

Big Boss Interview
BBC News
Big Boss Interview is where the most high-profile chief executives and entrepreneurs come to give you their insights and experiences of running the UK's biggest and well-known businesses. The series is presented by Sean Farrington, Felicity Hannah and Will Bain, who you'd normally hear presenting the business news on BBC Radio 4's Today programme as well as BBC 5live's Wake Up To Money. Each week they'll be finding out just what it takes to run a huge organisation and what the day to day challenges and opportunities are. A new episode will be dropping every Friday morning, and you can get in contact with the team that makes it by emailing bigboss@bbc.co.uk
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 3, 2025 • 49min
South Koreans vote for new president after failed martial law bid
It's election day in South Korea, where voters are choosing the country's next president after months of unprecedented political turmoil affecting the country’s economy. For South Koreans, today's vote offers an opportunity to restore stability and forge ahead.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold a phone call to discuss tariffs and trade issues, according to the White House.
In Canada, the Prime Minister is meeting with regional leaders to remove interprovincial trade barriers and making it easier for Canadians to trade with each other.
Also, the Microsoft founder Bill Gates says improving the health and education of people in Africa will be the priority when he gives away most of his two hundred billion dollar fortune over the next twenty years, the majority of which will go to Africa.
Throughout the programme, Rahul Tandon will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Peter Morici, economist and professor of business, who is in Alexandria, Virginia; and Sushma Ramachandran, independent journalist and columnist with the Tribune newspaper in Delhi.

May 29, 2025 • 49min
Nvidia earnings boom to 70% despite tariffs
Nvidia, a huge success in the tech world, reported its latest quarterly earnings. The chipmaker, vying with Apple for the position of the world's richest company, beat expectations despite export controls.
Elon Musk, , the billionaire and co-founder and CEO of Tesla, has criticised one of the signature policies of President Donald Trump, marking a break from the US president who he helped to win re-election in 2024. And the meat of brown bears, a protected species in the EU, could soon be available to eat in Slovakia after the populist government approved plans for sale. Roger hears from a food tour guide who tested the meat before.Throughout the programme, we will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Michael Malone, a veteran Silicon Valley journalist and host of the Silicon Insider podcast in the US, and Zyma Islam, senior reporter for The Daily Star in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

May 28, 2025 • 49min
US pauses student visas
In this discussion, Simon Littlewood, Founder of the Raffles Crew, shares insights on Singapore's business climate, while Erin McLaughlin, Senior Economist at The Conference Board, looks at the implications of U.S. regulations on student visas. They delve into the effects of social media vetting on academic freedom and innovation, comparing the U.S. educational landscape to other countries. Additionally, they explore labor market challenges stemming from foreign investment in the steel industry, highlighting the balance between economic growth and national security.

May 27, 2025 • 51min
Optimism over US-EU trade talks
The United States President, Donald Trump, has agreed to drop his threat to impose 50% tariffs on European Union imports and extend a deadline to negotiate tariffs with the EU by more than a month.
In Argentina, the government has announced that its easing currency reporting rules to deal with dollars kept under mattresses. The Argentine government aims to unleash some $271 billion stashed away in mattresses, safes and foreign bank accounts.And Rahul Tandon will look at how Disney's live-action Lilo and Stitch remake beat Tom Cruise at the US box office. Lilo and Stitch, which revisits the 2002 animated family favourite, exceeded expectations with takings of $341m (£252m) around the world.
Throughout the programme, we will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Sushma Ramachandran, an independent journalist and columnist with the Tribune newspaper in India, and Fermin Koop, a reporter on environmental and climate change in Argentina.

May 17, 2025 • 49min
Moody's downgrades US credit rating, citing rising debt
The credit rating agency Moody’s has stripped the United States of its triple-A credit rating, warning investors about rising levels of government debt and a widening budget deficit. The agency has shifted the US rating down one notch to AA1, while changing its outlook from negative to stable.
Novo Nordisk, the company that makes the weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, is abruptly ousting its chief executive, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, over concerns the firm is losing ground in the popular weight-loss drug market.
Consumer boycotts of countries and companies are on the rise, with the latest being an Indian tourism boycott of Turkey and Azerbaijan. This comes as some Canadians boycott the US, while others refuse to buy from some specific companies over their policies.
We will be joined throughout the programme by Rahul Tandon is joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Lori Ann Larocco, senior editor at CNBC Business News in the US, and Peter Ryan, ABC's senior business correspondent in Australia.

May 16, 2025 • 49min
Walmart: US largest retailer set to increase prices
Walmart is preparing to raise prices in the US as soon as this month, as its own costs increase as a result of the new tariffs on imports imposed by President Donald Trump.
And we will look at President Trump saying that India offered to drop all tariffs on US goods, something India swiftly denied.
Total airline revenue is expected to top 1 trillion US dollars for the first time ever this year, according to the International Air Transport Association.
We will be joined throughout the programme by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Shoeb Kagda, an Indonesian journalist and businessman, and Alison Van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues based in Silicon Valley, the US.

May 3, 2025 • 49min
Millions of Australians head to the polls
Voters are going to the polls in Australia to choose their next government following a hard-fought campaign during which living costs, climate concerns and the impact of Donald Trump's trade tariffs have featured strongly.
Shares of Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, tumbled by as much as 8% on Friday morning after it announced that it has delayed the launch by a year – to May 26, 2026. With the company being valued at around 40 billion US dollars, that is a lot of money being shaved off.
The U.S. President Donald Trump repeated that he will revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status, saying that "We are going to be taking away Harvard's tax-exempt status. It's what they deserve!" Harvard, which is already suing the Trump administration, said that this is unlawful.
And Skype Will Shut Down on Monday, May 5, As Microsoft Shifts to Teams. Davina Gupta will hear from one of the creators of the Skype ringtone.
Throughout the programme, we’ll be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Peter Ryan, ABC's senior business correspondent who is in Australia, and Diane Brady, Executive Director of Fortune Live Media and Editorial Director of the Fortune CEO Initiative.

Apr 30, 2025 • 49min
Trump marks first 100 days in office
On the programme we are looking at Donald Trump's first 100 days in power, during which he has talked a lot about tariffs, and there have been many changes to trade policies.
Rahul Tandon looks at the key important economic events of the initial 100 days and the way they have upended global trade.
Also, Mark Carney is celebrating his election victory in Canada, although Canadian broadcaster CBC projects his party will fall just short of the 172 parliamentary seats needed for a majority.Throughout the programme, we’ll be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Rebecca Choong Wilkins, Senior Asia correspondent for Bloomberg, and Tony Nash, CEO of Complete Intelligence.

Apr 29, 2025 • 49min
Canadians are voting in an election dominated by the global trade war
Canadians are voting in a general election which has been dominated by Donald Trump's trade war and threats to annex the country. The leaders of the two main parties rejected a renewed assertion by Mr Trump on election day that Canada should become the fifty-first US state.Devina Gupta hears from the BBC’s economics editor Faisal Islam, who is in Ottawa, and Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses.
And the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has urged people not to speculate over the cause of a massive power cut that's affected millions of people across Spain and Portugal.Also, the Chinese online retailer Temu, known for its cheap products, adds ‘import charges’ of about 145% in response to President Trump’s tariffs on China.
Throughout the programme, we’ll be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Jessica Khine, a business development consultant based in Malaysia but now joining us from London, and Sergio Guzmán, director of the Colombia Risk Analysis company.

Apr 12, 2025 • 49min
Global markets continue to struggle after a difficult week
The White House has insisted that President Trump’s tariffs will make the United States richer, despite the falling value of the US dollar. We hear from Tomas Philipson, a former acting chairman of President Trump's Council of Economic Advisers.
Also, a global deal to tackle shipping emissions has been agreed after nearly ten years of negotiations. The UN's maritime agency (the IMO) brokered the accord, which requires ship owners to use less carbon-intensive fuels or face a penalty. Roger Hearing speaks to IMO's secretary general, Arsenio Dominguez, about how it would work.
And on Saturday, the UK is going to see an emergency recall of parliament when members had already departed for their Easter break, and they are recalled to discuss a law to take control of the Chinese-owned British Steel and save it from imminent closure.Throughout the programme, we’ll be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Peter Ryan, ABC's senior business correspondent, who's in Sydney, and Takara Small, national technology columnist for the CBC, who's in Toronto.


