The Downtown Den Podcast

In the latest instalment of the Downtown Den Podcast, co-founder of VSI Executive Education Andy McIntyre is joined by former Liverpool, Coventry and Blackburn Rovers footballer David Thompson. David discusses coming through the ranks at Liverpool Football Club, his moves to Coventry and Blackburn and his eventual early retirement. With injury cruelly cutting his footballing career short and affec...

In the latest episode of the Downtown Den podcast, Andy McIntyre from VSI Executive Education speaks with sports broadcasting specialist David Murray. In a fascinating conversation David discusses his career in which he was involved in the early years of the broadcasting rights deals for the English Premier League back in the early 1990's. David subsequently moved onto the BBC where he helped to s...

In the latest episode of the Downtown Den podcast, we have former Burnley FC director Brendan Flood in conversation with Andy McIntyre from VSI Executive Education. In a fascinating discussion Brendan shares his career journey from starting off in Barclays bank to setting up his own university and his experiences with helping Burnley FC achieve promotion to the premier league. Brendan founded UCFB...

Downtown in Business is fortunate to work in partnership with some of the very best businesses across the country. We wanted to give you the opportunity of getting to know them a bit better, and we have recorded a series of conversations in the Downtown Den with the personalities behind the brands. First up in our ‘Meet the Partner’ series is Asif Ghafoor, the chief executive of Be. EV, a company...

On Thursday 7th September, Downtown in Business will host its inaugural ‘Business of Sport’ conference at Lancashire Cricket Clubs Emirates Stadium in Manchester. To give you a taste of the type of discussions and debates that will be taking place at the conference, event sponsor VSI Executive Education have worked in partnership with DIB to record a series of fascinating conversations with person...

The latest guest in the Downtown Den podcast is the chief executive officer of FC United Natalie Atkinson. In this candid discussion with Downtown boss, Frank McKenna, Natalie shares her journey into football, the journey of FC United and its community involvement and the progress and future of womens football. For more information on FC United visit https://fc-utd.co.uk/ Connect with Natalie on L...

Next up on the Downtown Den podcast we have Sophie Gilmore, Managing Director of Hybrid Training Centre. In conversation with Frank McKenna, Sophie discusses her journey from leaving school with no GCSE's to apprentice hairdresser to Hybrid. She is also candid in her struggles with imposter syndrome and her views on how the education system could be altered to benefit the majority of students. For...

In the latest episode of the Downtown Den podcast, we are delighted to have the CEO of Co-operatives UK, Rose Marley join Downtown boss, Frank McKenna. The voice of the UK's co-operative movement, Co-operatives UK empowers and supports co-operative enterprise with specialised knowledge and expertise to grow the co-operative economy and create a fairer society. About Rose Self employed from a young...

FROM JAVELIN THROWER TO PROPERTY INVESTOR – THE STORY OF GOLDIE SAYERS Successful athlete turned businesswoman Goldie Sayer features in the latest Downtown Den podcast. To celebrate the announcement of the inaugural DIB ‘ Business of Sport ’ conference which will take place at the Emirates Old Trafford at Lancashire Cricket Club on 7th September 2023. Goldie joined us during lockdown to discuss he...

This series of the Downtown Den Podcast is all about Winning Women, in the latest episode Downtown boss Frank McKenna speaks with Liverpool business leader, Kate Stewart. In this episode, Kate takes us on a whirlwind journey, from dropping out of school to making her first million by the age of 26. Kate was responsible for the management of the Liverpool Heritage Market and has since gone onto for...

An underachiever at school, a self-confessed chatterbox, and a little lost as to know what to do with herself, Hayley Palmer reached her mid-twenties and decided she’d quite like to be a television presenter. She now appears on a number of TV programmes and radio shows, and she gets invited to many a red carpet affair as she has become one of the medias leading commentators on all that is happenin...

EDUCATION MINISTER IN THE DOWNTOWN DEN Back in 2020, the then junior minister for education, Gillian Keegan, joined us in the Den to talk about her fascinating career journey (she started as an apprentice in Kirkby, a town on the outskirts of Liverpool), her transition into politics, and her passion for improving skills, education, and training in our country. She is now the education minister – a...

This series of the Downtown Den Podcast is all about Winning Women, in the second episode Downtown boss Frank McKenna speaks with the Leader of Manchester City Council Bev Craig. Bev discusses her first twelve months as Leader of Manchester City Council, her vision for the future of Manchester, her passion for Manchester United and a little bit about her back story. Follow Bev Craig on Twitter: ht...

In the first episode of the second series of the Downtown Den podcast, Frank McKenna speaks to Managing Director of Mansell Building Solutions, Angela Mansell. Angela discusses her business journey, challenges in a male dominated sector, the way she has evolved the company and her passion for Greater Manchester and Manchester United Football Club. To find out more information on Mansell Building S...

In this episode, Downtown boss Frank McKenna chats with our Political Editor Jim Hancock as he takes us on a whirlwind tour of his career covering politics across the UK for over five decades. Jim’s career took him from the pioneering Piccadilly radio in Manchester to the BBC, he’s interviewed several Prime Ministers from Margaret thatcher to Tony Blair, he’s covered numerous party conferences and...

The legendary Liverpool radio host and entertainer, Pete Price, needs little to no introduction. Known best for his late-night talk show on Liverpool radio station Radio City, his career has spanned 50 years in showbiz, with regular TV appearances and a bestselling autobiography ‘Pete Price – Name Dropper’. Renowned for his larger-than-life personality, in this episode of the Downtown Den, Pete ca...

A political giant for more than five decades, the man who many believe to be ‘the best Prime Minister we never had’, Lord Michael Heseltine, joined DIB boss Frank McKenna in the Downtown Den this week. ‘Hezza’, also affectionately referred to as ‘Tarzan’ by Tory activists in the 1970s and 80s, has been at the forefront of public life since 1979 when he was given his first cabinet role by Margaret...

Long-serving chief executive at Warrington Borough Council, Vice Chairman of Rugby Super League Club Warrington Wolves, and early adopter and supporter of Downtown in Business, Prof. Steven Broomhead joins Downtown CEO Frank McKenna in the Downtown Den. In this honest discussion, Steven reflects on his impressive career at the council, “delivering on the ground” and securing funding for regenerati...

Chrissie Wolfe is an award-winning solicitor, entrepreneur, careers coach and business consultant who has been breaking the boundaries in the professional services sector. Spending the first 7 and a half years of her career as a solicitor at a major law firm, in 2017 Chrissie launched her Youtube channel and brand Law and Broader as a way to improve accessibility to the profession for aspiring law...

Ed James is a self-proclaimed lover of people and their stories. Experiencing his first taste for radio at the age of 12, Ed now boasts over 20 years of experience as a Heart Radio presenter. Born in Yorkshire, now an honorary Brummie and one of the city’s biggest ambassadors, he has a passion for all things Birmingham and its community spirit. In this candid discussion, Ed opens up about how his...

Phil Neville may not be considered to be one of the most naturally gifted footballers of his time – but few would claim to have been more hard working and committed than a man who played for Manchester United and Everton Football Clubs. Whilst at United, he won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and a Champions League. He won 59 caps for England, and he captained Everton for the bulk of his...

Victoria Brown set up her first business when she was just 17. She has gone on to become the owner of multiple businesses, including leading HR consultancy company HPC, award winning tech business oneHR, and property investment company Viridis. In this fascinating insight into the thinking of an entrepreneurial mindset, Victoria takes us through her journey of teaching PT sessions in church halls,...

How does a shy lad from the small town of Berwick-Upon-Tweed end up becoming one of the most successful footballers of his generation? In the first Downtown Den podcast of the new series, DIB chief executive and Group Chairman Frank McKenna is in conversation with Trevor Steven. Through the Eighties and Nineties Trevor played for Burnley, Everton, Glasgow Rangers, and Marseille. He also represente...

As we get set to return to ‘live’ events, we could think of no better guest to launch our new  podcast series than Thom Hetherington, the chief executive of Holden Media and a huge influencer and advocate for the Hospitality and events industry. In this fascinating discussion, Thom talks about his career journey, which has included two redundancies, two economic crashes and a near death experience...

From the 10 year old starting work in a fish and chip shop in Belfast to the successful entrepreneur and author of ‘Fear Less’, in this weeks Downtown Podcast we hear from Founder of International apartment buildings, Dream Apartments, Tom Smyth. Tom joined Downtown in Business CEO, Frank McKenna to discuss all things business from struggling to start out to the international success Dream Apartme...