Business Leaders

Jason Haigh-Ellery is the chairman of Big Finish Media Group, the largest independent producer of audio dramas worldwide. It works with media giants including the BBC and ABC on hits such as Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Avengers and Sherlock Holmes. Since starting the company in 1996, he has produced for TV, film, animation and theatre, including 12 West End shows. In this in-depth conversation, he explains the catalyst behind founding his own production company after trying his hand at acting and directing, encourages managers to utilise "the art of delegation” to spend more time on strategy, and shares his concerns for budding entrepreneurs and individuals caused by Brexit uncertainty.

Lydia Fenet is managing director of Christie’s, an author, and one of the world’s leading charity auctioneers who has raised over half a billion dollars for non-profits worldwide. Starting out as an intern at the esteemed auction house, she created and heads up the global partnerships programme to strengthen connections with luxury brands. This year, she released her best-selling book, ‘The Most Powerful Woman in The Room is You’, in which she shares lessons learned from 20 years in the business. In this in-depth conversation, she explains how she transforms brand partnerships from “logos on cocktail napkins” to long-standing global connections; shares her secrets to commanding an audience; and describes her quest to “give women a voice” – gaining the confidence to negotiate the salary they deserve.

Cassandra Gracey is the president of the Fourth Floor Creative Group at Sony Music. Formed in 2018, the in-house team brings together creatives from sectors including branding, digital and design. Before joining Sony, Cassandra worked for over 15 years at First Access Entertainment with artists such as Rita Ora and Ellie Goulding. In this in-depth conversation, she explains how increasing demand for photos with celebrities for social media can invade artists' privacy, discusses how brand partnerships such as Paloma Faith and Skoda can help to diversify income and define audiences, and compares her relationship with clients as a friendship that requires advice, strategy, and “everyone marching to the same beat”.

Trevor Tasker is the CEO and president of EMCS Industries. Established in 1955, the company invented the first marine growth protection system and provides anti-corrosion and anti-fouling solutions for marine vessels. Their clients include Princess Cruises, BC Ferries and the United States Coast Guard. In this in-depth conversation, he explains the value of anti-fouling technology in preventing critical systems from shutting down, argues there is an increasing demand for ships to be environmentally friendly by using frequency-based products that do not harm marine life – and shares how his experience of recording and selling his own album gave him a strong business acumen that he could apply to any industry.

John Caudwell is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. He founded Phones4u in 1987 during an emerging mobile phone market, and later sold the business in 2006 for £1.47 billion. The UK’s biggest taxpayer, John donates over half of his wealth to philanthropic causes through the Giving Pledge and his own charities Caudwell Children and Caudwell LymeCo. In this in-depth conversation, he reflects on his eyes being opened to an aggressive marketplace and rivalry early on in his sales career, which put him in good stead for his future, argues “spiritualism is more rewarding than materialism”, and discusses business being a double-edged sword that can be tough on your home life but “gives rewards for being the best”.

Bruce Daisley is host of the chart-topping ‘Eat Sleep Work Repeat’ podcast, and author of the best-selling book ‘The Joy of Work’, in which he shares practical insights into making our jobs more fulfilling. He is also European VP of Twitter, where he oversees anti-trolling, verification and overall business growth. In this in-depth conversation, Bruce reveals how better workplace culture starts with ‘getting to know each other as human beings’, discusses how changes to the way we work mean that managers have to fight the urge to value presenteeism over productivity, and recalls how his journey to discover the joy of work started when he realised his Twitter office was being destroyed by employee burnout.

Robert A Jensen is chairman of Kenyon. The private disaster management company provides services to governments, air, maritime and rail businesses internationally. He joined in 1998 after leaving the US military and has directed response efforts to mass fatalities including the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the Haitan Earthquake. In this in-depth conversation, he argues the biggest mistake businesses can make is not recognising the severity of an incident, describes how the news can desensitise people from the reality of disasters, and explains how being a leader is both a “privilege and a burden” with your decisions affecting both your colleagues and family.

Martin Newman is the founder of The Customer First Group. He has over 35 years’ retail experience working with brands including Ted Baker and Burberry. His latest book, ‘100 Practical Ways To Improve Customer Experience’, provides marketing strategies for every step of the retail journey. In this in-depth conversation, Martin argues why scaremongering over the death of the high street is “nonsense”, describes how providing a convenient and personalised experience allows companies such as Uber and Deliveroo to be disruptive, and explains how businesses can differentiate themselves by implementing a “can do” culture.

Rob Vickery is co-founder of Stage Venture Partners, a seed venture capital fund that invests in emerging technology for B2B markets. During his career he’s helped companies such as Lloyds Bank to manage large scale digital investments. He has also served on a number of boards as the global ambassador for BAFTA Games and South Central Scholars. In this in-depth conversation, he explains his focus to fund individuals who are solving hard problems such as using AI to eliminate animal testing, compares an investor-entrepreneur relationship to a “marriage” – narrowing 1,500 pitches down to seven to find the right fit – and argues that, by being there “during the dark days”, an investor offers more than just money.

Dan Rutstein is president of Laduma. The company helps global brands such as HSBC, NFL and Samsung to incorporate VR technology and provide opportunities for growth. A former journalist, he also spent 12 years as a diplomat for the department of international trade promoting British businesses on the US west coast, which is where he is now based. He joined the company in 2018, and is responsible for leading global growth. In this in-depth conversation, Dan discusses how virtual reality has progressed from headsets and gaming to training heart surgeons, describes how working for the government has taught him significant life skills from leadership to value for money, and argues that building business relationships in America is easier with the “gravitas” that comes with a British accent.

Simon Hayward is the founder and CEO of Cirrus. The firm advises international organisations in developing leadership skills. With over 25 years’ consultancy experience, Simon has helped businesses including Three and HSBC to become agile by evolving with technology and responding to customer demands. In this in-depth conversation, he describes the consequences of a workplace culture where staff are afraid to make mistakes, argues that a “my way or the highway” approach on Brexit has led to a lack of direction, and highlights the importance of self-reflection in thoughtful decision-making.

Annastasia Seebohm is global CEO of Quintessentially. The luxury concierge brand is a members-only service with an annual turnover of $100 million. Joining the company as business development director, she was appointed US chief executive two years later, tripling revenues within her first year. Promoted to her current role in 2018, Annastasia is responsible for more than 1,000 staff across 65 offices worldwide. In this in-depth conversation, she explains how “lifestyle managers” enable time-poor entrepreneurs and the wealthy to gain access to some of the world’s most unique places and experiences, discusses how she creates a collaborative and creative work culture using the “power of vulnerability”, and reflects on how a ‘two-way street’ attitude to mentorship benefits the mentor as well as the mentee.

Miles Celic is chief executive officer for TheCityUK. Set up in response to the global banking crisis almost 10 years ago, it is the representative body for UK-based financial and related professional services with nearly 200 members. Appointed in the midst of the EU referendum, Miles is a former broadcaster with a wealth of experience in public affairs and political engagement, including roles at Prudential and HSBC. In this in-depth interview, he describes the process of engagement with Parliament, regulators and international governments, discusses the challenge of improving public perception of the banking industry and gives an insider’s view of the impact of Brexit on UK Plc.

Tom Blomfield is the co-founder and CEO of Monzo. A former management consultant and VP of growth at Grouper, his first experience with fintech was in 2010 when he co-founded GoCardless. He co-founded the app-only ‘neo-bank’ Monzo in 2015, which currently serves over one million customers and is valued at £1bn. In this in-depth interview, he describes the "monumental challenge" of investing in technology faced by traditional banks, reveals there has been a 70% reduction in betting behaviour since introducing a 'gambling block', and argues there is no reason why every person worldwide can’t have a fully functioning bank account.

Jörgen Gullbrandson is the CEO of Readly. With 20 years’ experience in management roles, he joined the Swedish magazine app as CFO in 2017 and became CEO after a record-breaking year which saw almost 100 per cent revenue growth. The company which gives users access to over 3,800 magazines in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United States, has since added the Netherlands to its local markets and raised $10 million for their next phase of global expansion. In this in-depth interview, Jörgen describes the cultural differences to be considered when marketing a global brand, shares the important lessons learnt during his career, and encourages publishers to “let the data decide" when determining what consumers really want to read.

Kemal Curić is chief designer at Ford Motor Company. He is best known as the designer of the sixth generation Mustang launched in 2015. Using a combination of traditional methods and cutting edge technology, Kemal and his 20-strong team crowdsourced opinions from the iconic car’s global fanbase throughout the creative process to design “more than just a car”, upholding Henry Ford’s original vision of “democratising” transportation. In this in-depth interview, he describes how the team overcame the engineering challenges presented by design and style choices, discusses his contrasting experience of designing the Lincoln Aviator – and reveals his top three Mustangs of all time.

Dominic Edmunds is the founder and CEO of SaleCycle. He launched the business in 2009 after he invented a digital toolkit which enabled online retailers to recover lost sales from abandoned baskets. Today, the business has more than 500 international clients and an annual revenue of $20 million, and has featured in the FT’s list of fastest growing companies in Europe. In this in-depth interview, Dominic explains the complexity of tracking customer behaviour to capture sales, discusses the intricacies of recruiting, managing and motivating employees, and offers his tips for avoiding “falling down the rabbit hole” when making business decisions.

Kevin Lamb is CEO and founder of Medical Expectations. With 35 years’ experience in the healthcare industry, he is striving to improve the delivery of patient care in the US by creating a better understanding of how serious health conditions are treated. Kevin is a Hollywood movie producer with credits including the Oscar-nominated ‘Marshall’, who uses his unique insight into filmmaking to create videos to help alleviate the fear of what surgery and recovery may look like. In this in-depth interview, he discusses the benefits of consumer-driven healthcare in educating patients on costs, argues that regulating sugar intake is not a solution to over-indulgence and sedentary lifestyles, and explains how, with a staggering 80 percent of medical advice forgotten “by the time patients reach their car”, storytelling empowers patients to take responsibility for their own health.

Jean-Pierre Conte is chairman and managing director of Genstar Capital. Since 1995, he has overseen asset growth from $100million to $10 billion, making the private equity firm one of the highest-performing mid-tier businesses in the US. He also funds projects giving educational equity to children from disadvantaged backgrounds through his charity, the J-P Conte Family Foundation. In this in-depth interview, he discusses the benefits of his collaborative “family first” approach to business, describes the lessons learned throughout his career, and delves into his family history to illustrate the origins of his charity work.

Sahar Hashemi is the co-founder of Coffee Republic, the first chain of American-style coffee bars in the UK. She left behind a promising legal career in 1995 to launch the business from her mother’s kitchen table. When it sold six years later, it had 110 stores and a turnover of £30 million. She has since founded confectionery brand Skinny Candy, and her latest venture, Change Please, is a social project which trains and hires homeless people to run coffee carts. In this in-depth interview, she describes how businesses can succeed by encouraging staff to think like entrepreneurs, argues that success isn’t about the “big idea” that comes to you on a plate - and recalls the “stab in her heart” when Coffee Republic went into administration nine years after she “handed it to the grown-ups”.