Thoughtful Leadership from AMBITIOUS

In this episode of the Thoughtful Leadership Podcast from AMBITIOUS, Laura Lear speaks with Carmen Peacock, Head of Corporate Banking for Lloyds Bank, Chair of the CBI South West and a senior leader helping to shape the region’s economic future. Originally from Romania, Carmen moved to the UK to study banking before building a career across some of the UK’s largest financial institutions. From wor...

In this episode of the Thoughtful Leadership Podcast from AMBITIOUS, Laura speaks with Ruth Cousens, Founder and CEO of Thiscovery - a Cambridge University spin‑out transforming how organisations gather insight to design meaningful health and care innovation. With a career spanning the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, the NHS, major charities, and Nesta’s social innovation ecosystem, Ruth brings ra...

In this episode, host Laura Lear is joined by Emma Foster, Managing Director at Kohler Mira - the global business behind sector.-leading brands such as Mira Showers.   With a 20-year career at Kohler Mira, Emma has progressed through the organisation, building deep expertise and earning her leadership role through consistent performance, commitment, and impact. Her journey reflects a mindset of sa...

In this episode, host Laura Lear sits down with Dr. Krish Ramdoo  - former ENT surgeon turned founder and CEO of Tympa Health, one of the UK’s fastest-growing health-tech companies. Krish’s unusual path from operating theatre to boardroom has given him a rare blend of clinical expertise, commercial insight, and mission-driven leadership. What began as a problem he saw daily in the NHS - delayed ac...

The Thoughtful Leadership Podcast is back! In this episode, host Laura Lear sits down with Sam Oliver, Creative Director and former Apple leader whose career spans some of the world’s top agencies, including Ogilvy, BBH, and Wieden+Kennedy - and one of the most influential brands on the planet. At Apple, Sam helped shape the creative culture behind some of the most iconic product launches in tech...

Welcome to season two of the Thoughtful Leadership Podcast from AMBITIOUS! In this series, we continue to explore the challenges that today’s leaders face when leading a business—and what it takes to be a thoughtful leader. We'll be talking to a host of individuals from a range of organisations and sectors including founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and subject matter experts. Together, we’ll dig dee...

In the final episode of season one of the Thoughtful Leadership Podcast from AMBITIOUS, Laura speaks with Helen Hodgkinson, an influential leader in the HR and people development space.   As the Chief People & Places Officer at law firm TLT, Helen is passionate about fostering inclusive workplaces, driving cultural transformation, and championing people-first leadership. With extensive experience...

In episode five of the Thoughtful Leadership Podcast from AMBITIOUS, Laura speaks with Naz Sarkar, an experienced business leader with a proven track record in steering organisations through crises.   As the former CEO of a division at ComputerShare, a global share transfer company, and a senior leader at Lloyd’s Bank for over two decades, Naz has firsthand experience of leading businesses through...

In episode 4 of the Thoughtful Leadership Podcast from AMBITIOUS, Laura speaks with the fascinating Marti Burgess: a lawyer, entrepreneur, and advocate for diversity in leadership.   Marti is a partner at Knights Solicitors, chair of the South West Black Network, and a co-owner of the legendary Lakota Nightclub in Bristol. With a career spanning law, business, and community leadership, she is pass...

In episode three of the Thoughtful Leadership Podcast from AMBITIOUS, Laura speaks with Steve Hewitt, a business leader involved in one of the UK’s most recent global success stories. As the former CEO of the retail super brand, Gymshark, he helped guide the business to unicorn status and international acclaim. He is now the Founder of Whanau, an organisation which helps businesses to find and mai...

In episode two of the Thoughtful Leadership Podcast from AMBITIOUS, Laura speaks with Ian Workman, a passionate advocate for purpose-driven leadership and social impact. Ian is the Chief Customer Officer at Homes England and has a wealth of experience in leadership and change, having previously served as Head of SME at Barclays Bank. Alongside his professional role, Ian is pursuing a Master’s degr...

The World Economic Forum recently said that it would take over 100 years to close the gender pay gap, a quite staggering and deeply alarming statistic.   In this, the first episode of the Thoughtful Leadership Podcast from AMBITIOUS, Laura will be speaking with Zara Nanu.   Zara is a prominent advocate for workplace equity and a leader in the field of gender pay gap analytics. As ex-co-founder and...

Welcome to the Thoughtful Leadership Podcast from AMBITIOUS. In this series we will look to explore some of the challenges that today’s leaders face when leading a business and what it takes to be a thoughtful leader.  We will be talking to a host of individuals from a range of organisations and sectors including entrepreneurs, business experts, and academics, to dig a little deeper into the chall...