Duncan Clark on staying purpose-driven in a $42 billion company

Duncan Clark on staying purpose-driven in a $42 billion company

November 11, 2025 · 44 min · Episode 5

About this episode

Duncan Clark discusses his journey from journalism to leading Canva's EMEA operations while emphasizing purpose-driven leadership.

Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Duncan Clark, Head of EMEA at Canva, the world-leading visual-communication platform on a mission to empower the world to design. Before joining Canva, Duncan co-founded Flourish, the data-storytelling platform used by newsrooms and organisations worldwide to bring data to life. Duncan’s journey from data journalist at The Guardian to first-time founder, selling to Canva, and now leading EMEA, is packed with lessons on building sustainably, scaling with trust, and staying true to your mission. 📚Episode Chapters: ➡️ Duncan’s path into journalism [01:35] ➡️ First-time Founder lessons [10:00] ➡️ Scaling lean & staying profitable [17:10] ➡️ Selling to Canva & building Canva EMEA from scratch [18:45] ➡️ Culture & Leadership at scale [29:30] ➡️ Hiring for impact [35:00] ⭐ Enjoyed this episode? ⭐️ Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

People in this episode

Host: James Mitra

Guest: Duncan Clark

Topics covered

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Canva, Flourish, The Guardian

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