The Business Leader Podcast

There's a new President on the other side of the pond and there are constant reports of the vaccines that are going to help us shed the COVID nightmare for good. We're honoured to be joined by Alpesh Patel OBE who will impart his expertise and give hints into the companies you should be investing in.Having recently penned an insightful look into the companies that stand out in the US, Alpesh joins us for a deeper look into the trends that he is seeing and companies you should look to be investing in. Being an asset manager, but previously a columnist on investing for the Financial Times and presenter for Bloomberg TV, Alpesh has solidified his reputation as an authority on all things investing.Here's a breakdown of what we discussed in the interview:It's been a strange year, to say the least, how have your found things in your world? (1:26)To start off, when investing how do you decide which public stocks to invest in? (2:27)Following the news about the Vaccine and Biden election, what impact did you see on the markets? (4:20)The markets are driven by the news – Biden election, vaccine etc – but can it be dangerous to gamble around news? (6:26)Can you give some insight and tips about what companies or sectors our viewers should be looking towards now? (8:13)What investing errors do you think business leaders make when it comes to their own businesses? (12:27)If somebody is watching this but isn’t experienced at investing – what are the key tips you can give them? (14:20)On the topic of Brexit, you’ve written an article with the now Home Secretary, Priti Patel. What’s your view on the impact this will have on investment into the UK? (16:17)Final word from Alpesh (18:20)Alpesh Patel OBE, Private Equity Fund manager, Dealmaker for the Department for International Trade’s Global Entrepreneur Programme, former FT columnist and with his own show on Bloomberg on investing, is a global authority on investing having written 18 books translated into 5 languages and set up the hedge fund back in 2005. You can get a free copy of his book Investing Unplugged from www.alpeshpatel.com. His fintech shows people how to invest and how to trade.If you’d like a free course on how to invest – www.investing-champions.com. He’s also a former Visiting Fellow in Business at Oxford University and trained Barrister. In 2020 he received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to the Economy. If you’re interested in learning more about markets and companies to invest in, please contact Alpesh’s team here.Be sure to subscribe to the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the UK’s leading business figures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many will recognise Merlin Griffiths as the friendly barman and the first port of call for the nervous diners in the Channel 4 show First Dates, but there is more to him than meets the eye.Often referred to as the ‘King of Cocktails’, Merlin has been a mixologist travelling the world and whipping up delectable drinks for over 25 years. He also is the proud owner of a country inn in Northamptonshire, giving him firsthand experience of the difficulties in the hospitality sector.Thanks to Smart Meter GB for helping us organise this edition of Business Leader Insight. Their guide Hospitality – Take Time, Take Control is available to download now. Contact your energy supplier to find out if your business is eligible for a smart meter.HERE’S A BREAKDOWN OF WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN THE INTERVIEW:Can you tell us about your background? (1:17)Can you talk about the impact that the pandemic has had on restaurants and bars, including your own? (2:09)How have you found the messaging from the Government? (3:44)A report claimed that Eat Out to Help Out could be a major factor behind the second coronavirus spike. Do you think the hospitality industry is getting unfairly blamed for spreading the virus? (6:29)How do you see the recovery – do you see a surge in people dining and investing in experiences when this is over, and do you have any tips for restaurant owners? (9:20)Have you heard of any publicans closing their businesses? Has it got that bad for them yet? (15:13)How did you end up working on the Channel 4 show First Dates? (17:12)You’ve worked with Smart Energy GB on a guide to help small hospitality businesses can take back control in these difficult times, could you tell us about that? (18:38)What’s your favourite cocktail? (19:31)Final word from Merlin (20:11)Be sure to subscribe to the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the UK’s leading business figures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we were honoured to talk to Chris Ormrod, Managing Director at The Flavourworks. Originally trained as an actor, Chris joined Mars as a salesman straight from university and subsequently worked for Haagen-Dazs, Ginsters, Findus and Virgin in a variety of sales and marketing roles.When Chris joined The Flavourworks was supplying several of the UK’s big supermarkets, but it needed to develop new sales initiatives to really grow. Fast forward to today and the changes he has made have increased sales substantially. It is forecasting more than +10% sales growth over the next 12 months, from new initiatives launched this year. This will have the effect of almost doubling its underlying operating profit. In 2020 it launched 50% more new lines than the previous year.Chris currently chairs Somerset Larder, a start-up business providing all of the catering for Hinkley Point C, and is Chair of Governors at a Somerset academy school and a Director of the Richard Huish Education Group. One of Chris’s wider ambitions is to make the food industry more attractive to school leavers and graduates, with a properly developed and supported career path. Here's a breakdown of what we discussed in the interview:Can you give us an overview of the business and what The Flavourworks does? (1:20)Can you tell us about your career as a business leader and how it has evolved over the years? (2:24)You were on the team that created Virgin Cola. What was it like working with Richard Branson? (5:04)Can you talk more about the sale of your previous business Ministry of Cake in 2017? How did you find the process of selling and exiting the business? (6:00)How is the pandemic impacting your business? (11:01)Are you in a growth mindset, such as looking at how to expand and invest in the business? (15:34)How are you seeing food habits evolve? (18:31)How have you found the last few years with Brexit looming and are you fully prepared as a business for a potential no-deal scenario? (22:37)Regarding skills – is there a challenge with attracting local talent to work in the food and drink manufacturing sector, as opposed to hiring workers from Europe? (25:58)What advice would you give to entrepreneurs operating in the food and drink space as it’s highly competitive? (29:34)Final word from Chris (32:02)Check our Virtual Events page for upcoming Business Leader Insight interviews.Be sure to subscribe to the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the UK’s leading business figures.A special thanks to Arbuthnot Latham for sponsoring this edition of Business Leader Insight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we were honoured to talk to Bestselling author, investor, business guru & creator of the 10X Movement, Grant Cardone. Grant Cardone owns and operates seven privately held companies, and a private equity real estate firm, Cardone Capital, with a multifamily portfolio of assets worth over $2 billion.He is a New York Times bestselling author of 11 business books, including The 10X Rule, which led to Cardone establishing the 10X Global Movement and the 10X Growth Conference, now the largest business and entrepreneur conference in the world. He is the Top Crowdfunder in the world, raising over $500 million in equity via social media.The online business and sales educational platforms he created serve over 330,000 individuals and Forbes 100 clients throughout the world. Voted the top Marketing Influencer to watch by Forbes, Cardone uses his massive 15 million-plus following to give back via his Grant Cardone Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring underprivileged and troubled youth in financial literacy.Here's a breakdown of what we discussed in the interview:You used to be addicted to drugs – using daily – and you were brutally beaten up, losing job after job. You had a tough start to life. What was the trigger that made you say enough was enough? (1:03)If you’ve been at the bottom and risen up – why can’t everybody do this? What are the traits you need to turn your life around? (3:23)Can you talk more about this and the price you need to pay to have success and wealth and financial freedom? Everybody sees the wealth and spending I guess – but what price do you need to pay? (5:21)Some people may find the process of starting a business and building it from the ground up intimidating. What would you do and what advice would you give to others? (6:58)You've said in the past that buying a home isn't a good investment. How do you see the current state of the housing market? (8:58)How did you deal with criticism and negativity in your rise to where you are today? (10:49)What would you say to people who would argue that creating wealth isn't a good thing and it should be dispersed instead? (13:06)What does the future hold for you? Continuing to inspire people or maybe a political career? (14:53)Trump vs. Biden; who do you think should win the election? (17:18)Has there been a particular person or book that has inspired you in your life? (19:02)Details of the 10X Boot Camp Interactive (20:58)Final word from Grant (23:17)Be sure to subscribe to the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the UK’s leading business figures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we spoke to Pete Lowe; former Head of Education and Performance Management at Manchester City, a leadership specialist and founder of First Team Ltd.As a professional speaker and thought leader on the global circuit, Pete draws on his experience of the high-performance environment of Premier League football to help businesses to create and sustain a culture of success. He proves that there are startling similarities between the pitch and the boardroom.Pete’s track record includes more than 13 years in a senior role at Manchester City Football Club, where he was responsible for helping to develop an unrivalled talent pipeline that created 39 first team footballers and 25 full international players over a ten year period.The team’s trophy cabinet was a testament to this success, with 13 European tournament wins, an U15 Championship World Cup, six Divisional Premier League Championships and the FA Youth Cup. Understanding how people tick and how to help them realise their potential was instrumental to his career at MCFC. He claims that knowing each character in the training room lies at the heart of extraordinary team performance.Pete is adamant that there are no shortcuts to sustained success. His powerful insights delivered in a ‘say it as it is’ manner captivates audiences and prove that ‘tales from the touchline’ translate to other arenas, with compelling results. He maintains that ‘excellence’ is a nebulous destination and continuous improvement is the Holy Grail of sustained high performance. A man who speaks from the heart using real-life insights, Pete believes that culture must support strategy and leaders create leaders, not followers.Here's what we discussed during the interview:- Overview of Pete Lowe's career (1:02)- You were at Man City when the new ownership took over. What impact have they had on the club and the city? (2:36)- What impact did the takeover have off the field, in the city of Manchester? (4:43)- There have been cries by some of the top clubs for funding from the government due to the impact of COVID-19. Do you think clubs should get this assistance despite the perceived wealth in top-flight football? (7:22)- What lessons from working in sport can be translated over to business? (8:43)- When coming into a business for the first time, what do you believe are early signs that there's a problem and how do you address those? (11:50)- Do you think working from home will have an effect on the "winning culture" of the workspace? (13:52)- What do you believe are the traits of a good modern leader? (15:35)- What does your typical day entail and how do you keep yourself motivated? (18:35)- Who do you think is going to win the Premier League and Champions League this year? (21:00)- How can people get in touch with you? (21:57)- A final word from Pete Lowe (22:33)Be sure to subscribe to the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the UK’s leading business figures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Insight series is taking a break this week. Instead, we're bringing you a very special panel debate that we hosted on mergers and acquisitions.Many experts are predicting a surge of mergers and acquisitions activity in the coming months; as companies consolidation happens across various sectors and leaders take advantage of available capital to grow their operations.We assembled a prestigious panel for this discussion:• Richard Wilkey – Partner, Corporate at Harrison Clark Rickerbys• Alan Barratt – Founder and CEO of Grenade• Tim Spooner – Director at KPMG Corporate Finance• Joanna Scott – Principal at Boost & Co• Andrew Scott – CEO of Ascot Group• Myles Hamilton – Director at Shaw & CoA special thanks to Harrison Clark Rickerbys for sponsoring this very special panel debate.Be sure to subscribe to the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the UK’s leading business figures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Insight series is taking a break this week. Instead, we are bringing you a very special live event that we hosted with Funding London. The event featured three incredibly successful British business leaders. All three worked in multiple iconic start-ups and built companies generating tens of billions of dollars revenue. They created and led Unicorns before that term was invented. They started their career in Oracle when it was a start-up with a few dozen people.After over a decade with Oracle, Steve Garnett went on to co-create two other amazing companies, Siebel System and Salesforce, with the founders Tom Siebel and Marc Benioff.After leaving Oracle, Stephen Kelly led 3 successful turnarounds to growth as a ‘hands-on’ CEO – most recently at Sage. He is the only business leader in the UK, who ran two FTSE 100 companies. He was appointed Prime Minister’s Business Ambassador 2015-19 and is Chairperson of TechNation.After a decade with Oracle, Sukhendu Pal went on to work for the biggest bank in the world, where he created an organisation which became a multi-billion dollar business serving the emerging markets spanning 72 countries. He then led another successful start-up and founded another.The three are Funding London’s lead mentors and in this event they discuss how the coronavirus outbreak has forced entrepreneurs to think on their feet, rapidly pivoting business models as they adapt to the “new normal” and use technology to transform relationships with customers and staff.Here's what we discussed during the interview:Steve Garnett introduction (1:30)Stephen Kelly introduction (2:15)Sukhendu Pal introduction (3:26)How should we reshape and rebuild great companies for the “new normal”? (4:47)What will be the required model of leadership for the “new normal”? (7:11)How do you innovate in the depths of a recession? (9:13)How can we rebuild public confidence in capitalism and its ability to function in a way that generates inclusive and sustainable prosperity? (14:47)What is the biggest challenge companies face for business recovery at this most challenging of times? (19:14)Can purpose and profit coexist? (23:06)What will leaders do to keep their teams engaged, morale high, culture intact and maintain high performance in the “new normal”? (25:26)In your experience, how much more successful are purpose-driven companies? (28:13)Questions from the publicWhat will this pandemic be remembered for? (35:28)Why should people keep companies around in the next “new normal” whose sole purpose is the enrichment of a select few? (41:59)COVID-19 will have a massive impact on inequality – how do you suggest we eliminate inequality? (50:33)Be sure to subscribe to the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the UK’s leading business figures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest instalment of Business Leader Insight, we spoke to Ollie Phillips; former England Rugby Sevens Captain and World Player of the Year-turned world-record-holding adventurer, business leader and motivational speaker.Across a distinguished 14-year professional career, Ollie reached a European Final, captained England at Twickenham and defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand, amongst many other honours. He has also worked as a pundit for Eurosport and Sky Sports, providing commentary and analysis of Rugby World Cups, European Cups and the HSBC World Sevens Series. He is now the Head Coach for the WRU Women’s Seven’s programme.Not one to rest on his laurels, since retiring from professional rugby Ollie has made a name for himself as an intrepid adventurer. His most recent endeavours include world record-breaking feats that have raised money for rugby charity Wooden Spoon; playing in the most northern game of rugby (at the Magnetic North Pole) and the highest ever game of rugby (at Advanced Base Camp on Mount Everest). Ollie has raised over £2.5 million for numerous charities and remains a dedicated ambassador for Wooden Spoon and the Alzheimer’s Society as well as being a strong supporter of Cancer Research UK.Ollie brings this same energy and work ethic to the business world. He completed an MBA at Cambridge University (where he won a Blue for playing in the Varsity Match) and is a Director at PwC. Here he leads part of the company’s real estate group across UK & EMEA and is the lead partner for PwC’s relationship with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Responsible for driving and facilitating change for his clients, he helps them take a fresh approach to any challenges they face.Here's what we discussed during the interview:Ollie Phillips background (1:02)What have your difficult challenges, such as climbing Mt. Everest, teach you about yourself? (3:04)What insight would you give for leaders who are managing diverse characters in their team? (5:14)What is your advice for leading times in a period of crisis? (7:11)Do you think leaders need to be more open about their mental health? (9:00)What is your advice for dealing with negative team members? (10:47)Who are the leaders that you’ve come across in life that you admire? (12:43)What are the main challenges you are seeing at the moment in leadership? (15:53)Do you still see a physical office space being a part of business in the future? (18:06)Questions from the publicHow do you keep yourself motivated in business? And did your experience in sport help with this today? (20:30)Do you think there’s enough of a focus on getting young sports stars to think about their post-sport careers? (22:45)How do you stay resilient and what advice would give to someone who is making the step into the business and entrepreneurial world? (24:17)What is the best advice you’ve ever received? (26:15)What is one fact about you that people can’t find online? (28:04)Be sure to subscribe to the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the UK’s leading business figures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we spoke to Dr Alex Young, the CEO and founder of Virti: a Bristol-based tech firm using XR and AI to set a new gold standard for immersive learning.A trauma and orthopaedic surgeon by training, Alex built and sold his first company whilst still at medical school. He’s won multiple awards with Virti including the VR Healthcare Award at The VR Awards and ‘Best Startup’ at the Mayor of London’s Medtech Business Awards. Virti is also part of the NHS’ prestigious Innovation Accelerator Programme.Virti‘s mission is to improve human performance by making experiential training affordable and accessible to everyone on the planet. To do this Virti uses virtual and augmented reality coupled with AI to transport employees into difficult to access environments and safely assesses them under pressure to improve their performance.Virti operates in healthcare where the system is used for health professional training as well as patient education and Virti also provides soft-skills training to corporates including leaderships, anti-bullying and harassment training and training on infrequent but hazardous events.Here's what we discussed during the interview:Dr Alex Young background (1:02)Having sold a company as a medical student and scaled a company in your spare time while working for the NHS, where would you say your work ethic comes from? (4:50)How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected Virti and how have you reacted to it? (6:45)What role does technology have in the future of the healthcare sector? (10:54)The company operates in both the UK and US, what would you say are the differences between the two countries when it comes to entrepreneurship and innovation? (14:21)Funding seems to be funnelled into apps and social media platforms, rather than a broad array of businesses. Is that what you are seeing and is that a negative in some ways? (19:04)Looking at the future, how can virtual reality and augmented reality play a bigger role for companies? (21:41)Where are you based and how many employees do you have at Virti? (24:24)Questions from the publicBased on your experience, what advice would you have for leaders considering looking for funding for the first time? (25:03)Do you think there's space for more collaboration in the tech sector? (27:33)What advice would you give to other business leaders who haven’t adopted emerging technologies into their business and way of working yet? (28:55)What has been the most difficult challenge in your career and how have you overcome it? (30:52)What is the best advice you've ever received? (32:22)The Go:Tech Awards celebrate businesses and entrepreneurs leading the way in technology and innovation across the UK. To bring you this event, we’ve collaborated with some of the country’s leading university technology departments, business incubators, and independent tech associations.Enter the 2020 Go:Tech Awards now.Check our Virtual Events page for upcoming Business Leader Insight interviews.Be sure to subscribe to the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the UK’s leading business figures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we spoke to the ‘man who saved the BBC’, serial tech entrepreneur and the CEO of Seedlegals, Anthony Rose.Rose is best known for his work managing the launch of BBC iPlayer, for which Wired UK named him “the man who saved the BBC”. Anthony lead the team as CTO from 2007 until 2010, taking the BBC iPlayer from pre-launch to success. Since leaving the BBC, Anthony has founded 5 companies. He sold Beamly to COTY in 2015 and 6Tribes to the TopGear team in 2016 both for an undisclosed amount.Anthony is currently working as co-founder and CEO of SeedLegals.Here's what we discussed during the interview:Anthony Rose background (0:55)You played a leading role in the creation of the BBC iPlayer – can you tell us about that time? (2:05)In your business career, you have become synonymous with launching disruptor businesses – in your opinion what makes a disruptor? (3:41)Have the fundamentals of what businesses need to be and do changed because of the last five months, regarding raising funds? (5:39)You see many businesses looking to raise early – but isn’t achieving market fit a better approach for many firms? What I’m trying to say here is would it better for many companies to see if the market wants their product and fund growth this way? (8:01)Within the tech space, do you feel there needs to be a shift from creating clever tech and raising money to looking more at what the market and the customer wants? Or is this already happening? (10:24)Does exiting a business become easier the more times you do it? (12:07)Does it help to have a co-founder and what role can they play? (14:27)What parts of the technology sector are exciting for you when you consider the future? (16:42)Cutting through the noise is difficult. Do you have any insight into what makes good marketing or PR for a company? (19:07)What advice would you give to leaders during this difficult time? (20:41)Questions from the publicWhat was your biggest challenge when setting up the iPlayer? (23:54)What is some advice for startup businesses who might be struggling to get investment/interest at this time (27:24)What advice would you give to someone who is considering going into the world of entrepreneurship and what keeps you motivated? (30:04)What is the best advice you’ve ever received? (32:30)Watch the full interview on the Business Leader YouTube channel and don't forget to rate and subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.