Business Leader

Dougal Shaw takes a trip to the Comedy Store in central London to meet a legend of improvisational comedy, who has a few tricks he can teach businesses. Neil Mullarkey has been performing with the Comedy Store Players every week for three decades. He has also worked closely with Mike Myers, who starred in the Austin Powers films. These days, as well as performing unscripted comedy, Mullarkey runs staff workshops with businesses and coaches individual CEOs, showing how the tools of his trade can help them. So how does improvisational comedy help you get ahead in business? Mullarkey shares tips on teamwork, presentation skills and getting comfortable with spontaneity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Jones was the director of a FTSE 100 company and highly regarded in the business world. But he was concerned he was missing a big opportunity. So, inspired by Warren Buffett, Jones decided to risk his career and launch his own business. It proved to be a great decision. In this episode of the Business Leader Podcast, Andrew Jones tells Graham Ruddick what happened next - he built a new FTSE 100 company of his own...This episode covers:-The story behind London Metric (market capitalisation of £4bn)-Raising money from investors-The wisdom of Warren Buffett-Modern retail and property trends-Negotiating with top entrepreneurs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jake Humphrey has spent years examining the habits of world-class performers. In this episode of the Business Leader Podcast, Graham Ruddick and Josh Dornbrack sit down with the Business Leader columnist and host of the High Performance podcast to find out how you can apply these principles to build high-performing teams and cultures.From managing confidence to maintaining momentum, he offers practical, powerful insights on what drives long-term success and what most leaders get wrong. We also discuss his new podcast, The Room Where It Happened, which gives insight into the conversations that shaped businesses, offering a rare glimpse into the defining moments of top entrepreneurs and industry leaders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Graham Ruddick travels to Bolton, Lancashire, to hear how John Roberts built AO.com into a leading online electricals retailer with more than £1bn of revenue and 12 million customers. AO is one of few online success stories in the UK and it all started with a £1 bet. Since it was founded in 2000, AO's story has included a high-profile stock market flotation, a U-turn on the chief executive position and, as Roberts explains, a rethink on fun. In this episode of the Business Leader Podcast, learn the story behind how a cutting-edge online retailer was built.John Roberts is a supporter of OnSide, a charity that is building and opening youth centres across the UK. You can find out more via the link below:https://www.onsideyouthzones.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a special series for the Business Leader Podcast, Victoria Price is meeting entrepreneurs from around the UK to hear the personal stories behind their success. In the third episode, Victoria Price speaks to Henrietta Rix, the co-founder of Rixo, about building a new fashion brand.Victoria Price is head of private capital at Alvarez & Marsal, the consultancy firm, and has spent over 20 years in professional services in a collection of senior roles. In previous episodes, Victoria Price spoke to Tom Ryder of Applied Nutrition and Clare Roberts, the co-founder and chief executive of Kids Planet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you ready to take a tour of a uniquely British organisation? The Ordnance Survey was founded in the 18th century to protect Britain from Napoleon’s armies. Its job is to map Britain in detail. That task didn’t change that much for two centuries. But now it's undergone a digital reboot. Dougal Shaw went to meet the CEO Nick Bolton to find out how modern maps are made, which includes the National Geographic Database, the so-called digital brain of Britain. Bolton also explains what it’s like working for an organisation that is owned by the government but given a mandate to operate like a business. And he explains how the Ordnance Survey is leading the way with artificial intelligence and wants to deliver "digital dividends for the country”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a new limited series for the Business Leader Podcast, Victoria Price meets entrepreneurs from around the UK to hear the personal stories behind their success. Victoria Price is head of private capital at Alvarez & Marsal, the consultancy firm, and has spent over 20 years in professional services in a collection of senior roles. In the second episode of the series, Victoria Price speaks to Clare Roberts, the co-founder and chief executive of Kids Planet, which has more than 200 nurseries around the UK. The interview explores how a need for flexible childcare inspired the business, being a female entrepreneur and how Kids Planet secured backers such as BGF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You haven't heard from anyone like Professor Sir Peter Donnelly before. He is a statistician, professor, a knight of the realm and an entrepreneur. Not only has he given a Ted Talk about statistics that has been viewed more than 1.5 million times, but he is now working on genetics tests that could save lives and change the world by helping people understand how predisposed they are to becoming obese or getting certain illnesses. Donnelly left his career in academia to become the co-founder and chief executive of Genomics, which is developing these genetic tests and is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the UK. But this may only be the start of its story, as Graham Ruddick explains... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Graham Ruddick meets Kiki McDonough to tell the story of how she built a luxury jewellery brand which has been worn by the Princess of Wales, the Queen and Princess Diana. But despite gaining worldwide recognition, Kiki McDonough has decided to only have one shop in London. Find out why in the latest episode of the Business Leader Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a new limited series for the Business Leader Podcast, Victoria Price meets entrepreneurs from around the UK to hear the personal stories behind their success. Victoria Price is head of private capital at Alvarez & Marsal, the consultancy firm, and has spent over 20 years in professional services in a collection of senior roles. In this first episode, she speaks to Tom Ryder, the founder and chief executive of Applied Nutrition, who has gone from a scaffolder in Liverpool to the man behind one of the biggest stock market flotations in the UK over the last year. Applied Nutrition listed on the stock market in 2024 with a valuation of £350m. We hear the story behind him growing up in Liverpool, his love of drama, nutrition tips and the one piece of advice he would give to budding entrepreneurs... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.