The newest episode of My Duvet Flip, the UK’s leading career show hosted by Jack Parsons, features a powerful conversation with our Group CEO, Adolfo Hernandez. The episode dives into his early hustle, leadership mindset and Capita’s bold AI-led transformation.
From pouring pints behind a bar during university to leading Capita, Adolfo’s story is anything but ordinary. He opens up about the life lessons learned in hospitality, the value of curiosity, and the importance of unlearning habits to grow. “Sometimes I was learning more behind the bar than in lectures,” he tells Jack. “You learn how to read people, avoid conflict, and stay sharp.”
Adolfo’s journey is living proof that where you begin does not define where you end up. Here are the Top five lessons from Adolfo:
Life teaches you in the most unexpected jobs
Many years before he led tens of thousands of employees, Adolfo was working shifts behind a bar during university. “I learned how to deal with people at their best and their worst,” he said. It wasn’t about pouring pints; it was about developing empathy, patience, and conflict resolution.
"There was a time I was learning more behind the bar than I was in lectures."
It’s a powerful reminder that every job counts and the soft skills we learn early stick with us for life.
You must learn to unlearn
After years at Amazon, a company known for its discipline, frameworks, and execution, Adolfo joined Capita, where things were different. To lead effectively, he had to let go of old ways of thinking.
"You can’t lead with old playbooks in new environments.”
Lead with clarity of purpose
Adolfo shared a framework that stuck with Jack: you must nail the what and the why before you move to the how, when, who, or how much. As a leader, it’s your job to look around corners, anticipate the future, and bring people with you.
Culture is co-created, not top-down
At Capita, Adolfo didn’t just write a mission statement and ask our people to live by it. He flipped the model. Over 10,000 employees helped shape the company’s new values which are: Customer First, Always; Fearless Innovation; Achieving Together, and Everyone is Valued.
“We created the conditions, they built the culture.”
Where you start doesn’t define where you finish
One of the most moving moments for Jack came when Adolfo reflected on a woman he met while volunteering in a Nairobi slum, a fruit seller with a sharp business mind and unstoppable drive.
“If she’d been born in New York or Atlanta, she’d be a Fortune 500 CEO.”
Adolfo’s message is clear: while we don’t get to choose where we begin, we do get to shape what we do with it. Whether you’re from Nairobi, Newcastle, or anywhere in between your origin may shape your path, but it doesn’t set your limit.
In the newest episode of My Duvet Flip, Adolfo gives exclusive insight into Capita’s ongoing reinvention.
“While our services remain core to UK infrastructure, from pensions to armed forces training, the delivery is evolving fast. AI, digital apprenticeships, and a new values-led culture are reshaping how we operate here at Capita.”
⮬ Watch the full episode now over on My Duvet Flip’s YouTube channel
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