Chamber Conversations

Three leading thinkers in the North East sustainability sector, Laura Hepburn, Greenology, Claire Thompson, Genee and Dr Helen Goworek, Durham University Business School talk about NE strengths in this field. They also highlight the prevalence of women in the region blazing a trail in combating climate change and share their advice on how companies can become ‘greener’.

John Marshall talks to Kay Wilson about the highlights of his career, the North East’s strengths and his love of the region.  He also shares advice for future leaders as well as paying tribute to Chamber chief executive James Ramsbotham as he moves on to chair on to Newcastle Building Society in the Autumn.

Kay Wilson hears the great story of how Iain Nairn became captain of the England physical disabilities cricket squad. On the podcast he talks about his love of the sport right from a young age. He also explains how his professional financial career at Leonard Curtis was helped by what he learnt through leading a national sports team.

He gives excellent advice on how to build an outstanding sporting and professional career in the North East as well as championing the benefits of employing people with disabilities.

In this podcast we hear about how two Chamber members, Revolucion de Cuba in Newcastle and the Hall Garth Hotel, Darlington are planning the best possible summer for customers. They explain how they’ve inspired their teams who are back from furlough and ensured their venues are safe and still have a great atmosphere.

The mission statement of Kromek is simple and yet so fundamentally important - to save lives and keep people safe.  In this podcast Arnab Basu, the company’s founding CEO explains the company’s growth which has helped tackle challenges including detecting radiation from a nuclear power plant disaster, dirty bombs in New York and now Covid. He also explains his upbringing in Calcutta where he grew up in an entrepreneurial business family home and how education brought him to the North East.

A podcast about building a successful creative career

Photographer Christopher Owens talks about his route from Newcastle to working with celebrities on national newspapers. He outlines how he got his big break (it involved masses of chutzpah), the secret of a great photoshoot and how he keeps his mental health in good shape.

Meeks Simpson, GT3 Architects, Mariann Hardey, Durham University and Paul Smith, Art Health Solutions talk about their ideas of what would make an ideal workplace. Advice includes making meetings 50 mins instead of an hour and putting people at the heart of planning a building.

They all contributed to the Chamber report ‘The Future of the Workplace’

Teresa Peters, Accelerator Coaching, Alister Gaines, Akrivis Wealth and Stuart Coupland Coupland Leather share their stories of how their businesses are growing, what helped them overcome hurdles and the huge, personal rewards of working for themselves.  A positive podcast one year on from lockdown.

The Chamber Women’s Leadership Forum leads its work championing for greater gender diversity in the NE. On this podcast Liz Mayes, The Common Room, Di Keller, Karbon Homes and Lauren Archer, Cameo Digital talk about challenges & opportunities for women at present. They also share advice & experiences of their own working lives.

Carol Botten, VONNE, Ben Fisher, Teesside University & the Chamber’s Jonathan Walker set out what they want to see in the Chancellor's Budget.