Business Leader

Stuart Machin, CEO of Marks and Spencer, talks to Sir Richard Harpin at the Business Leader Summit about leadership and encouraging "positive dissatisfaction". He also says he doesn't like to use the c word - cyber - as that was one of the hardest things he and the company have ever gone through. He gives a run through of his typical morning as a CEO, how he walks the floors of stores and the secret of protecting the magic of M&S whilst modernising the rest.

Gary Lubner, the former CEO of Belron, discusses his journey scaling the vehicle glass giant from a value of €200 million to €24 billion over 23 years. Lubner explains to Richard Harpin how the company achieved global dominance through strategic acquisitions, a standardised operational model known as 'The Belron Way', and the iconic "Autoglass repair, Autoglass replace" jingle – which Richard sings along with him! Lubner reflects on his upbringing in apartheid-era South Africa, which instilled a deep sense of social responsibility and influenced his people-centric leadership style. 

After just over 12 years as CEO of global pest firm Rentokil Initial, Andy Ransom shares what he has learned as he prepares to step down. In that time the share price has quadrupled and profits breached $1bn. Ransom discusses how he progressed from a working-class background to a legal career at ICI, where he took charge of a legal case in the US that cemented his reputation. When he joined Rentokil, it was involved in many business areas, from parcel delivery to laundry. One of his first decisive actions, he explains to Sir Richard Harpin, was to focus the business on pest control. Ransom explains how he prides himself in being a deal-maker and has used a strategy of M&A to grow the global business and make it more efficient through operational “density”. He also discusses the challenges of cracking North America, which is responsible for half the global pest-control market. 

Dash Water is a UK-based, challenger drinks brand that was founded in 2017 by Alex Wright and Jack Scott. With a team of just 35 people, it sells more than 60 million cans of fruit-flavoured, sparkling water drinks a year. It focuses on a new category of mass market drinks which promise to be healthy and sustainable. In this Business Leader episode, Wright explains his growth strategy with Richard Harpin. He explains how Dash tackles food waste by using “wonky fruit”, which would otherwise go to waste – like 40% of the food globally that is made but never consumed. Wright also shares how they found investors to help them grow (with three rules for choosing them), how he’s built a healthy workplace culture while scaling and how to use a combination of coaching and mentoring to improve as a leader.

The Beauty Tech Group is a British business success story. Laurence Newman founded the home-use beauty tech firm in Manchester in 2009. It’s probably best-known for its LED face masks for skincare treatments. In late 2025 it went public on the London Stock Exchange, valued at more than £300m. Newman explains to Dougal Shaw how he scaled the business, in an emerging category that not everyone had faith in. He set out by focusing on four key pillars of aesthetic technology, including LED and radio frequency, to offer clinical results at home – treatments usually associated with expensive aesthetic clinics. He shares insights on the challenges of securing investment in a niche market and the complexities of managing international regulation and manufacturing and supply chains for a global e-commerce brand.

Ben Askins is the co-founder of Gaia, a green technology company that builds online tools for companies within the environmental space. But he cut his teeth as an entrepreneur by creating a digital marketing business for luxury brands, which he scaled and successfully exited. He shares with Richard Harpin practical advice on interview techniques to hire the best candidates, building an engaged and happy workforce and how to scale a start-up with a future exit in mind.