Twenty five year old Ellen McCann, design assistant at Ryder Architecture, spoke to over 100 business leaders at the Chamber’s Inspiring Females conference, about her route to an architectural career.  She’s also going to play a key part in an exciting project aimed at developing future leaders which will be launched in a few weeks’ time.

Hear how Doug Dinwiddie, White Digital, Emma Walker, EW Estates and Jeni Smith, Netkno set up their businesses, what inspired them and the challenges they’ve overcome. There’s also plenty to smile about on it as well.

Three of the best brains in the Chamber, Rachel, Arlen and Marianne share their thoughts on the recently released Government Levelling Up White Paper. They explain what was expected from it and what we got.  Their view – not bad and certainly a decent attempt to tackle substantial challenges to unlock our potential.

St Oswalds Hospice chief executive Steph Edusei had early ambitions to be an actress, inspired by Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. The stage’s loss is the North East health sector’s gain. As well as her full-time role Steph is also a non-exec director for Newcastle Hospitals. In the podcast she talks about how brilliant mentors helped her & how she overcame imposter syndrome. There are insights on great leadership & the importance of building networks to help you succeed.

Mike Hughes, one of the NE’s most experienced journalists with 40 years under his belt, talks about how he started out as a reporter.  He is frank about the importance of getting regional business coverage right, so companies can talk about their achievements in a way that is understandable to the public.  The podcast also covers Levelling Up and how there are so many positive ways the NE is already punching above its weight.  Advice for budding reporters and some dos and don’t for PR people are also talked about.

As part of the conversation Mike also takes a moment to pay tribute to the late Professor Jane Turner of Teesside University, who was a passionate supporter of young people.

Tony Marshall spotted a gap in the retail fitting out market and set up his business Creative Glass as a result.  Thirty years later he is still delivering beautifully crafted glass solutions to clients which have included Stockton’s historic Globe Theatre, stately homes, NHS hospitals, Hampton by Hilton in Stockton and national retailers including Jimmy Choo, Boss and Beaverbrooks to name a few.

A proud advocate for North East women in business Nadine Hudspeth, a member of Gateshead College’s executive team, tells Kay Wilson about her career path and who helped along the way. She also sets out how much the Chamber’s campaigning is needed on key issues like recovery from Covid which impacted on many women’s working lives.

Shoptimised helps its clients sell more products on-line and has grown quickly in just three years.  Having a great attitude to staff well-being and flexibility is part and parcel of its success. John Cave shares his journey and why it is so important his staff can put their families first, not work, when they need to.

Media Cultured’s founder and director Amjid Khazir talks to the Chamber’s Kay Wilson about how to create a diverse business and its benefits to a company’s bottom line. Great advice on how the North East business community could help everyone to reach their potential, no matter the colour of their skin or ethnic heritage.

The Chamber fought hard for its members to get the support they needed throughout the pandemic.

On this podcast the successes and problems that were tackled are set out and how the NE performed honestly reviewed.  There’s also a look to the future and the next steps needed for the business community.