April 7, 2025 • 30 mins
In this episode of the We Are PoWEr Podcast, we sit down with Bentley Motors, our #NPWAwards PoWEr List partner, to explore their commitment to innovation, from electrification by 2026 to a £2 billion investment in sustainability.
We also discuss:
🚘 The importance of skills in transforming industries
⚡ The challenges and opportunities of going all-electric
🎓 Bentley’s role in developing future talent through education and apprenticeships
Plus, an unexpected twist—Harry discovered during his second job interview that his grandfather once worked at Bentley! Proof that while skills evolve, passion stands the test of time.
💡 And to close, Aimee shares her biggest lesson: learning what she stands for and what she wants to be known for. So, we ask you—what’s the one thing YOU want to be known for?
Find out more about We Are PoWEr here. 💫
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, hello and welcome to the we Are Power
podcast.
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(00:21):
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Awards, which celebrateshundreds of female role models
and advocates every year, thisis where you can hear stories
from all of our awards alumniand stay up to date with
everything MPW Awards and we ArePower.
Hello and welcome to the we ArePower podcast.
(00:42):
I am Desdai, never imitated,never replicated, singularly
wonderful, everybody's wondergirl.
Hello and welcome to the we ArePower podcast.
I am delighted today to bejoined in the studio by the
Bentley Motors massive, howieand Amy.
Welcome to the studio, hello.
Thank you for having us,bentley Motors, amazing
supporters and partners of weAre Power and this year
(01:03):
supporting the Northern PowerWomen Awards Power List.
It's great to have you in thestudio.
You've come from afar, haven'tyou today?
Kind of, and not in a Bentley,yeah not in a Bentley,
unfortunately not.
Yeah, it was not the fastestroute on the trains, was it?
But maybe that's anotherpodcast journey, right?
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Absolutely.
I think that's a question foranother day, I think.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
And today we're going to talk about sustainability,
we're going to talk aboutleadership, we're going to talk
about skills.
You know this is really, reallyimportant to everyone at the
heart of Bentley Motors.
So talk to us, amy, about thenew strategy that's been
launched, or should I say,adapted.
It's the Beyond 100 Plus, and Iunderstand plus is the key word
.
Can you tell us about what itis and how it is shaping the
(01:44):
future of luxury mobility?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
So we first launched Beyond 100 back in I think it
was 2020.
And that was really about howwe become a sustainable company
and we really push forwardelectric cars and we went
through a recent kind ofevolution of it.
So not a complete change,because for us, being a
sustainable company is still thedirection we want to go.
But we really questioned why dowe exist as a company?
(02:07):
And we went through a reallygood process where we spoke to
different stakeholders, wealigned with all our board
members, all our businesspartners, and we thought about
why did Bentley exist as acompany?
And for us, we came up with anew purpose statement which was
fundamental to the wholestrategy and it was about being,
or advancing, the boundaries ofexcellence.
So that for us, felt like areally strong purpose of why we
(02:27):
get out of bed in the morning,what we get excited about, and
that's what we want to do interms of the future of luxury.
We really want to advance theboundaries of how we do luxury,
so sustainability is a reallyimportant part of it.
So we still want to createreally cool products, but we
want to do it in a sustainableway and it's a core part of our
strategy.
We want to bring togetherperformance and luxury and do
things differently there, and wereally want to just change what
(02:50):
the future of luxury looks like.
So that was a really importantfactor for us.
So, yeah, it's a reallyfundamental question that
grounded what the new strategywas.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And how do you balance the luxury and the
sustainability together?
It seems difficult.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yeah, sometimes it's difficult, but I actually think
it's very synergetic, becausewhen you think about a bentley,
those bentleys are there foreverand that's the one of the most
important principles ofsustainability not just throwing
things away.
No one throws away a bentley.
It's a collector's item, it's areally cool, long-lasting, high
quality and you can see thatwith you know, one of our core
(03:22):
values is craftsmanship.
We like use the highest kind ofquality materials in the cars
and we're now looking at ways toinnovate those materials to
make them more sustainable.
So a really big focus for us atthe moment is how do we make
those materials reallysustainable?
Think about cool ways of doingthings with recycled material
but then still have that qualityaspect of it, and I think for a
(03:43):
luxury company, there's aresponsibility of us to invest
in sustainability and invest inthe future.
We know that our customersexpect it.
Our customers tend to beleaders in this topic as well
from a sustainabilityperspective.
So yeah, so for us it just makessense to do two work well
together.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
And that leads on.
That's exciting, isn't it?
Because that roadmap thatyou're setting out, it leads to
what you need for the future.
And what skills do you need forthe future?
Bentley has been around a longtime.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
We chatted earlier.
Your grandfather worked, didn'the?
Yeah, so I found out in.
Actually, I found out during myabout two minutes before my
second interview for this job,my dad announced oh, you didn't.
You didn't know.
Your grandfather worked at thefactory, didn't't you?
So, despite that bombshell,about an hour later, after I
calmed myself down a little bit,we had a conversation and found
out that so I'm from Essexoriginally, but my dad's roots
(04:34):
were in Staffordshire and mygranddad was a machinist at the
factory, but he wasn't buildingcars, he was actually building
the Merlin engine for thespitfire wow and um, before
before we, before today, I wastalking to my dad about it at
the weekend and he said oh, Ifound some stuff that you might
be interested in and, uh, hefound loads of cutlery that my
(04:56):
granddad had stolen from thecanteen that had uh, bentley and
rolls royce emblems on the uh,on the bottom of the cut, on the
bottom of the cutlery.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Acquired, not stolen.
Acquired absolutely In ourdefence.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Rolls-Royce and Bentley are two separate
companies now.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
And that might have been your grandfather's skill,
but what are the skills that weneed for the future, now within
automotive, and particularly atBentley, with this ambition
around sustainability?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I think the really interesting thing for my role in
future skills transformation isthat the change from going from
an internal combustion engineeventually towards all electric,
it's not a small.
It's not a small change.
It's a complete revolution inthe way that we think about, the
way that we think about cars,and I think it's it's a
(05:42):
reflection of where the wholeindustry is going.
I think for all us, whetheryou're buying an electric
Bentley or whether you're buyingany other electric car, it's
completely different to how wewould have thought about cars
previously.
So for us, on the one hand,obviously it's about the
drivetrain.
It has to be fast.
There was a statement from WABentley when he originally
(06:03):
founded the company A Bentley isa good car, a fast car, the
best in its class.
So that's the principle that wehave to maintain throughout.
So, when it comes to allelectric drivetrains, they have
to be special, but also in termsof the equipment that goes
behind that.
So, for example, we going fromum, quite a small number, it's
(06:28):
quite a small amount of softwarethat goes into things like your
yeah, the um, the sat nav andthings like that that is
increasing exponentially inorder to govern and to govern
the new car.
So, for us, we're going from asmall number of software skills
to a huge amount of softwareability that's required, um in
terms of to keep, you know,keeping us competitive in the
(06:49):
market.
We are changing the way that wedevelop cars.
So, using um, using virtualvehicle development, which is
going to keep us, allow us tospeed up the development process
, bring cars to market faster,but maintain that quality.
So, unfortunately, all of thoseum like clay models you might
have seen previously when you'vegot designers sculpting out
(07:09):
clay, those days are largelygone and what we now have are 3d
digital models that we can useto um, you know, detect clashes.
So, you know, is your dog gonnaknock on your knees when you
open it?
Yeah, that sort of stuff.
We can detect those thingsstraight away.
So, really, for us, skills iscompletely transformational.
In by the time we get to thatfirst, all electric product will
(07:32):
be a very, very differentbusiness in terms of the skills
that we have.
What's really satisfying isthat, despite the fact the
skills are different, the people, the people, will be the same.
It's an investment in ourworkforce and it's an investment
in crew and the people thatwork there, which is really
exciting.
It means that in 100 years time, there could be someone else
sat on a sofa like this with astory from their grandparents
(07:54):
who worked at the factory andthe evolution from that.
100 years across that 100 yearswill still be there.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And it is that evolution, it's that innovation.
Isn't it Because you talk about, you know, there's no longer
the, the clay models, it's,there's different ways to do
things.
And what an exciting time, then, to encourage individuals and
new talent into the business,because it's not what you think
automotive is right.
It's so different it'scompletely different.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
yeah, I'm not a car person, so I just strategy and I
think working in the automotiveindustry there's so much
opportunity and things to learnabout.
It's really cool.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Yeah, absolutely, I definitely second that.
I suppose I've never had aninterest in automotive beyond
the beautiful things to look at.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah, nice cars.
Yeah, absolutely, I like a nicecar, but when?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
you start to get stuck into the business and
really starting to understand it.
I've never worked alongside somany people that have got a PhD
at the end of their job titleand people that aren't just
they're not just great at theirjob, they really are industry
thought leaders and respectedacross all automotive companies,
(09:02):
not just within Bentley or VWGroup.
It's amazing, it really withinBentley or VW Group.
It's amazing, it really is.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
And that's exciting.
I mean, we've been over to CrewHQ.
It's phenomenal.
It's the smell of it, thetradition in it.
You know there's so much totake in.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
It's phenomenal and it's changing so much as well.
So, like, the whole site isjust changing each year.
We've got a new paint shopgoing in at the moment and it's
just amazing to come into siteand drive in each day and watch
it go up.
It's gone up so quickly, hasn'tit?
Um, and it's a really cool,innovative way of like now
painting cars and doing this nowfor our electric cars in the
future, so it's just like asignpost of our future.
(09:39):
So it's really cool.
And what does?
Speaker 1 (09:40):
that signpost look like the next five to ten years?
What does it look?
Speaker 2 (09:44):
like.
So electrification, obviouslythat is the that is still the
goal.
So there has been challenges inthe industry with
electrification, um, and weultimately wanted to go really
quickly going all electric, um,but we're still doing that.
We're still going all electricand setting that future.
I think a lot of luxurycompanies probably aren't moving
as quickly as us, but we're nowgoing for this in 2035, which
(10:11):
is a kind of key focus area,with our first electric car
coming in 2026.
So that'll be a really excitingnew kind of step into the new
world and then doing the rollout, going all electric by 2035.
So that's really great andreally exciting.
And as part of that, like wejust said, we're investing in
crew.
So we're committed to buildingthe cars still in crew for the
future, which is a really strongsignpost to the local industry
(10:33):
as well.
I think we're spending like twobillion just to invest in the
electric cars.
So it's a huge expenditure butsomething that we see is
transformative for the localindustry.
So that's really great.
And then, as part of that,decarbonization, which is very
close to my heart insustainability, that's top
priority as well.
Um, and we're doing things notjust by shifting to electric
cars, we're looking at the wholelife cycle of the car and how
(10:56):
do we get carbon out of theproduction, how we make the cars
, what types of materials we use, how we transport the cars.
We're looking at the whole lifecycle of it to really try and
be leaders in decarbonization.
So that's a key priority for us, and people people's at the
heart of the strategy as well.
So in beyond 100 plus, it's acore pillar and we look at
(11:16):
culture, we look at diversity,equity and inclusion and we look
at how we skills transformationand obviously then it's about
making beautiful products.
So for us, it's aboutinnovation and doing that in a
sustainable way, but also it'sabout the personalisation.
That's what Bentley's known forand how you deliver beautiful
cars that you can customise howyou want them to be.
So that's our priorities reallyfor next five to ten.
(11:39):
Got busy ten years ahead, youabsolutely have and
sustainability is key.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
And why is sustainability?
Because it feels like it's morethe leadership side is is
becoming increasingly female.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, which is exciting to say yeah, it's
exciting.
Yeah, I mean, I spotted it, so Ium became.
It came into my role about ayear and a half ago.
Um, and seeing lots of posts onLinkedIn and people that were
in the industry, I was like it'sa lot of women that are leading
sustainability and that wasreally motivating to see.
And I looked into it more andthere was a study that was done,
(12:10):
I think, by Green Biz thatshowed I think 58% of chief
sustainability officers arewomen.
Compared to CFOs, I think 17%of CFOs are women and then 10%
of CEOs are women.
So it just shows like there's alot of opportunity for women and
I think it's because I thinksome of the skill sets really
suit chief sustainabilityofficer.
(12:30):
You know you have to be verycollaborative, you have to be
long-term thinking and I think,looking at behavioral science,
women tend to be that kind offocus, particularly in their
personal life and their worklife.
They tend to think about risks,they want to work with people,
they are compassionate and thinkabout a bigger picture.
So, yeah, I think that's quitemotivating and it's a good way
to see how you can develop yourcareer.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
I want to see some of that 58% nominated for next
year's Northern Powerball.
Awards, please that would be,amazing Because it's the role
modelling of that, isn't?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
it.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
I think we talk about .
You've got to see it to be it.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
And.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
I think that's such a phenomenal statistic that I
wasn't aware of.
And I think that's a surprisingstat for me.
What's the one surprising skillfor you, harry, because I know
this is your area, isn't it?
Or mindset set, mindset shift,that's easy for me to say.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
that's become essential in this, this whole
adventure now and phase ofBentley yeah, I think the really
interesting thing for me iswhen I first took the job, I
thought well, you know what it'sgoing to be all about the
drivetrain, it's all going to beabout the electric motor and
and actually the reality of thathas become the.
The business have alreadyessentially the battery
technology.
(13:41):
We've already been thinkingabout that for a few years,
because we've had hybrid modelsfor quite some time.
Before my arrival, thedevelopment on the V8 plug-in
hybrid was largely done, soactually it's quite a short step
from plug-in hybrid to allelectric.
In terms of the technology,what has just been a complete
(14:02):
revolution in my mindset hasbeen, um has been that software
at the heart of the vehicle andand and the role of that.
You just don't think twice whenyou get in your car and you
connect your phone and and, um,you know, you get the traffic
announcement that tells youthere's traffic coming up and
all that sort of stuff.
When you start to get into thenuts and bolts of the, you know
the skills that go intodeveloping that.
(14:24):
It's really crazy and I thinkfor us, the, there's going to be
a mindset shift again.
So previously what we wouldnormally do is that we would buy
in software through vw groupand where we would have sort of
a small amount of customizationso we can customize how it looks
and feels for the customer, andso that requires sort of a
(14:45):
small amount of softwaredevelopment skill and capability
.
But with new products we'regoing to have more control over
over what that software does,more control over how it looks,
feels, the functionality it has.
You know that's where you knowwe can use software as part of
our luxury offering as well assome of the traditional things
we might think of.
(15:05):
So that means we're going froma small amount of software
management capabilities to ahuge amount of capability that
we need, and then that's beforewe even start thinking about the
crazy stuff around.
How do we keep our customerssafe?
So every single market that wesell a Bentley in has different
cybersecurity standards.
Some countries have differentWi-Fi frequencies that they use.
(15:29):
It's the laundry list of thingsthat we have to think about to
make the car work in everywherethat we sell it, to keep our
customers safe everywhere, tomake sure that we're compliant
with legislation.
It's a real huge.
It a it's much, much, muchbigger than I thought it was and
it's it's a real, it's gonna,it's gonna be really exciting
(15:49):
helping the business shift theirmindset towards seeing that
piece of that piece of softwarethat sits in that car as part of
our luxury offering and I thinkyou talked about people being
at the heart of this the beyondplus strategy but bringing those
minds together.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
you've talked about people being at the heart of
this the beyond plus strategybut bringing those minds
together.
You've talked about the amountof people in the organization
with PhDs, but you need peopleof all walks of life and
specialisms, don't you, to beable to come together to help
shift, because this is boldchange.
This isn't it.
This is big, bold, audaciousgoals.
It's exciting, but how do youkind of bring those teams
(16:24):
together and enable them to kindof go right?
Speaker 3 (16:26):
you know what this is exciting yeah, I think it's
such a good question and I thinkthere are things that we do
deliberately internally andthere are things that we are
thinking about externally aswell.
So from an internal point ofview, I think it's helping
connect people back to thattradition that what bentley's
(16:47):
are at their absolute heart.
I think that's such a unifyingforce for our teams because
despite the fact that theproduct will change a lot,
fundamentally, it's hard, itwill still be a bentley, it's,
it will still need that thatphrase in a good car, a fast car
, the best in its class thatwill always stay the same for
Bentley and it can be such aunifying force to bring people
(17:08):
together.
I think, from an external pointof view, we are doing a lot of
work with our communities aroundcrew as well, so helping um.
So we sponsor crew UTC um,which I'm fortunate enough to to
sit on the board with as well.
So working with schools anduniversities around, helping
them understand what skills theyneed to create in young people.
(17:29):
So by the time they're ready toapply to university or apply to
an apprenticeship, they've gotthe core fundamental skills that
we need.
So really it's about how do weconnect our staff to our purpose
and that Beyond 100 Plusstrategy.
But also how do we help thecommunity understand our purpose
and that beyond 100 plusstrategy?
But also how do we help thecommunity understand what it is
we're trying to achieve and andtry and get them into a place
(17:49):
where they can take advantage ofthat opportunity and I think
that that's really clear to see.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
It's this it's an internal focus, it's an external
focus, and the people being thebridge between the two it's
really exciting.
What's been the biggest lessonin your career?
How long we got exactly yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
I think, one that's really stood out for me, um, my
old boss, he, I think I wasquite early on in my career and
I was really wanting to do more,push, push more.
And he was asking me you knowwhat?
What do, what do you stand for,what do you, what are you known
for?
And, like the questioncompletely floundered me.
I was like, oh, I don't knowwhat.
You know, what's that?
One thing that I'm known for?
(18:26):
And his recommendation was workout what you want that to be
and then really push it and makethat your kind of brand.
And I think once I actuallyreflected on it and thought
about what's really important tome and then pushing that, and
then that being what I'm knownfor, that was a really amazing
lesson.
It's something that stuck withme, um, and what I wanted to
take away from it was what Ireally enjoy doing is
(18:47):
simplifying complexity, andthat's, for me, a really
important thing to do,especially in, like, I think,
strategy kind of roles where itcan get really detailed, really
confusing.
Being able to bring people withyou on a journey just by
telling a really simple storyabout why something's important
for me.
That was like a good lessonthat I looked at what he was
(19:07):
known for and I thought I wantto be like that as well and,
yeah, that was a really greatquestion that I found difficult
at the time, but it reallyforced me to think, like
introspectively, about what wasimportant.
So, yeah, I would recommendthat everyone thinks about
what's that one thing that youwant to be known for and then
really making that what yourstrength is and be known for it.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
It's a bit like you talk about the Bentley.
It's a good car.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
It's a fast car, it's the best in class.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, it's having your own.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
It's living with the brand isn't it Exactly your
purpose, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Absolutely, and I know we talked about
sustainability and skills.
Um what is your driver?
Literally driver every day tokeep pushing for.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
I think for me it's um, it's understood.
For me it's the.
It fundamentally comes back tothat connection, back to the
purpose, and beyond 100 plus,it's when you hear, when you go
through the strategy and youreally understand the direction
that we're going from.
From a skills point of theexciting thing for me is when
that first electric car rollsoff the production line, we'll
(20:11):
know that we'd we'd have donepart of our job for that
transformation, because theright skills are in place to
deliver that product and bringit to market.
And then there'll be the firsttime that you know I'm out
somewhere and I see it on theroad and there's that constant
reminder oh yeah, that's whywe've spent all of that time
before that working hard.
(20:31):
And I think for me that'swhat's driving me along.
It's that first time we seethose electric products on the
market.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
What do you think your mantra would be?
Simplifying complexity.
What's the one thing that you?
Speaker 3 (20:45):
would live by.
I think mine is always so.
It's about self-awareness, Ithink, um, I had, a few years
ago, worked for a company thathad a really very, very strong
culture, um, and unfortunatelyit meant it was a culture that
was so strong.
It meant that a lot of peoplebegan mimicking each other's
behaviors because there wasdefinitely the perception this
(21:05):
is the way things are done hereand this is how we want to do.
It never quite felt comfortablewith doing that, just because
it didn't really feelauthentically me, and then made
a really conscious decision tosit down and really think about
okay, so that doesn't feelcomfortable.
You know what does feelcomfortable?
And I think for me, in terms ofhow I ground myself constantly,
it's always reminding myself iswhat you're doing true to
(21:29):
yourself and true to who youwant to be and how you want to
behave?
Um, and if it's not, then askquestions.
You know how do you change it?
What, what needs to change?
Do you need to ask questions?
Do you need to, you know,delegate more?
It's such a, it's such ahelpful thing and I think, um,
and you know what funny enough,I think it's something that men
aren't always great at doing isis being a bit introspective and
(21:51):
acknowledging the things thatyou like, the things you don't
like, but also your weaknesses,your vulnerabilities as well.
So, yeah, I think it's a reallypowerful tool to help, to help
drive, drive your career along.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
I think the point I'm asking questions is so
important, right, that reallylands with me.
I think someone said to mealways ask a question, because I
think if you want to ask thequestion, somebody else in the
room wants to ask the questionbut they just don't feel brave
enough.
And I think asking questionsand doing it in a constructive
way, it just opens up so muchmore discussion.
I think it's a really importantskill set not to be afraid to
ask the question, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Yeah, yeah, sometimes it's just that taking a big
breath and going actually.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Yeah, you're right, someone else wanted that
question too.
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
We know Bentley is this iconic car brand Good car,
fast car, best of class.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
That's not my T-shirt moment.
I know you like it.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
And it is shaping the future of Community, the Planet
.
We talk about the work that'sdone in the community.
There's work in the schools, etcetera, but what kind of impact
do you want to leave, bothwithin Bentley?
Speaker 2 (22:54):
and as a legacy within and out the organisation.
I think in my role, I've got aunique opportunity to help
Bentley leave a positive impacton the environment, on people,
on overall stakeholders.
I think we're doing lots froman environment perspective, like
we've already spoken about.
You know what we're doing withthe product to try and really
make it sustainable Because, ifwe're being honest, we are
(23:14):
operating in an industry that'snot very sustainable.
So I feel like we really dohave a responsibility to change
that.
And when we are producing thecars, we mean we are enabling
them to be on the road foreverbecause they are a more
sustainable version of what theyare today.
So that's a really importantthing for me as a driver.
I think, from a peopleperspective um, bringing
everyone on the journey with us.
(23:35):
So electrification,sustainability, software, all
the new skills that we need forthe future bringing the whole
company on the journey with usand then with our stakeholders
as well.
From a Bentley perspective, youknow we do loads with such
different types of stakeholders.
So you might have seen theenvironmental foundation that
was set up.
It's managed by acommunications team do some
(23:55):
really cool projects there,where we invest in projects that
help the environment.
So Rivers Trust is a local onewhere quality of water wasn't
that great, but we've kind ofdonated money to support that
being improved and then buildingthe capability so it can be
looked after.
Doing projects in Kenya with acompany or charity called
(24:16):
Sustainable Surf.
It's all about getting treesplanted around that area so we
can have a lot of positiveimpacts.
We have a lot of influence and Ithink, from my perspective, I
really want to help us achievethose changes and those outcomes
.
Like I'm very outcome focusedas a person, like I like results
, so I'm very when I can seethat there's a benefit, I really
(24:36):
want to go after it and I thinkthat's the kind of legacy that
I want to leave behind is that Ihelp Bentley achieve these
positive outcomes, because youalways get lots of negative
connotations sometimes with carcompanies, but I think you can
do things differently.
So, yeah, I think I've got aunique opportunity to try and
help that.
But it's about everyone.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
What would you say?
Your legacy?
Speaker 3 (24:56):
I think I've always been a people-focused person.
I think everything that I'vedone in my career has been about
helping and supporting peopleand I think really where the
value is for me is is about it'sabout the people.
I think on on on a large scale,there'll be a great deal of
satisfaction, um seeing thatfirst car, as I said, roll off
(25:18):
the production line, but thething that will trigger in my
mind is the people stories thatgo into that.
So you know the, the, theamount of training outcomes
we've been able to deliver, theengagement and the difference
it's made to people's careers,the opportunity we've been able
to create for the community, andseeing those people move and
(25:39):
grow through those jobs and moveinto different roles, into
different disciplines.
I think it's those people'sjourney.
I think that will be the realsatisfaction for me.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
And if you could give one piece of advice to leaders
out there who are driving change, yeah, in their industry, what
would it be?
Speaker 2 (25:56):
I mean it's probably it might come across obvious,
but I think being really clearabout your vision.
So where do you want to get to?
And you being like super clearon that in your head and then
you bring people together todeliver that vision.
Like for me, it's been reallyclear about why I'm doing
something, which comes back tomy simplifying complexity,
because once you're really clearon your why at the very
(26:18):
beginning, people are alreadybought into it and then the
journey becomes a lot easier.
I think you have to get youknow your coalition of sponsors,
people that really support you,and then your role in it is to
kind of structure how we'regoing to deliver this change.
So you need to be clear aboutyour approach getting the
sponsors unblocking obstaclesthat are in your way and getting
(26:39):
those quick wins and showingwhy it's the right thing to do.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Basically, and Harry, for people at Emerging Talent.
What would you say to them?
Who wants to be part of thesustainable future in the
automotive industry?
Speaker 3 (26:53):
I think it's it does help having a clear, a clear
vision for what you want to do.
I think it's, um, it reallydoes help.
I think.
On the one hand, I think, ifyou, if you're passionate about
the automotive industry, do yourresearch, spend the time,
understand where thoseopportunities are and and you
(27:15):
know, really strive towards thatgoal.
I always think the reallyinteresting thing about for
graduates and for apprenticesand when we do outreach projects
, I talk about this quite a lot.
Fundamentally, when you're atthat part of your career, you
always see these look the same,because you've all been to
school, you've done largely thesame subjects and you've studied
for the for amount of time.
So you need to be able todemonstrate why you.
(27:38):
You need to be able todemonstrate why you start you,
you, you, why you're differentto everyone else, and I think
part of that is justdemonstrating your passion.
If you're passionate aboutsomething, just show it and
don't be afraid to show iteither.
And people are interested.
People are interested, you know, and I think it doesn't
necessarily have to be justthings like work experience.
(27:59):
You know, for the automotivesector it can be.
You know who you follow.
You know your connection tomotor racing.
It can be.
You know, do you go to goodwoodfestival of speed?
You know whatever it might bethere could.
There are so many differentways you can connect to um, to
the industry, and.
But also, don't be afraid thatactually, if you're not quite
sure where you want to go, youknow, always follow what you
(28:25):
feel like you're good at andwhat you're strong at.
Don't, don't pick a.
Don't make a decision that youthink is the right decision, um,
based on what you think youmight want to do.
Make a decision according towhat you're passionate about and
what you love.
So I I did studiedinternational relations and
politics at university because Ireally enjoyed it.
I loved it as a subject.
(28:46):
There wasn't really a career atthat time, at 18.
That was speaking to me assomething I really wanted to do.
So I decided I'd do somethingthat really interested me and it
was a great decision, becauseif you love something, it's
never the wrong decision.
It's never.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
It's never bad to spend more time on that passion
and I think this comes back tomy takeaway from today's
conversation as well is thateveryone's an individual.
The beyond, uh, what in a plus?
is around people, but it'staking that time to find you in
your purpose and taking thatself-awareness reflection time.
Everyone needs to do that,whether they've got the phds,
(29:20):
yeah whether they're at thestart of their career.
But they take that time to doyou and find something you love,
which you clearly do.
And every time I go over to thecrew uh, to crew hq, uh, you
just see it, you see it comingthrough the vehicles, you see it
coming through just theexperience that shuns out.
So thank you, harry and amy, somuch for joining me here in we
are power podcast today and I'mlooking forward to getting
(29:41):
behind the wheel one day youknow, one day, harry, we'll make
it happen thanks so much forjoining me.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Thank you're so welcome.
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
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Hello, hello and welcome to the we Are Power
podcast.
If this is your first time here,the we Are Power podcast is the
podcast for you, your careerand your life.
We release an episode everysingle Monday with listeners in
over 60 countries worldwide,where you'll hear personal life
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insight from amazing role models.
(00:21):
As we Are Power is the umbrellabrand to Northern Power Women
Awards, which celebrateshundreds of female role models
and advocates every year, thisis where you can hear stories
from all of our awards alumniand stay up to date with
everything MPW Awards and we ArePower.
Hello and welcome to the we ArePower podcast.
(00:42):
I am Desdai, never imitated,never replicated, singularly
wonderful, everybody's wondergirl.
Hello and welcome to the we ArePower podcast.
I am delighted today to bejoined in the studio by the
Bentley Motors massive, howieand Amy.
Welcome to the studio, hello.
Thank you for having us,bentley Motors, amazing
supporters and partners of weAre Power and this year
(01:03):
supporting the Northern PowerWomen Awards Power List.
It's great to have you in thestudio.
You've come from afar, haven'tyou today?
Kind of, and not in a Bentley,yeah not in a Bentley,
unfortunately not.
Yeah, it was not the fastestroute on the trains, was it?
But maybe that's anotherpodcast journey, right?
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Absolutely.
I think that's a question foranother day, I think.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
And today we're going to talk about sustainability,
we're going to talk aboutleadership, we're going to talk
about skills.
You know this is really, reallyimportant to everyone at the
heart of Bentley Motors.
So talk to us, amy, about thenew strategy that's been
launched, or should I say,adapted.
It's the Beyond 100 Plus, and Iunderstand plus is the key word
.
Can you tell us about what itis and how it is shaping the
(01:44):
future of luxury mobility?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
So we first launched Beyond 100 back in I think it
was 2020.
And that was really about howwe become a sustainable company
and we really push forwardelectric cars and we went
through a recent kind ofevolution of it.
So not a complete change,because for us, being a
sustainable company is still thedirection we want to go.
But we really questioned why dowe exist as a company?
(02:07):
And we went through a reallygood process where we spoke to
different stakeholders, wealigned with all our board
members, all our businesspartners, and we thought about
why did Bentley exist as acompany?
And for us, we came up with anew purpose statement which was
fundamental to the wholestrategy and it was about being,
or advancing, the boundaries ofexcellence.
So that for us, felt like areally strong purpose of why we
(02:27):
get out of bed in the morning,what we get excited about, and
that's what we want to do interms of the future of luxury.
We really want to advance theboundaries of how we do luxury,
so sustainability is a reallyimportant part of it.
So we still want to createreally cool products, but we
want to do it in a sustainableway and it's a core part of our
strategy.
We want to bring togetherperformance and luxury and do
things differently there, and wereally want to just change what
(02:50):
the future of luxury looks like.
So that was a really importantfactor for us.
So, yeah, it's a reallyfundamental question that
grounded what the new strategywas.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And how do you balance the luxury and the
sustainability together?
It seems difficult.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yeah, sometimes it's difficult, but I actually think
it's very synergetic, becausewhen you think about a bentley,
those bentleys are there foreverand that's the one of the most
important principles ofsustainability not just throwing
things away.
No one throws away a bentley.
It's a collector's item, it's areally cool, long-lasting, high
quality and you can see thatwith you know, one of our core
(03:22):
values is craftsmanship.
We like use the highest kind ofquality materials in the cars
and we're now looking at ways toinnovate those materials to
make them more sustainable.
So a really big focus for us atthe moment is how do we make
those materials reallysustainable?
Think about cool ways of doingthings with recycled material
but then still have that qualityaspect of it, and I think for a
(03:43):
luxury company, there's aresponsibility of us to invest
in sustainability and invest inthe future.
We know that our customersexpect it.
Our customers tend to beleaders in this topic as well
from a sustainabilityperspective.
So yeah, so for us it just makessense to do two work well
together.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
And that leads on.
That's exciting, isn't it?
Because that roadmap thatyou're setting out, it leads to
what you need for the future.
And what skills do you need forthe future?
Bentley has been around a longtime.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
We chatted earlier.
Your grandfather worked, didn'the?
Yeah, so I found out in.
Actually, I found out during myabout two minutes before my
second interview for this job,my dad announced oh, you didn't.
You didn't know.
Your grandfather worked at thefactory, didn't't you?
So, despite that bombshell,about an hour later, after I
calmed myself down a little bit,we had a conversation and found
out that so I'm from Essexoriginally, but my dad's roots
(04:34):
were in Staffordshire and mygranddad was a machinist at the
factory, but he wasn't buildingcars, he was actually building
the Merlin engine for thespitfire wow and um, before
before we, before today, I wastalking to my dad about it at
the weekend and he said oh, Ifound some stuff that you might
be interested in and, uh, hefound loads of cutlery that my
(04:56):
granddad had stolen from thecanteen that had uh, bentley and
rolls royce emblems on the uh,on the bottom of the cut, on the
bottom of the cutlery.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Acquired, not stolen.
Acquired absolutely In ourdefence.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Rolls-Royce and Bentley are two separate
companies now.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
And that might have been your grandfather's skill,
but what are the skills that weneed for the future, now within
automotive, and particularly atBentley, with this ambition
around sustainability?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I think the really interesting thing for my role in
future skills transformation isthat the change from going from
an internal combustion engineeventually towards all electric,
it's not a small.
It's not a small change.
It's a complete revolution inthe way that we think about, the
way that we think about cars,and I think it's it's a
(05:42):
reflection of where the wholeindustry is going.
I think for all us, whetheryou're buying an electric
Bentley or whether you're buyingany other electric car, it's
completely different to how wewould have thought about cars
previously.
So for us, on the one hand,obviously it's about the
drivetrain.
It has to be fast.
There was a statement from WABentley when he originally
(06:03):
founded the company A Bentley isa good car, a fast car, the
best in its class.
So that's the principle that wehave to maintain throughout.
So, when it comes to allelectric drivetrains, they have
to be special, but also in termsof the equipment that goes
behind that.
So, for example, we going fromum, quite a small number, it's
(06:28):
quite a small amount of softwarethat goes into things like your
yeah, the um, the sat nav andthings like that that is
increasing exponentially inorder to govern and to govern
the new car.
So, for us, we're going from asmall number of software skills
to a huge amount of softwareability that's required, um in
terms of to keep, you know,keeping us competitive in the
(06:49):
market.
We are changing the way that wedevelop cars.
So, using um, using virtualvehicle development, which is
going to keep us, allow us tospeed up the development process
, bring cars to market faster,but maintain that quality.
So, unfortunately, all of thoseum like clay models you might
have seen previously when you'vegot designers sculpting out
(07:09):
clay, those days are largelygone and what we now have are 3d
digital models that we can useto um, you know, detect clashes.
So, you know, is your dog gonnaknock on your knees when you
open it?
Yeah, that sort of stuff.
We can detect those thingsstraight away.
So, really, for us, skills iscompletely transformational.
In by the time we get to thatfirst, all electric product will
(07:32):
be a very, very differentbusiness in terms of the skills
that we have.
What's really satisfying isthat, despite the fact the
skills are different, the people, the people, will be the same.
It's an investment in ourworkforce and it's an investment
in crew and the people thatwork there, which is really
exciting.
It means that in 100 years time, there could be someone else
sat on a sofa like this with astory from their grandparents
(07:54):
who worked at the factory andthe evolution from that.
100 years across that 100 yearswill still be there.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And it is that evolution, it's that innovation.
Isn't it Because you talk about, you know, there's no longer
the, the clay models, it's,there's different ways to do
things.
And what an exciting time, then, to encourage individuals and
new talent into the business,because it's not what you think
automotive is right.
It's so different it'scompletely different.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
yeah, I'm not a car person, so I just strategy and I
think working in the automotiveindustry there's so much
opportunity and things to learnabout.
It's really cool.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Yeah, absolutely, I definitely second that.
I suppose I've never had aninterest in automotive beyond
the beautiful things to look at.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah, nice cars.
Yeah, absolutely, I like a nicecar, but when?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
you start to get stuck into the business and
really starting to understand it.
I've never worked alongside somany people that have got a PhD
at the end of their job titleand people that aren't just
they're not just great at theirjob, they really are industry
thought leaders and respectedacross all automotive companies,
(09:02):
not just within Bentley or VWGroup.
It's amazing, it really withinBentley or VW Group.
It's amazing, it really is.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
And that's exciting.
I mean, we've been over to CrewHQ.
It's phenomenal.
It's the smell of it, thetradition in it.
You know there's so much totake in.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
It's phenomenal and it's changing so much as well.
So, like, the whole site isjust changing each year.
We've got a new paint shopgoing in at the moment and it's
just amazing to come into siteand drive in each day and watch
it go up.
It's gone up so quickly, hasn'tit?
Um, and it's a really cool,innovative way of like now
painting cars and doing this nowfor our electric cars in the
future, so it's just like asignpost of our future.
(09:39):
So it's really cool.
And what does?
Speaker 1 (09:40):
that signpost look like the next five to ten years?
What does it look?
Speaker 2 (09:44):
like.
So electrification, obviouslythat is the that is still the
goal.
So there has been challenges inthe industry with
electrification, um, and weultimately wanted to go really
quickly going all electric, um,but we're still doing that.
We're still going all electricand setting that future.
I think a lot of luxurycompanies probably aren't moving
as quickly as us, but we're nowgoing for this in 2035, which
(10:11):
is a kind of key focus area,with our first electric car
coming in 2026.
So that'll be a really excitingnew kind of step into the new
world and then doing the rollout, going all electric by 2035.
So that's really great andreally exciting.
And as part of that, like wejust said, we're investing in
crew.
So we're committed to buildingthe cars still in crew for the
future, which is a really strongsignpost to the local industry
(10:33):
as well.
I think we're spending like twobillion just to invest in the
electric cars.
So it's a huge expenditure butsomething that we see is
transformative for the localindustry.
So that's really great.
And then, as part of that,decarbonization, which is very
close to my heart insustainability, that's top
priority as well.
Um, and we're doing things notjust by shifting to electric
cars, we're looking at the wholelife cycle of the car and how
(10:56):
do we get carbon out of theproduction, how we make the cars
, what types of materials we use, how we transport the cars.
We're looking at the whole lifecycle of it to really try and
be leaders in decarbonization.
So that's a key priority for us, and people people's at the
heart of the strategy as well.
So in beyond 100 plus, it's acore pillar and we look at
(11:16):
culture, we look at diversity,equity and inclusion and we look
at how we skills transformationand obviously then it's about
making beautiful products.
So for us, it's aboutinnovation and doing that in a
sustainable way, but also it'sabout the personalisation.
That's what Bentley's known forand how you deliver beautiful
cars that you can customise howyou want them to be.
So that's our priorities reallyfor next five to ten.
(11:39):
Got busy ten years ahead, youabsolutely have and
sustainability is key.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
And why is sustainability?
Because it feels like it's morethe leadership side is is
becoming increasingly female.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, which is exciting to say yeah, it's
exciting.
Yeah, I mean, I spotted it, so Ium became.
It came into my role about ayear and a half ago.
Um, and seeing lots of posts onLinkedIn and people that were
in the industry, I was like it'sa lot of women that are leading
sustainability and that wasreally motivating to see.
And I looked into it more andthere was a study that was done,
(12:10):
I think, by Green Biz thatshowed I think 58% of chief
sustainability officers arewomen.
Compared to CFOs, I think 17%of CFOs are women and then 10%
of CEOs are women.
So it just shows like there's alot of opportunity for women and
I think it's because I thinksome of the skill sets really
suit chief sustainabilityofficer.
(12:30):
You know you have to be verycollaborative, you have to be
long-term thinking and I think,looking at behavioral science,
women tend to be that kind offocus, particularly in their
personal life and their worklife.
They tend to think about risks,they want to work with people,
they are compassionate and thinkabout a bigger picture.
So, yeah, I think that's quitemotivating and it's a good way
to see how you can develop yourcareer.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
I want to see some of that 58% nominated for next
year's Northern Powerball.
Awards, please that would be,amazing Because it's the role
modelling of that, isn't?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
it.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
I think we talk about .
You've got to see it to be it.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
And.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
I think that's such a phenomenal statistic that I
wasn't aware of.
And I think that's a surprisingstat for me.
What's the one surprising skillfor you, harry, because I know
this is your area, isn't it?
Or mindset set, mindset shift,that's easy for me to say.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
that's become essential in this, this whole
adventure now and phase ofBentley yeah, I think the really
interesting thing for me iswhen I first took the job, I
thought well, you know what it'sgoing to be all about the
drivetrain, it's all going to beabout the electric motor and
and actually the reality of thathas become the.
The business have alreadyessentially the battery
technology.
(13:41):
We've already been thinkingabout that for a few years,
because we've had hybrid modelsfor quite some time.
Before my arrival, thedevelopment on the V8 plug-in
hybrid was largely done, soactually it's quite a short step
from plug-in hybrid to allelectric.
In terms of the technology,what has just been a complete
(14:02):
revolution in my mindset hasbeen, um has been that software
at the heart of the vehicle andand and the role of that.
You just don't think twice whenyou get in your car and you
connect your phone and and, um,you know, you get the traffic
announcement that tells youthere's traffic coming up and
all that sort of stuff.
When you start to get into thenuts and bolts of the, you know
the skills that go intodeveloping that.
(14:24):
It's really crazy and I thinkfor us, the, there's going to be
a mindset shift again.
So previously what we wouldnormally do is that we would buy
in software through vw groupand where we would have sort of
a small amount of customizationso we can customize how it looks
and feels for the customer, andso that requires sort of a
(14:45):
small amount of softwaredevelopment skill and capability
.
But with new products we'regoing to have more control over
over what that software does,more control over how it looks,
feels, the functionality it has.
You know that's where you knowwe can use software as part of
our luxury offering as well assome of the traditional things
we might think of.
(15:05):
So that means we're going froma small amount of software
management capabilities to ahuge amount of capability that
we need, and then that's beforewe even start thinking about the
crazy stuff around.
How do we keep our customerssafe?
So every single market that wesell a Bentley in has different
cybersecurity standards.
Some countries have differentWi-Fi frequencies that they use.
(15:29):
It's the laundry list of thingsthat we have to think about to
make the car work in everywherethat we sell it, to keep our
customers safe everywhere, tomake sure that we're compliant
with legislation.
It's a real huge.
It a it's much, much, muchbigger than I thought it was and
it's it's a real, it's gonna,it's gonna be really exciting
(15:49):
helping the business shift theirmindset towards seeing that
piece of that piece of softwarethat sits in that car as part of
our luxury offering and I thinkyou talked about people being
at the heart of this the beyondplus strategy but bringing those
minds together.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
you've talked about people being at the heart of
this the beyond plus strategybut bringing those minds
together.
You've talked about the amountof people in the organization
with PhDs, but you need peopleof all walks of life and
specialisms, don't you, to beable to come together to help
shift, because this is boldchange.
This isn't it.
This is big, bold, audaciousgoals.
It's exciting, but how do youkind of bring those teams
(16:24):
together and enable them to kindof go right?
Speaker 3 (16:26):
you know what this is exciting yeah, I think it's
such a good question and I thinkthere are things that we do
deliberately internally andthere are things that we are
thinking about externally aswell.
So from an internal point ofview, I think it's helping
connect people back to thattradition that what bentley's
(16:47):
are at their absolute heart.
I think that's such a unifyingforce for our teams because
despite the fact that theproduct will change a lot,
fundamentally, it's hard, itwill still be a bentley, it's,
it will still need that thatphrase in a good car, a fast car
, the best in its class thatwill always stay the same for
Bentley and it can be such aunifying force to bring people
(17:08):
together.
I think, from an external pointof view, we are doing a lot of
work with our communities aroundcrew as well, so helping um.
So we sponsor crew UTC um,which I'm fortunate enough to to
sit on the board with as well.
So working with schools anduniversities around, helping
them understand what skills theyneed to create in young people.
(17:29):
So by the time they're ready toapply to university or apply to
an apprenticeship, they've gotthe core fundamental skills that
we need.
So really it's about how do weconnect our staff to our purpose
and that Beyond 100 Plusstrategy.
But also how do we help thecommunity understand our purpose
and that beyond 100 plusstrategy?
But also how do we help thecommunity understand what it is
we're trying to achieve and andtry and get them into a place
(17:49):
where they can take advantage ofthat opportunity and I think
that that's really clear to see.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
It's this it's an internal focus, it's an external
focus, and the people being thebridge between the two it's
really exciting.
What's been the biggest lessonin your career?
How long we got exactly yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
I think, one that's really stood out for me, um, my
old boss, he, I think I wasquite early on in my career and
I was really wanting to do more,push, push more.
And he was asking me you knowwhat?
What do, what do you stand for,what do you, what are you known
for?
And, like the questioncompletely floundered me.
I was like, oh, I don't knowwhat.
You know, what's that?
One thing that I'm known for?
(18:26):
And his recommendation was workout what you want that to be
and then really push it and makethat your kind of brand.
And I think once I actuallyreflected on it and thought
about what's really important tome and then pushing that, and
then that being what I'm knownfor, that was a really amazing
lesson.
It's something that stuck withme, um, and what I wanted to
take away from it was what Ireally enjoy doing is
(18:47):
simplifying complexity, andthat's, for me, a really
important thing to do,especially in, like, I think,
strategy kind of roles where itcan get really detailed, really
confusing.
Being able to bring people withyou on a journey just by
telling a really simple storyabout why something's important
for me.
That was like a good lessonthat I looked at what he was
(19:07):
known for and I thought I wantto be like that as well and,
yeah, that was a really greatquestion that I found difficult
at the time, but it reallyforced me to think, like
introspectively, about what wasimportant.
So, yeah, I would recommendthat everyone thinks about
what's that one thing that youwant to be known for and then
really making that what yourstrength is and be known for it.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
It's a bit like you talk about the Bentley.
It's a good car.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
It's a fast car, it's the best in class.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, it's having your own.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
It's living with the brand isn't it Exactly your
purpose, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Absolutely, and I know we talked about
sustainability and skills.
Um what is your driver?
Literally driver every day tokeep pushing for.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
I think for me it's um, it's understood.
For me it's the.
It fundamentally comes back tothat connection, back to the
purpose, and beyond 100 plus,it's when you hear, when you go
through the strategy and youreally understand the direction
that we're going from.
From a skills point of theexciting thing for me is when
that first electric car rollsoff the production line, we'll
(20:11):
know that we'd we'd have donepart of our job for that
transformation, because theright skills are in place to
deliver that product and bringit to market.
And then there'll be the firsttime that you know I'm out
somewhere and I see it on theroad and there's that constant
reminder oh yeah, that's whywe've spent all of that time
before that working hard.
(20:31):
And I think for me that'swhat's driving me along.
It's that first time we seethose electric products on the
market.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
What do you think your mantra would be?
Simplifying complexity.
What's the one thing that you?
Speaker 3 (20:45):
would live by.
I think mine is always so.
It's about self-awareness, Ithink, um, I had, a few years
ago, worked for a company thathad a really very, very strong
culture, um, and unfortunatelyit meant it was a culture that
was so strong.
It meant that a lot of peoplebegan mimicking each other's
behaviors because there wasdefinitely the perception this
(21:05):
is the way things are done hereand this is how we want to do.
It never quite felt comfortablewith doing that, just because
it didn't really feelauthentically me, and then made
a really conscious decision tosit down and really think about
okay, so that doesn't feelcomfortable.
You know what does feelcomfortable?
And I think for me, in terms ofhow I ground myself constantly,
it's always reminding myself iswhat you're doing true to
(21:29):
yourself and true to who youwant to be and how you want to
behave?
Um, and if it's not, then askquestions.
You know how do you change it?
What, what needs to change?
Do you need to ask questions?
Do you need to, you know,delegate more?
It's such a, it's such ahelpful thing and I think, um,
and you know what funny enough,I think it's something that men
aren't always great at doing isis being a bit introspective and
(21:51):
acknowledging the things thatyou like, the things you don't
like, but also your weaknesses,your vulnerabilities as well.
So, yeah, I think it's a reallypowerful tool to help, to help
drive, drive your career along.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
I think the point I'm asking questions is so
important, right, that reallylands with me.
I think someone said to mealways ask a question, because I
think if you want to ask thequestion, somebody else in the
room wants to ask the questionbut they just don't feel brave
enough.
And I think asking questionsand doing it in a constructive
way, it just opens up so muchmore discussion.
I think it's a really importantskill set not to be afraid to
ask the question, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Yeah, yeah, sometimes it's just that taking a big
breath and going actually.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Yeah, you're right, someone else wanted that
question too.
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
We know Bentley is this iconic car brand Good car,
fast car, best of class.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
That's not my T-shirt moment.
I know you like it.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
And it is shaping the future of Community, the Planet
.
We talk about the work that'sdone in the community.
There's work in the schools, etcetera, but what kind of impact
do you want to leave, bothwithin Bentley?
Speaker 2 (22:54):
and as a legacy within and out the organisation.
I think in my role, I've got aunique opportunity to help
Bentley leave a positive impacton the environment, on people,
on overall stakeholders.
I think we're doing lots froman environment perspective, like
we've already spoken about.
You know what we're doing withthe product to try and really
make it sustainable Because, ifwe're being honest, we are
(23:14):
operating in an industry that'snot very sustainable.
So I feel like we really dohave a responsibility to change
that.
And when we are producing thecars, we mean we are enabling
them to be on the road foreverbecause they are a more
sustainable version of what theyare today.
So that's a really importantthing for me as a driver.
I think, from a peopleperspective um, bringing
everyone on the journey with us.
(23:35):
So electrification,sustainability, software, all
the new skills that we need forthe future bringing the whole
company on the journey with usand then with our stakeholders
as well.
From a Bentley perspective, youknow we do loads with such
different types of stakeholders.
So you might have seen theenvironmental foundation that
was set up.
It's managed by acommunications team do some
(23:55):
really cool projects there,where we invest in projects that
help the environment.
So Rivers Trust is a local onewhere quality of water wasn't
that great, but we've kind ofdonated money to support that
being improved and then buildingthe capability so it can be
looked after.
Doing projects in Kenya with acompany or charity called
(24:16):
Sustainable Surf.
It's all about getting treesplanted around that area so we
can have a lot of positiveimpacts.
We have a lot of influence and Ithink, from my perspective, I
really want to help us achievethose changes and those outcomes
.
Like I'm very outcome focusedas a person, like I like results
, so I'm very when I can seethat there's a benefit, I really
(24:36):
want to go after it and I thinkthat's the kind of legacy that
I want to leave behind is that Ihelp Bentley achieve these
positive outcomes, because youalways get lots of negative
connotations sometimes with carcompanies, but I think you can
do things differently.
So, yeah, I think I've got aunique opportunity to try and
help that.
But it's about everyone.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
What would you say?
Your legacy?
Speaker 3 (24:56):
I think I've always been a people-focused person.
I think everything that I'vedone in my career has been about
helping and supporting peopleand I think really where the
value is for me is is about it'sabout the people.
I think on on on a large scale,there'll be a great deal of
satisfaction, um seeing thatfirst car, as I said, roll off
(25:18):
the production line, but thething that will trigger in my
mind is the people stories thatgo into that.
So you know the, the, theamount of training outcomes
we've been able to deliver, theengagement and the difference
it's made to people's careers,the opportunity we've been able
to create for the community, andseeing those people move and
(25:39):
grow through those jobs and moveinto different roles, into
different disciplines.
I think it's those people'sjourney.
I think that will be the realsatisfaction for me.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
And if you could give one piece of advice to leaders
out there who are driving change, yeah, in their industry, what
would it be?
Speaker 2 (25:56):
I mean it's probably it might come across obvious,
but I think being really clearabout your vision.
So where do you want to get to?
And you being like super clearon that in your head and then
you bring people together todeliver that vision.
Like for me, it's been reallyclear about why I'm doing
something, which comes back tomy simplifying complexity,
because once you're really clearon your why at the very
(26:18):
beginning, people are alreadybought into it and then the
journey becomes a lot easier.
I think you have to get youknow your coalition of sponsors,
people that really support you,and then your role in it is to
kind of structure how we'regoing to deliver this change.
So you need to be clear aboutyour approach getting the
sponsors unblocking obstaclesthat are in your way and getting
(26:39):
those quick wins and showingwhy it's the right thing to do.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Basically, and Harry, for people at Emerging Talent.
What would you say to them?
Who wants to be part of thesustainable future in the
automotive industry?
Speaker 3 (26:53):
I think it's it does help having a clear, a clear
vision for what you want to do.
I think it's, um, it reallydoes help.
I think.
On the one hand, I think, ifyou, if you're passionate about
the automotive industry, do yourresearch, spend the time,
understand where thoseopportunities are and and you
(27:15):
know, really strive towards thatgoal.
I always think the reallyinteresting thing about for
graduates and for apprenticesand when we do outreach projects
, I talk about this quite a lot.
Fundamentally, when you're atthat part of your career, you
always see these look the same,because you've all been to
school, you've done largely thesame subjects and you've studied
for the for amount of time.
So you need to be able todemonstrate why you.
(27:38):
You need to be able todemonstrate why you start you,
you, you, why you're differentto everyone else, and I think
part of that is justdemonstrating your passion.
If you're passionate aboutsomething, just show it and
don't be afraid to show iteither.
And people are interested.
People are interested, you know, and I think it doesn't
necessarily have to be justthings like work experience.
(27:59):
You know, for the automotivesector it can be.
You know who you follow.
You know your connection tomotor racing.
It can be.
You know, do you go to goodwoodfestival of speed?
You know whatever it might bethere could.
There are so many differentways you can connect to um, to
the industry, and.
But also, don't be afraid thatactually, if you're not quite
sure where you want to go, youknow, always follow what you
(28:25):
feel like you're good at andwhat you're strong at.
Don't, don't pick a.
Don't make a decision that youthink is the right decision, um,
based on what you think youmight want to do.
Make a decision according towhat you're passionate about and
what you love.
So I I did studiedinternational relations and
politics at university because Ireally enjoyed it.
I loved it as a subject.
(28:46):
There wasn't really a career atthat time, at 18.
That was speaking to me assomething I really wanted to do.
So I decided I'd do somethingthat really interested me and it
was a great decision, becauseif you love something, it's
never the wrong decision.
It's never.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
It's never bad to spend more time on that passion
and I think this comes back tomy takeaway from today's
conversation as well is thateveryone's an individual.
The beyond, uh, what in a plus?
is around people, but it'staking that time to find you in
your purpose and taking thatself-awareness reflection time.
Everyone needs to do that,whether they've got the phds,
(29:20):
yeah whether they're at thestart of their career.
But they take that time to doyou and find something you love,
which you clearly do.
And every time I go over to thecrew uh, to crew hq, uh, you
just see it, you see it comingthrough the vehicles, you see it
coming through just theexperience that shuns out.
So thank you, harry and amy, somuch for joining me here in we
are power podcast today and I'mlooking forward to getting
(29:41):
behind the wheel one day youknow, one day, harry, we'll make
it happen thanks so much forjoining me.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Thank you're so welcome.
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
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