CEO Stories: Conversations with Greater Birmingham business leaders

Birmingham Museums Trust co-CEO Sara Wajid’s “twin obsessions” of storytelling and equality set her on a path to becoming a respected cultural leader. The former arts and culture journalist was by her own admission a reluctant CEO with aspirations to “get something done in society”. She tells Henrietta Brealey how a secondment to Birmingham Museums Trust - the largest independent charitable trust...

“There’s a reason I work in the arts – because it’s exciting!” Caroline Miller’s passion for her profession is loud and clear as she talks Henrietta Brealey through the fascinating and varied career path that led to her becoming chief executive of Birmingham Royal Ballet. It is a career that has taken her from the box office to the boardroom – driven by a lifelong love of dance and a determination...

Entrepreneur and author Raphael Sofoluke founded the UK Black Business Show from a place of "frustration and inspiration". The show has doubled in size since 2017 and has expanded into other parts of the UK - with the Birmingham edition returning to the NEC on Saturday 17 June, 2023. In this episode of CEO Stories, Raphael talks to Henrietta Brealey about what inspired him to create a pl...

Mario Mazzochi was all set to return to his native Italy when he spotted a newspaper advert that changed the course of his career. The appeal of a top job with financial services giant Visa was too good to turn down for the Turin-born business leader, who would end up extending his stay in the UK. That decision would eventually lead Mario to his current role as CEO of Birmingham-headquartered fina...

Ian Reid is the man who oversaw delivery of Birmingham’s golden summer. The chief executive of the 2022 Commonwealth Games joins Henrietta Brealey to provide his perspective on leading an organisation which mushroomed from a start-up into a workforce of thousands in a short space of time - before dissolving in the aftermath of the sporting extravaganza.  Reid discusses overcoming some of the...

Entrepreneur Oli Hills pivoted his business to embrace a social media revolution that has turned the world of content creation on its head. The CEO of social media publisher Updates Media - parent company of thriving social media news source Birmingham Updates – identified an opportunity to help businesses capitalise on the seemingly limitless potential of fast-growing platform TikTok. Updates Med...

SF Recruitment chief executive Saira Demmer kicks off Season Two of CEO Stories by talking Henrietta through the forensic detail that has gone into building her firm’s award-winning culture. The specialist recruitment business has earned a string of accolades for its workplace practices – including a place in the Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work list. Saira puts much of this success d...

This bonus episode of CEO Stories focuses on business leaders who have been thrust into centre stage - sometimes in unusual circumstances.  In a recap of Season One, Henrietta looks at instances when some of her guests have found themselves in the limelight.  We hear from a CEO turned stand-up comedian, a chef who earned his shot at TV fame and a prominent business owner who unexpectedly...

In the first of two bonus episodes of CEO Stories,  Henrietta Brealey explores who or what inspired some of the Greater Birmingham's business leaders. We hear from four high-profile Season One guests who tell us why they were influenced by life-changing experiences and key figures from the worlds of sport, media and the military.  Listen to this episode to hear from: Simon Caulton, Ones...

In the final episode of Season One, NEC Group chief executive Paul Thandi discusses his distinguished career in the leisure and entertainment industry. Thandi tells Henrietta Brealey that joining the organisation – initially as commercial director – was like “lifting the lid on 1,000 flowers and letting them bloom”. We hear about his role in transforming the NEC Group into one of Europe’s leading...

Liam Dillon is an acclaimed chef whose adventurous culinary career has led him to roles at top restaurants in London, Sydney and Copenhagen.  But none of those experiences compare to running his own business – The Boat Inn in his home city of Lichfield.  The Boat has been transformed under Liam’s ownership, achieving three rosettes and Michelin-recommended status.   Liam talks to He...

Professional services firms are not traditionally known for being at the forefront of innovation – but Claire Clarke is helping to change that perception. Claire is the managing partner at Mills & Reeve – a company that has featured in the UK 100 Best Companies to Work For list 18 years in a row. In this episode, she talks about her career to date, including balancing becoming a partner with p...

Rachel Roberts is passionate about her business being the “best in breed”. In this episode, she tells Henrietta Brealey about transitioning from a career in the army to become a successful PR practitioner – which led her to founding the multi award-winning agency spottydog communications. A firm believer in demonstrating the value of strong public relations, Rachel also bangs the drum for her prof...

A 35-year career in the army unsurprisingly had a profound impact on Colonel Richard Maybery’s leadership style. “The Armed Forces is a people business,” he says. “You learn very early on that you have to trust and get on with your people.” After nearly four decades in the Forces, Colonel Maybery took on a leadership role of a different kind, becoming chief executive of the West Midlands Reserve F...

In a short space of time, writer, theatre director and entrepreneur CJ Lloyd Webley has developed a flair for business to match his creative talents. CJ earns his keep as a theatre director, working at Birmingham's Rep theatre. But, after been moved by the protests and marches that followed the murder of George Floyd in 2020, he decided to launch a new project to help black entrepreneurs across th...

When a teenage Doug Wright decided to seek his first opportunity in the world of work, he was by his own admission “pretty much unemployable”. However, when he did gain his first job – as a 93p-an-hour cleaner at his local McDonald’s – it turned out to be the first step on a remarkable journey with the global fast-food corporation. Fast-forward four decades, Doug is now a multi-restaurant franchis...

When Deborah Hazell decided to seek a new challenge, after more than three decades working in financial services in the United States, her criteria was simple. “I wanted to do something more meaningful,” she tells CEO Stories host and Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce chief executive Henrietta Brealey. Deborah’s determination to make a positive societal impact led her to Birmingham-based Uni...

Beverly Lindsay is a self-confessed “accidental businesswoman” who has faced more than her fair share of adversity. Since arriving in Birmingham from Jamaica as a teenager, she has encountered personal struggles, family tragedy and significant threats to her business. But the Diamond Travel founder has shown resilience in abundance to overcome those challenges and become a prominent West Midlands...

When Deb Leary was reluctantly dragged along to a policing conference by her husband, she had a lightbulb moment that led to her setting up pioneering forensics firm Forensic Pathways. Deb, who became president of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce in 2021, tells Henrietta how being “naturally nosey and curious” has been integral to her entrepreneurial journey. But there is far more to Deb th...

Simon Caulton’s life changed forever when his seven-month old daughter Mia was diagnosed with infantile Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 2017. The story behind his leisure trainers brand Ones is one of strength, courage and learning how to take things ‘one step at a time’. Simon opens up to Henrietta about how the trauma of Mia’s life-threatening illness and his personal mental health battles insp...

From market trading to hairdressing and working as a private detective, Sheila Brown has had an extremely varied career. But, as a parent with two disabled sons, she took her most important career step in 1991 by co-founding Newlife, The Charity for Disabled Children (previously the Birth Defects Foundation) after deciding “something had to change”. Fast-forward three decades and Cannock-headquart...

CEO Stories is a podcast series that delves into the stories behind some of the Greater Birmingham region's leading or up-and-coming CEOs. The series is hosted by Henrietta Brealey, who in 2021 became the youngest CEO in the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce's 208-year history. Listen to find out what makes some of the region's finest leaders tick, who inspired them and what advice they woul...