leaders shaping the future of work.

Episodes

  1. 4 Aug

    "Be the Harbour, Not the Lighthouse": Helen Milford on Culture, Courage and Career-Defining Moments

    In this episode of PeopleTalks, Mark sits down with Helen Milford, a University of Sunderland pharmacy graduate who went on to build a 35-year career at the top of UK retail, holding executive roles at Boots, Asda, Argos, Sainsbury's and, most recently, Marks & Spencer, where she was Retail Director until 2023. Helen reflects on how a decade in pharmacy hardwired the discipline and accountability that would define her leadership style, and shares the pivotal moment that changed the course of her career: being told she couldn't return to work part time after maternity leave. Rather than ending her career, that "no" became the foundation of a lifelong commitment to inclusive leadership, a commitment she carried through her roles as Executive Sponsor of the gender equality network at M&S and Co Executive Sponsor of the LGBTQ+ network at Sainsbury's. The conversation explores what really builds and destroys culture, why leaders should ask better questions instead of pretending to have all the answers, and how staying close to the front line kept Helen grounded through some of retail's most turbulent years, including COVID. Now a Non Executive Director at Hays Travel and a Governor at the University of Sunderland, sitting on the Audit and Risk Committee and the People and Remuneration Committee, Helen has recently returned to the North East after 25 years away. She leaves us with a simple but powerful challenge for anyone stepping into leadership: it's not the results you leave behind, it's the footprint you leave on people.

    "Be the Harbour, Not the Lighthouse": Helen Milford on Culture, Courage and Career-Defining Moments

  2. 30 Jun

    Stephen Rutherford: Football, Belonging & People-First Leadership

    In our first ever episode, we sit down with Stephen Rutherford, CEO of Hebburn Town Football Club, for a conversation that starts with football and ends up somewhere much bigger. We talk about the journey the club is on, why community matters, what belonging really looks like, and what leadership means when you put people first. It's part of a brand new series from We Are Zenith, where we're talking to people across the North East about their stories, their journeys, and what we can all learn from them. This is just the start. Stay tuned for more conversations like Stephens.

    Stephen Rutherford: Football, Belonging & People-First Leadership
  • 2 Episodes

About

PeopleTalks explores the strategies, stories, and insights that help organisations attract great people, develop talent, and build workplaces where employees thrive. Featuring conversations with HR leaders, recruiters, learning professionals, and business leaders shaping the future of work.

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