Episode 80 - Kwesi Afful - Executive Director of Digital and Marketing at Scope

Why Every Leader Needs an Exit Strategy

We chat with Kwesi Afful, Executive Director of Digital and Marketing at Scope.

Kwesi Afful, Executive Director of Digital and Marketing at Scope, joins us to discuss his bold approach to leadership: building the deletion of his role into the company's business plan.

In this episode of Starts at the Top, we have a cracking chat with Kwesi Afful, the Executive Director of Digital and Marketing at Scope. Kwesi shares his journey from the NHS to the charity sector and highlights the importance of collaboration and partnerships to achieve greater impact.

But here's the real kicker: Kwesi's decided to make his role redundant by April 2026! This bold move challenges traditional notions of leadership and succession planning, raising questions about how we can ensure a smooth transition and continued success for organisations.

 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Collaboration is king: Kwesi highlights the power of working together to achieve greater impact, both within and across sectors.

• Building accessibility into technology: Kwesi discusses the importance of making technology accessible for everyone, including staff and beneficiaries.

• The value of cross-sector collaboration: Kwesi shares his experience working with Deloitte to develop an accessible GenAI tool and emphasizes the importance of standing up for your values in these collaborations.

• Charities need to work together more: Kwesi calls for greater collaboration among charities to share learning, increase purchasing power, and influence the ethical development of emerging technologies.

• The importance of an exit strategy: Kwesi's bold move to plan for the deletion of his role sparks a conversation about succession planning and the need for leaders to consider their exit strategy.

Join us as we explore these topics and more with Kwesi Afful in this inspiring episode of Starts at the Top.

Paul and Zoe discuss what’s happening with AI across the charity sector, including the new AI taskforce and the consultation for the new Charity Digital Code of Practice.

 

Show notes:

 

Find out more about Scope

Zoe and Paul discussed:

The Charity AI Taskforce https://www.wearecast.org.uk/our-work/how-we-work-with-funders-and-partners/charity-ai-task-force/

The Charity Digital Code of Practice consultation (small charities)

The Charity Digital Code of Practice consultation (large charities)

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Editing and production - Syren Studios with Paul Thomas

Music by Joseph McDade https://josephmcdade.com/music

Full transcript of this episode (srt file)

Full transcript of this episode (.txt file)

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