Pivot with Griselda Togobo

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Lara Morgan is a British entrepreneur with a track record of delivering exceptional accelerated growth. Her investment strategy in wellbeing products primarily is pinned to improving life’s journey. Investing as a family office she has a portfolio of seven consumer services businesses which she works to drive sales, leadership and innovation. She is an inspirational leader with a legacy of building world-class teams and aligning organisations behind a clear strategy. She practices the art of selling and creating win-win customer partnerships for her brands 24/7. Her specific expertise is in sales strategy, customer insight and brand development, multichannel and multisite management plus organic or M&A / partnership-driven expansion.   Lara founded her first business, Pacific Direct, in 1991 at the age of just 23. Having arrived in the UK from Hong Kong with little or no hotel experience, Lara quickly grew Pacific Direct into a specialist global supplier of luxury high-end brands for five-star hotels. Seventeen years later, she sold Pacific Direct for £20 million. At Pacific Direct she was involved in multiple disciplines from luxury brand licensing, marketing, retail operations to commercial and private label development. She has also managed and owned factories in Czech and China.   Working with extremely large organisations as well as small start-ups, she acquired valuable sector experience in speciality retail, brand merchandising, consumer health, education, wellbeing travel, leisure and hospitality.   Lara is a proud mother of three girls and a committed volunteer and philanthropist. She is actively engaged with various global non-profits as a board member or advisor. She is a world-class engaging speaker only on subjects where she can bring direct experience and shared lessons. She has also commented live on current affairs and business issues with Sky and BBC News; has been a finalist in Ernst Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award three times and a finalist in the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year Award. In 2009 Lara received the much-coveted Cranfield University Entrepreneur Alumna Award. She is a published author of the Amazon best-selling business book “More Balls Than Most” and is a co-founder of Start Up Britain. Taking all this in her stride, she also manages to train for charity bike rides and triathlon and came 10th in the 2011 World Triathlon Championships in Beijing.

This thought-provoking discussion is hosted by Griselda Togobo - CEO of FL.  About  Shaa Wasmund MBE, is the author of the number one bestsellers How To Fix Your SH*T, Do Less, Get More and Stop Talking, Start Doing. She has been a lifelong supporter of encouraging more women into business.  In 2015 Shaa received an MBE for her services to business and entrepreneurship.  She was recently named one of the Top 20 Most Influential Entrepreneurs in the UK by the Sunday Times.  Today she runs one of the biggest and most active business Facebook Groups in the UK, The Freedom Collective, and has built a multi-million-pound online business from her back garden.  Over the last five years Shaa has completely revolutionized how she works, and today she is proudly able to take seventeen weeks' holiday a year. Shaa inspires positive action with her no-nonsense, no-excuse advice and has made it her mission to help as many women as possible to create a life and business on their terms.

Griselda Togobo (@GriseldaTogobo) from FL sits down with Sheree Atcheson who has been listed as one of the UK's Top Most Influential Women in Tech & an international multi-award winner for her services to Diversity & Inclusion in industry, Sheree is the Global Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Peakon; Advisory Board Member, Women Who Code; Contributor, Forbes.  They chat imposter syndrome, being a senior leader as a woman of colour and so much more.

Griselda Togobo - CEO of FL sits down with Dr Sharon Watson to discuss her career and leadership lessons and the importance of creativity.  : In May 2020 Sharon was appointed CEO and Principal of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Prior to, Sharon Watson was the 7th and longest-standing Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance Theatre from 2009 – 2020. Trained at the London School of Contemporary Dance, she was one of the first female Principal Dancers invited to join the all-male award-winning Phoenix Dance Company. Having left Phoenix to pursue a number of other ventures including setting up her own company ABCD, Sharon returned in 2009 as the new Artistic Director. Since then Sharon has choreographed Fast Lane, Melt, Never 2 Still, Repetition of Change, TearFall and Windrush: Movement of the People. In addition to proscenium arch creations, Sharon choreographed Ghost Peloton, the cultural highlight to the Tour De Yorkshire 2014. Choreographer for Frankenstein’s Wedding Live on BBC and presented at Kirkstall Abby. Also the choreographer of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, BBC six-part series.  In addition to her AD role, Sharon also lectured at NSCD and worked as Education Director for Northern Ballet. During her tenure at Phoenix Dance Theatre, Sharon has received a number of awards and accolades: In 2010, she was named as one of the Cultural Leadership Programme’s ‘Women to Watch’, a list of 50 influential women working in arts and culture in the UK. She was awarded The Sue Ryder ‘Yorkshire Women of Achievement in Business Award’ and named ‘Yorkshire Woman of the Year’ in 2016. She recently received the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts’ Companionship Award from Sir Paul McCartney and was recognised as one of ‘100 faces of a vibrant economy 2017’ by Grant Thornton. Acknowledged at the 2017 Northern Power Women Awards as part of the very first ‘Top 50 Power List’ and in 2018 Sharon won the First English Woman’s Award for Arts and Culture and was presented with an Honorary Fellowship by Northern School of Contemporary Dance.  Sharon is a previous trustee of Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures and current trustee of Leeds Playhouse and Leeds 2023. She is committed to improving diversity within the arts by supporting the creative voices of women and black and ethnic minority artists.

Griselda Togobo from FL sits down with The Apprentice's finalist Scarlett Allen-Horton to discuss her business journey and her experience.

Griselda Togobo from FL sits down with The Apprentice's judge Linda Plant to discuss her business journey and her experience.

Griselda Togobo from FL sits down with Dr Miranda Brawn to discuss her career and her experience as an investment banker and barrister, having been named as one of the most influential persons in the UK by various annual “Powerlists” including Top 30 BAME Business Executive Leaders Powerlist (Financial Times) Who is this interview aimed at? Leaders and Emerging Leaders What are the objectives? 1. Identify common traits of great leaders. 2. Discuss the importance of knowing yourself and your employees.  3. Discuss the importance of diverse and inclusive teams. About Dr Miranda Brawn For more than two decades, multi-award winning Dr Miranda Brawn has used her platform and philanthropy to support equality and justice while helping to close the diversity and inclusion gap across the Globe. She is a social entrepreneur where she is the Founder and CEO of award-winning Charity The Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation. This charity has helped over 50,000 people and awarded over 40 scholarships from since January 2016. Philanthropically, she also supports the Prince's Trust, Cancer Research UK, Patchwork Foundation and has even partnered with Lambeth Council. By way of background, she is a barrister, investment banker and angel investor who serves on the boards of companies, charities, local government and universities. She is also a Lambeth Equality Commissioner. Dr Miranda Brawn is also an international public speaker, television and radio contributor with her first book due to be published by one of the world's largest book publishers. As seen on BBC, ITV’s Good Morning Britain, London Live, Sky, Channel 4 News, BET, Bloomberg and CNBC

Griselda Togobo from FL sits down with La Tanya to discuss her career, leadership roles and her experience serving in the US Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), retiring at the rank of Captain after 26 years. She was the first African-American woman in the CEC to rise to this rank in Navy history.