Big Boss Interview

The UK automotive sector is navigating a period of significant change, with government policy, economic pressures, and international competition shaping the landscape. Ford UK boss Lisa Brankin outlines the risks posed by reported government measures, including a “pay per mile” on EVs, one of the measures the Chancellor is supposedly looking to address. Brankin tells Sean Farrington that these cha...

Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google and Alphabet, acknowledges that no company is immune from the risks of an AI investment bubble, including Google itself, and warns that the rapid growth of artificial intelligence will lead to significant societal disruptions. Speaking to BBC Economics Editor Faisal Islam he explains that, despite the company’s scale and diversified approach, overinvestment...

Centrica CEO Chris O’Shea provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities facing the UK energy sector. He begins by addressing the recent collapse of Tomato Energy, emphasising that when energy suppliers fail, the costs are ultimately borne by consumers. He calls for stronger regulation and greater financial resilience among energy companies, criticising Ofgem for a lack of t...

Julian Dunkerton co-founded Superdry and took it to a £2billion market cap at its height in 2010 - within years the company was fighting for survival, and in 2018 he walked away. A decision he says he regrets.  But with Superdry now valued at just £8million and looking like it might fail, he returned just one year later and wrestled back control of the company he set up, and began turning it aroun...

Tim Richards is the CEO and Founder of Vue International—one of Europe’s largest cinema groups. He joins Will Bain for the Big Boss Interview to share his remarkable journey from mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lawyer to major Hollywood player, all sparked by a chance ad in the Financial Times. The anonymous job listing turned out to be for a role at Paramount and Universal, leading to first-cl...

Jo Whitfield, in her first chat since becoming Chair of the British Retail Consortium, tells Sean Farrington how she ended up at the organisation after a career spanning some of the High Street's biggest businesses. She shares why it’s such an important time for retail, and talks about how the sector’s changing—thanks to online shopping, social media, and shifting customer habits—and how retailers...

Glenn Fogel, CEO and President of the world's largest online travel platform, Booking.com joins Will Bain to discuss whether the USA is witnessing a downturn in foreign visits due to the policies of the Trump administration. He also outlines his thoughts on issues that affect many Brits on their summer holidays: over-tourism. You’ll also hear how his company is positioning itself in legal disputes...

Fiona Eastwood, CEO of Merlin Entertainments tells Sean Farrington what it is like running one of the world’s leading entertainment companies. Merlin runs over a hundred theme parks and attractions around the world from Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures, to Sea Life and Madame Tussauds. She explains how the main competition to her business is the amount of screen-time kids have, and...

Nick Mackenzie, CEO of Greene King, has issued a direct appeal to the Chancellor ahead of the autumn budget, urging immediate tax relief for Britain’s pubs. He told Felicity Hannah in this week's Big Boss Interview that unlike the last Budget, he hopes there are no surprises this time aound. The hospitality sector has absorbed over £300 million in additional costs since 2019—driven by rising energ...

Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan, is the biggest name in global banking. He has a hotline to world leaders, and what he says matters. In a wide-ranging Big Boss Interview with BBC Business Editor Simon Jack, he shares his concerns about a frothy market fuelled by money boarding the AI hype train. He also admits that the USA has become a less reliable partner due to President Trump’s use o...

If you want to sell vapes you should be forced to have a licence - that's according to Asli Ertonguc - the UK and Ireland Managing Director of British American Tobacco, or B.A.T as it's called. They're one of the world's largest tobacco manufacturers and sell the likes of Lucky Strike cigarettes, or Dunhill, and Rothmans. Asli says this approach will have a far bigger impact on reducing smoking th...

AO Chief Executive and Founder, John Roberts is celebrating 25 years at the helm of of one of the UK's biggest electrical retailers - he speaks to Sean Farrington in the first episode of Big Boss Interview. John says he believes the UK is entering a recession and calls on the Government to do more to allow businesses like his aid growth. Instead he feels the Employment Right Bill - which is curren...

A new business podcast speaking to the UK's most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs.

For the very final time, Business Matters on the BBC World Service, Rahul Tandon is joined by many of our regular guests, from India, Pakistan, Singapore, Canada and the United States. They discuss some of the biggest themes we covered, including, the COVID-19 pandemic, a cost of living crisis driven by a pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Donald Trump becoming the President of the Uni...

Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been sentenced to more than twenty-seven years in prison after the Supreme Court found him guilty of attempting a coup when he lost the 2022 election. More than 300 South Koreans who were arrested in the raid in the Hyundai plant in Georgia have now been released from detention and flown to their country. And how can this affect the economic relations...

They’ve been a key pillar of President Trump’s second term, but now a US appeals court has ruled that most of his sweeping trade tariffs are illegal. Trump says their removal would be a ‘disaster,’ but the final decision will rest with the Supreme Court. So what next for Trump’s signature policy? Our correspondent in the US explains more. Meanwhile, as Fed governor Lisa Cook fights to block Presid...

Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook will file a lawsuit challenging her removal by President Donald Trump, marking a major escalation in the president's battle with the US central bank. So does President Trump have the power to fire the governor? Roger Hearing hears from a legal expert and former Cleveland Federal reserve President, to Loretta Mester. And in just a few hours’ time, unless there's a...

US President, Donald Trump welcomes the South Korean leader to the White House to discuss trade. He believes a deal can be done. The South African government has warned young women against taking up unverified foreign job offers promoted on social media campaigns. And make a big noise – why movie theatre audiences now seem to love singalong shows. So, we will look at why singalong movie showings a...

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva says more than $5 billion in credit will go to companies which face 50 per cent tariffs to export goods to the US. The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, says a controversial deal that the White House struck with chipmakers Nvidia and AMD, handing over 15% of their Chinese sales in return for export licences, could be rolled out to other industries....

US inflation held steady in July despite import tariffs, bolstering bets that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates next month. After the partial dollarisation of the economy in Cuba, the country’s peso is trading at an all-time low of 400 to 1 dollar on the informal market. And horror films are at a record high in shares of the US box office. Weapons took $42.5m in its opening weekend in US...

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending tariffs on China for another 90 days. Chip giants Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the US government 15% of Chinese revenues as part of an "unprecedented" deal to secure export licences to China. And remember that distinctive sound of dialling in via the internet in the early days of connecting? Well. It’s days are numbered….Yahoo has...

It's been a busy few weeks on Wall Street's financial market, as stock valuations are close to record levels. The S&P 500 index has hit a string of all-time peaks this month, while US corporate borrowing costs are nearing their lowest level in decades, and Nvidia became the first company worth $4 trillion. The United States Treasury has lifted sanctions on several individuals and companies acc...

President Donald Trump claims further renovation budget overruns, adding pressure on US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates. Roger Hearing hears a reaction from Loretta Mester, the former Cleveland Fed President. World’s largest fan convention, Comicon 2025 is kicking off in San Diego, which brings over $180 million into the city. And as women’s football has been dominating...

The US president, Donald Trump, has made public the tariffs he intends to slap on imports from another group of countries, including Brazil, from the start of August. The chipmaker Nvidia has become the first company in the world to reach a market value of $4tn on Wednesday. David Harper hears from experts. And Donald Trump has said the United States is shifting from aid to trade in its relationsh...

US President Donald Trump has threatened a 50% tariff on copper imports. Sam Fenwick hears how critical the metal is in electric vehicles, military hardware, semiconductors and a wide range of consumer technology. Mass federal job cuts can proceed for now after an update from the US Supreme Court. Plus how WeightWatchers, the weight management business, has emerged from a major debt restructuring....