Their CEO is Jacob Aarup-Andersen, and he has been in the role for 2 years. Prior to joining Carlsberg, Jacob served as CEO of ISS, a global leader in facility management with 360,000 employees operating in 60 countries globally. Prior to ISS, Jacob had executive leadership roles at Danske Bank and Danica Pension. Before that, Jacob worked as an investment professional and banker in firms such as TPG-Axon Capital and Goldman Sachs. Jacob is a member of the Board of Directors of SEB Group. 

We were delighted that Jacob took time out to talk with John Ryan about Health, Culture and Performance, about his own health and recovery routines, the importance of psychological safety in building culture and replacing short-term thinking with long-term strategies. 

Valeria brings over 20 years of experience leading project teams to deliver design excellence through a forward-thinking, holistic approach with a strong commitment to reducing environmental impact and enhancing community well-being. Her diverse background spans mixed-use, commercial, hospitality, residential, and cultural projects. She’s particularly passionate about reinventing and repositioning existing structures with a focus on sustainability and circularity, making them relevant again.

In this insightful and wide-ranging conversation, we discuss why bland should be banned, and why flexible spaces are the future. We talk about toilets and windows, fresh air and light and why the gain of the office must beat the pain of the commute.

Valeria also shares her perspective on what different generations want from their workplace, how workspace design affects mood and performance, and how to make environments more inclusive for people with disabilities.

Finally, she offers practical tips for those on a budget, showing how you can create a space where you perform at your best, and it doesn’t even feel like work.

Peck Kem is the first Asian CIPD Chartered Companion and was listed as one of the 100 Most HR influencers from Southeast Asia. She was also named as one of Asia's Top 50 HR Leaders in 2024 by SpeakIn Asia. In addition, she currently serves as President of Singapore Human Resources Institute and President of the World Federation of People Management Associations.  

In a fascinating interview we discuss how Singapore has increased life expectancy from 65 to 84, Peck Kem talks among other things about an app that if you do 10,000 steps each day for 3 weeks you get paid, how they have over 480 coaches in the public sector,  an initiative where you get 1500 Singapore Dollars to invest in your education and development, we talk 4 day weeks, sin tax, mini retirements, working from home, productive longevity,  and why they’ve outlawed vaping.

A fascinating insight with some innovative policies focused on helping the population live long healthy lives.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Richard Ryan, PhD, is a Professor at the Institute for Positive Psychology & Education at the Australian Catholic University, North Sydney, where he has been acknowledged by The Australian as one of Australia’s top researchers listing him on the Lifetime Achievers Leaderboard. Ryan is a leading expert on motivation and vitality, how we culture high-quality motivation and engagement, faster positive change, and enhance vitality and wellness. 

In this episode, you will learn about the support systems that organisations can put in place to improve employee motivation, how we need to minimise controlling language, why external motivation based on rewards or punishment won't work in the long term, and why we need to focus on the quality of motivation to move people from ill-being to wellbeing and full heartedness. 

Ann Marie is the Senior Vice President, EMEA at the International WELL Building Institute. Ann joined the IWBI team in 2016, and from a base in London oversees the day-to-day activities of IWBI across the EMEA region. She supports the business development and technical teams and is the first point of contact for clients and design teams interested in all applications of WELL Certification.  Among the first cohort of WELL APs, she now also provides education and support to industry as a WELL Faculty member. She has a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from the NYIT and received CEnv status in 2012. She is also a Fellow of the RSA, and a member of IEMA.

Do you want your people back in the office? Designing the space in the best way is the ticket to success, so people can facilitate, communicate and innovate. Creating independent environments where employees have choice and flexibility to have a work environment that suits the tasks they are doing is key. In this podcast you’ll learn about the elements of a healthy building, including air quality, circadian light, movement, sound, thermal comfort, nourishment, materials and many more.  You also learn about the importance of biophilic design and blue spaces. You might be inspired to introduce aquaponic farms and maybe more art! But you’ll definitely learn the importance of building design to drive healthy, high performance and sustainable behaviours.

Dr. Watkins is recognised as an international expert on leadership and human performance. Over the past 24 years, he has been a coach to many top business leaders and worked with the GB Olympic squad, coaches, and athletes before London 2012 and Rio 2016. Originally trained as a medical doctor at Imperial College in London, he worked for 11 years in the UK’s National Health Service, in primary care in Australia, and for a year in academic medical research in the USA. He ended up in Neuroscience research before leaving medicine to work with global business leaders.

He founded Complete in 2004, drawing on his background as a physician and neuroscientist. Since it began, Alan and the Complete team have helped thousands of leaders, teams, and organisations to grow with transformational coaching and development programmes.

Dr. Watkins has recently added to his impressive portfolio in writing the book “Step Change: The Leader’s Journey”. With change being such a topical discussion point that has fascinated so many at the moment, there was no better time to invite him back to delve into a fascinating discussion.

Our conversation delved into areas including why we avoid change, why we need to get better at making people comfortable with change, resistance and the imposition of change, the nature of change, the four phases of change in our lives, getting out of your comfort zone, the disease of meaning, and how to upgrade yourself in creating a more effective and sophisticated version of ourselves.

Michael is an Adjunct Associate Professor (Management and Organisation) at the National University of Singapore Business School. He has been named as one of the UK’s ‘Most Influential Thinkers in HR’ by HR Magazine and named this year as one of HR’s top HR Influencers in APAC by The Economic Times. He authored Expert Humans: Critical Leadership Skills for a Disrupted World (2021) and Toxic Humans – Combatting Poisonous Leadership in Boards and Organisations (2024).

In this episode, you will discover what a toxic human is, and whether you might be one! Could you be a monster, a mouse, or even a moaner? We discuss systemic toxic collusion and fragile masculinity, along with why boards need to meet regularly and have more direct engagement between their members and employees to better understand their organisational culture.

Our conversation delved into several key themes: energy, heart, and passion; performance and innovation; feedback; discipline and teamwork; the vital role of fun and celebration in maintaining individual commitment; and the significance of diversity, inclusion, ownership, and loyalty. Leaders have much to learn from Samba, particularly in creating a vibrant and high-performance culture within their organisations.

Dr. Watkins is recognised as an international expert on leadership and human performance. Over the past 24 years, he has been a coach to many top business leaders and worked with the GB Olympic squad, coaches, and athletes before London 2012 and Rio 2016. Originally trained as a medical doctor at Imperial College in London, he worked for 11 years in the UK’s National Health Service, in primary care in Australia, and for a year in academic medical research in the USA. He ended up in Neuroscience research before leaving medicine to work with global business leaders.

MVN Rao is the Head of Corporate Learning and Development at Larsen & Toubro (L&T) group of companies who employ nearly 250, 000 people! Headquartered in Mumbai, L&T is one of the largest and most respected companies in India’s private sector. With over 80 years of a strong, customer-focused approach and a continuous quest for world-class quality, L&T has unmatched capabilities across Technology, Engineering, Construction, and Manufacturing, maintaining leadership in all its major lines of business.

Throughout our discussion, we talk about new world competencies, changing career paths, the real-life application of AI in L&D, the hyper-personalization of the learning experience, how L&D can be a critical differentiator of your employer brand and much more.

Sujoy Banerjee is the Group Chief People Officer & Group Head of Marketing, Communication & PR at Gainwell Group. He is a HR professional with 31 years of experience across industries like Automobile, Tyre, Chemical, Gases, Consumer Goods, Industrial Products, IT, Pharmaceutical, FMCG and Infrastructure & Construction, and has been named as one of the 100 most influential Global HR professionals by the World HRD Congress. Gainwell employs over 3,500 people with offices in West Virginia in the US, and offices in Newcastle in New South Wales Australia, and their HQ is in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) India.

During our discussion, we discussed India and its demographic dividend, the changes that have occurred post-pandemic, the Gainwell company culture, why their values are the glue that keeps the organisation and its people connected, what the alpha generation is demanding and why he gives them a direct access hotline to his desk and much more.

In our interview, Professor Clark compares and contrasts stress and anxiety, discusses triggers and symptoms, categorises the main forms of anxiety and shares the main treatment approaches including CBT and exposure therapy, and shares his advice to organisations wishing to support their people with their mental health, and much more.

During our discussion, we delve into the significance of self-awareness and its pivotal role in personal growth, development, and overall life satisfaction. Paolo shares invaluable insights into navigating midlife crises and successfully transitioning through pivotal stages of one's career. We also explore the profound impact of the relationship between an individual and their boss on overall happiness, discussing how a strained professional dynamic can permeate into personal life, affecting not only the individual but also their family.

During our conversation, we explore the role of the mind in shaping our thoughts and emotions. He provides invaluable perspectives on understanding the origins of our thoughts and offers pragmatic guidance on cultivating a mindset akin to that of a bee, steering away from the restless nature of a fly, in our quest to gain control over our thoughts. We also delve into the distinctions between mindfulness and meditation, uncovering key insights to help listeners navigate the path toward greater self-awareness and mental well-being.

During our conversation, we delved into her latest book 'Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well', where she challenges us to reconsider our perceptions of failure, emphasising the crucial role of Psychological Safety and highlights how an organisation's approach to discussing and handling failure significantly impacts its ability to foster a culture of intelligence and learning.

In this podcast interview, we uncover the best ways to build trust, unlock employees' potential and why the Swedish practice of FIKA could go global. In a business with 10 ISO Standards, Centiro has no financial budgets and no growth targets but has achieved unparalleled success.

During our discussion, we delve into the importance of using data to monitor employee health and well-being, ‘healthy’ leadership and role models within the workplace, the benefits and impact of maintaining Healthy Place To Work certification for five consecutive years, and much more.

We discuss the difference between stress, depression and anxiety, the different forms of anxiety, the triggers you face, how you can use your anxiety to be a better leader and much more.

We delve into a spectrum of topics encompassing general fitness, the significance of blood work, the interplay of age and metabolism, and an assessment of the limitations of BMI as a measurement tool, among other topics. For those eager to expedite their fitness level while simultaneously gaining a plethora of mental health benefits, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.