The Purposeful Strategist, a podcast from Menkus & Associates in partnership with Norman Broadbent, shares conversations with CEOs on how they translate organisational purpose into bold strategy, real impact, and lasting results.
How can Europe build technology companies that scale fast enough to compete in an AI-driven world? In this episode, Phill Robinson, co-founder of Boardwave, shares why he helped create a pan-European community for founders, CEOs, and Chairs - designed to strengthen the leadership foundations behind Europe’s software and AI ecosystem.
What began as a simple idea sketched at a kitchen table has grown into a mission-led network of more than 2,500 members across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Nordics, and the Netherlands. Phill explains why Boardwave is deliberately not a conference business and not a commercial platform. Instead, free membership, a high bar for entry, and a social enterprise model have been central to fostering genuine peer support - helping leaders find their “tribe” and share hard-won insight across borders.
Phill reflects on the structural reasons European tech companies have historically scaled more slowly, and why the gap between AI-first and non-AI businesses is widening. He argues that the next decade will demand adaptive leadership - where learning speed, collaboration, and the ability to pivot matter more than experience alone. He also shares the personal motivation behind Boardwave’s mission: donating all surplus to Parkinson’s research, linking Europe’s tech future to a deeper commitment to impact beyond business.
Listen to the full episode here: https://www.menkus.com/podcast/2026/02/26/phill-robinson