Trust isn’t a soft skill; it’s the system that makes ambitious work possible. Nick sits down with Northumbria University’s Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Andy Long, to unpack how an engineer’s mindset, a people-first approach, and a calm decision style can scale both research excellence and social mobility without losing humanity.

We start with the formative years: an academic career in composite materials, the coalitions built through conferences, and the moment the UK’s composites community asked Andy to lead a national programme—not because he was the loudest voice, but because he was the most trusted. That experience forged a leadership philosophy centred on appointing great people, co-creating a clear vision, and stepping back so experts can deliver. 

From there, we explore the personal stakes of being first in the family to attend university and why widening participation isn’t a slogan at Northumbria; it’s a regional mission. 

Andy opens up about imposter syndrome and the practical habits that keep leaders grounded: prepare well, admit what you don’t know, and don’t try to be the expert on everything. 

He maps the transfer of engineering habits into executive decisions—test, measure, change one variable at a time, act with incomplete data—and shows how those principles guided Northumbria through pandemic pivots and complex operational choices. When an inherited overseas campus no longer fit, the team closed it with compassion and clarity, treating the decision as proof the institution can take risk, learn fast, and exit responsibly.

Looking ahead, we confront funding headwinds, fee freezes, volatile international flows, and the need to prove value to a sceptical political climate. The response is concrete: experiential learning for every undergraduate, from the student law office to the business clinic, building confidence, networks, and outcomes. 

The 2030 ambition is clear and measurable—equal graduate success across backgrounds, higher for all—backed by an on-campus presence, hybrid communication that reaches thousands, and a culture with real “change muscle.”

If you care about leadership that feels human, access that changes lives, and strategy that delivers results you can measure, this conversation offers a playbook you can use tomorrow. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway so we can keep the conversation moving.

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Edward Vitalis, CEO of Invictus Education Trust, shares how auditing governance in war-torn Liberia taught him resilience and shaped his leadership approach. 

He explains why his finance background is a superpower for education CEOs, breaking down the modern leadership "pie chart" where governance, estates, risk and growth outweigh pedagogy. Edward argues schools should lead innovation like industry, describing AI hackathons where staff and pupils solve real problems, yielding funded app ideas. 

He discusses creating sustainable environments where staff can "kick for the top right-hand corner of the net 20 times, fail 19 times, but get that big win on the 20th occasion". His mission: widening life chances.

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Charlotte Blant, founder and CEO of Tiro, shares how childhood adversity shaped her leadership approach. "The obstacle is the way," she explains, describing how early experiences taught her "respect over rescue" and gave her "empathy for people whose lives don't fit in neat boxes".

Charlotte discusses how Tiro evolved from Youth Force to a science-focused apprenticeship provider, guided by three core values: think win-win, have a growth mindset, be a pace setter. "We are fusing technical excellence and education with human growth," she says, describing their mission to create shared value.

She explores practical strategies for maintaining culture in hybrid work, including daily huddles and six-week goal cycles, whilst warning that "fear is creeping in" to British education and leadership. "You can't innovate with one foot on the brake," Charlotte argues, advocating for "courageous, values-led leadership that plans for success, not just avoiding failure".

Drawing on psychoanalytic leadership training, Charlotte explains her shift "from reaction to reflection", and why "trusting people to be brilliant" is the antidote to fear-based control.

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Paul Estes joins us to trace a line from a high school election loss to leading teams at Dell, Amazon and Microsoft. His lesson: “innovation isn't about the idea - it's about the how”.

We explore what makes organisations perform: a clear mission, an operating rhythm that works, and success signals sharp enough to guide decisions. Paul argues for practical AI experiments - prompt labs, cross-functional hackathons and shared libraries - that build literacy and judgement. We discuss why most AI agents stall at the last mile and why borrowing expertise beats reinventing it. 

Paul believes that what keeps leadership human is ritual and care. Real leadership shows up in small acts: recognition, pizza at 9pm, a personal card for a well-earned dinner. Listen to this episode to learn more.

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How much impact can a simple note have on a child's life? In this conversation, Andrew Warren shares the story of a young boy who kept a tattered "Make me proud" note from his headteacher for years, revealing the extraordinary power of authentic connection in education.

Andrew shared experience from his 40-year career, from primary school headteacher to Department for Education regional director, whilst chairing the Teaching Schools Council and being a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching along the way. 

Having shaped national education policy and worked extensively as a coach and professional mentor with headteachers and senior leaders across the country, Andrew offers valuable insights into leadership that resonate far beyond the education sector. 

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What makes truly exceptional educational leaders? In this final episode of Series 4 of #EdInfluence, host Nick MacKenzie is joined by colleagues and fellow executive coaches Emma Hughes and Ian Blatherwick. Together they reflect on the leadership insights, learnings and their favourite highlights from the conversations with inspiring leaders published this year. 

The trio explore the transformative power of being influenced rather than always influencing others, captured beautifully in the phrase "cherish the people who change your mind." They discuss how this openness to having thier perspective shifted stands in stark contrast to traditional leadership models that emphasise unwavering certainty. 

Through stories shared by guests like Caroline, Hugh, and Sarah, they examine how diversity of thought becomes the bedrock of effective leadership. 

Whether you're an aspiring or experienced leader, this reflective conversation offers rich insights that challenge conventional thinking and inspire a more human, connected approach to leadership. 

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Olympic and world champion rower Jonny Searle opens our conversation with a powerful story from his coaching experience that fundamentally shifted his understanding of leadership responsibility. 

Throughout the discussion, Jonny shares a philosophy centred around seeing people as genuinely unique rather than variations of ourselves. "We see the world not as it is, but as we are," he explains, highlighting how this perspective has transformed his leadership effectiveness. 

Drawing from his experience as a COO in a scale-up tech business and over 13 years as general counsel and company secretary for an international business, Jonny shares some deceptively simple advice for learning leaders: understand your people and help them do what they enjoy and excel at.

Whether you're leading a sports team, business unit, or classroom, Johnny's insights remind us that effective leadership begins with seeing people as they truly are.

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David Beaty never planned on becoming a banker. What began as "practice" for a job interview - while still planning to attend university and become an accountant - transformed into a remarkable 39-year career at Midland Bank and HSBC. 

David has since established Bali Consulting, using his experience to provide leadership coaching and consultancy. He was a school governor and trustee of a fast-growing Staffordshire multi-academy trust for over ten years.

What makes a leader effective over four decades spanning economic cycles, technological revolutions, and unprecedented challenges like the COVID pandemic? 

He distils leadership success into just seven words: "make brilliant appointments, set clear direction, empower." This deceptively simple framework guided him from managing 50 people to overseeing nearly 900 staff as head of HSBC UK Business Banking.

Listen now to discover how accidental beginnings can lead to extraordinary impact when guided by clear values and consistent leadership.

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In this episode, we hear from Sara Burks, the Founder and Managing Director of Adaptis Limited. Sara excels in getting the best from people during transformational change through great leadership. 

Leadership often begins long before we have any formal understanding of what it means. Sara, discovered this when her school report stated: "Sara is a born leader. The problem is she leads people in the wrong direction." This early assessment followed her organising a sit-down strike during a netball tournament – a moment that sparked her lifelong exploration of leadership principles.

Through her conversation with Nick MacKenzie, Sara reveals how these formative experiences shaped her journey from rebellious student to corporate board member at just 29. 

Sara believes purpose to be integral to resilience and the cornerstone of effective leadership – creating a sense of purpose that helps teams persevere through difficulties. Effective leadership isn't just about strategies or outcomes, but about connection, purpose, and the fulfilment that comes from helping others thrive.

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In this episode, Caroline Whalley and Hugh Greenway, founder and CEO of the Elliot Foundation Academy Trust respectively, share their most transformative experiences and leadership insights. 

Caroline recalls a lesson learned from a shopkeeper that forever changed her perspective on self-awareness and consequences, while Hugh recounts a poignant moment in Washington D.C., teaching him the deeper meaning of empathy. Their stories set the stage for a fascinating exploration of how such personal encounters have shaped their approaches to leadership and their collaboration at the Elliott Foundation.

From the moment they first met, a foundation of trust was established, paving the way for an inclusive and financially viable institution dedicated to enhancing education for disadvantaged children. They share their dissatisfaction with fragmented educational systems and the need for genuine reform, driven by a commitment to clarity, high expectations, and a keen understanding of essential business metrics.

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