The Leaders Council Podcast

Cheryl Simpson MBE (pictured) is the CEO of Space4Autism, a voluntary run charity in Macclesfield, Cheshire, which helps support families of those living with autism by running therapeutic activities across the year. Today, Space4Autism is one of Cheshire East’s largest charitable concerns. In 2018 Space4Autism was recognised for the Queens award for voluntary service Kate Blakemore is a trainer,...

Adam Norsworthy is the Managing Director of Fusion Telecom, company which supplies secure telecom and payment services (www. PayGuard.co) to business and contact centres. Under Adam Norsworthy’s leadership, Fusion Telecom has developed the next generation phone payments application using secure payments technology, known as PayGuard®, which for two years in succession won the awards for ‘Best Paym...

Billie Tossoun is a director at Chelsea Green Valet, the most trusted launderer, dry cleaners and valet service in the Chelsea Green area of London. The key hallmarks of the business include excellent service, exceptional local knowledge and unmatched dry cleaning. The “green” is truly put into the family business by its eco-friendly cleaning methods, and Billie has played an integral part in help...

Nicolette Vyce is the managing director at Vulcain Engineering, an ambitious engineering consultancy which is supporting the UK government’s policy objective of Net Zero Carbon by 2050 through its involvement in large-scale energy and infrastructure projects. Before taking over as MD of Vulcain Engineering in 2017, Nicolette’s background lay in the defence sector where she worked in various senior...

Claire Freeth is the owner of Little Burrows Montessori Nursery, a nursery adhering to the Montessori style of education situated across two sites in Surrey. Claire trained as a Montessori Teacher after her first three children had reached school age. Having accumulated several years of experience, she took over an existing nursery and re-opened as Two Rivers Montessori Nursery in 2001.

Ade Adebambo is an accountant and director at the London Accountancy Practice [LAP] in London. Ade is a qualified accountant, associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and associate member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. Ade has also served as an independent governor of Lewisham Southwark College and on Audit, Human Resources and Remunerati...

Mark Hobbs is the owner of New Leaf Distribution Ltd, a £15 million turnover financial advice business. Based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, the business has more than 200 advisers spread out across the UK. Well-versed in the financial advice industry, Mark launched New Leaf Distribution in 2004 and has been at the helm ever since.

Dave Radley is owner of DMR Training & Consultancy following a successful tenure at CITB/Cskills Awards. Radley has overseen the company’s considerable growth since its foundation in 2013. DMR Training & Consultancy specialise in the construction industry, delivering qualifications ranging from level one to level seven including NVQs, Apprenticeships and Traineeships.

Shohaib Shafiq is a chartered management accountant at Integrity Accountancy Services, a firm of chartered management accountants, based in Birmingham, West Midlands. Passionate about local enterprise, Shohaib is the founding chairman of two nearby business groups, namely Hall Green in Business and Studley in Business in nearby Warwickshire.

Alan Upfold is a director at County Chiropractic & Wellness Centre in Exeter, Devon. Before moving into his current role, Alan worked in the hospitality sector for numerous large businesses, looking after finance, customers and team members. In September 2017, he made the switch to the County Chiropractic & Wellness Centre to transfer his skills into the day-to-day running of the company.

Gregory Bell is the CEO of Skipton Business Finance, an arm of the Skipton Building Society. Greg boasts an established background in banking and finance, having worked for names such as GE Capital, Abbey National and Close Brothers Invoice Finance since the mid-1980s. As an accredited lender, Skipton Business Finance was an important supporter of SMEs during the Covid-19 pandemic by providing Bus...

Dr Jayne Brassington is director of A1 Chiro Ltd, the holding entity for three multidisciplinary health clinics in Scotland. She also co-founded RedMLabs in the year 2015, a business which is focused on developing innovative clinical healthcare solutions. After qualifying as a chiropractor in Australia, Dr Jayne worked in family practices in Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the Philip...

Thomas Gabriel is the founder of planning consultancy Gabriel Planning Solutions, situated in Hertfordshire. Over the years, Thomas has accumulated a wealth of experience as a town planning consultant and launched his own planning consultancy in 2015. Working on both sides of the planning fence has provided Thomas with unique experience and a thorough understanding of the planning system.

Russell Evans is one of the partners at Primeast, a provider of leadership development training. In his role as partner, Russell works with a team of roughly 100 core and associate consultants, facilitators and coaches based in 24 different countries. He has global experience working in a range of sectors including Oil & Gas, Automotive, Technology, Pharmaceuticals, Bioscience and Healthcare.

Matthew Pomroy is a director at Foresight Group, a leading, listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager. Pomroy has worked for Foresight since 2016, initially as an investment manager before ascending the corporate ladder to his current director role. He is based at the company’s office in the city of Manchester.

Dr Suhail Alam is a hair restoration surgeon and medical director at Aventus Clinic UK, which provides affordable, high-quality treatments for hair and skin rejuvenation. Dr Suhail qualified in 2004 having studied Medicine at King’s College University in London. Throughout his time in Medicine, he has been passionate about aesthetic surgery and completed basic surgical skills training early on in...

Nick Beresford is the CEO and founder of Enertor, a developer of premium insole technology that helps enhance performance and prevent injury. Enertor technology is today used by a multitude of professional athletes, from Premier League footballers to Olympic champions, including Usain Bolt. It is also used for injury prevention in the British and US Armed Forces.

Leilah Mirza is a holistic therapist who has worked with international clients and entrepreneurs, helping them enrich their lives and grow their businesses. Having practiced holistic therapy and inner child healing for several years, Leilah offers her services on a self-employed basis as well as working for Southampton Child Services.

Chris Ramsbottom is the founder of The Amethyst Centre, a complementary therapy and training centre in Coventry, Warwickshire. Ramsbottom established The Amethyst Centre in 2015 and has been at the helm since. Her efforts in keeping the organisation running during the Covid-19 pandemic saw her recognised with a ‘Locked Down to Looked Up Award’ issued by the Network of Women.

Mark Hodson is a registered architect and director and founder of his own practice, Hodson Architects. He is also the incumbent chairman for the RIBA in the Yorkshire region. Since establishing Hodson Architects in 1992, the business has expanded and secured several awards, with its projects gaining notoriety in the architectural press. Elsewhere, Mark has delivered lectures both in the UK and abr...

David Agar is a highly experienced tech sector entrepreneur specialising in creating value and scaling innovative and disruptive businesses in the UK, EU and US. He started Ability Bank ( https://abilitybank.net) in May 2020, his fifth start-up business, to improve the lives of society’s most vulnerable. John Gibson is solicitor and managing director at Aventus Law, a legal practice which speciali...

Tim Harvard-Sweeting is an independent psychotherapist working in private practice. Tim trained in person-centred psychotherapy at the University of Nottingham, where his work made a major impact on people’s lives. Since then, he has built up his own private practice, helping clients locally, nationally and abroad.

Andrew Lane is the managing director at Union Industries, the market leading manufacturer of high quality, rapid roll high speed industrial doors. Andrew took over as managing director of Union Industries in early 2014, having worked for Sutcliffe Play for the previous eight years. Since becoming managing director, Andrew has assisted the business through a transition into employee ownership.

Freddy Kelly is the CEO at Credit Kudos Ltd, the UK’s first authorised Credit Reference Agency and Open Banking provider that uses financial behaviour to measure creditworthiness. Finding that this limited his credit options and left him with higher interest rates and restrictions, Freddy undertook research into his experience and found that he was not alone in trying to access affordable credit....

Karen Lowen is the founder and director of three micro business, namely accountancy practice Turl & Co Ltd; manufacturer and monthly subscription box retailer Witchbox Ltd; and accountancy software company Dod-dle Corporation Ltd. Karen is also a qualified public speaker having been awarded Competent Communicator by Toastmasters International, has published written technical articles, and is a...