Hetti Barkworth-Nanton on Humility, Purpose & Leading Through Trauma | What We Don’t Know (Eden Project)
Recorded in the Eden Project Rainforest Dome at the Anthropy conference, Hayaatun speaks with Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, CEO of Ploughshare and chair of Refuge, about leading change across defense innovation and domestic abuse services. Hetti explains how Ploughshare spins Ministry of Defence innovations into civil applications, sharing examples from water-protective coatings used in Samsung phones to laser-detection tech adapted from battlefield needs to air ambulances and sport.
She traces formative influences - rural upbringing, her father’s death, early lessons on commitment, and being “spark spotted” into senior roles at British Airways, including being the “Project God.”
Hetti describes the murder of her friend Jo Simpson, resulting trauma therapy, later breast cancer, and how these experiences drove her campaigning, founding the Joanna Simpson Foundation, and her leadership at Refuge amid controversy and difficult board decisions.
Key lessons: systems thinking, curiosity, resilience, boundaries, and humility.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:45 Welcome To Eden Project
02:35 Two Leadership Roles
04:33 Rural Roots And Loss
08:01 Finding Self Belief
09:56 Strawberry Field Commitment
11:10 BA Breakthrough Roles
16:17 Project God And Servant Leadership
22:29 Why Domestic Abuse Matters
27:19 Trauma Therapy And Authenticity
29:49 Trauma and Cancer Reset
33:24 Purpose Over Corporate Life
35:06 Finding Ploughshare Mission
37:55 Defense Tech Impact Shift
40:56 UK Innovation System Fixes
43:11 Sentinel Photonics Story
45:59 Leading Two Careers Openly
48:16 Refuge Board Tough Calls
51:14 Resilience and Burnout Signs
53:55 Quickfire Leadership Lessons
57:16 Host Wrap and Takeaways
Credits:
Producer: Sunny Winter
Producer: Thuy Dong
Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE
Have thoughts or questions? Email us at whatwedontknow@boxlight.io
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