Advice from sibling CEOs: Be yourself, be curious, be accountable

Financial Management (FM) magazine

It makes sense that the themes emerging from the words of Phillipa Spicer, FCMA, CGMA, and Bruce Martin, ACMA, CGMA, are similar — they are sister and brother, both having ascended to CEO roles in the UK. Spicer set forward on a path to becoming a management accountant, and her younger brother followed.

In this conversation, hear about their early trips to the office while growing up in South Africa, the questions they got from students, and the advice they give about being your own self as a CEO.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

· Martin and Spicer’s youth in South Africa (2:24).

· The early exposure they had to office “work” (5:50).

· Spicer’s reflection on “being really fortunate” to land a temporary role with Unilever (7:01).

· How Spicer has applied her work in other sectors to the role as CEO of a charity (9:03).

· Martin’s path to a role at Vodafone in the UK and then other businesses (12:26).

· The top challenges that Spicer (17:42) and Martin (20:03) have overcome to make the move from finance leader to chief executive.

· The siblings’ recall of speaking about career journeys with university students (Spicer at 22:25 and Martin at 24:57).

· Advice from Martin (28:15) and Spicer (29:39) for aspiring CEOs.

· Why Spicer advises budding leaders to “make your own kind of music” (30:54).