Honoured to have Charlie as my guest for this episode, we talk about the impacts of Covid on conservation and Charlie's role over the years, with a bit of Royal support too.  Educated at Wellington College, Charlie Mayhew spent two years travelling and working in South Africa, Switzerland and Australia. After returning home, he started work as a Lloyds Marine Insurance Broker with Willis Faber & Dumas Ltd, moonlighting as a DJ! In 1985 he set up and led the successful Young Europe Africa Expedition. The 33 strong team made up of seven nationalities crossed the Sahara and travelled through the Congo before arriving in Kenya, where it undertook a series of conservation and community projects filmed for a Channel 4 TV documentary. The 7-month adventure concluded in Cape Town. On his return in Mayhew was elected a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society.  After working for a small boutique financial services firm, Mayhew formed his own financial service business, which he later sold to the St James’s Place Group. In 1990 he co-founded the charity, Tusk Trust, and, as part of the stimulus for doing so, he co-produced the feature film ‘Lost in Africa’– a drama that sought to highlight the ivory trade.   Under Mayhew’s stewardship, Tusk has since grown into becoming a highly reputable and efficient UK conservation NGO with HRH The Duke of Cambridge being the charity’s active Royal Patron since 2005. Mayhew has accompanied The Duke on a number of overseas trips, including tours to Africa, China and Vietnam.   Tusk’s revenue in 2019 amounted to £9.7m, supporting a significant and diverse portfolio of conservation and community projects right across Africa.   Mayhew also sits on the Board of the Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust and Community Conservation Fund Africa. In 2005, he was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty The Queen in recognition of his services to conservation in Africa.

A MUST listen, I LOVED this recording and my time with Jay 'Tronica' - and love chatting warped reality, what-if scenario's, please listen in and let your mind be creative.  Jay Udo-Udoma is a Presenter,  Multidisciplinary Artist, Creative Director and Experience Designer holding degrees in Communications, Music & Culture. He is currently one of the founding members of new Multisensory creative collective MiroShot with Roman Rappak (Breton), signed to Believe Records who in 2017 created the world’s first Live Mixed reality music show. He has been at the forefront of Marketing, UX design and immersive tech since 2006 heading up the offline creative and events teams at Myspace UK, and chaired a think tank on the future of tech and marketing for Visit Britain and The Mayor of London. During this time he also consulted for various fashion brands (Dior, Louis Vuitton, Puma) as well as record labels (Virgin, Sony) creating events and experiential concepts. He has contributed creatively to the likes of LVMH, and Layar as well as masterminding branding and marketing work for a whole host of luxury brands. Jay is also one of the founders of 360 Communications agency The Soho Project. Jay Previously signed to Sony Records and GUT has also composed music alongside Guy Sigsworth, Sean Mcghee, Alexander Nileree, JD aka Dreddy So Solid Crew for various artists as well as fronting the bands ‘The NDotE’ Project and ‘The Blackmoth Connection’ also performing as a DJ at many of London's Electroclash club nights from 2005 onwards. He has creatively directed and produced Music videos for the likes of Charlotte OC, Miro Shot, Sinead O Connor as well as Directed the sound and music of fashion shows for Georgia Hardinge and PPQ at LFW.

WHAT A INSPIRING interview this was, as part of my commitment to sustainable development goals- SDG's, I recently became a UK trustee board member of Education Africa and had the great pleasure to meet James and his team.  James and I talk about his journey, career, and commitment of over 30 years ensuring access to better education for those not able to pay.  I was blown away by the results he and his team have achieved, his honesty about ADHD and the stories about Nelson Mandela are incredible, truly inspiring, and cannot wait for my first board meeting tomorrow.  Please check out Education Africa online, donate, or bring your expertise to this vitally important work, thank you.  

So after 27 Ep I have made my first monumental MISTAKE, so rather than hide it and delete what I have left, here is 16 minutes of the incredibly talented Dinis Guarda - we discuss the future of smart cities and personal data empowerment.  Yes, you have guessed it I lost the first 35mins of our conversation and I am hoping that for the small amount of conversation I have left, it will encourage you to go and hear more from Dinis, Smart Cities ABC and the Open Business Council Summit, of which I have had the pleasure to be a gust speaker on.  Enjoy and now off to hide my head in shame!

A must listen to podcast, Geeta has the knowledge, energy, and advice for anyone looking for a positive mindset, perfect for this week's Mental Health Awareness week. Geeta Sidhu-Robb is a 5-time winner of the Entrepreneur and Businesswoman of the Year award. Having developed the hugely successful Nosh Detox, Geeta retrained as a leadership coach for successful professional women.  Her coaching clients describe working with her as ‘transformational & life-changing and credit her coaching with helping them get promotions, double revenue, manage successful IPO’s and launching massive company growth.  Successful women frequently operate in isolated and hostile environments and coach not only to succeed but also enjoy improved family lives.

'Geeta won Entrepreneur & Businesswoman of the Year 5 times. She set up Nosh Detox, & now coaches professional women into leaders. Clients describe working with her as ‘transformational & life-changing. '   

In this Ep Chloe and I discuss the drivers behind why she choose to focus on developing a purpose-driven PR agency and shares her story on how she got there.  CEO and founder of influential purpose and communications agency Franses, Chloe Franses has more than 22 years’ experience working with a vast and varied range of social impact-led, philanthropic and non-governmental organisations, and foundations, as well as some of the world's best known and most respected brands and individuals.

Chloe led creative partnerships at Amnesty International for seven years, aligning Amnesty with film, music and cultural projects, as well as creating films with influential cultural figures both behind and in front of the camera. She has also headed up Corporate Social Responsibility for the Soho House, Caprice and Birley groups, where she created an implementation strategy for the companies' improvement in key areas of sourcing, sustainability, environmental impact, community engagement and charity support.

Since setting up Franses business in 2011, Chloe has worked with high-profile brands including Bentley, Formula E and Pearsons, high-profile individuals like Idris Elba and Charlize Theron, and organisations including The Global Goals, FilmAid International, and UN

Delighted to have the esteemed Dr. Anino Emuwa on this week's podcast, we talk about the vital importance of diversity and where and how this should be achieved.  Dr Anino Emuwa is the Founder and Managing Director of Avandis Consulting, a strategy and financial advisory firm in France.  A former corporate banker with Citibank, she is an experienced Non-Executive Director and sits on the board of several organisations including Nottingham Trent University, U.K. Anino is an advocate for gender diversity in leadership and is a member of the Institute of Directors’ Expert Advisory Group on Diversity and Inclusion. She convenes global and regional communities for women in leadership including 100 Women@Davos, and is recognised as one of  125 people to follow on LinkedIn about Diversity and Inclusion. An award-winning international speaker on D&I, entrepreneurship, and emerging technologies, Dr. Emuwa has spoken at prestigious institutions and conferences including Forbes, Facebook, Reykjavik Forum for Women Global Leaders, and the University of Cambridge. Her articles have also been published in international publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Global Banking and Finance Review. Anino is a coach and mentor for Cartier Women’s Initiative and the Women’s Development Programme at the Nottingham Trent University. She is also a Cherie Blair Foundation Mentor Alumni.   She received her Doctorate in Business Administration from Nottingham Business School where she is an alumni fellow. Anino holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management and a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and has lived in six countries. She is bilingual in English and French.

In this episode, we talk about diversifying in business, culture, taking risks, and some great adventures. Julian's pace, humility, and drive are infectious and I hope you listeners will get some great advice and words of wisdom, enjoy.

Australian born and came to the UK to manage an engineering firm in the environmental space.  After 3 years, he took the decision to set up on his own with a partner, this proved to be a very successful venture.  To say he took a leap in a different direction is an understatement, in 2009 he decided to build a plane, as you do!  And travel across Europe.  When Julian went back to Oz, he bought a piece of land in Queensland living in nature, where his next ‘Spark’ of ideas came, he founded and began Spark Brewery and gained a global patent.  This also led him onto his next business adventure and launched a zero alcohol beer.

In the last decade, by balancing passions for strong business and tasty beer Julian has grown Spark from a small engineering consultancy into the nation's leading supplier of brewing and distilling systems. He and his team have designed and built systems for 47 businesses around the country and are accelerating in summer 2021.

By specialising in compact breweries that are easy to retrofit to existing venues, he is excited to be part of the evolution of pubs in Australia this century. He enjoys working with clients to develop unique experiences for their patrons that set each venue apart from the crowd and improves the bottom line from month one.

MOVE ASIDE Bear Grylls, Ben Fogle & Ray Mears - Allie is an uber SHERO and role model to all girls and women out there!  After spending 10 years working in the infamous music industry, Allie Bailey quit her major label job with the aim of piecing back together with her fragile mental health and finding some meaning in life. Three years and countless adventures later she is now chief test pilot and adventurer in residence at Rat Race Adventure Sports. With over 100 marathons and ultras under her belt, Allie is an established and respected endurance athlete, known for championing women's participation in ultrarunning and exploration as well as being extremely vocal about the mental health battles that have seen her get to where she is now. She holds a number of world-first titles, including crossing Lake Khovsghol in Mongolia, the Namibia Nukluft Park in Namibia, and the Panamanian jungle from coast to coast on foot. She is also the only women to have run and kayaked the length the Panama Canal. In 2019 she took 9 women to run the entire length of the Hebridean Way in the Outer Hebrides, another world first and the fastest known time for an all female group to achieve this (5 days). “If what I do inspires just one person to want to see the world, run a marathon or just get out for their first 5K, that’s enough” says Allie. “Doing something you are frightened of, having a goal and achieving it unlocks the best in people. Helping other people to achieve that is something I am extremely proud of. I truly believe it has saved my life ”.

Pleased to bring Frank to The Rhona Morrell podcast, a larger-than-life character, and some great stories to tell. Frank is a very inspiring speaker about risk management, safety, and situational awareness. His metaphors change cognitive processes. Frank Versteegh has been an Airshow and Red Bull Air Race pilot and with over 43 years of aviation experience, this legend offers a wide range of services to individuals and corporations.  He has flown more than 180 types of aircraft and flew more than 1450 airshows in 40 countries. As one of the very few selected pilots, he flew under the Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam and under the Chainbridge in Budapest. He has raced from all 4 corners of the globe including races in Rio de Janeiro, Abu Dhabi, The Golden Horn in Istanbul, and in the Navajo territory in Monument Valley. Frank is a perfectionist filled with passion and devotion and he has a great sense of humor. His fellow pilots describe him as ‘precise, intense and generous in his breadth of knowledge.  Nowadays Frank shares his experience with young flight instructors in Africa. His specialties are advanced training and upset recovery techniques (for the non-pilots: this means real flying, stick and rudder. Not pushing buttons).