Welcome to the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 Podcast, where we sit down with entrepreneurs and business leaders who are rewriting the rules of growth in the UK and beyond.

Host Alistair McDonald is joined by co-host Jamie Gamble and Tom Lawson, Chief Executive of Opencast, to discuss scaling a people-first technology consultancy from the North East into a national business.

Since becoming Chief Executive in 2020, Tom has led Opencast through a period of rapid growth, expanding the business from around 80 people to more than 500 colleagues across the UK.

In this episode, he shares how culture, purpose and a strong focus on people have supported that growth, and why the North East continues to be an important base for building successful technology businesses.

If you’re building or leading growth, you’ll hear practical insight on:

1. How to scale a business while keeping culture, purpose and people at the centre
2. How to build the right team and leadership capability as a business grows
3. How to create clarity of purpose and stay focused as markets and priorities change
4. How external advisors, peer networks and support systems can help leaders manage growth
5. How to think about long term growth in a fast-moving technology market, including the impact of AI

To find out more about Ward Hadaway’s Fastest 50 and how we support growing businesses, visit www.wardhadaway.com

Connect with Alistair:

Website: www.wardhadaway.com/our-people/alistair-mcdonald

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alistair-mcdonald-1a446a21/

Connect with Jamie:

Website: www.wardhadaway.com/our-people/jamie-gamble

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-gamble-719a5416/

Connect with Tom:

Website: opencastsoftware.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/t0mlaws0n/