The B2B Experience

Digital in a relationship business.

Chris Monery entered food wholesale from the fast, unforgiving world of online retail, where technology, data and constant optimisation are the norm. What he found was an industry shaped by relationships, routines and workarounds, where businesses could operate successfully without the systems and digital discipline he took for granted.    In this episode, Chris talks openly about what it means to bring a digital mindset into a traditionally low‑tech B2B environment. He reflects on the early realities of the sector, the gaps he saw immediately, and why fundamentals such as forecasting, stable platforms and clear processes became the foundation for change. He also discusses the practical work of scaling in a protected market, from building trust with suppliers to persuading independent van drivers to join him, to developing the tools he couldn’t find off the shelf.    For Chris, real transformation isn’t about disruption for its own sake. It’s about seeing where a system is fragile, strengthening the parts no one else wants to fix and proving that technology, relationships and execution can work together to build something better.  https://biglight.co.uk/theb2bexperience

Delivering incremental innovation in FMCG

John Kelly has spent over 25 years navigating the realities of FMCG and Food and Beverage, an environment defined by operational discipline, complex routes to market and a low tolerance for risk.  In this episode, John reflects on his 15‑year journey at Heineken, where he helped scale a B2B digital ecosystem from three pilot markets to more than 30 countries, generating over €2.5bn in digital revenue and fundamentally reshaping how the business goes to market.  John shares honest stories from the frontline of transformation, from failed big‑bet initiatives to the power of incremental innovation, agile ways of working and building belief market by market. He explains why early pilots should focus on adoption, not ROI, how to balance annual planning with sprint‑based delivery, and why customer centricity must come before technology.  The conversation also explores practical AI use cases, including dynamic sales routing and next‑best‑action models, alongside John’s framework for scaling digital capability through distinct growth phases without moving too fast.  Grounded, pragmatic and deeply experienced, John’s perspective is a reminder that successful transformation in FMCG is rarely about disruption for its own sake, it’s about patience, proof and bringing people with you.  ⁠https://biglight.co.uk/theb2bexperience [https://biglight.co.uk/theb2bexperience]

Driving innovation in established B2B.

Özlem Özümer has spent her career navigating the world of global trade, first through banking and later through credit insurance, but she’s clear that her motivation has always been helping businesses grow with confidence.  In this episode, she reflects on launching a greenfield operation in Turkey, the realities of building trust in an emerging market, and why credit insurance sits quietly behind so much of the world’s commerce. She talks about the human side of risk, the importance of being close to buyers on the ground, and the role people play in guiding clients through uncertainty.  Özlem shares the story behind Allianz TradePay, from early experiments that didn’t land to the breakthrough moment when co‑creation with a major client shaped the product’s future. She explains the challenge of innovating inside a large, established organisation, the resistance faced by a small new team, and why sponsorship, alignment and constant communication matter more than any single idea. Her perspective is thoughtful and practical, a reminder that real innovation in B2B comes from patience, proximity to customers and the determination to keep going when the easy answers run out.  https://biglight.co.uk/theb2bexperience [https://biglight.co.uk/theb2bexperience]

Changing the sustainability narrative.

Maxim Gelmann didn’t set out to make edible spoons. He set out to change how people think about sustainability. His journey from strategy consulting to Burning Man to Dragons’ Den shaped the way he now builds his brand: with creativity, playfulness and a refusal to make sustainability dull.    In this episode, Maxim talks about building Stroodles as a brand from day one, not just a product line, and why fun travels faster than fear when it comes to behaviour change. He explains how edible tableware creates the kind of memorable, shareable moments that no carbon‑reporting framework can match, and why B2B hospitality and wholesale adoption requires more than innovation, it requires storytelling, patience and “pre‑chewed” ideas that help chefs and venues imagine what’s possible.    Maxim’s view is clear: sustainability only shifts when it becomes visible, tangible and joyful. And for B2B leaders wrestling with innovation, distribution complexity and customer expectations, his story offers a reminder that differentiation often comes from narrative, not novelty.  https://biglight.co.uk/theb2bexperience [https://biglight.co.uk/theb2bexperience]

Change that survives complex organisations.

Przemek Kotecki has spent his career sitting between business and technology, but he’s the first to say his leadership style didn’t come from corporate life, it came from volunteering. In this episode, he reflects on how working with people you can’t “manage” in the traditional sense shaped the way he now leads transformation at Brenntag, a global organisation built through decades of acquisitions and complexity. Przemek talks candidly about the hidden work of transformation: understanding motivations rather than mandates, building bridges between legacy systems and modern expectations, and creating clarity in environments where nothing is simple and everything is interconnected. He shares stories of outages, crisis recovery, difficult conversations with CEOs, and the mindset shift that changed how he operates: “do not negotiate with yourself.” His perspective is steady, practical and grounded in real experience, a reminder that meaningful transformation happens through people, trust and shared purpose, not technology alone. https://biglight.co.uk/theb2bexperience [https://biglight.co.uk/theb2bexperience]