Rupert Soames has forged a brilliant career leading businesses through some of the most daunting challenges. But behind the decades of success, there’s another story that Rupert has chosen to share here for the first time … an experience which, against the odds, forged his resilience. His professional journey has been defined by his unflinching resolve to ‘run towards gunfire.’ … as CEO of commercial giants Aggreko and Serco through periods of crisis and now as Chair of the CBI as it continues to recover from a reputational shock.

Given Rupert is also Winston Churchill’s grandson, it would be easy to assume that his courage is more biology than biography … but that would not tell the full story.

In this episode, Rupert talks for the first time about appalling abuse he endured at prep school and how those terrible experiences ultimately helped shape his wholly positive approach to confronting challenge. He shares his valuable lessons in resilience, decision-making under pressure, and the importance of learning from past struggles. But more than all of this, Rupert powerfully explains and demonstrates how trauma, instead of defining us, can drive us towards a more positive life.

My thanks to Rupert for this conversation.

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Host: Andy Coulson 

CWC team: Jane Sankey, Hana Walker-Brown, Bill Griffin

With special thanks to Ioana Barbu and the brilliant people at Global 

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