Rich Longley, Chief Finance Officer at Legal & General Retail, joins Michael to reflect on the career choices and leadership lessons that shaped his path across consulting, retail, food manufacturing, and financial services.

Rich shares how early mentors, competitive sport, and a willingness to step into unfamiliar challenges helped build his approach to leadership. The conversation explores navigating high-stakes decisions, handling imposter syndrome, creating psychologically safe teams, and choosing roles that bring new skills, trusted leaders, and meaningful challenge.

You’ll discover:

• How to build a career around curiosity, challenge, and opportunities to learn, not just job titles.
• Why its important to treat every role as a chance to develop new skills, broaden your perspective, and test yourself.
• How to prepare thoroughly and stay open to challenge when working with senior stakeholders.
• Recognise imposter syndrome without letting it prevent you from contributing or taking opportunities.
• A formula of how to create high-performing teams through psychological safety, respect, and honest communication.
• Look for leaders you can learn from, and invest in relationships across industries.
• For finance professionals, his formula to being a successful finance professional

Rich also opens up about the career path that shaped him, from chemistry student and GB kayaker to KPMG M&A, Morrisons, Greencore, and now the boardroom at Legal and General Retail. Along the way, he explains how early role models, high-performing teams, and psychological safety helped him build confidence in rooms full of senior executives.

This episode is especially useful if you work in finance, lead a business through results season, or want to understand how great leaders balance hard numbers with human judgment.