Unique Contributions

In this episode, YS Chi interviews Laura Hassink, Managing Director of Elsevier journals. Elsevier publishes 17 percent of the world's research output across its 3,000 journals. This gives it a unique vantage point on some of the biggest issues currently discussed in the research and scientific communities: research integrity, trust in science, AI, and the 'pay to read' and 'pay to publish' models. Laura discusses these issues head on. This episode is also available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdfVzdzUKLQ

In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Bill Madison, CEO of our insurance business at LexisNexis Risk Solutions to explore the dynamics within the insurance industry and why premiums keep rising across the board. To understand the challenges consumers and insurance carriers are facing today, Bill takes us back to 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic. This episode is also available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/PGgi39UtbBE

In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Kimberly Sutherland, vice president of fraud and identity at LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Banks and businesses need to constantly adapt to our need for fast and secure online transactions, while having to detect and stop online fraud. This is a complex task since scammers are increasingly sophisticated and operate as organized networks.  What can businesses do to better protect their customers from fraud? How can biometrics play a role? What does 'risk appropriate friction' look like?  Who is most at risk? This episode is also available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMCKyXVyn-E  

In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Brian Brittain, Chief Operations Officer, and Gaby Appleton, Chief Product Officer at RX, the global events business. The events industry is all about connecting buyers and sellers and bringing people together to enable them to grow their business.  Far from being a threat to in-person events, as many feared, the pandemic triggered an acceleration in the development of technology which is transforming the customer experience, making participation easier and more productive. What does that look like in practice and how is technology changing the customer experience?  Brian and Gabby discuss technology, data, AI and more. They even share some ‘spectacular' failures.  This episode is also available on video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-fcgETVd04 

YS Chi speaks with Philippa Scarlett, RELX global head of government affairs. As a child of diplomats, Pippa has a unique background which gives her cross-cultural competency in a role that requires global thinking.  She shares her insights on how different governments think about AI and the opportunities and challenges they face when leveraging AI and generative AI for their own use. What are the different governmental approaches to AI regulation? How best to approach regulation when facing such a pace of technological change? And in the absence of regulation, what roles can companies play in advancing innovation and responsible development and use of AI?

In this first episode of Season Four, YS Chi speaks with Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of LexisNexis North American, UK & Ireland.In June 2023, YS interviewed Mike Walsh, CEO of LexisNexis Legal & Professional, a few months after introducing generative AI at scale to the legal profession. Fast forward to 2025 and thousands of small and large legal firms are now actively using this new technology across multiple regions. YS asks Sean how customers are adapting to, and adopting this new technology. Can it be trusted? What impact will it have on law firms' business model and the billable hour? How is it affecting legal education and the next generation of lawyers. What is the vision? 

Hugh Jones joined RX as CEO in February 2020, and within a month, was facing the implications of the global Covid pandemic. The business, like many others, was seriously impacted.  But three years on, recent shows are now performing on average better than their pre-Covid versions. So what has happened?  What innovations have been implemented that make events different?   What does it mean for exhibitors and visitors? In this episode, hear how Hugh Jones is leading RX towards better, smarter events. As Hugh says, "it's when the adventure begins." This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

Mike Walsh, CEO of LexisNexis Legal & Professional, and part of RELX, takes a deep dive into the subject of generative AI and the law. What are the opportunities and risks for lawyers? What are the use cases? What will legal work look like in years to come?   LexisNexis Legal & Professional recently launched a generative AI platform designed to transform legal work. Unlike ChatGPT which creates hallucinations, Lexis+AI is built and trained on the largest repository of accurate and exclusive legal content. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

Imagine an American single mother of two teenagers living in Indianapolis who decides it is time to buy her first family home. With no debt, a college degree and a steady job, one would think it would be easy to secure a mortgage. Except she can't. What about a British national in his mid-thirties moving back to the UK after spending some time in Hong Kong? He has a corporate job and needs access to credit to get his life organised in the UK. Except he can't because he has no past credit history in the UK and traditional credit lenders cannot score his ability to repay loans. Financial exclusion affects 30 percent of people worldwide across rich and developing countries and impacts a  huge variety of people, from students, retirees, housewives, migrants and many more. Fortunately, there are solutions. In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Steve Elliot, UK managing director of LexisNexis Risk Solutions who shares his thoughts on how to address the issue in the UK; and with Carolina Costa, RELX head of government affairs for Latin America, who says Brazil is getting it right.  This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

Alicia's story is a rare story of survival. Twenty years ago, Alicia was abducted and raped by a man she met in an online chatroom. She was just 13 at the time. Her ordeal lasted four days, which was the time it took for the FBI to track down her kidnapper. Since her rescue, Alicia has devoted her life to fighting child predators and educating children and adults on internet safety and sexual exploitation.  She is one of the most vocal and outspoken advocates for child safety legislation.In this episode, Alicia shares her insights on the scale of the problem of missing children and sextortions, victim blaming and what all parents should do to protect their children from online predators. As we become increasingly mindful of the issues associated with the sharing of personal data, Alicia reminds us that this same information enables task force agents to rescue endangered children.You can find out more about Alicia's work at aliciakozak.com This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

Our largest and most vital US public government programs — food stamps (SNAP), Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), unemployment insurance and even the tax system — are being systematically plundered by domestic and transnational criminals who are intent on disrupting our way of life. Woody Talcove knows this because for 14 years, he has been on the frontlines of securing government agencies from fraudsters, cybercriminals and adversaries. The level of fraud is possibly the biggest heist in American history. To put things in perspective, US government published preliminary data showing that in 2021 alone,  it was defrauded by $277bn. And that relates to the unemployment insurance programme alone. Fraud is not only a problem for taxpayers and the federal budget. Fraud wreaks havoc on individuals' lives and the people who suffer are those who need the most support. If fraud losses were stopped, they could pay for free childcare for every family in America. The time for complacency has come to an end. It is time to treat this as an national emergency. This podcast episode is a wake up call.  Haywood ‘Woody' Talcove is CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solution's government business. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

As a global organisation with 33,000 people across 40 countries, how do we make sure we continue to attract, retain and develop talent? How do we adapt to new employee expectations? How do we create a working environment that is inclusive, embraces diversity of thought and allows people to have long and rewarding careers?  In this episode, Rose Thomson, RELX chief human resources officer, shares with YS Chi her perspective on some of the big people themes that organisations need to think about to be successful, from the role of the manager to allowing people to have career changes. Also in this episode, YS Chi speaks with Emili Budell-Rhodes, lead evangelist of engineering culture at LexisNexis Legal & Professional. Emili is an example of what is possible when organisations invest in women in technology. YS explores what made her pivot from corporate responsibility to technology, how she feels about her career change, what enabled it and the satisfaction she derives from it.  This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

Everyone acknowledges the importance of improving patient experience and access, improving patient health outcomes, and reducing the cost of healthcare. Addressing social determinants of health - factors that impact people's health outside of their clinical conditions such as economic or housing instability - is also critical to improving health outcomes. But this is a tall order when the data that can provide these insights is incomplete, siloed or guarded by necessary patient privacy regulations. In this episode, YS explores how this challenge can be addressed. Looking at healthcare in the United States, he speaks with Josh Schoeller who passionately believes we're in a "healthcare renaissance". Josh is the Chief Executive Officer of the health care business of LexisNexis Risk Solutions and global president of Elsevier's clinical solutions.From the United States, we move to India which faces its own unique healthcare challenges. Our second guest, Shanker Kaul, managing director of Elsevier's health solutions in India tells the story of how the amazing ASHA workers (the female frontline health workers) are successfully screening patients, identifying urgent referrals and saving lives using new, intuitive digital tools.This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

In this second episode, YS Chi explores the subject of Artificial Intelligence and Ethics, also sometimes called Responsible AI. Like any technology gaining prominence, there is both substance and fuzziness to be found in discussions around AI. There are also many grey areas that are sometimes presented as black and white. Vijay Raghavan, chief technology officer of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, explains how we look at Responsible AI and offers a helpful framework that differentiates real-world bias from data bias or algorithmic bias.Also in this episode, we hear from our first external podcast guest, Kirk Borne, chief science officer at DataPrime and one of the world's top artificial intelligence influencers. Kirk talks about how AI has evolved and the importance of transparency and human oversight.This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

To mark the launch of our third series of Unique Contributions, our host, YS Chi, explores the issue of the Rule of Law and how to make it universal and relevant for everyone. YS Chi asks Ian McDougall, general counsel of LexisNexis Legal & Professional and president of LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, if there's a Rule of Law crisis? And if so, how do we maintain trust, the glue that keeps it all together. In a further conversation, YS Chi talks to Alison Manchester, vice president of product management at LexisNexis Legal & Professional. In the context of a loss of confidence in the voting system in the US, Alison talks about the LexisNexis US Voting Laws and Legislation Center, a free resource that allows everyone to see first-hand all voting law activities that are happening at state and federal levels, without relying on rumour or social media. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

A sea change is occurring within the air travel industry. From last minute bookings to reduced business travel and new efficiencies aligned to sustainability targets, new travel patterns are emerging. Which of these will remain permanent beyond the pandemic and how will the industry rebuild better? In this 10th and final episode of Season 2, YS Chi speaks with Jeremy Bowen, CEO of Cirium, who shares his thoughts and insights on how this resilient air travel industry can come back stronger, greener and more efficient. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

How do you build a workplace culture and why does it matter? As business leaders grapple with retaining talent, inclusion and wellbeing, building a culture centered around purpose is top of mind. In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Rashelle Cejo, vice president of human resources for LexisNexis Asia and RELX shared service centre in the Philippines. The centre, known as REPH, is one of the fastest-growing business facilities by headcount with over 4,000 employees in Manilla. As the very first hire for REPH in 2010, Shelle has first-hand experience of the growth story of the centre. She shares her insights on the initiatives that have contributed to REPH receiving a number of global recognition awards for best employer brand and reflects on creating a sense of purpose, giving back to the community and the future of work.This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

Farmers and growers are at the forefront of what is perhaps the world's biggest challenge. How do you feed a growing world population expected to reach 9.6bn by 2050 while available arable land is reducing and environmental constraints are increasing?  How can we help the farmers and growers who put food on our plates? In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Graeme McCracken, managing director of Proagrica, a provider of connectivity and data-driven support solutions for the agriculture and animal health industries. Graeme believes the challenge is surmountable. He shares his insights into the vast amount of data that can be found in every element, from the individual seed type in the ground to soil types and yield. Combining these different data sets provides meaningful insights that can significantly help growers, farmers and the entire supply chain improve productivity, profitability and transparency, while also increasing sustainability. Here is a deep dive into the future of agriculture, from seed to field to fork. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Márcia Balisciano, global head of corporate responsibility at RELX. Márcia joined RELX 18 years ago to establish a ‘global community programme' which the then CEO thought would be a two-year gig. At the time, terms like ‘ESG' (Environmental, Social and Governance) or ‘CR' (Corporate Responsibility) hadn't yet made it into the global conversation. 18 years later, RELX scores consistently at the top of ESG rankings. Márcia talks about the journey that has made this possible and explains what it means in practice to be a business that sees no trade-off between profitability and responsibility. We hear about her pioneering bottom-up approach to corporate responsibility, how RELX articulated its ‘Unique Contributions', and about the free RELX SDG Resource Centre. But the work is never done and Márcia is now focused on the next challenge: meeting stringent carbon reduction targets.

In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Simon Mayle, event director of the International Luxury Travel Market events in the Americas and PROUD Experiences. Born in a family of pioneer travel experts, Simon dedicated his professional life to creating better travel experiences for the discerning LGBTQ+ and luxury travel communities.Through his personal and professional stories, we hear about the latest travel trends and why we have a yearning for travel. Simon tells us about his work to support inclusion and diversity in the travel market and shares his insights on inclusive experiences that speak to every segment of society regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, etc – elements that are sometimes still missing in travel experiences.As an ambassador of the LGBTQ+ community, Simon reminds us that although a third of centennials identify as LGBTQ+, acceptance levels are still too low in some popular tourist destinations. He calls for governments to place more importance on the travel industry and the 160m people it employs worldwide.This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

Gender balance in the world of Artificial Intelligence is work in progress. But female role models do exist. In this episode, YS Chi speaks with one of them. Min Chen is a computer scientist leading a team of around 250 technologists and software engineers focused on applying machine learning, natural language processing and other advanced technologies in the legal industry.Min was one of the few female students who studied computer science in Shanghai in the 90s, and the only one from her class to pursue a career in the industry. She tells us where she found the inspiration to ‘stick with it’ and overcome adversity. She talks about the profound technological transformation taking place in the legal industry and gives us a flavour of how technology is changing the way lawyers work. Here are the reflections of a female technologist rocking the fascinating world of AI and deep learning.   Min Chen is chief technology officer of LexisNexis Legal & Professional, part of RELX, for Asia Pacific and Global Search.This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Brian Brittain, chief operating officer of Reed Exhibitions. In a normal year, the organisation runs over 400 events across all continents. During the pandemic, it has had to navigate show cancellations and moving event dates. But sometimes crisis creates opportunities. We hear from Brian how the company has accelerated the digitisation of products that augment the face-to-face events experience. We learn about hybrid events, customer communities and online product showcases.  An American living in the UK, with Brittain as a surname, Brian gives us a flavour of the future of events.This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

In this episode, YS Chi speaks with John Pham, the editor in chief of Cell, just the fourth in the journal’s 47-year history.  Cell is one of the world’s leading scientific journals. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the White House held up a copy of Cell during a Congressional hearing. Cell and the papers it publishes matter.Here is the remarkable story of the fourth son of Vietnamese immigrants who never imagined himself editor in chief of one of the world's leading scientific journal. In this episode, John discusses many of the big issues in scientific publishing, from diversity and trust in science to research integrity, transparency in data and open access. He also shares his thoughts on where he hopes to take Cell in the future. These are the reflections of a reluctant leader who had a calling for science and for doing "good things to help people".This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

How do you build trust? How do you meaningfully advance inclusion and diversity? In this episode, YS Chi speaks with Kumsal Bayazit, the first female CEO in Elsevier’s 140-year history, about her learnings and insights into building trust and creating an inclusive mindset. Kumsal tells us how her upbringing in Istanbul shaped her commitment to inclusion and diversity and what Elsevier is doing to support researchers and health professionals who play such a critical role in ensuring societal progress. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

To mark the launch of our second series of Unique Contributions, YS Chi speaks with one of the most influential Blacks in corporate America, Femi Richards, about race, racism and social justice.  Femi has a courageous conversation about his personal and family experience of racism and what it means to be black in America today. As the co-founder and ex-president of the DC Chapter of the African Ancestry Network at RELX, he shares his thoughts on the efforts that are required to reaffirm the inherent values of black lives and all lives. He calls for everyone to join the conversation. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

To conclude the first series of our Unique Contributions podcast, YS speaks to Jelena Sevo about diversity, inclusion and innovation, and what it means to be one of the most senior women at RELX. In her conversation, Jelena makes the business case for diversity and shares her insights into what more can be done to bring down the remaining barriers that still stand in the way. As chief strategy officer at RELX, Jelena talks about RELX’s approach to customer centricity and what makes the organisation different. Her personal story, set against the backdrop of a country that was once defined by polarisation and the rejection of diversity, is an engaging window into how a female leader is driving innovation through diversity of thought. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

Much has been discussed about the events industry during the pandemic. In this episode, YS explores with Anna Dycheva-Smirnova the lasting impact of shows on local economies and what it takes to be a leader in this industry. Anna discusses how authenticity, sincerity and openness have informed her leadership style with both clients and employees. Her positive mental attitude and a sense of higher purpose have ensured some of the highest advocacy scores in employee opinion surveys across RELX. A veteran of the industry, Anna shares her insights into how the industry has evolved over time and how moving from “instinct to database” is creating growth opportunities for clients. Anna Dycheva-Smirnova is CEO of Reed Exhibitions Russia, Turkey and the Middle East, and also from January 2021, the new CEO of the UK. You can read more of our stories on Reed Exhibitions here and why people at RELX recommend our company as a great place to work here. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

In this episode, YS Chi talks to Stephen Topliss about cybercrime. They discuss how online fraud has evolved and how modern technology is now helping to combat it. They explore the need to balance convenience with safety to protect younger generations, and take a look at Stephen's inspiring journey which has included stops as a linguist and a space physicist. Stephen Topliss is the VP of Market Planning for Global Fraud & Identity at LexisNexis Risk Solutions.This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

What is the rule of law, what does it mean in practice and why does it matter?Gaythri Raman has dedicated a large part of her career to advance the rule of law. In this episode, YS asks Gaythri what it takes to meaningfully advance the rule of law around the world and about the role that technology can play in that journey. Based in South East Asia, Gaythri shares the stories that have changed her life and the lives of others to create a more equal society.Gaythri Raman is managing director of LexisNexis South East Asia. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

In this episode, YS Chi talks to Rhett Alden who joined Elsevier with “the idea, the expectation, that we’re really going to do something significant in the healthcare space to improve patients’ lives”. YS asks Rhett how it was possible to make such quick progress with the Covid vaccines, how to continue the push for more open access to information and how to build trust. Rhett shares his insights on all the possibilities that come with bringing different large data sets together to better understand patients, the exciting developments in oncology and the latest tools that are helping doctors find the best cancer treatments. Rhett Alden is the chief technology officer for health and commercial markets at Elsevier.This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

In this episode, YS Chi speaks to Dean Curtis about his unconventional professional journey which has seen him skip university, start a career in finance, move into professional soccer coaching at major UK clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, and then onto risk and compliance. Today, he’s leading two growing businesses that provide data and analytics. YS asks Dean about how these different paths have served each other and how his insights into sports, elite team performance and psychological safety informs his business decisions and leadership skills. Together, they discuss “co-opetiton”, the combination of competition and collaboration in the age of Covid, insights into how analytics are helping the airline, travel and petrochemical industries make better decisions, and our responsibility to support their transition towards environmental sustainability. Dean Curtis is group managing director of ICIS and Cirium which respectively provide data and analytics solutions to the petrochemical, and airline and travel industries.This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

In this episode, YS Chi speaks to Lance Fensterman, pop culture fanatic, entrepreneur and global head of Reed POP. ReedPOP celebrates pop culture around the world and runs events like New York Comic Con, EGX Berlin, the Minecraft Festival and the Star Wars Celebration to name just a few. As a leader in an affected industry, YS asks Lance about the challenges of navigating change and unfamiliarity and finding the right balance between passion and calm. Lance shares his insights into creating community engagement and existential experiences in a digital world and his prediction for the events industry post Covid. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.