What happens when addiction hides in plain sight?  

In this moving episode, Darryl Cooke is joined by author Sophie Calon and Dr Piers Henriques from Nacoa, the National Association for Children of Alcoholics, in a conversation chaired by Dr Zoe Lambert.  

In this discussion, Sophie reads from her moving debut memoir Long Going, which reflects on the complex experience of being the child of an alcoholic, and what happens when leadership, success, and addiction collide. Dr Henriques, provides vital insight into the lifelong effects of alcoholism on families and why speaking openly about these experiences can be transformative.  

This episode was recorded live at House of Books & Friends in Manchester.  

🔶 Follow Sophie Calon  

https://www.instagram.com/sophie_calon_/?hl=en  

🔶 Follow Dr Piers Henriques and Nacoa  

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/piers-henriques-bb816882  

https://www.instagram.com/nacoauk/?hl=en  

https://nacoa.org.uk/  

🔶 Follow Dr Zoe Lambert  

https://www.instagram.com/zoeflambert/  

🔶 Follow House of Books & Friends  

https://www.instagram.com/houseofbooksandfriends/?hl=en  

https://houseofbooksandfriends.com/  

🔶 Follow Darryl and gunnercooke:  

https://gunnercooke.com/  

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/darryljcooke 

What does it really mean to lead a “deeply responsible” business? 

In this eye-opening episode, Darryl Cooke speaks with Professor Geoffrey Jones of Harvard Business School, a global authority on business history and values-driven leadership. 

Geoffrey’s book Deeply Responsible Business explores the rare but remarkable leaders who built profitable companies without compromising their values.  

In this conversation, he reveals why most corporate social responsibility is little more than performance, how brands like The Body Shop rose and fell, why some values-led businesses thrive while the system destroys others, and what leaders can do today to resist the relentless tide of short-termism. 

Follow Geoffrey Jones:
 
https://geoffreyjones.us/

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=24276

https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffrey-jones/

Follow Darryl and gunnercooke:

https://gunnercooke.com/

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/darryljcooke

https://gunnercooke.com/people/darryl-cooke/

What if the key to changing a young person’s life is giving your time and not your money? Susannah Hardyman MBE reveals how a simple volunteering idea transformed futures for more than 6000 children.

Susannah is CEO of Impetus, a leading impact funder that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to get the education, qualifications, and opportunities they need for a fulfilling life. As a young graduate she began by matching volunteer tutors with pupils who couldn’t afford extra help, her idea for Action Tutoring scaled into a nationwide movement. Now in her new role as CEO of funding and advocacy organisation, Impetus, she plans to help even more young people succeed.

In this conversation, Susannah and Darryl discuss leading without a plan, the joy of working with young people, and how business leaders can make a real difference to young lives and their teams.

Follow Susannah and Impetus:

https://www.impetus.org.uk/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/impetus-the-private-equity-foundation/

https://vimeo.com/impetuspef

https://www.linkedin.com/in/susannah-hardyman-mbe-06780942/

https://www.impetus.org.uk/susannah-hardyman-mbe

Follow Darryl and gunnercooke:

https://gunnercooke.com/

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/darryljcooke

https://gunnercooke.com/people/darryl-cooke/

The Inspiring Leadership Podcast returns for 2025. Host Darryl Cooke, founder of gunnercooke, sets the tone for a year of bold thinking and unique insights into leadership. As the world continues to shift, Darryl asks the necessary questions: 

• Does inspiring leadership still matter? 
• What does it mean to lead purposefully in a time of constant change? 
• Can today’s leaders shape a lasting legacy?

Reflecting on the evolution of the podcast and his leadership journey, Darryl explores the urgent need for values-driven leadership, driving change, and the ever-important, inspiring mission of leaving the world in a better place.

"I’ve spent the last 20 or 25 years seeing resilient people outperform talented people by a rate of 100 to 1… Just because something is hard for you, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad for you.” — Jake Humphrey.

What is optimum performance? How do winners get to the top and stay there? Is vulnerability an asset? And can you be happy in the process—really?

Award-winning broadcaster, entrepreneur and media owner Jake Humphrey joins gunnercooke CEO Darryl Cooke in this lively, funny, and candid discussion recorded before a live audience at Saïd Business School, Oxford University. Co-host of the High Performance Podcast with Professor Damien Hughes (250+ million listens and counting), Jake’s interviews get under the bonnet of the mental and physical agility required by world-class talent. This time, Darryl has Jake in the hotseat. With humour and searing honesty, Jake speaks to Darryl and the audience about his own struggle to excel as a child, why grief as a teenager derailed him, and how seizing opportunities accelerated his career. 

Sacked for being a poor communicator in his first job, Jake made his mark in children’s television, rapidly rising to iconic sports presenter for the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, and BT Sport. He is famed for his coverage of the Champions League and F1 Grand Prix, where he witnessed first-hand the secret to excellence, resilience, and success.

Yet, at the very moment Jake peaked as a sports presenter, he courageously shifted gear, rocketed out of his comfort zone, embraced risk, and co-founded Whisper; a media company with a £100 million turnover, employing 300 staff. As an influential entrepreneur, Jake is using his visibility for good and making a positive social impact through the High Performance Foundation.

In this episode, Darryl and Jake take a deep dive into the delicate balance between external achievements and self-worth, considering the big wins against the context of contentment in everyday life. Just how do winners perform consistently? What has ‘taking pride in doing the dishes’ got to do with anything? Where do compassion and empathy fit in?

Darryl and Jake’s optimistic perspective on leadership, success, and the power of vulnerability in business will inspire your day. 

The Inspiring Leadership Podcast delves into the minds of inspiring business leaders, uncovering the principles and practices that drive success. This episode is hosted by Darryl Cooke, CEO and founder of award-winning international law and professional services firm gunnercooke.

In this episode, Darryl is joined by James Timpson, CEO of Timpson Group, since 2002 and the fifth generation of his family to hold the role. James is passionate about advocating for the employment of ex-offenders and is the Chair of the Prison Reform Trust. He is also a former Trustee for the Tate and is Chancellor of Keele University. James has recently launched his book, ‘The Happy Index: Lessons in Upside-Down Management’, which helps leaders re-evaluate how they manage their business.  

James discusses what the Happy Index is and what success means to him. He shares what he believes makes a good leader and how your employees should be central to your leadership style. He goes on to talk through the culture at Timpson and how that has been cultivated, as well as his extensive work on prison reform. He talks through hiring ex-offenders and how they seamlessly fit into the company.  

The Inspiring Leadership Podcast delves into the minds of inspiring business leaders, to understand what makes a great leader and reflect on the issues and causes that are important to them. The series is hosted by Darryl Cooke, co-founder of gunnercooke, a professional services firm with a purpose to deliver a positive impact for clients, a better life for its people, and leave a better world than it found.  

In this episode, Darryl Cooke and Sir Peter Fahy are joined by Joanna Swash, a Welsh businesswoman, keynote speaker, and business mentor. She is the group-CEO of Wrexham-based Moneypenny, a company she joined as the first salesperson in 2005. Moneypenny is a leading provider of outsourced customer service functions for companies. In 2021 she was appointed to the Prime Minister's Business Council, where she advises the government on building skills resilience for the benefit of both education and business.

Joanna shares her career journey, from starting work at the local chip shop to becoming group-CEO of Moneypenny. She discusses the importance of making mistakes when scaling a corporation, how to sustain your company culture while growing overseas and influencing positive change as a business leader. 

The Inspiring Leadership Podcast delves into the minds of inspiring business leaders, to understand what makes a great leader and reflect on the issues and causes that are important to them. The series is hosted by Darryl Cooke, Founder of gunnercooke, a professional services firm with a purpose to deliver a positive impact for clients, a better life for its people, and leave a better world than it found, and Sir Peter Fahy, former Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police. 

In this episode, Darryl and Peter are joined by Jürgen Maier. Jürgen is the former Chief Executive of Siemens UK, a position he held from July 2014 to December 2019. Currently, Jürgen is the co-founder of vocL (a platform for responsible business founders) and the Chair of the Digital Catapult (the UK authority on advanced digital technology). 

Jürgen shares his story of working his way up the career ladder within Siemens and how important being socially and culturally aware is to him. He discusses the importance of trying your hardest to be accepting and putting job application processes in place that will encourage a range of applicants. Jürgen also dives into different types of leadership and how he believes inclusive leadership is the way forward. 

The Inspiring Leadership Podcast delves into the minds of inspiring business leaders, to understand what makes a great leader and reflect on the issues and causes that are important to them. The series is hosted by Darryl Cooke, Founder of gunnercooke, a professional services firm with a purpose to deliver a positive impact for clients, a better life for its people, and leave a better world than it found, and Sir Peter Fahy, former Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police. 

In this short of the Inspiring Leadership podcast, Darryl dives into the importance of taking personal responsibility. A series of motivating short stories explore the links between personal responsibility and happiness. Quoting established authors, sporting greats and even an anecdote about why a personal friend, to a room of 400 people said, “My wife doesn’t make me happy”. Another segment examines how confronting issues and controlling what you can control, can put you in good stead for not just business but for any walk of life.

The Inspiring Leadership Podcast delves into the minds of inspiring business leaders, to understand what makes a great leader and reflect on the issues and causes that are important to them. This series is hosted by Darryl Cooke, Founder of gunnercooke, a professional services firm with a purpose to deliver a positive impact for clients, a better life for its people, and leave a better world than it found.

In this episode Darryl and Peter are joined by Dr John Blakey. Dr John Blakey is a global CEO coach, international speaker and founder of The Trusted Executive. As part of The Trusted Executive, he helps CEOs and boards worldwide create a new standard of leadership defined by trustworthiness. He has authored a book exploring this topic, also titled “The Trusted Executive”. 

Dr John shares his story of being told he was “too f******* nice” at the start of his career, and how that inspired him to lead with kindness and show how important it is in business. The group talk about trustworthiness in business and how it is beneficial to surround yourself with those that view leadership in the same way. They also discuss benevolence and what Inspiring Leadership means to them. 

The Inspiring Leadership Podcast delves into the minds of inspiring business leaders, to understand what makes a great leader and reflect on the issues and causes that are important to them. The series is hosted by Darryl Cooke, Founder of gunnercooke, a professional services firm with a purpose to deliver a positive impact for clients, a better life for its people, and leave a better world than it found, and Sir Peter Fahy, former Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police.