Business Leader

Julia Pyke is joint managing director of the Sizewell C nuclear plant and she thinks nuclear power has an image problem. She blames a lot of this on The Simpsons cartoon and in particular, the evil character Mr Burns. However, as Pyke explains to Dougal Shaw, she is trying to challenge that stereotype while building Sizewell C in Suffolk, which is due to switch on in the mid-2030s.The UK hasn’t turned on a new nuclear plant for three decades. The climate crisis has made nuclear energy more appealing. However, nuclear disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima still loom large in the public imagination. Pyke explains how she is building a nuclear workforce that is diverse and reflects modern society, while also making the case for the safety of the nuclear industry.

Thomson Reuters is a modern news and information giant. It is worth more than $85 billion (£64 billion) and is one of the leading sources of news around the world. Paul Julius Reuter started Reuters with an office in 1851. Since then it was the first to tell the world about the sinking of the Titantic, the construction of the Berlin Wall and, in more modern times, that Mark Zuckerberg planned to float Facebook on the stock market. It's also won a string of Pulitzer Prizes. However, today, the bulk of the company's revenues comes from law, tax, accounting and other specialists areasIn this episode of the Business Leader Podcast, Graham Ruddick speaks to chief executive Steve Hasker about the story so far and what may come next, including all the work that Thomson Reuters is doing on artificial intelligence

Dougal Shaw takes a trip to the Comedy Store in central London to meet a legend of improvisational comedy, who has a few tricks he can teach businesses. Neil Mullarkey has been performing with the Comedy Store Players every week for three decades. He has also worked closely with Mike Myers, who starred in the Austin Powers films. These days, as well as performing unscripted comedy, Mullarkey runs staff workshops with businesses and coaches individual CEOs, showing how the tools of his trade can help them. So how does improvisational comedy help you get ahead in business? Mullarkey shares tips on teamwork, presentation skills and getting comfortable with spontaneity.

Andrew Jones was the director of a FTSE 100 company and highly regarded in the business world. But he was concerned he was missing a big opportunity. So, inspired by Warren Buffett, Jones decided to risk his career and launch his own business. It proved to be a great decision. In this episode of the Business Leader Podcast, Andrew Jones tells Graham Ruddick what happened next - he built a new FTSE 100 company of his own...This episode covers:-The story behind London Metric (market capitalisation of £4bn)-Raising money from investors-The wisdom of Warren Buffett-Modern retail and property trends-Negotiating with top entrepreneurs

Jake Humphrey has spent years examining the habits of world-class performers. In this episode of the Business Leader Podcast, Graham Ruddick and Josh Dornbrack sit down with the Business Leader columnist and host of the High Performance podcast to find out how you can apply these principles to build high-performing teams and cultures.From managing confidence to maintaining momentum, he offers practical, powerful insights on what drives long-term success and what most leaders get wrong. We also discuss his new podcast, The Room Where It Happened, which gives insight into the conversations that shaped businesses, offering a rare glimpse into the defining moments of top entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

Graham Ruddick travels to Bolton, Lancashire, to hear how John Roberts built AO.com into a leading online electricals retailer with more than £1bn of revenue and 12 million customers. AO is one of few online success stories in the UK and it all started with a £1 bet. Since it was founded in 2000, AO's story has included a high-profile stock market flotation, a U-turn on the chief executive position and, as Roberts explains, a rethink on fun. In this episode of the Business Leader Podcast, learn the story behind how a cutting-edge online retailer was built.John Roberts is a supporter of OnSide, a charity that is building and opening youth centres across the UK. You can find out more via the link below:https://www.onsideyouthzones.org/

In a special series for the Business Leader Podcast, Victoria Price is meeting entrepreneurs from around the UK to hear the personal stories behind their success. In the third episode, Victoria Price speaks to Henrietta Rix, the co-founder of Rixo, about building a new fashion brand.Victoria Price is head of private capital at Alvarez & Marsal, the consultancy firm, and has spent over 20 years in professional services in a collection of senior roles. In previous episodes, Victoria Price spoke to Tom Ryder of Applied Nutrition and Clare Roberts, the co-founder and chief executive of Kids Planet.

Are you ready to take a tour of a uniquely British organisation? The Ordnance Survey was founded in the 18th century to protect Britain from Napoleon’s armies. Its job is to map Britain in detail. That task didn’t change that much for two centuries. But now it's undergone a digital reboot. Dougal Shaw went to meet the CEO Nick Bolton to find out how modern maps are made, which includes the National Geographic Database, the so-called digital brain of Britain. Bolton also explains what it’s like working for an organisation that is owned by the government but given a mandate to operate like a business. And he explains how the Ordnance Survey is leading the way with artificial intelligence and wants to deliver "digital dividends for the country”.

In a new limited series for the Business Leader Podcast, Victoria Price meets entrepreneurs from around the UK to hear the personal stories behind their success. Victoria Price is head of private capital at Alvarez & Marsal, the consultancy firm, and has spent over 20 years in professional services in a collection of senior roles. In the second episode of the series, Victoria Price speaks to Clare Roberts, the co-founder and chief executive of Kids Planet, which has more than 200 nurseries around the UK. The interview explores how a need for flexible childcare inspired the business, being a female entrepreneur and how Kids Planet secured backers such as BGF