🎙️ The Secret Sauce
The Secret Sauce isn’t for influencers. It’s for operators. The ones who make Payroll, HR, and IT transformation happen across borders, systems, and time zones. The professionals who deliver under pressure, keep global workforces compliant, and quietly make the complex look effortless.
Hosted by Ian O’Callaghan — founder and CEO of Olympus Talent — this is a podcast built for the real experts, by someone who’s been in the trenches. With over three decades of global recruitment expertise, Ian has helped some of the biggest brands on the planet build elite, high-performing teams across Global Payroll, HR, Finance, and IT. He’s seen the inside of transformation projects that span continents, led searches for leadership roles that define corporate strategy, and partnered with organisations scaling at breakneck speed while maintaining operational excellence.
Each episode goes under the hood of the professions that rarely get the spotlight — but without them, nothing works. We’re talking about the leaders, the problem-solvers, and the quiet powerhouses who don’t just keep the wheels turning… they rebuild the entire engine while it’s moving.
We dive deep into:
Global Payroll Operations — Multi-country compliance, vendor management, payroll technology stacks, and country-specific challenges.
HR Leadership & Culture — Strategic HR, culture-first hiring, employee experience, and retention strategies that actually work.
EOR (Employer of Record) — When, why, and how to use EOR models to scale fast while staying compliant.
Technology Adoption — From payroll automation and AI in HR to integration across ERP, HRIS, and payroll systems.
Transformation Strategy — Leading complex organisational change, building buy-in, and delivering measurable results across borders.
Leadership — The mindset, skills, and decision-making frameworks that separate great leaders from average managers.
The Human Stories — The career journeys, challenges, and pivotal moments that define the people behind the job titles.
We’re here for unfiltered conversations that mix practical takeaways with war stories from the field. You’ll hear from Global Payroll Leaders, HR Directors, CIOs, CFOs, Transformation Executives, and IT Architects — people who have navigated high-stakes projects, scaled teams internationally, and delivered where failure simply wasn’t an option.
Why listen?Because if you’re in this world — Payroll, HR, Finance, IT, or transformation leadership — you know the stakes. A missed deadline in payroll isn’t a minor inconvenience; it’s a compliance breach, a hit to employee trust, and a reputational risk. A failed HR transformation isn’t just wasted budget; it’s culture damage that takes years to repair. The Secret Sauce exists to give you the insights, strategies, and network to avoid those mistakes — and to excel in your role.
Whether you’re:
A Global Payroll Manager juggling multiple in-country vendors and technology integrations.
An HR Leader trying to build a culture-first team across multiple time zones.
A Finance or IT Executive overseeing transformation projects with compliance, security, and scalability at stake.
Or an EOR Specialist navigating the complexity of hiring in new markets.
You’ll find something here that speaks directly to your challenges.
This is not theory. Every conversation is grounded in real-world delivery — from running 40-country payrolls to integrating AI into HR workflows, from leading a global ERP migration to managing the human side of transformation.
If you want to sound smart on LinkedIn, this probably isn’t for you. If you want to be better at your job, to lead with clarity, to hire with precision, and to execute at a global level — welcome to The Secret Sauce.
đź“Ś Listen now for: Global Payroll | HR Leadership | IT Transformation | Finance Strategy | EOR & PEO Insights | Culture-First Hiring | Compliance & Governance | AI in Payroll & HR | Neurodiversity |Organisational Change Management
