The Business Leader Podcast

She spent just short of a decade honing her skills and rising through the ranks at Alipay, the Alibaba-backed fintech giant, before taking up the position as Chief Commercial Officer at the feisty fintech group Mode. This is our conversation with the inspirational Rita Liu, brought to you by Knightstone Capital . Rita joined Alipay in 2010 and was initially responsible for driving partnerships wit...

In the first edition of Business Leader Conversations, brought to you by Knightstone Capital , we’re proud to be speaking with JobOppo founder, Kayam Iqbal. Kayam started his military career in the Royal Air Force as a medic, before specialising in languages and working with various specialist units across a number of NATO countries. Kayam’s achievements to date are numerous and include setting up...

In this fascinating Business Leader Insight interview, we were joined by Ellen Windemuth, founder of the WaterBear Network; the first interactive streaming platform dedicated to the future of our planet. Ellen’s passion for nature and conservation led to the creation of the WaterBear Network . This unique, free streaming service provides access to award-winning and inspirational content that empow...

Starting his first business at the age of 22 as a sole trader Joseph is the former CEO of the UK’s largest independent Boiler Installation business Impra Gas, spanning across the nation with over 150 staff and a multi-million-pound turnover. This growth was achieved in just 7 short years and Joseph has now sold this organisation at the age of 30. Joseph rose to fame at the age of 25 after winning...

Chika Russell is an international entrepreneur, mentor and speaker. After 10 years working in finance and banking and qualifying as a management accountant, she went on to launch CHIKA’S. Born out of three simple principles: good food, good ethos and good causes – these are snacks with soul. The CHIKA’S range of African-inspired, boldly-flavoured snacks proved mainstream consumer demand for Africa...

There's a new President on the other side of the pond and there are constant reports of the vaccines that are going to help us shed the COVID nightmare for good. We're honoured to be joined by Alpesh Patel OBE who will impart his expertise and give hints into the companies you should be investing in. Having recently penned an insightful look into the companies that stand out in the US, Alpesh join...

Many will recognise Merlin Griffiths as the friendly barman and the first port of call for the nervous diners in the Channel 4 show First Dates , but there is more to him than meets the eye. Often referred to as the ‘King of Cocktails’, Merlin has been a mixologist travelling the world and whipping up delectable drinks for over 25 years. He also is the proud owner of a country inn in Northamptonsh...

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we were honoured to talk to Chris Ormrod, Managing Director at The Flavourworks. Originally trained as an actor, Chris joined Mars as a salesman straight from university and subsequently worked for Haagen-Dazs, Ginsters, Findus and Virgin in a variety of sales and marketing roles. When Chris joined The Flavourworks was supplying several of the UK’s bi...

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we were honoured to talk to Bestselling author, investor, business guru & creator of the 10X Movement, Grant Cardone. Grant Cardone owns and operates seven privately held companies, and a private equity real estate firm, Cardone Capital, with a multifamily portfolio of assets worth over $2 billion. He is a New York Times bestselling author of 11 b...

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we spoke to Pete Lowe; former Head of Education and Performance Management at Manchester City, a leadership specialist and founder of First Team Ltd. As a professional speaker and thought leader on the global circuit, Pete draws on his experience of the high-performance environment of Premier League football to help businesses to create and sustain a...

The Insight series is taking a break this week. Instead, we're bringing you a very special panel debate that we hosted on mergers and acquisitions. Many experts are predicting a surge of mergers and acquisitions activity in the coming months; as companies consolidation happens across various sectors and leaders take advantage of available capital to grow their operations. We assembled a prestigiou...

The Insight series is taking a break this week. Instead, we are bringing you a very special live event that we hosted with Funding London. The event featured three incredibly successful British business leaders. All three worked in multiple iconic start-ups and built companies generating tens of billions of dollars revenue. They created and led Unicorns before that term was invented. They started...

In the latest instalment of Business Leader Insight, we spoke to Ollie Phillips; former England Rugby Sevens Captain and World Player of the Year-turned world-record-holding adventurer, business leader and motivational speaker. Across a distinguished 14-year professional career, Ollie reached a European Final, captained England at Twickenham and defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand, amongst many...

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we spoke to Dr Alex Young, the CEO and founder of Virti: a Bristol-based tech firm using XR and AI to set a new gold standard for immersive learning. A trauma and orthopaedic surgeon by training, Alex built and sold his first company whilst still at medical school. He’s won multiple awards with Virti including the VR Healthcare Award at The VR Awards...

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we spoke to the ‘man who saved the BBC’, serial tech entrepreneur and the CEO of Seedlegals, Anthony Rose. Rose is best known for his work managing the launch of BBC iPlayer, for which Wired UK named him “the man who saved the BBC”. Anthony lead the team as CTO from 2007 until 2010, taking the BBC iPlayer from pre-launch to success. Since leaving the...

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we were proud to talk to Sabrina Stocker : business coach, founder of My Tennis Events, Shopping Slot and former contestant on the Apprentice. Sabrina also featured on our list of top 32 female entrepreneurs to look out for . Be sure to follow Sabrina on Twitter and Instagram . Here's what we discussed during the interview: Can you tell us about...

We were honoured to talk to Jon Taffer, best-selling author, hospitality expert and host/executive producer of Bar Rescue on this edition of Business Leader Insight, brought to you by Knightstone Capital . For nearly four decades, Jon Taffer has been at the forefront of the business management industry offering his expertise to hundreds of thousands of properties and Fortune 500 companies. Jon’s l...

Spencer Matthews, TV personality and founder and CEO of the Clean Liquor Company, was our guest on this edition of Business Leader Insight, brought to you by Purplex Marketing . Spencer Matthews has frequently appeared on British TV screens since first making his name in the E4 series Made in Chelsea. His entrepreneurial spirit has seen him invest in a variety of in start-ups and early growth comp...

On this instalment of Business Leader Insight, we spoke to Lara Morgan, a British entrepreneur with a track record of delivering exceptional accelerated growth. Her investment strategy in wellbeing products primarily is pinned to improving life’s journey. Lara founded her first business, Pacific Direct, in 1991 at the age of just 23. Having arrived in the UK from Hong Kong with little or no hotel...

We were proud to talk to Barry Hearn, legendary sports promoter and founder of Matchroom Sport, in this edition of Business Leader Insight, brought to you by Knightstone Capital . Barry Hearn is a sporting events promoter and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. Barry has transformed sports like Darts, Snooker and Boxing throughout his career and managed names such as St...

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, presented by Interaction - the office workplace research, design and build experts, we were honoured to get to talk to Mark 'Billy' Billingham MBE, ex-SAS leader and star of Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins. A leader like no other, Billy joined the Parachute Regiment in 1983 and served until 1991 holding an array of positions including Patrol Commander...

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, presented by Purplex Marketing , we were honoured to get to talk to Professor Steve West, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West of England. Professor West has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West of England, Bristol since 2008. A prominent leadership figure in the South West and UK, Steve has held various external roles such as C...

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, presented by Purplex Marketing , we were honoured to get to talk to Brad Barritt, highly-accomplished professional rugby player, entrepreneur and founder of Tiki Tonga Coffee. On the rugby field, Brad is the captain of Saracens, leading them to four Gallagher Premiership titles and three European Champions Cup titles. He has also represented England a...

In this instalment of Business Leader Insight, presented by Purplex Marketing , we were honoured to get to talk to Joel Blake OBE, multi-award-winning businessman, leadership consultant and founder of  GFA Exchange. From a 16-year-old working in a recycling factory to one of the preeminent names in the UK FinTech industry, Joel Blake OBE is a multi-award-winning businessman, professional speaker a...