The Business Leader Podcast

This week's guest on The Business Leader Podcast is Or Lenchner, the CEO of public data collection platform Bright Data. He is also the founder of the Israel-based digital media agency Dmarketing, and was a part of the founding team and head of customer relations for Trophit, a patent-pending technology company. We speak to Or about Bright Data's lawsuit against Meta, the differences between the I...

This week's guest on The Business Leader Podcast is Manny Medina, the co-founder and CEO of Outreach, a Seattle-based sales tech company that reached unicorn status in 2018 and is valued at $5bn. He has previously held positions as CEO at the hiring platform GroupTalent and Director of Business Development for Microsoft. We talk to Manny about the secrets to facing adversity as a CEO, how he scale...

This week’s guest on The Business Leader Podcast is Sian Gabbidon, the Founder of Sian Marie, a UK-based premium loungewear company. She is a media personality with over 100K followers on Instagram and was the winner of the hit BBC show The Apprentice in 2018. Sian has grown her business from a small swimwear brand she founded in her bedroom, to a known loungewear brand with over 60K followers on...

Embracing YouTube before most people had even heard of it, through perseverance and grit, Caspar Lee rose to become one of the biggest content creators on the planet. From his bedroom as a teenager in South Africa, he built his channel amassing a seismic following and leading him to collaborate with many of the world’s biggest stars including Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ed Sheeran an...

Our guest is the founder and CEO of JBM, an executive search firm working with fast-growing tech start-ups and scale-ups. He is also the host of his own podcast, 40 Minute Mentor, which is one of the top careers podcasts in the UK. We talk to James Mitra about pivoting a business, the executive search market and much more. Here's what we discussed: Can you tell us a bit about your journey up until...

As we say farewell to 2022 and welcome in a new year, what is the state of the UK M&A market? To find out, we've spoken to the CEO of specialist M&A advisor BCMS, Jonathan Dunn. With over three decades of industry experience, Jonathan talks all things M&A in 2023, as well as trends to look out for and comparisons to the Great Recession. Here's what we discussed: What were some of the k...

Our guest is a partner at Local Globe and Latitude and a board member at Innovate Finance. Yvonne Bajela is a founding member and VP at Impact X Capital, a venture capital firm investing in companies led by underrepresented founders at the Seed and Series A stages. Previously a Senior Investment Manager at Mitsui & Co, she led over $200m in investments in companies including TransferWise, and...

Dubbed a child prodigy, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE was the youngest girl to pass A-level computing at 11 years old. She then went on to receive a Master’s in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford at the tender age of 20. Having held positions at Goldman Sachs, Hewlett-Packard and Deutsche Bank, Imafidon is no stranger to having a seat at the table. However, she soon realis...

Our guest is the founder of Enter the Arena, a business coaching company that aims to empower female business owners in investment. She is a serial entrepreneur and an expert in raising investment and scaling businesses, she is also the recent author of the book RAISE: The Female Founder’s Guide To Securing Investment . Here's what we discussed: Can you tell us a bit about your journey up until th...

Our guest is the co-founder and CEO of Daaci, an AI music composition platform. Rachel Lyske is a vocal coach at the BRIT School of Performing Arts, having worked with artists signed to record labels including Dirty Hit, Atlantic, Infectious and Square Leg Records and is a music consultant for the music exam body ABRSM. Here's what we discussed: Can you tell us a bit about your journey and how you...

Our guest is the CEO of Babbel, a language learning platform and ecosystem that has sold more than 10 million subscriptions and over 60,000 courses for 14 different languages. Arne Schepker joined the company as CMO in 2015 before taking the role of CEO in 2019 and scaling the business from a start-up to a household brand, increasing its headcount from 250 to over 750. Here's what we discussed: Ca...

Our guest on this episode is a former UK Special Forces operative, best known for appearing on the hit Channel 4 TV show SAS: Who Dares Wins. He is also the Founder and Managing Director at BreakPoint, a training company that utilises special forces techniques to deliver courses and workshops for corporate teams and leaders. This is our conversation with Ollie Ollerton. Here's what we discussed: Y...

When some people talk in the business world, you can't help but sit up and listen. Whether he's tackling tough subjects or helping leaders through his speaking and facilitating skills, our guest on this episode is a self-proclaimed compassionate provocateur that you need to take note of. David McQueen is the co-founder of the professional coaching company Q Squared and Black Founders Hub, a networ...

Confused by AI? The metaverse? AR? How will it affect your business? Do you even need to take any of this seriously? This episode's guest is Bernard Marr, a best-selling author, influencer, futurist and strategic business and technology advisor to governments and businesses. His books, which explore data, performance indicators, business management and business trends have been translated into ove...

What can business leaders learn from comedians? Dealing with failure? Speaking to crowds? Relating to an audience? What about using the lessons learnt from a breakup to make yourself a better leader? Our guest on this episode is an award-winning stand-up comedian, best-selling author and host of ‘The Breakup Monologues’ podcast, Rosie Wilby. Rosie's latest book, The Breakup Monologues: The Unexpec...

Chris Donnelly is the co-founder of Lottie, the care home comparison platform that has changed the sector forever. Previously the founder of VERB, a digital marketing agency for luxury and premium brands, Chris has been on the receiving end of numerous accolades, including being named in Forbes’ 30 under 30 in 2020. He hit the headlines across the country for giving staff the day off to go to...

When you talk to Steve Oliver, the Founder and CEO of musicMagpie, you can see, hear and feel how the upbringing he received from his parents and the links they built between the business they ran and the community they serve, has influenced him. Operating with a sense of purpose and duty, we met with him at his office to talk about his business, his recent IPO and his views on a whole host of top...

Our guest on this episode is an award-winning leadership coach, speaker, educator, and author of the book Real Wins, which draws on her experience coaching in sport, government, and education. She has had roles spanning across these sectors and has transformed the lives of professionals, young people, athletes, and the internal culture of many organisations. Her pioneering work and coaching and le...

The business world's attitude towards mental health has undergone a sizeable transformation in the past decade. But one young entrepreneur is refusing to accept the slow rate of change and "one-size-fits-all" approach. Our guest for this episode founded an app offering 1:1 therapy, counselling and career coaching sessions after suffering depression due to an undiagnosed health issue. MyndUp now se...

The world of investment. The confusing old boys club - or at least that's the perception. Is that a fair characterisation? In this episode, we talk to a renowned chairman and non-executive director who's literally written the book about the world of investors. David Pattison cut his teeth in the world of advertising and has now become one of the UK's leading voices for young businesses. A graduate...

From being a Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel to founding an innovative cyber security and data analytics company, Oz Alashe MBE has solidified his place as one of the UK's leading voices in the tech sector. A man who's made a name for himself walking the walk, Oz has a passion for cyber security, impactful leadership and social equality. His background has given him a unique insight into the soc...

You're 26. You've just founded your own company. You've just met the love of your life. And then you find out you're going blind.  Liz Jackson MBE is not your usual entrepreneur. Today is Co-Owner and Sales and Marketing Director and Co-Owner of global mergers and acquisitions company BCMS, but there is so much more to her story than that. This is her story in her words and an episode of The...

Vegan. A polarising word that has divided people for decades. No matter where you stand on the spectrum of feeling toward veganism, it's largely accepted that the cause has an image problem. Confrontational. Angry: these are just a few of the terms regularly associated with the movement. Earthling Ed, aka Ed Winters, is well aware of this and has become a beacon for the cause with his speech and d...

What can the man who helped orchestrate the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan teach you about improving your business? The answer is quite a lot. The guest on this episode is Chris Paton, who has had roles in the French Ministry of Defence, UK Ministry of Defence, and the Royal Marines before founding a consultancy that supports businesses to become more effective and improve their culture and...

Thursday. The company that’s stolen a day of the week and reinvented the way that dating apps work. Imagine creating a business model where your product only works one day a week. It’s not exactly the recommended strategy in any business manual but for the past few years, dating app Thursday has taken social media by storm with their viral stunts and unique personality. The company is happy not fi...