Building an Institution From a Blank Page | Grit in the Boardroom

In this episode of Grit in the Boardroom, Erika Eliasson-Norris, CEO of Beyond Governance, sits down with Juergen Maier CBE for an in depth executive interview on leadership decisions, institutional building, and what it truly takes to lead when the stakes are national. As founding Chair of Great British Energy, the UK's publicly owned energy company backed by £8.3 billion of public investment, Juergen built a national institution from a blank page, no staff, no offices, no governance framework, delivering an in-depth masterclass in high-stakes and business resilience.

Together, Erika and Juergen explore the c suite insights behind making boardroom decisions and strategic decision making when your shareholder is a politician with a manifesto, the tension between independence and accountability in state-owned governance, and why authentic leadership in crisis builds more trust than polished authority ever could. This is a director dialogue that moves from corporate governance principles to deeply personal conviction, offering governance lessons that every board needs to hear.

Drawing on 33 years at Siemens, a career shaped by cross-cultural complexity and the courage to speak publicly during Brexit when most CEOs chose silence, Juergen shares chair perspectives on strategic decision making, planned succession, the myths of neutrality, and how boards can either strengthen or erode trust through the decisions they make and the cultures they build.

What you'll find in this episode:

Why building a national institution from nothing requires strategy, culture and corporate governance from day one, and how board effectiveness depends on the framework outlasting the founder.

How boardroom decisions and leadership decisions are made when your shareholder is a politician with a manifesto, and why clarity of purpose protects independence.

What 33 years at one company teaches about long-termism, risk management, and why the best management case studies are those where leaders stayed and built rather than moved on.

Why speaking out on policy, whether Brexit, industrial strategy, or governance failure, is a leadership responsibility, not a political act, and what silence costs when boards fail to challenge.

How company culture change starts when leaders show vulnerability, reject performative authority, and demonstrate that values matter more than performance alone.

Why trade union voices on the board strengthen corporate governance and ensure the worker's perspective shapes boardroom decisions at the highest level.

How planned succession and fixed-term chairmanships create better governance lessons for state-owned organisations and force leaders to build systems that outlast them.

Why hiding your authentic self for 15 years taught Juergen more about board effectiveness than any governance framework, and what changed when he stopped editing who he was.

How navigating cross-border complexity, competing masters, and cultural difference reveals the real mechanics of inclusion and strategic decision making under pressure.

Why growth under pressure demands both boldness and a clear purpose that people, boards, and stakeholders can rally around, and how turnaround stories are not always about rescue but about creation.

About the Guest Juergen Maier CBE is the founding Chair of Great British Energy, the UK's publicly owned energy company established in 2024 with £8.3 billion of public investment. He is steering the organisation through its startup phase before handing the chairmanship to a permanent successor in 2026. Previously, Juergen spent 33 years at Siemens, rising from production engineer to CEO of Siemens UK and Ireland, where he championed industrial strategy, regional reindustrialisation, and inclusive leadership across a workforce of 15,000. He led the creation of the Made Smarter movement to accelerate digital technology adoption in UK manufacturing and the social enterprise vocL, which supports underrepresented business voices in finding confidence and platform.

About the host Erika Eliasson-Norris is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Beyond Governance and Governance Assessor to the United Kingdom’s Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry.

About Grit in the Boardroom: Grit in the Boardroom is a bi-weekly podcast where Erika Eliasson-Norris sits down with the best in business for executive interviews. She and her guests explore corporate governance beyond the sealed doors of the C-suite. As Governance Assessor for the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, the largest public inquiry in UK history, Erika Eliasson-Norris is helping shape accountability, governance reform, and corporate oversight across the UK.