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The Merri-Cast
The Merri-Cast is for emerging leaders navigating the journey from self-doubt to self-belief.
Host Trevor Merriden - executive coach and author of The Confidence Shift - talks to leaders and entrepreneurs about the moments that tested their confidence and how they came through them. Honest, practical and deeply human conversations about what leadership really feels like.
Every episode explores one or more of the five themes at the heart of The Confidence Shift: curiosity, creativity, clarity, commitment and confidence. Whether you’re leading for the first time, struggling to believe in your own ability, or building something from scratch and wondering if you’re really ready - this podcast is for you.
The Merri-Cast
Richard Barkey: ON Reinventing Yourself and Coaching through AI
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This week on The Merri-Cast podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Richard Barkey – Founder and CEO of Imparta.
I first met Richard almost 20 years ago, when his sharp questions about PR effectiveness left a lasting impression on me. Since then, he’s gone on to build and scale a business in a sector that is notoriously difficult to grow.
How has he done it? With curiosity, resilience and innovation at every turn.
In our conversation, Richard shared his journey and valuable insights that every entrepreneur can learn from, including:
• How an engineer’s mindset helped him pivot from McKinsey to founding Imparta.
• Why early investment and serendipity gave him the springboard to build something that would last.
• The importance of reinvention: from the dot-com bubble, through the 2008 crash, to pivoting early during the pandemic.
• His forward-looking approach on AI in sales and coaching, including its potential and the pitfalls of “cognitive offloading”.
• How he managed to break into the US market and scale globally, in a sector where many others have failed.
• His practical advice for entrepreneurs.
Richard’s story is one of persistence, vision and adaptability. If you’re navigating challenges in your own entrepreneurial journey, this episode is for you.
Richard Barkey:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-barkey-72604a4/
Imparta: https://imparta.com/
Trevor:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevormerriden/
Merriborn: https://merriborn.co.uk/
Email: trevor.merriden@merribornmedia.co.uk
