The Leaders Council Podcast

Chris Combemale is the CEO of the Data & Marketing Association [DMA], a trade organisation for marketers which is considered to be the driving force behind marketing, setting the standards for the UK’s data and marketing community to thrive. Chris is an experienced international business leader who has successfully grown and transformed companies on three continents.

Simone Vincenzi is a multi-award-winning serial entrepreneur, author and founder of GTeX [Growing Together Exponentially], a professional personal development training company which has helped a multitude of people to launch profitable businesses. With his company, GTeX, Simone works with start-up entrepreneurs and experts who want to grow their businesses, as well as collaborating with establishe...

Andrea Wilson is director at Hone-All Precision Ltd, a sub-contract machining firm based in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, specialising in deep hole boring, deep hole drilling, CNC turning and CNC honing. Andrea has directed the business since 1994 and has been instrumental in improving and expanding all aspects of the businesses and making its processes more efficient.

Carol Massay is head of construction at The Access Group, one of the leading providers of business management software to mid-sized organisations in the UK, Ireland, and the Asia Pacific region. Carol has worked in the construction industry for more than 30 years, garnering invaluable experience working within some of the UK’s largest contractors, spanning housebuilding to civil engineering.

Shirley Gaston is the founding director of Azesta, a professional development and training company based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire which uses experiential learning techniques to develop people. Shirley has worked in experiential learning since establishing Azesta in 1999 and has gained valuable experience working with dynamic market-leading businesses.

Maria Kotova is the Head of UK & Ireland Business Development and market entry advisor at Dezan Shira & Associates [DSA], a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing market entry, legal, accounting, tax, HR, technology, and operational advisory to international investors. Elsewhere, Maria is an in-demand speaker at international events on legal, tax and financial i...

Stuart Penrose Stuart Penrose is the owner Copper Ridge Systems Ltd, a business located in Carrickfergus, County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Having worked in the roofing industry for many years, Stuart has become one of the leading sector specialists in the country. In 2001, he formed Copper Ridge Systems which has become a leading roofing firm in Northern Ireland.

Phil Sayers is the founder of Proten Sales Development Ltd, a company which provides expertise, advice and coaching to small businesses who need to improve the effectiveness of their selling activities. Since starting his own business in 2018, Phil has helped develop and train the sales teams of the future, using his own experiences of success to teach them. All of this enables B2B businesses to s...

Nikki Emelike is the CEO of Neasden College in Hackney, London. Neasden College provides bespoke learning courses both in person and distance to enable those in industry to develop their skills and remain compliant with the latest standards. Under Nikky’s leadership, Neasden College has established a strong reputation as an independent teacher training college committed to providing standard suppo...

Chris Chaney is the chief executive of CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Chaney joined CW+ in 2016, having previously served as head of major gifts at the University of Cambridge and over a decade at the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. In addition to his role with CW+, Chaney, also serves as a trustee of Newlife.

David Morris is the founder and managing director of three engineering companies in Bedfordshire, namely Combined Test Solutions [CTS] Ltd, Overmould Ltd, and Ball Electronics. David is an experienced entrepreneur and business leader with decades of experience in the electronics manufacturing industry.

Dr Nasar Ali [pictured] is the chairman of the Young Professionals Society [YPS], an organisation set up to help, support and change the lives of young people by providing personal and professional development opportunities. Professor Waqar Ahmed is a nanoscience professor at the University of Lincoln and director of enterprise at its College of Science.

Martin Crump is the managing director and lead coach at Evolution, a professional coaching and training provider to businesses and individuals. Armed with a background in the manufacturing and R&D arenas, Martin has since embarked on a career of over 20 years in the field of training and development. He is also a published author, having co-wrote the works ‘’How to Build an Ark’ A guide to pro...

Peter Charlesworth is the Chief Executive of Oxford Medical Training, the UK’s leading provider of high-quality career development for doctors. Peter is a registered optometrist who has worked in education and training for most of his professional life. He established his first business, Perceptive Medical Education in 2001 and went on to acquire Oxford Medical Training from its founder in 2011. O...

Ahmed Elbarkouki the CEO of Echelon Health, the world’s leading provider of medical assessments that detect up to 95 per cent of early disease. In his role, Elbarkouki is responsible for further enhancing the client experience through the integration of luxury elements that will contribute to ensuring the Echelon Health journey is totally seamless for clients.

Elisabeth Bjork heads up AstraZeneca’s late-stage development within cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases (CVRM), and is responsible for late-stage clinical development, large outcomes programs, major global filings and health authority interactions (FDA, EMA, Japan, China). Elisabeth’s focus is to get life-changing medications to patients as early as possible to improve their quality and...

Daniel Leech is the group CEO of Technical Design Services Group, a business group formed by the trio of firms TDS, Design4Structures and Cadcoe, which seeks to modernise the construction sector through collaboration, innovation and education. Daniel boasts years of experience working in the construction industry, as well as possessing an earlier career background in recruitment and retail.

Angela Nall is the executive director, CQC nominated individual and infection control lead at Pathfinders Specialist and Complex Care. Based in New Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, Pathfinders provides specialist care for people with complex rehabilitation care needs – from slow-stream rehabilitation through to end-of-life care.

Reverent Dr Carver Anderson is the executive director and co-founder of Bringing Hope, a charity based in Birmingham, West Midlands that works in prisons and the community with those involved in serious violence and crime. Reverend Dr Carver Anderson has 25 years of experience working in the fields of social, community, youth work, counselling and training, both as a practitioner and at management...

Farouk Deen is the creative director at event management group Cellar Door Promotions, and co-founder of network-driven incubator for creative and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance [“ESG”] aligned founders called, NEXUS, which has been approved by the Home Office as an endorsing body for the purpose of startup and innovator visas. Endorsement by NEXUS for a startup or innovator visa...

Elliott Valentine is a residential & commercial mortgage and protection broker and founder of mortgage adviser, Percom Financial Services. Elliott has been active in the mortgage services industry for a number of years, working for names such as Badger Holdings, Sequence UK Ltd, Mortgage Advice Bureau and Just Mortgages.

Rachel Barsby-Robinson is one of the directors and founders of Bilingual Day Nursery Ashby in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. Rachel helped establish the Bilingual Day Nursery which opened in January 2018 and has worked as its managing director since. Rachel holds the Level 5 Childcare Qualification in Children and Young People’s Workforce.

Maria Westwell is the owner of Stansfield Sports Injury Clinic, a private healthcare clinic helping both athletes and the general population with pain and injury. After attaining a Bachelor of Science in Biomechanics and a master’s degree in Sports Therapy, Maria established Stansfield Sports Injury Clinic in 2012.

Dave Bladon is a co-founder of ELASKO, a creative, dynamic stretch-based fitness and lifestyle brand which designs equipment, movement systems and content for the fitness industry. Before helping establish ELASKO in 2019, Dave’s background was in the travel and tourism sector. In this industry, he worked for more than 20 years in a handful of roles for TUI [formerly Thomson], Viva Sports in Spain,...

Jamie Dixon is a coach, trainer and author, who has worked with ambitious leaders in over 160 multinational companies over the last 10 years. Jamie coaches and trains in both English and Mandarin, and is conversational in Japanese. He is an IAC accredited coach, a certified TinyHabits coach and certified in Everything DISC.