APM Podcast

Emma meets Joanna Rowland, Chief Executive of the RSPCA. Listeners might remember her previous interview with the podcast in 2020 during the pandemic, when she was Director of HMRC’S COVID-19 response unit, responsible for helping mastermind the UK government’s furlough scheme, and where she was also head of the project management profession. A lot has changed for Jo since then. She rose through the ranks of the civil service, leaving project management behind her to become Director General of the Home Office, before joining the RSPCA in December 2025 as CEO. Find out what it’s like to be a first-time CEO; why project management is a perfect training for the role; why project managers need to set their sights higher; and her advice to getting to the C-suite.

**The APM book Doing the Right Project: Using a Systems Thinking Approach to Select Successful Projects is available to purchase here: ⁠https://www.apm.org.uk/book-shop/doing-the-right-project-using-a-systems-thinking-approach-to-select-successful-projects/⁠**In this episode, Emma is joined by the book’s co-authors – Andrew Wright ChPP FAPM, leader of the APM Systems Thinking Interest Network, Cesar Rendora ChPP and Estar Bennett. They explore the world of systems thinking. Ever been daunted about the term or what it might mean exactly? Then we will enlighten you, helping to explain how you can put systems thinking into practice and what advantages it gives you in your projects.

Ahead of International Women’s Day later this week, Emma meets two successful women in project management who work in completely different sectors – Josie Harries and Anna Ustynyuk. They explain how core project management skills combined with sector-specific knowledge can give you a career that is highly transferable from one industry to another. Both Josie and Anna are members of the APM Women in Project Management Interest Network, which you can learn more about here.

Emma meets Heather Walker, Chief Operating Officer at Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) in London, where she's responsible for planning and coordinating a range of services to support across technical and production estate, visitor experience, technology and administration.A major focus is the renewal of the estate, ensuring that sustainability is at the heart of fabric and plant upgrades, and that audiences, artists and staff benefit from changes to the environment and the technology running its services. Previous to becoming COO, Heather was project director at RBO.Look out for our upcoming behind-the-scenes episode at RBO.Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Emma welcomes back to the podcast Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, author and Vice President of APM, to talk about his new book, Powered by Projects, which is published by Harvard Business Review Press in January 2026. In it, he argues that CEOs must put projects, not operations, at the centre of how their companies create value. But where does that leave the project managers in that organisation? And how can every project professional future-proof themselves? Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Professor Adam Boddison OBE welcomes Gareth Taylor to the podcast. Gareth was recently appointed a nuclear sector director at Turner & Townsend, having previously spent over six years at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. He has over 25 years of experience in the nuclear industry and has held a range of senior leadership roles. At the NDA, he led transformative programmes to improve asset management, programme delivery and operational efficiency across the UK's nuclear estate. His work included implementing a programme management and asset management strategy that identified over £10bn worth of savings and advanced net zero goals.Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

We tackle the perennial problem of self-confidence and why many of us need an occasional, or more general, boost to our levels of it.Emma speaks to Dame Inga Beale, ex-CEO of Lloyd’s of London, and a woman who has very much learned how to get ahead in a male-dominated sector. She also hears the advice of leadership coach Muriel Wilkins of Paravis Partners in the US, who has a new book called Leadership Unblocked, published by Harvard Business Review Press. She's also the host of Harvard Business Review's Coaching Real Leaders podcast. Emma also speaks to Anita Phagura, who is highly experienced in the world of project management and is now a leadership development and culture coach, particularly around inclusion. Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Emma meets Dr Paul Chapman, Senior Fellow at Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, and Gordon MacKay, Project Management Capability Lead at Sellafield, who also provided specialist knowledge for a new APM Learning module on leadership of self, which is coming out soon. Gordon and Paul delve deep into their experience and research to pass on their advice on what it takes to be a great project leader in 2025. Gordon’s APM book Evolving Project Leadership is available here.Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Managing stress, maintaining work-life balance and avoiding burnout is a modern preoccupation. But let's not forget that the right level of stress can be enjoyable and motivating for many of you working in project management. To unpick these issues, Emma is joined by Dr Clara Cheung (University of Manchester), Veronica Sikombe (Mott MacDonald) and Rochelle Sampson-Clarke (NHS South, Central and West CSU). Veronica and Rochelle are both members of APM’s Women in Project Management Interest Network, and are active in its wellbeing subgroups. Clara is co-author of the APM report The Wellbeing of Project Professionals (2019). Find the Workplace Wellbeing Profile on the APM website here.Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

APM CEO Professor Adam Boddison is joined by Steve Langbridge, Director of Programmes at SEA, a company based in South-west England which specialises in developing and delivering defence solutions to a global customer base. Its business areas include naval ship and fleet protection, and undersea surveillance systems. Steve was appointed to his Director role in July, having previously been Head of Project Management Office. Steve shares what it’s like to deliver projects and programmes in the defence sector – including the challenges of working in such a fast-evolving and complex space. Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.ukFind out more about SEA at sea.co.uk

Emma visits Elstree Studios, which has been home to TV soap EastEnders since 1985. She goes behind the scenes of a project to create new production and post-production suites from a derelict building and to give actors new dressing rooms and make-up rooms. Get a flavour of what it's like on a construction project in a creative environment with cast and crew filming all around as the project takes shape.Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Sustainability in project management remains a hot topic – but it can be hard to get to grips with. Depending on your specific role and level of seniority, you may feel unable to influence the sustainability of your projects. Perhaps issues like net zero and social inequality feel remote from your day-to-day.In this episode, however, we hear why sustainability isn’t just a top-down directive. It can be driven by project professionals at all levels through small, meaningful actions that influence outcomes and contribute to long-term positive change.This episode brings together some of the highlights from the two-day APM Conference 2025.Super early bird tickets for the 2026 APM Conference are available here.Get in touch: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk

Emma meets Dr Sara Hajikazemi and Professor Eunice Maytorena-Sanchez to discuss APM’s research report Projecting for the Future: Harmonising energy and environment.This latest study provides insights into what the profession sees as the most important future trends that are likely to impact the way project managers practise their profession to identify what might need to change.Read the report here.Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk