Today, we’re so happy to have my friend, former colleague, and someone whose interests are many, and usually pursued to a level of mastery—Allison Burton-Parker. Allison is a globe-roaming wine educator and writer living between the Loire Valley, London and New Zealand. She is a former luxury advertising executive—which is when we first met in New York City. ABP, as she’s affectionately called within our NYC friend group, surrendered to her love of wine a decade ago and never looked back. She holds the WSET Diploma in Wines, is the Education Director for the Academie du Vin in London and co-founder of the Loire Wine Academy. Her interest and expertise in wine reaches far beyond merely drinking and enjoying it which we’ll unpack a bit in this episode.

In Nicky's next episode as the host of the Vantage Point political podcast by Grayling, she speaks with Luke Tryl, a polling and policy expert who is now a director at More in Common, which carries out regular public opinion research and publishes regular research reports on a range of challenges facing the UK today. More relevantly for this episode, Luke was Special Adviser to Nicky at the Department for Education and shares some amusing stories in this episode from their times on the campaign trail.  

In Nicky's next episode as the host of the Vantage Point political podcast by Grayling, she speaks with Wooyun Jo, a researcher at Loughborough University specialising in Asian security and a member of the South Korean Presidential Peaceful Unification Advisory Council. Nicky and Wooyun unpack the results of the Taiwan general election which took place on the 13th of January. It is the first of ten major democratic elections taking place globally in 2024—and one keenly watched by the US and China in particular. And now, here’s Nicky.

In Baroness Nicky Morgan's first episode as the host of the Vantage Point political podcast by Grayling, she speaks with Sajid Javid, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Sajid is currently a Member of Parliament for Bromsgrove but recently announced that he will stand down at the next election. Nicky and Sajid discuss the Autumn Statement and what it means for UK taxes, what it's like to serve as a chancellor during a crisis, the upcoming UK election landscape (don't get too confident Labour!) and Sajid's future plans as he transitions into the next phase of his career.

Today’s guest on the Vantage Point podcast is Baroness Nicky Morgan. Today, we introduce Nicky as the host of a political series that will feature as part of the Grayling Vantage Point podcast as we move into 2024—the year in which countries making up more than 50% of global GDP will head to the polls and vote. Nicky will unpack the process that candidates and parties undertake in prep for major elections, dissect some of the key issues driving both the political discourse and voter’s decisions as well as give her hot take on the twists and turns the world will inevitably experience on the road to these major democratic events.

Ziad Ahmed and Nate Jones were in high school together in Princeton, New Jersey, when Ziad cooked up the Gen Z think tank that is JUV Consulting. Its mission is to empower Gen Z and insure the generation's voice was heard whenever big companies or organisations discussed it. From presidential campaigns to Cannes, from Spotify to TikTok, JUV is there and putting the power of change in the hands of Gen Z. We talk about why they started the company as teenagers, how its thrived and how its carved out a seat at the table for the world's most powerful generation.

Once our resident digital creative at Grayling, Jade Beaty left the land of full time agency life in May of this year to join the Creator Economy full time as content co-creator of ⁠Live the Dash⁠. Jade shares her thoughts on the rise of the creator economy and how technology has democratised creativity in the digital realm. We talk about the hard graft that sits behind the glossy content and spontaneous travel experiences of ⁠Live the Dash⁠. And Jade shares some insider intel on what makes content fly.

With an impressive history of roles at big tech companies, Vikram Tank is currently building AR products for one of the best known 'faces' of social media, while also managing his hot sauce brand, Smaak, and woodworking for moments of quiet reflection (minus the sound of a table saw). Vikram shares his thoughts on the intersection of art and tech innovation. We unpack the 'fear' around generative AI. And agree that balance is the key when it comes to IRL and online life.

The Vantage Point podcast will host friends of Grayling who offer different and studied perspectives on important themes we think our talent, our clients and our industry should be smart about. Because keeping smart and attuned to what’s coming around the corner is how we ensure our teams and clients have advantage in their sectors, in culture and in conversations.