Downtown in Business is fortunate to work in partnership with some of the very best businesses across the country.

We wanted to give you the opportunity of getting to know them a bit better, and we have recorded a series of conversations in the Downtown Den with the personalities behind the brands.

First up in our ‘Meet the Partner’ series is Asif Ghafoor, the chief executive of Be.EV, a company that is at the forefront of driving the net zero agenda.

https://be-ev.co.uk/

On Thursday 7th September, Downtown in Business will host its inaugural ‘Business of Sport’ conference at Lancashire Cricket Clubs Emirates Stadium in Manchester.

To give you a taste of the type of discussions and debates that will be taking place at the conference, event sponsor VSI Executive Education have worked in partnership with DIB to record a series of fascinating conversations with personalities who are involved in sport – either as performers, investors, or administrators – and they have some great insights to share.

Presented by VSI Chair Andy McIntyre, his podcast guests include Premier League title winner Wes Morgan, head of sports rights for the BBC David Murray, football club owner and entrepreneur Brendan Flood, and Olympic medal winner Goldie Sayers.

Among the confirmed speakers for The ‘Business of Sport’ conference are Gary Neville, Natalie Atkinson, Goldie sayers, and Sir Howard Bernstein. To book your tickets for what will be another amazing Downtown in Business experience please click here.

First up, it’s Wes Morgan, the man who captained Leicester City to their surprise Premier League title back in 2016.   

The latest guest in the Downtown Den podcast is the chief executive officer of FC United Natalie Atkinson.

In this candid discussion with Downtown boss, Frank McKenna, Natalie shares her journey into football, the journey of FC United and its community involvement and the progress and future of womens football.

For more information on FC United visit https://fc-utd.co.uk/

Connect with Natalie on LinkedIn.

Next up on the Downtown Den podcast we have Sophie Gilmore, Managing Director of Hybrid Training Centre.

In conversation with Frank McKenna, Sophie discusses her journey from leaving school with no GCSE's to apprentice hairdresser to Hybrid. She is also candid in her struggles with imposter syndrome and her views on how the education system could be altered to benefit the majority of students.

For more information about Hybrid Training Services visit: https://hybridtec.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hybridtechnicalservices/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hybrid-technical-services/

In the latest episode of the Downtown Den podcast, we are delighted to have the CEO of Co-operatives UK, Rose Marley join Downtown boss, Frank McKenna.

The voice of the UK's co-operative movement, Co-operatives UK empowers and supports co-operative enterprise with specialised knowledge and expertise to grow the co-operative economy and create a fairer society.

About Rose

Self employed from a young age, Rose cut her teeth in the music business during the ‘Madchester’ era. Inspired by the lack of social mobility in the creative industries, she then turned her focus to social enterprise. Rose was the founding COO of Manchester City Council developments The Sharp Project and Space Studios where she was a founding director of award winning social enterprise SharpFutures. This led to Rose becoming the Social Enterprise Advisor to Greater Manchester Labour and Co operative Mayor, Andy Burnham, and lead for the young person's opportunities card Our Pass.

Find out more about Rose at https://www.uk.coop/about-us/meet-team

FROM JAVELIN THROWER TO PROPERTY INVESTOR – THE STORY OF GOLDIE SAYERS

Successful athlete turned businesswoman Goldie Sayer features in the latest Downtown Den podcast. To celebrate the announcement of the inaugural DIB ‘Business of Sport’ conference which will take place at the Emirates Old Trafford at Lancashire Cricket Club on 7th September 2023.

Goldie joined us during lockdown to discuss her Javelin throwing exploits that led to an Olympic medal, her influence in sport now, and her new career as a property investor.

Well worth a listen, Goldie certainly fits the ‘Winning Women’ title of this season of the Downtown Den. Future guests include Co-op boss Rose Marley, the CEO of FC United Natalie Atkinson, and the chief executive of Birmingham City Council Elaine Bowker.     

This series of the Downtown Den Podcast is all about Winning Women, in the latest episode Downtown boss Frank McKenna speaks with Liverpool business leader, Kate Stewart.

In this episode, Kate takes us on a whirlwind journey, from dropping out of school to making her first million by the age of 26.

Kate was responsible for the management of the Liverpool Heritage Market and has since gone onto forge a succesful business career in the hospitality sector.

Kate also shares her opinion of the education system and why it needs reform and why she created, Vitality Homes, a hugely successful initiative that gives its residents who may be former addicts, prisoners or anyone who has suffered hardship and found themselves on the wrong path, a chance to turn their lives around long-term and become better members of society.  

Follow Kate on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrskastewart

Follow Kate on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katestewartlife

An underachiever at school, a self-confessed chatterbox, and a little lost as to know what to do with herself, Hayley Palmer reached her mid-twenties and decided she’d quite like to be a television presenter.

She now appears on a number of TV programmes and radio shows, and she gets invited to many a red carpet affair as she has become one of the medias leading commentators on all that is happening in the entertainment industry.

This is a lively and fascinating conversation with someone whose journey to a career she absolutely loves was navigated by the sheer force of her attitude, determination, and charming personality.

Have a listen to Hayley’s story and hear the genuine love and enthusiasm she has for the job she does – a job that, in every way, she created for herself.   

Twitter: @presenterhayley

Instagram: @hayleypalmer_presenter

YouTube: Hayley Palmer Presenter

EDUCATION MINISTER IN THE DOWNTOWN DEN

Back in 2020, the then junior minister for education, Gillian Keegan, joined us in the Den to talk about her fascinating career journey (she started as an apprentice in Kirkby, a town on the outskirts of Liverpool), her transition into politics, and her passion for improving skills, education, and training in our country. She is now the education minister – and she’ll be one of the keynote speakers at DIBs ‘Change Makers Live’ conference on 2nd March 2023 in Liverpool. Have a listen to what Gillian had to say to us almost three years ago when she was a member of Boris Johnson’s government. Whatever your politics, we think you’ll be impressed. 

This is episode three of the Downtown Den’s ‘Winning Women’ series. Enjoy.

This series of the Downtown Den Podcast is all about Winning Women, in the second episode Downtown boss Frank McKenna speaks with the Leader of Manchester City Council Bev Craig.

Bev discusses her first twelve months as Leader of Manchester City Council, her vision for the future of Manchester, her passion for Manchester United and a little bit about her back story.

Follow Bev Craig on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bevcraig