The Ambition Accelerator

In this episode of The Ambition Accelerator Podcast, Sophie Milliken talks to Linda Plant, who built her career from humble beginnings to become one of Britain’s most successful business leaders. Known as ‘The Queen of Mean’ for her no nonsense interviews of BBC's The Apprentice’s final five candidates, Linda provided advice to Sir Alan Sugar over 5 seasons.

After leaving school at 16 Linda progressed quickly from selling fashion from a Leeds market stall to launching her international knitwear brand, Honeysuckle.

As a pioneer female business leader she continued her business successes in a series of challenging executive roles, whilst consecutively growing and selling her own electronics company.

Her passion for business and entrepreneurship has also been recognised with a number of business awards. Now she's helping others to forge their own career and business path too, with her Linda Plant Business Academy and Blueprint Business Course, available at Lindaplant.com

You can purchase The Ambition Accelerator book on Amazon now: http://bit.ly/AmbitionAccelerator

In this episode of The Ambition Accelerator Podcast, Sophie Milliken talks to Jacqueline de Rojas CBE, multi-award winning businesswoman and passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in all its forms.

President at TechUK and Digileaders, and Co-Chair at the Institute of Coding, Jacqueline was honoured as CBE for Services to International Trade in Technology in the Queen's New Year Honours list 2018.

Some of Jacqueline's many awards include 2018 Women in Tech Award for Advocate of the Year acknowledging her contribution to diversity, and #IB100 – Most influential BAME leaders in tech. She was also awarded the Digital & Technology Award at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards 2019, and was included in the list of the 'World’s 100 most influential people in digital government' 2019.

Woman of the Year awarded by Women in IT Excellence 2019

You can purchase The Ambition Accelerator book on Amazon now: http://bit.ly/AmbitionAccelerator

In this episode of The Ambition Accelerator Podcast, Sophie Milliken talks to Stephanie Kauffman, managing partner with Tahoe Ventures, a strategic consulting and advisory firm.

A longtime marketing, strategy and brand partnerships leader at Universal Studios, Stephanie worked in various roles of increasing responsibility, eventually becoming the Senior Vice President, Global Brand Alliances for the Studios’ worldwide film, home entertainment and theme park businesses.

Under her leadership, Universal forged landmark partnerships with global brands on blockbuster film and theme park integration. Stephanie has also held chief partnerships roles with TripAdvisor and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Additionally, Stephanie serves on the Board of Directors for the International Women's Media Foundation, which champions strengthening women's roles and voices in global media.

You can purchase The Ambition Accelerator book on Amazon now: http://bit.ly/AmbitionAccelerator

In this episode of The Ambition Accelerator Podcast, Sophie Milliken talks to Ayesha Nayyar, renowned award-winning solicitor with over 20 years of experience in the legal field.

In 2019 she was a winner at The Law Society’s Excellence Awards, Best Business Women Awards and The Asian English Awards. She was a Presenter in the 5 episode BBC series Crime, Are We Tough Enough? She has also made guest appearances on BBC Breakfast, The Victoria Derbyshire Show, The Steph Show and Sky News, and has her own law firm based in Manchester which deals with various areas of law.

Ayesha is proud of her working-class heritage and being a Pakistani Muslim woman who is making strides in her industry.

You can purchase The Ambition Accelerator book on Amazon now: http://bit.ly/AmbitionAccelerator

In this episode of The Ambition Accelerator Podcast, Sophie Milliken talks to Alice Hall, entrepreneur from Newcastle upon Tyne and founder of Pink Boutique.

Starting her first business with £90 and growing it to £25million turnover, she has gone on to set up various ecommerce businesses in the food, property, and interior design sectors.

Alice has been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 and has won a range of other prestigious awards.

Alice is currently the Owner & Creative Director of Rowen Group, based in Newcastle upon Tyne.

You can purchase The Ambition Accelerator book on Amazon now: http://bit.ly/AmbitionAccelerator

In this episode of The Ambition Accelerator Podcast, Sophie Milliken talks to Katy Leeson, the Managing Director of Social Chain and former head of new Business and Marketing at MediaCom.

Katy secured the role of Managing Director after just six months at Social Chain, and has brought a in number of policies which have allowed for the seamless expansion of the business and its culture across its five global locations.

Katy talks about her own struggles with Imposter Syndrome, and how she overcame it to succeed as a woman in a predominantly male role.

You can purchase The Ambition Accelerator book on Amazon now: http://bit.ly/AmbitionAccelerator

In this episode of The Ambition Accelerator Podcast, Sophie Milliken talks to Sherry Coutu CBE, who was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to entrepreneurship.

Currently a non-executive Director of Pearson plc, London Stock Exchange plc, DCMS and raspberry pi trading, Sherry also philanthropically supports Founders4Schools, Digital Boost, Raspberry pi Foundation, and Cancer Research UK.

You can purchase The Ambition Accelerator book on Amazon now: http://bit.ly/AmbitionAccelerator

In this episode of The Ambition Accelerator Podcast, Sophie Milliken talks to Lara Morgan, entrepreneur, founder, and former CEO of Pacific Direct.

Author of 'More Balls Than Most: Juggle your way to success with proven company shortcuts', Lara tells us her tips for success and how she overcame obstacles in the business world.

You can purchase The Ambition Accelerator book on Amazon now: http://bit.ly/AmbitionAccelerator

In this episode of The Ambition Accelerator Podcast, Sophie Milliken talks to Sara Davies MBE, the founder and owner of Crafter’s Companion.

Businesswoman, entrepreneur, and a familiar face from the TV series Dragons' Den, Sara shares her story on how she started her own business, and her tips for success.

You can purchase The Ambition Accelerator book on Amazon now: http://bit.ly/AmbitionAccelerator

Welcome to The Ambition Accelerator Podcast!

Sophie Milliken, author of The Ambition Accelerator, entrepreneur, and award-winning businesswoman, gives a quick run-down of who she'll be interviewing throughout the series, and what you'll gain from listening.

Enjoy!