How to be a CEO

Sports streamer DAZN's North America CEO Joe Markowski joins us to talk about the origins of the company from a few bullet points on a page to a global presence in over 200 markets. In this episode we talk about:  How to establish yourself as a major player on day one  Inside the negotiations to secure huge sporting rights  The value of being a first mover in an emerging market&nbsp...

Richard Mabey quit his job as a lawyer to pursue his mission to make contracts quicker and easier to make, alter and sign. In 2016 he launched Juro , a contract automation platform designed for lawyers and businesses, which could replace emails, programmes such as Microsoft Word and Excel, and cloud-based storage. Last year the business processed 500,000 contracts, and Richard is aiming to make Ju...

Gymshark started in Ben Francis’s parents' garage in the Midlands, with lessons from his gran on how to sew. Ten years on, the fitness apparel company’s a global business valued at one and a quarter billion pounds and has just opened its first IRL store on London's Regent Street. In this episode we talk about: Why Gymshark's "a story of failure" The power of leading from your gut  The test an...

TS Anil is the CEO of Monzo, one of the neobanks taking on the established players in the financial sector. It’s grown to have around 6 million customers, but now faces new challenges as the UK wades through a cost-of-living crisis, and recession looms. In this episode we talk about: His motivation for taking over as CEO and his drive to reinvent banking Why crises separate great companies from th...

Josh Graff is Linkedin's MD for EMEA and LATAM. He joined the company 11 years ago, and has seen it evolve into one of the biggest, and most influential platforms in the world. In this episode we talk about:   What is the perfect LinkedIn profile?  How the site's changed over the last decade  The work they're doing to be "an equaliser" for opportunity regardless of background ...

Paddy Cosgrave is the co-founder and CEO of Web Summit, one of the biggest live events in the world with more than 70,000 people attending in Lisbon. This episode contains explicit language. In this show we talk about: How Web Summit “stared business death in the face” during lockdown The problem's Elon Musk caused when he appeared there What happened when Bono took tech CEOs out on a Dublin pub t...

Huib van Bockel is the CEO and founder of the energy drink company Tenzing. Formerly head of marketing at Red Bull he’s taken his company from start-up to significant player while maintaining a commitment to environmental protections. But it has not been easy. In this episode we talk about:  Why he left Red Bull to start his own energy drink company  The ancient Tibetan tea that inspired...

Wil Harris is the CEO of Unbound, a digital publisher with ambitions to disrupt an industry he says is almost unchanged in hundreds of years. Unbound uses a crowdfunding model to finance the publication of books. In this episode we talk about:  Why Publishing is “ripe for disruption”  The risks of running a disruptive player against legacy giants  The benefits of crowd-funding ...

Sir John Hegarty is an iconic figure in advertising. His career goes back to the 'Mad Men' era of the 1960s and triumphs include his creation of the "Vorsprung Durch Technik" line for Audi. He's also the co-founder of The Garage Soho, an early stage investor and brand builder.   In this episode we talk about:   The challenges of marketing in an ad-skipping era Why start-ups should create...

Sarah Willingham is the founder and CEO of Nightcap, a company with the aim "to build Britain's biggest bar group". The former Dragon's Den star set it up in 2020, when the country was in lockdown, and describes how her broker asked if she'd "gone mad".  In this episode we talk about: •Why opening in the pandemic was the right time  •How brilliant people will “fill up brain space for you...

Lily’s Kitchen went from a small operation to feed just one dog, to a hugely successful enterprise, so popular it was bought by Nestle Purina. The company is run by CEO Nick Magalini who has over twenty years in the pet food industry. Nick tells us about how they maintain a 'cooked in the kitchen' small business culture, while growing into an international brand, and what it means to be...

The entrepreneur who fired herself as CEO, let her staff decide their wages, and put a psychologist in charge. Sam White is the founder and chair of Freedom Services Group , an insurance firm aiming to 'fundamentally change' the industry for the better. She's dealt with sexism and criticism on top of competition while navigating a hugely male-dominated industry. In this episode: Dealing with sexis...

Charlie Bryant has been CEO at Zoopla, the property portal, since 2018. In this episode we talk about:    Why he thinks the UK's housing market's holding up in the cost of living crisis His advice to new PM Liz Truss, and why keeping mortages affordable should be a priority How Zoopla is more than a "find" portal (although he quite likes a rummage around himself) The partnership with hom...

Steve O'Hear is Strategy VP at Zapp, one of the earliest quick commerce companies that bring snacks and groceries to your door. In this episode we talk about:   The complex supply chain that powers instant grocery services  Opportunities for disabled people in the post-pandemic remote work environment  The “make the moment or save the moment” problem solving of philosophy of Zapp&nb...

Ann Francke is the Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute, which is celebrating 75 years raising management standards in Britain. On this episode, we talk about:   What Ann would tell the first CMI CEO and why today's business world isn't so different The huge gulf in those who say they follow diverse practice and those who actually do it How homeworking has changed from "skivi...

Timo Boldt founded Gousto when few knew what a meal kit delivery subscription was, now he's running a company valued at $1.75 billion. In this episode we talk about:    Why he left the Dragon's Den with no money, but Duncan Bannantyne became one of their first customers How the philosophy of Rocky Balboa got him through the hard times The Christmas card that got him dinner with Al Gore A...

From an idea on the back of a napkin in 2011 to one of the fastest growing sports in the world, the Formula E story is one of risk-taking, set backs and extraordinary success. We speak to its founder Alejandro Agag about:   Getting momentum back after the pandemic Secrets of a successful marketing campaign How Formula E's innovating commercial electric vehicles Why it's "compatible" not "comp...

SliderCuts, sometimes known as Mark Maciver, is a globally recognised barber and one of the UK's leading black entrepreneurs. He's cut the hair of international superstars like Lebron James and Anthony Joshua, building up a business from his shop in East London.    In this episode we talk about:   The rise of a new generation of black entrepreneurs How to get financing when banks wo...

eBay's UK Boss Murray Lambell joins the show to talk about how eBay supports SMEs, and why it teamed up with Love Island. Also in the show:   Advice on using eBay for your small business How to continually evolve a company to keep up with customers Why Gen Z's powering sales of used items Ebay's support for black women entrepreneurs What to expect from the eBay Business Roadshow For more inte...

Louise Hill founded GoHenry, the debit card for kids, after one of her friend's children accidentally bought a real truck instead of a toy one on an online store with his mum's card. First coming up with the fintech idea in a curry house in London, the company now has more than two million users in the UK and US, doubled its revenues during the pandemic to $42 million and recently acquired French...

This week we’re joined by Anne Wojcicki, co-founder and CEO of 23andme. A pioneer in the biotech industry, a well-earned spot on the Forbes ‘Power Women’ list and according to reports, a billionaire - on paper at least. Anne is nothing if not accomplished.  23andme was the first to offer autosomal DNA testing for ancestry, which many companies now use globally. Their tests also provide person...

If you work in the financial and investment sectors, you will know about the CFA - their exam is known to be “the world’s toughest”. The mere mention of the gruelling test on Wall Street would probably leave some of the toughest finance veterans weeping. Celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, we’re joined by Marg Franklin the CEO of The Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. In this episode...

As an SVP at Diageo Catharina von Franck sits on the company's UK board and is in charge of growing iconic brands like Guiness, Johnnie Walker , Baileys and others.  Diageo has just moved to a new HQ in the heart of Soho, London's hospitality centre.   In this episode she tells us:    What’s it like inside Diageo’s new building Why London’s so important to the hospitality...

We join Meta's northern Europe VP Steve Hatch in the company's new HQ at King's Cross. In this episode we talk about:   The opening of the huge new office, and what that means for London How to keep a sense of teamwork in a hybrid environment  How to promote your start-up on Facebook and Instagram  What can the Metaverse offer to SMEs?  Facebook’s role connecting people during...

We sit down with AXA’s UK&I CEO Claudio Gienal to talk about his career at one of the world’s biggest insurance companies, and their research into the post-pandemic landscape for SMEs. In this episode we discuss: What Claudio learned about leadership while looking after his Swiss village’s cows as a ten year old Why 75% of small business bosses still say launching their company was their best...