Leadership Recipes François Moscovici

Today’s guest is not just a social business leader, he is also a policy wonk, a tech entrepreneur, and a crossbench (non political) Peer.  
 
Born and bred in Wakefield, Victor dropped out of school and worked as a road sweeper before branching into council housing management and getting his first CEO role aged 24. He ran increasingly complex social enterprises and joined the House of Lords where he advocates important neglected issues. He currently sits on the board of the Co-op Group and chairs the NHS Confederation. He also chairs Visionable, a video and data tech platform designed to bring healthcare to everyone, everywhere.
 
Victor’s chosen dish is one of comfort: Nigerian chicken stew. Growing up this was his Sunday lunch, and an opportunity for his parent’s Yoruban roots to shine through in food.
 
It’s a dish with many variations, and we explore the impatient cook’s version along with the slower, more detailed way to cook it in part 2 of the episode.
 
Bon Appétit!
 
“Enjoy leadership and food because they don’t last forever” – Victor Adebowale
 
You’ll hear about:
 
02:06 – An introduction to Victor
12:26 – The inverse care law
15:26 – Why 9/11 was so important for Victor
18:30 – Politicians are in the wrong job
19:20 – Victor’s desert island dish
24:33 – You can’t cut your way to growth
29:49 – Why Empathy is a fundamental quality
40:31 – Part 2 – Nigerian Chicken Stew recipes
44:40 – The bish bash bosh version
48:21 – The advanced recipe
 
Episode resources:
 
Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook - https://rb.gy/wsd8py 
 
Find out more about Victor:
 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/loadebowale/ 
Visionable - https://visionable.com/ 
 
Contact François:
 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoismoscovici/
Valentine’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentine-moscovici/ 
 
François’ Instagram food feed:
@moscoffier 

Today’s guest has spent her entire career dealing with leaders before becoming one herself. She joined Europe’s largest Executive Search firm straight from university, fell in love with the industry and never left. After 20 years at Egon Zehnder, where she ran the Research teams in London and India, she founded her own firm and now focuses on identifying diverse international talent. Shilpi shares her experiences living across the globe as well as her thoughts on leadership and recruiting leaders for sectors as diverse as financial services and health sciences. 
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Every country has its version of comfort food. In India it’s khichri. Its basic form is used to wean children as their first solid food and it is part of the narrative of every family. As they grow up it turns into comfort food which can form part of any meal, from breakfast to late night snack. 
 
Shilpi gives us a detailed version of her recipe, before Valentine and I debate and argue in Part 2 not just about khichri but also various comfort foods in different cultures.
 
Bon Appétit!
 
“In Indian culture all the critical family decisions are taken around food” – Shilpi Bordoloi
 
You’ll hear about:
 
03:00 - How Shilpi moved her interest from maths to the Maffia
04:13 - The unusual path of starting a career in Executive Search straight awayWhat took Shilpi down the path she followed?
05:25 - What makes a good leader according to Shilpi?
10:00 - The differences between life sciences and finance
15:00 - The role food plays in Shilpi's life
18:38 - Shilpi's favourite recipe: khichri
27:50 - The Proust questionnaire
39:10 - Part 2 - The recipe and comfort foods in other countries
 
Episode resources:
 
- Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery: https://amzn.eu/d/6hFkjoo 
 
Find out more about Shilpi:
 
- Shilpi’s new firm: https://www.springboardtalent.co.uk/ 
 
Contact François:
 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoismoscovici/
Valentine’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentine-moscovici/ 
 
François’ Instagram food feed:
@moscoffier 

On International Women’s Day we are delighted to welcome our first woman leader on the programme: Helen Steers, senior Partner at Pantheon, a global private equity firm based in London. Trained as an engineer, Helen fell into the world of finance via a detour in Canada. 
 
We discuss her career as a leader in private equity and how she decided early on to fight for diversity of thinking as an essential component of good investment decisions. At the time it meant more women, so she co-founded Level 20, an organisation focused on growing gender diversity – initially in the UK and then across Europe.
 
Having lived in four countries (and operated in many more), with an Armenian husband and a half-French mother, it is not surprising that Helen loves food with influences from Québec to the Caucasus and beyond. However her chosen recipe goes back to her British roots: the humble fish pie, confirmed by her children as her favourite. 
 
An accomplished cook, Helen describes her take on fish pie as well as what to drink with it. As usual, in part 2 I am joined by Valentine to go through the recipe, discuss where it comes from, what it should look and taste like, and how to cook it. We propose three versions, including a restaurant-level one from Chef school le Cordon Bleu Paris. 
 
Bon Appétit!
 
“Seafood is incredibly important to me; I would say it's a central part of my existence” – Helen Steers
 
You’ll hear about:
 
01:47 – Helen’s career in private equity & investing 
06:00 - A typical day in Helen’s role
10:58 – Pushing for diversity and inclusion in finance
15:45 – The importance of food in Helen’s life
20:24 – Helen’s humble fish pie 
25:36 – Helen’s wine journey
26:45 - The Proust questionnaire
36:19 - Part 2: The fish pie recipes
 
Episode resources:
 
Mary Berry's easy fish pie: 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mary_berrys_fish_pie_79943 
 
Dorset fish pie:
https://dorsetfoodanddrink.org/fish-pie-the-dorset-way 
 
Find out more about Helen:
 
Helen Steers:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-steers-00328a41   
 
Pantheon ventures: 
https://www.pantheon.com/ 

Contact François:
 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoismoscovici/
 
François’ Instagram food feed:
@moscoffier 

For our third episode we travel from the near West (Dorset) and to South Asia (Sri Lanka).  Paul Oliver has left the big corporate life as well as the dreaming spires of Oxford to help make health and care for old people better. He sees food as an integral part of social bonding and a dignified later life. 
 
Nothing destined Paul to appreciating and cooking Sri Lankan food, as he was brought up in a council estate on a diet of pie and mash, with eel being the weekend delicacy. Luckily, he started travelling as his employer BT went from parochial to international post privatisation: his taste buds developed in parallel… 
 
His dish of choice is parippu, a very moreish version of dhal (lentil curry). In part 2 you will hear my daughter Valentine and I go through the recipe, discuss where it comes from, what it should look and taste like and how to cook it. Because it is such a flexible dish, we give you three recipes to try, they are attached below.
 
Bon Appétit!
 
“You don't have to always follow the recipe; you can change your mind. And that is true in business, too” – Paul Oliver
 
You’ll hear about:
 
03:46 – The part food plays in Paul’s life
08:49 – … and work
09:49 – Food challenges in the care sector
13:32 – Paul’s chosen recipe of parippu
22:11 – The Proust questionnaire
30:25 – Paul’s leadership & food wisdom
32:32 – Part 2: How to cook parippu
 
Episode resources:
 
Find out more about Paul:
 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-oliver-fcma-cgma-a184a4/ 
 
The 'restaurant' recipe: https://youtu.be/n2QSRsfq4SM?si=jCgPaf7B2QgCAJ36 
 
My neighbourhood Sri Lankan restaurant: https://machankitchen.co.uk 
 
Paul’s favourite restaurant: https://dammikas.com/ 
Download the 3 recipes here
 
Contact François:
 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoismoscovici/

In the run-up to the holiday season I thought it would be appropriate to have a spiritual leader...
 
Jim has one of the most interesting jobs at the LSE: formally he is the Chaplain, but he is also the director of the all-religions Faith Centre as well as a professor in the department of International Relations. Recently, his time has been consumed by the Gaza conflict, in a region where he has been taking students to for over 10 years. More broadly he looks at 'religious entanglement in global conflict'. 
 
Food has played a part in Jim's life in unexpected ways: as a means of bringing communities together as well as helping his struggling mother develop a weekly routine of roast chicken. 

In part 2 my daughter Valentine and I briefly give credit to the traditional roast chicken, but quickly move on to two 'extreme' versions: low and slow versus high and fast. Which one is the winner?
 
As usual we provide numerous tips on how to roast without stress and to a good level of competence. There is also a special section on making the best sauce for your bird.
 
Bon Appetit.
 
“Food is an incredibly important tool in bringing people together and showing hospitality and in expressing shared religious sentiments” – Jim Walters
 
You’ll hear about:

01:59 – The many roles Jim has
08:27 - Why we need a nuanced approach to Israel-Palestine
09:51 – The role food has played in Jim’s life
16:21 – The virtues Jim looks for in team members
18:57 – Jim’s last great home dish
22:42 – Part 2 – Why roasting can seem daunting
26:03 – Two approaches to roasting chicken perfectly
37:50 – Three types of sauces
 
Episode resources:
 
Find out more about Jim:
 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-walters-b7879594/ 
 
and his book: https://amzn.eu/d/3kVxT9U 
 
Jame Oliver's mainstream recipe: 
https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/perfect-roast-chicken/

Contact François:
 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoismoscovici/

Andy has been on a fascinating food journey: from working class Liverpool to meat-centred rugby playing, to systematically studying the science of food and health. This eventually took him to veganism, in a very reasoned way…
 
You could say Andy is a National Treasurer – he was the Group Treasurer at Nationwide Building Society for many years… He now plays the same role at merchant bank Close Brothers. In this episode he talks about his changing relationship with food, how he uses cooking as a leadership development tool and about his chosen recipe of Shakshuka.
 
In part 2 you will hear my daughter Valentine and I go through the recipe, discuss where it comes from, what it should look and taste like and how to cook both a basic and an advanced version.
 
Bon Appetit.
 
“This team worked together in a tiny little kitchen and learned an awful lot about each other” – Andy Townsend
 
You’ll hear about:
 
00:42 - The role food plays in Andy's life
05:55 - Is Andy a cook or a spectator?
10:09 - Links between Andy's food choices and his leadership style                       
14:17 - The Madeleine questionnaire
17:23 - Andy's final thoughts on food, leadership… and wine
20:40 - François and Valentine’s tips to make a great Shakshuka
 
 
Andy’s Shakshuka Recipe:
 
https://www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/food/you-food/301373/vegan-falafel-shakshuka
 
Episode resources:
 
East by Meera Sodha - https://www.amazon.co.uk/East-Vegetarian-recipes-Bangalore-Beijing-ebook/dp/B07P9TQ8G7?ref_=ast_author_dp
 
Chef John - https://www.youtube.com/foodwishes
 
Find out more about Andy:
 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-townsend-2a3148a5/?originalSubdomain=uk
 
Contact François:
 
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoismoscovici/