Creating a New Society - Meet the Integration Team

[00:05] Phil:
Hello everybody.

[00:06] Phil:
Welcome to this week's podcast.

[00:08] Phil:
Firstly, a Happy New Year to all of our colleagues from me, and Debbie is not here this week because she's enjoying some well-earned holiday in the New Year.

[00:19] Phil:
So you’ve just got me—when I say just got me, we’ve obviously got some other colleagues as well. I’ll come onto that in a moment because, as you know, I was announced as the CEO for Integration, charged with delivering the integration for the two societies as we become one from the 26th of January this year.

[00:35] Phil:
So a big year ahead for us in terms of delivering that integration. And to help me do that, we’ve created six specific workstreams. These are led by some very important people across the business.

[00:48] Phil:
Firstly, Michelle Cemm, our Chief HR Officer, will be leading the workstream focusing on people, culture, and communications.

[00:57] Phil:
We then have Gemma Newton from Central Co-op, who will be focusing on brand, marketing, and membership.

[01:07] Phil:
Andy Peake, also an Exec member from Central Co-op, will be leading the functional systems and integration workstream, covering areas such as property, facilities, and procurement.

[01:30] Phil:
Chris Chandler, our Head of Central Support for Food, will lead the food operations and integration workstream.

[01:39] Phil:
Sean McGovern, who’s with me here today and is our Head of Legal, will lead the legal and governance workstream.

[01:47] Phil:
And Jacob Isherwood, our Chief Information Officer, will head up the IT, data, and systems workstream.

[01:55] Phil:
Over the next week or so, we’ll introduce each of the workstream leads. Today, we have Sean and Jacob with us.

[02:09] Phil:
Welcome, Sean. You’re heading up the legal and governance workstream. Do you want to give colleagues an idea of the areas you’ll be focusing on?

[02:26] Sean:
Sure. Legal and governance is really about ensuring our new Society does the right thing, acts in accordance with the law, and makes decisions in a fair and responsible way.

[02:38] Sean:
We operate in a number of regulated and complex businesses, so it’s about providing clarity in how we work while remaining nimble and able to make fast decisions.

[02:59] Sean:
If we do that well, colleagues can focus on serving our members while we manage the rules and risks.

[03:09] Sean:
Our priorities include engaging with suppliers to ensure continuity of supply, working with regulators to ensure registrations are in place, and aligning member terms and services from day one.

[03:26] Sean:
That includes share profits, member investments, and ensuring everything works seamlessly. There’s a lot to achieve for day one.

[03:48] Phil:
Bringing two organisations together involves a lot of legal and regulatory work. What’s the most important priority over the next few weeks?

[04:19] Sean:
We’ve been working for months to get here, and now the focus is ensuring regulators have the right information from day one—particularly in travel and with the CAA.

[04:33] Sean:
Working collaboratively with Central Co-op has been critical, and governance and secretariat work is a big part of that.

[05:05] Phil:
Turning to you, Jacob—technology is central to everything we do. Bringing two IT environments together is a huge task.

[05:23] Jacob:
It is, but it’s an exciting one. We’re running similar systems across both societies, and we want to ensure the new Society has the best possible solutions.

[05:41] Jacob:
At the same time, we must keep trading and supporting members—we can’t pause the business while integration happens.

[06:01] Phil:
It’s fair to say colleagues won’t see much change on day one, with systems continuing as they are while integration happens over time.

[06:23] Jacob:
Exactly. Day one is about secure collaboration. Longer term, we’ll choose the best systems from either society—or introduce new ones if needed.

[06:53] Phil:
You’ll be supported by colleagues across both organisations?

[06:58] Jacob:
Yes. I’ve been working closely with Simon Brealy and his team. There are complementary skills across both sides, and we’ll need both IT and business teams involved.

[07:33] Phil:
What are you both most excited about with this new merged Society?

[07:42] Jacob:
For me, it’s tackling some of the “too hard” problems and really demonstrating the value of bringing the businesses together for our members.

[08:04] Sean:
This gives us a chance to look at how we work with fresh eyes and become more efficient as well as bigger.

[08:23] Sean:
I’ve benefited from many opportunities in this organisation, and this is another one. I’d encourage colleagues to get involved in the integration workstreams—it’s meaningful work.

[08:44] Phil:
Thank you both. This is very much an inside-out integration, led by our own teams, creating opportunities for colleagues to get involved.

[09:07] Phil:
If you have ideas or questions about the integration or workstreams, please put them forward—we’ll do our best to answer them.

[09:25] Phil:
I’ll be back introducing more workstream leads over the coming weeks. Thanks for everything you do, and thanks for listening.