It's not all about the numbers! By GENCFO

In this reflective special, Chris and Mike look back at how work has changed since Chris first entered the workplace in the 1990s. From paper invoices, handwritten ledgers and strict office hierarchies to AI assistants, flexible working and side hustles, they explore what has improved, what has been lost, and what the next 30 years of work might look like.

Chris and Mike record from New York with their first in-person US guest, Nathan Foulger, executive producer and fellow Brummie. They explore how AI is reshaping the creative industry, what finance leaders can learn from that disruption, and why the best leadership lesson might still be the simplest one of all: be nice.

Chris and Mike are joined by Doug Wilson OBE, founder of Verdant Edge and honorary professor at Nottingham Trent University. From environmental monitoring and pandemic response to coaching and leadership, Doug shares why more data isn’t always better. They explore how to focus on what really matters, communicate clearly, and make better decisions without getting lost in the noise.

In Part 2 of the GENCFO Live retrospective, Chris and Mike are joined by Mia, Millie, Zaki, and James from Liberty Global to bring a fresh perspective from the next generation of finance leaders. From AI and legacy systems to soft skills and career development, they explore what the future of finance really looks like — and why senior leaders might have more to learn than they think.

As we gear up for the much-anticipated GENCFO Awards 2026 shortlist announcement, hear from a previous winner, Katharina Herzog, who spoke to Chris and Mike in 2025 about being a working mother, a woman in finance trailblazer, and dispelling the myth that finance people are boring!

Fresh off the back of GENCFO Live, Chris and Mike are joined by attendees Tanbir Jasimuddin and Chantelle Hollidge to reflect on what actually made the day different. From ditching traditional conference formats to creating real space for conversation, they unpack why peer-to-peer learning, honest conversations, and shared struggles might be far more valuable than polished presentations. This is Part 1 of the GENCFO Live retrospective — and it’s all about what happens when you let the room do the talking.

In this special episode, Gavin Freegard is joined by Mike Rose and Colm Britton to explore digital planning and the role of data standards in modernising the planning system.Rather than focusing on the politics of planning reform, this conversation looks at the underlying infrastructure: paper forms, fragmented data, repeated manual entry, local authority workflows, interoperability and the foundations needed to make the system more effective.They discuss why standards matter, how working in the open has shaped the project, what better planning data could unlock, and why this kind of foundational work has lessons far beyond planning alone.

Chris and Mike are joined by data sharing specialist James Robson for a deep dive into the messy reality of data, risk, and trust. From GDPR confusion to AI adoption, they explore why organisations get data sharing wrong, why “don’t share anything” isn’t a strategy, and how trust — not compliance — is becoming the real differentiator. Along the way, they unpack real-world data breaches, AI risks, and why the question isn’t who owns the data… but who owns how it’s used.