The Unlikely Executive

Alan Adams was told that he wouldn't amount to much by his teachers. He is now leading a charitable organisations that delivers the UK's largest flower show - Southport Flower Show every year, as well as managing one of the North West's premier outdoor event spaces - Victoria Park. Listen to him talk about his journey and what he thinks makes a good leader.For more information, please visit:Company Website: https://southportflowershow.co.uk/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthportFlowerShowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/southportflowershow/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-adams-2a93068a/

Jacqui Gavin BEM is an internationally recognised and award-winning leader in Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), celebrated for her transformative leadership across both the public and private sectors. With a career marked by strategic roles in highprofile organisations, Jacqui has consistently delivered cultural change, advancing inclusivity, equality, and wellbeing at all levels of business and government. As an active author, Jacqui has recently focused her work on addressing one of society’s most pressing challenges: finding a way out of the polarisation that dominates today’s world. Her writings provide thought-provoking insights and practical strategies for bridging divisions and fostering unity through empathy, diplomacy, and collective progress. Alongside her authorship, Jacqui continues to serve as a coach, trusted adviser, and judge for prestigious diversity awards such as the Annual RIDI Awards.

Leah Godfrey is a distinguished leader with 30 years of international commercial and community-building expertise across multiple sectors. As Chief Operating Officer of Neurodiverse Sport, founder of L2 Foundry and Alt Elle, and Head of Events and Campaigns at BAMREF, she leads transformative approaches in women's sports and organisational development.Her strategic consulting spans diverse sectors, leveraging her ability to drive innovation across Fortune 100 and FTSE 100 companies, academic institutions, governmental bodies, sporting clubs and communities and non-profit organisations. Alongside her entrepreneurial focus she applies her industry-agnostic experience to empowering young female founders, demonstrating her commitment to holistic cross-sector transformation and systemic change. Beyond the game itself, it is her belief that the rise of female sports is a sociocultural revolution that can activate wider societal gender, racial and neurodiverse equity.A multi-award-winning professional, she infuses commercial strategy with social impact, particularly in women's sports and extensive equality work. Her leadership transcends traditional boundaries, leveraging her neuro-spicy approach to challenge institutional paradigms and generate innovative solutions prioritising equality, sustainability, and holistic organisational growth.For more information, you may find this via the link below:LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahagodfrey/Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/youandmebothmate?igsh=c2xxZXUwcjFseDFv&utm_source=qr

Matt Cliff is transforming lives by teaching vital living and mobility skills to people navigating sight loss. But this isn’t just about support—it’s about empowerment. As Director of Bradbury Fields, Matt has turned his own challenges into fuel, building a vibrant community hub where others with similar barriers can live boldly and confidently.“If I’m honest, I didn’t want to be disabled. I didn’t want to live with sight loss. I didn’t want to try blind sports,” Matt shares.Yet, through embracing the unpredictable nature of life, he’s carved out a path full of purpose and impact.Tune in for a raw, inspiring, and unexpected journey—one that proves physical limitations don’t have to limit how loud, proud, and full your life can be.

"This is a new journey that has taken me on a wild ride", just one of, Founder of Supersmith, Tom Morgan's reflections on trying to change the disability market. Tom started his career in automotive manufacturing, which in itself is an interesting tie back to what he finds himself doing today. Operational improvement and supply chain management gave Tom a breadth of skills and space to develop his naturally acute problem solving talents. In recent years Tom has worked with a global design and consultancy business, Arcadis, holding roles in the UK and the US. Tom left the safety and security of the large corporate to commit to his passion: creating a revolutionary new type of mobility scooter.For more information, please visit:Website- https://supersmith.co/LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-morgan-online/

Chelsea has dedicated her work to achieving gender equality within the tech sector. Her direct experiences of inequality within her previous roles inspired her to start InnovateHer, a social enterprise who are on a mission to get girls ready for the tech industry and the industry ready for girls. With her team, Chelsea plans for InnovateHer to become a pioneering industry-led STEAM education provider, inspiring teens to reach their potential and create a more inclusive future in tech, with a community of 1 million globally.In other work, Chelsea has supported many organisations and government bodies on their digital strategies, as well as Inclusion, Social Enterprise, Digital Marketing, Brand and Business operations.For more information, you may find this via the link below:Organisation Website- https://www.innovateher.co.uk/LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-slater-ab548131/Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/innovateherUK/Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/innovateheruk/

All Nick ever wanted to do was to play football... he was half decent too, playing for Stockport County as a teenager. However, he didn't make the grade and moved through job roles and ending up being Head of Operations, a stressful full-on job.This eventually took a toll on him, suffering a severe stroke in 2012. As a stroke survivor, Nick felt that there was a lack of support, information, guidance and HOPE for people like him, so he started a blog and set up a charity.Driven by a passion to build a charity that employs stroke survivors, listen to Nick talk about motivation and challenges in this week's episode of The Unlikely Executive.For more information, you may find this via the links below:Website- https://www.strokeinformation.co.uk/home/LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-clarke-%F0%9F%92%9A-a2b6371/

Along with his wife, Rob Lapsley set up Love, Jasmine in 2016 to provide peer support to families bereaved by the loss of a child. This was due to their own experiences following the loss of their daughter Jasmine who was just 6 years old when she died.Before the loss of Jasmine, being a charity leader was the last thing on Rob’s to do list – in this podcast episode Rob shares his thoughts on the journey to being an authentic leader in a charity that is very personal to him.