Behind The Title

Join me as Hamish Nicklin and I briefly discuss where it all started with the podcast and the realities of fight or flight mode.

In any industry, job titles carry power, perception, and pressure. But behind every title CEO, CMO, CFO is a person navigating private challenges, mental health struggles, and silent turning points that shape who they are and how they lead.

Behind the Title is a candid podcast that pulls back the curtain on these personal stories.

Through honest, structured conversations with leaders at all levels, we explore the inner lives that fuel (and sometimes unravel) outer success.

Think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for the media industry, but instead of substance, we talk about silence, stress, self-worth, and the systems that shape us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Behind the Title, we sit down with Paul Sculfor. A former international male model, TV personality, and founder of the Stride Foundation.

From the outside, Paul’s life looked flawless: global campaigns, red carpets, parties, success. On the inside, he was spiralling, battling addiction, shame, and a growing sense that he was disappearing behind the image.

Paul opens up to us about...

• How addiction crept in through “normal” industry behaviour
• The moment he realised he couldn’t stop — no matter how hard he tried
• Why asking for help felt like failure… until it saved his life
• Choosing life over fame at a crossroads that changed everything
• What real freedom, success, and masculinity mean to him now

This is a raw, unfiltered conversation about addiction, identity, leadership pressure, and the power of vulnerability especially for those who feel they have to keep it together for everyone else.

If you’ve ever wondered “Is this sustainable?” this one’s worth your time.

In any industry, job titles carry power, perception, and pressure. But behind every title CEO, CMO, CFO is a person navigating private challenges, mental health struggles, and silent turning points that shape who they are and how they lead.

Behind the Title is a candid podcast that pulls back the curtain on these personal stories.

Through honest, structured conversations with leaders at all levels, we explore the inner lives that fuel (and sometimes unravel) outer success.

Think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for the media industry, but instead of substance, we talk about silence, stress, self-worth, and the systems that shape us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Behind the Title, I’m joined by Emma Bain, Chief Operating Officer at TLC Worldwide, for a conversation that strips away the polished veneer and gets honest about what senior leadership really feels like.

This is an episode about vulnerability without oversharing. About strength without pretending. And about the quiet pressure so many leaders carry without ever naming.

We talk about:

• Having a phobia of public speaking in a senior role

• Leading through Covid while going through IVF and saying nothing

• Why “imposter syndrome” might not actually be a syndrome at all

• The pressure to look composed while feeling anything but

What stood out most wasn’t the job title, it was the permission to stop labelling normal human feelings as failure.

If you’ve ever thought “Why do I still feel like this?” this conversation might change how you see yourself.

In any industry, job titles carry power, perception, and pressure. But behind every title CEO, CMO, CFO is a person navigating private challenges, mental health struggles, and silent turning points that shape who they are and how they lead.

Behind the Title is a candid podcast that pulls back the curtain on these personal stories.

Through honest, structured conversations with leaders at all levels, we explore the inner lives that fuel (and sometimes unravel) outer success.

Think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for the media industry, but instead of substance, we talk about silence, stress, self-worth, and the systems that shape us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

⚠️ Trigger warning take care when listening.

In this episode of Behind the Title, I speak with Matt Longley, CEO of Mobsta, about anxiety, leadership and a lived experience rarely discussed openly at senior level.

Matt shares what anxiety really looked like behind his title, from toxic pressure and burnout to late‑onset self‑injury, therapy, and learning that you don’t need to hit rock bottom to ask for help.

This is a raw, honest conversation about leadership, identity, and why struggling doesn’t make you weaker, it makes you human.

In any industry, job titles carry power, perception, and pressure. But behind every title CEO, CMO, CFO is a person navigating private challenges, mental health struggles, and silent turning points that shape who they are and how they lead.

Behind the Title is a candid podcast that pulls back the curtain on these personal stories.

Through honest, structured conversations with leaders at all levels, we explore the inner lives that fuel (and sometimes unravel) outer success.

Think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for the media industry, but instead of substance, we talk about silence, stress, self-worth, and the systems that shape us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does class look like in the creative industries and why are we still not talking about it enough?

In this episode of Behind the Title, we sit down with Lisa Thompson, Strategy & Planning Partner at Wavemaker North and co‑founder of Common People, a movement committed to tackling class inequality across creative and media industries.

Together we explore...

• Why class is the forgotten diversity metric
• The reality of the North–South divide (and whether it still exists)
• How confidence, accents, and “fitting in” shape careers
• Why being yourself is your biggest advantage — especially in pitching
• The hidden barriers facing working‑class talent
• How organisations can design inclusion that actually works
• 
  

This is a conversation about fairness, voice, and the power of creating space for people to show up as they really are, not who the industry expects them to be.

If you care about better work, better culture, and better leadership, this episode is for you.

In any industry, job titles carry power, perception, and pressure. But behind every title CEO, CMO, CFO is a person navigating private challenges, mental health struggles, and silent turning points that shape who they are and how they lead.

Behind the Title is a candid podcast that pulls back the curtain on these personal stories.

Through honest, structured conversations with leaders at all levels, we explore the inner lives that fuel (and sometimes unravel) outer success.

Think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for the media industry, but instead of substance, we talk about silence, stress, self-worth, and the systems that shape us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nobody talks enough about what happens when your “superpowers” suddenly disappear.

Sometimes the thing that looks like “success” from the outside is costing someone far more than anyone can see.

Ali Reed shares what happened when menopause collided with senior leadership, pressure, family life and the expectation to keep showing up like nothing had changed.

This is a part of working life we still do not talk about enough how often high-performing people are praised for coping, while quietly breaking underneath it all.

Ali thought stepping back meant failure. It saved her.

This is not just a conversation about menopause.

It is a conversation about identity, pressure, leadership, and the things people carry silently at work.

A genuinely important one.

In any industry, job titles carry power, perception, and pressure. But behind every title CEO, CMO, CFO is a person navigating private challenges, mental health struggles, and silent turning points that shape who they are and how they lead.

Behind the Title is a candid podcast that pulls back the curtain on these personal stories.

Through honest, structured conversations with leaders at all levels, we explore the inner lives that fuel (and sometimes unravel) outer success.

Think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for the media industry, but instead of substance, we talk about silence, stress, self-worth, and the systems that shape us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of Behind The Title, recorded a little while ago, feels more relevant than ever right now. Take care when listneing to the episode.

Because Daniele Fiandaca co-founder of Hard as Nails is working at the exact opposite end of that spectrum.

Not by lecturing men. Not by demonising them. But by giving them something the manosphere accidentally understood and weaponised, a space to feel seen.

He told me something I haven't stopped thinking about. By the time your child turns 18, you've already spent 90% of the time you'll ever spend with them. Let that sink in.

If boys are filling that gap with Andrew Tate, it's not because they're broken. It's because someone's filling that gap. Make sure it's you.

#Manosphere #MensMentalHealth #LouisTheroux #BehindTheTitle

In any industry, job titles carry power, perception, and pressure. But behind every title CEO, CMO, CFO is a person navigating private challenges, mental health struggles, and silent turning points that shape who they are and how they lead.

Behind the Title is a candid podcast that pulls back the curtain on these personal stories.

Through honest, structured conversations with leaders at all levels, we explore the inner lives that fuel (and sometimes unravel) outer success.

Think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for the media industry, but instead of substance, we talk about silence, stress, self-worth, and the systems that shape us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucy Foy, Director of IMedia, joined me to talk about something she rarely speaks about publicly living with Crohn's disease for her adult life while building a career in media.

Lucy has been in pain every single day for over 20 years.

In her words, I don't know what it feels like to wake up and feel amazing. I just don't know what that's like.

You'd never know it.

She's built a career across publishing and out of home, shows up for her team, smiles in every meeting yet needs to injects herself with medication every two weeks just to function.

That's what a hidden disability actually looks like.

New episode of Behind The Title.

#BehindTheTitle #HiddenDisability #Crohns

In any industry, job titles carry power, perception, and pressure. But behind every title CEO, CMO, CFO is a person navigating private challenges, mental health struggles, and silent turning points that shape who they are and how they lead.

Behind the Title is a candid podcast that pulls back the curtain on these personal stories.

Through honest, structured conversations with leaders at all levels, we explore the inner lives that fuel (and sometimes unravel) outer success.

Think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for the media industry, but instead of substance, we talk about silence, stress, self-worth, and the systems that shape us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5.8 million.That's how many unpaid carers there are in the UK.

8% of the population has a learning or physical disability.

Two pieces of advice from Episode 11 of Behind The Title that I haven't stopped thinking about.

Kitty Day's permission slip: "Go and find people with additional needs in your world. You're not going to say the wrong thing. You'll be fine. Just go."

Natalie Dawson's permission slip: "Ask. Even if you get the words wrong. Even if it's not PC. Say it with love and care because silence is so much harder than an imperfect question."

When people don't ask, carers feel singled out. Invisible. Lonely.

When people do ask that's when community gets built. That's when workplace culture actually changes.

This was the most heartwarming 50 minutes I've recorded yet.

In any industry, job titles carry power, perception, and pressure. But behind every title CEO, CMO, CFO is a person navigating private challenges, mental health struggles, and silent turning points that shape who they are and how they lead.

Behind the Title is a candid podcast that pulls back the curtain on these personal stories.

Through honest, structured conversations with leaders at all levels, we explore the inner lives that fuel (and sometimes unravel) outer success.

Think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for the media industry, but instead of substance, we talk about silence, stress, self-worth, and the systems that shape us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three days after her husband's funeral, Pippa Glucklich got on a plane to Munich to lead a pitch.

She was CEO of of a large media agency. BMW was the biggest pitch of her career. And her world had just exploded.

In the latest Behind The Title episode, Pippa shares something I've never heard a senior leader discuss so openly: what happens when the facade crumbles.

→ The out-of-body experience of leading a pitch while grieving

→ Why she couldn't look in the mirror for months

→ How chasing title, money, and status nearly broke her

→ The moment she realized she couldn't be "that person" anymore

This isn't just a conversation about loss. It's about the impossible standards we hold ourselves to, the things we hide behind professional polish, and what actually matters.

Trigger warning: This episode discusses suicide and addiction candidly.

But if you've ever felt like you're holding everything together on the outside while falling apart inside, Pippa's story might just change something for you.

In any industry, job titles carry power, perception, and pressure. But behind every title CEO, CMO, CFO is a person navigating private challenges, mental health struggles, and silent turning points that shape who they are and how they lead.

Behind the Title is a candid podcast that pulls back the curtain on these personal stories.

Through honest, structured conversations with leaders at all levels, we explore the inner lives that fuel (and sometimes unravel) outer success.

Think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for the media industry, but instead of substance, we talk about silence, stress, self-worth, and the systems that shape us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.