AI has been called the biggest business shift since the internet but what does that actually mean for your business? In this episode, Matt Weaver of OpenAI explains how businesses can move beyond experiments and embed AI into daily operations. He reveals why literacy, executive sponsorship and experimentation are the three critical levers leaders must pull.

You’ll also hear how Virgin Atlantic is using AI to extend its trademark personal service and why the real win isn’t about replacing jobs but removing repetitive tasks so people can focus on higher-value work.

Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here.

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

WD-40 is one of the world's best-known brands. You probably keep a can somewhere in your house for unjamming locks and stopping squeaks. The company was founded in San Diego, California in the 1950s and the secret formula used in WD-40 was devised by a team working on missile maintenance in the aerospace industry. Today the company is worth around $3 billion and listed on the stock market in the US. But it is run by a Brit, Steve Brass, who speaks to Dougal Shaw about the story behind the company, why it is important not to get distracted from your core product and why Sir Alex Ferguson is his ultimate role model...

Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here.

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

In today’s competitive business landscape, technical skills and strategy are no longer enough to lead effectively. Emotional intelligence, the ability to understand yourself, manage your emotions, and connect with others, is increasingly becoming the defining trait of successful leaders.

In this episode, we speak to Amy Jacobson, who has written a book titled The Emotional Intelligence Advantage: Mastering Change and Difficult Conversations. We explore her five-pillar framework for building emotional intelligence. From owning your wiring to handling difficult conversations with empathy, she explains how leaders can turn emotional intelligence into a practical, measurable business advantage.

Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here.

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

Tim Richards tells the story of how he founded Vue International and built it into one of the biggest cinema chains in the world...

Hosted by Graham Ruddick

Produced by Anouszka Tate 

Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here.

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

This is one of the busiest weeks of the year for travelling as people enjoy their summer holidays. Many of you will have travelled on Wizz Air, one of the biggest airlines in Europe and a business that has emerged as a new low-cost rival to Ryanair and EasyJet in recent years. In this classic episode of the Business Leader Podcast, Graham Ruddick speaks to Jozsef Varadi, the founder and chief executive of Wizz Air, about what it takes to build an airline.

This episode was originally released in April 2024. Business Leader is sharing classic episodes throughout August in response to demand from our fantastic audience. We will be sharing the best founder and scale-up stories from our archive...

Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here.

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

In the finale of series 1, we look at Chiefs' attempt to achieve their goal by winning the double, when to take tough personnel decisions and break down the full anatomy of the turnaround.

Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here.

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

The start of the new football season is here, which means lots of new football kits, including many made by Castore, the UK's answer to Nike and Adidas. In this classic episode of the Business Leader Podcast from early 2024, Graham Ruddick sits down with Castore co-founder and chief executive Tom Beahon to hear the story of how he and his brother Phil have built a new sportswear giant...

Business Leader is sharing classic episodes throughout August in response to demand from our fantastic audience. We will be sharing the best founder and scale-up stories from our archive...

Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here.

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

What happens after you reach the top?

In the fourth instalment of our five-part series, Exeter Chiefs claim their first Premiership title but then face a new challenge: staying there. 

We explore how a solid culture can negate complacency, how focusing on what they could control got Chiefs through a major scandal and the Covid lockdown and much more.

Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here.

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

Gordon Sanghera, the co-founder and chief executive of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, has announced he will step down as boss after more than 20 years of building the business into a £2bn unicorn at the forefront of science and technology.

In this classic episode of the Business Leader Podcast from early 2023 (back when it was called Business Studies!) Graham Ruddick speaks to Gordon Sanghera about the story behind Oxford Nanopore...

Business Leader is sharing classic episodes throughout August in response to demand from our fantastic audience. We will be sharing the best founder and scale-up stories from our archive...

Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here.

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

What do you do when you've come so close, only to fall short again and again? 

In this third episode of our five-part series, we dive into Exeter Chiefs’ toughest year, which included four major heartbreaks in 14 months, a painful Premiership final loss and a crisis of confidence.

We find out about the behind-the-scenes team meeting that changed everything. It’s a raw and inspiring look at resilience, accountability and the power of emotional reset.

Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here.

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