Adrian Wheale @ EO Boost

Preparing to attend his first Employee Ownership Association event is exciting and a little bit daunting

EO Boost is a new approach using the virtual platform, what do you think?

I am excited and daunted by the EO Boost in equal measure. Excited because it is such a timely and dynamic thing that’s “right on the pulse” at the time of Covid lockdown. It’s turned a face to face problem into a digital solution and got even more traction because of it! Daunted because I am not a “silver-surfer”; my lack of digital awareness may come back and haunt me over the 3 days.

JGA are co sponsoring EO Boost, what do you think about this?

I am delighted that JGA are sponsoring the EO Boost as it goes to the heart of the matter of the virtual conference, the EOA itself and the JGA proposition. What more can I say?

Where will you be joining the sessions from and what will be accompanying you?

Physically I will be joining the sessions from my new “Zoom-Room” in my house in Bristol, emotionally from the perspective of the eager new-boy joining the JGA gang (in the hope of bringing something new and different to the party), whilst professionally I will be joining from succession planning, executive resourcing and balancing the board perspectives. I will be accompanied by a toolkit assembled in those areas (+ others) over 40 years; oh and a very naughty wire-haired Daschund called Joffy. Moreover I will bring the support and knowledge of the JGA team to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Which session are you most looking forward to attending and why?

I am looking forward most to the Riverford Session as the subject matter is of critical import and I am a Chartered Corporate Governor. Also I am also a great enthusiast of their produce and their Devon set up, we use the farm shop a lot. Plus, of course the Val King (The Rooflight Company) and Dave Sproxton (Aardman) pieces.... as both instructed me to find their replacements on standing down via EO, and I’ve got emotional skin in their game!

If there was one question you’d really like answered during EO Boost, what would it be?

Whether people admit it or not, Covid is a “once in a life-time” event that changes everything - economically, commercially and societally. We at JGA believe that EO is the perfect post-Covid vehicle to make the 2+2 of a company’s parts = 5! But how do we do that? How do we fuse the cultural/moral benefits with the new economic imperatives to optimise the values & value mix in this Brave New World?