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Business Leader

Business Leader
Entrepreneurship
Leadership
Covid-19
Artificial Intelligence
UK Economy
Venture Capital
London
Marks & Spencer
Exeter Chiefs
IKEA
Fintech
Greggs
Film Industry
Business Growth
Business Culture
Retail
The AA
Linkedin
Productivity
Customer Experience

Richard Harpin grew his business HomeServe from a single idea to a £4.1bn sale. On the Business Leader Podcast, he speaks to entrepreneurs and business leaders about the moments that shaped their success and failure, unlocking original advice and practical insights for anyone building or leading a business.

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PublishesWeeklyEpisodes221Founded4 years ago
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EntrepreneurshipBusinessManagement

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Latest Episodes

Nick Jenkins, founder of Moonpig, former Dragons' Den investor, and now a prolific angel investor with over 38 investments to his name, talks to Sir Richard Harpin on the Business Leader Podcast about the lessons he has learned along the way. Jenkins... more

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In 1980, a young couple opened a travel agency in the back of a baby-wear shop in County Durham. Forty-six years later, Hays Travel is the UK’s largest independent travel agency with over 500 branches and more than £3 billion in annual turnover. It h... more

£6,000, 399 meetings and one idea. Mia Drennan, founder and CEO of GLAS, turned a gap in bank-led loan administration into a global platform for servicing institutional debt that manages over $850 billion assets under management. GLAS, Global Loan Ag... more

Donat Rétif joined Loveholidays in December 2019 — just three months before Covid shut down global travel. In this episode of the Business Leader Podcast, the CEO of the UK's largest online travel agent for package holidays talks to Sir Richard Harpi... more

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Recent Guests

Nick Jenkins
Moonpig founder and former CEO, later investor
Moonpig, Photo Box (historical)
Episode: Moonpig Founder Nick Jenkins: "We Came Close To Failing Several Times"
Dame Irene Hays
Chief executive of Hays Travel, UK's largest independent travel agency
Hays Travel
Episode: Dame Irene Hays: “Never one penny of debt” | How Hays Travel reached £3 Billion
Mia Drennan
Founder of GLAS, a global platform servicing institutional debt
GLAS
Episode: She turned £6k into a £1bn business
Donat Rétif
CEO, Loveholidays
Loveholidays
Episode: Loveholidays CEO: From Covid to £350m revenue and the road to IPO
Nadine Merabi
Founder and designer of Merabi fashion brand
Merabi
Episode: Seams Impossible: How Nadine Merabi built a £40m fashion brand
Alidad Moghaddam
CEO, Blue Light Card
Blue Light Card
Episode: The CEO who doubled Blue Light Card membership in 3 years
Adam Jay
CEO of Vinted
Vinted
Episode: Vinted nearly went bust, now it's worth €8 billion
Kim Innes
Founder of Humble Crumble
Humble Crumble
Episode: How Humble Crumble went from viral video to stores across London
Nnamdi Emelifeonwu
Founder of Definely, legalTech entrepreneur
Definely
Episode: How to build an AI startup in the UK

Host

Richard Harpin
Host of Business Leader Podcast; leads discussions with entrepreneurs and business leaders about scaling, leadership, and practical growth strategies

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 64 ratings
  • A must-listen for anyone interested in entrepreneurship!

    The diversity of businesses covered in this podcast from Business Leader is a breath of fresh air in its genre. So many practical lessons and insights for any CEO/founder of a UK business.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    belle1russ
    United Kingdom3 months ago
  • World class

    A really good podcast with amazing, world class guests. Very detailed business discussions. No fluff. Just pure business strategy all the way.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    NeekyUK
    United Kingdom2 years ago
  • Great podcast - business studies an apt name!

    This is a terrific podcast. It’s a great historical look at some of the biggest stories from enterprise and commerce over the years.

    Anyone who is studying for an MBA or business studies will benefit from listening as real life case studies are unpacked with all the benefit of hindsight!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Jimmys Jobs
    United Kingdom4 years ago
  • Fascinating debut

    A great debut podcast. Looking forward to the next episode

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    richardhfletcher
    United Kingdom4 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Highlighting practical lessons from leaders across industries.
Depth of conversations—no fluff, heavy on strategy.
Strong debut and consistently valuable guest lineup.
Great for MBA-like case studies and real-world scaling insights.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Loveholidays CEO: From Covid to £350m revenue and the road to IPO
Q: What lessons would you share about crisis management for other CEOs?
Define a North Star, manage all three stakeholder groups (shareholders, customers, employees) with composure, and double down on capabilities like technology to emerge stronger after the crisis.
Loveholidays CEO: From Covid to £350m revenue and the road to IPO
Q: What has been your approach to international expansion and choosing which countries to enter?
Operate primarily from London, use a tech-led model, select markets with large digital adoption, and translate the platform with AI rather than building local ground teams initially; Germany was a tough but valuable first expansion to prove the model, then move to Netherlands and Scandi; aim for 20-30 countries.
Loveholidays CEO: From Covid to £350m revenue and the road to IPO
Q: How difficult is it for a founder to give up reins and what advice would you give to a founder bringing in a professional CEO?
Respect the founder's emotions, write a clear one-page agreement, and align on principles for interaction to ensure a smooth transition and ongoing trust.
Loveholidays CEO: From Covid to £350m revenue and the road to IPO
Q: Donat, welcome to the Business Leader Podcast. Tell me about your early life and how your career started.
I grew up in Mons, Belgium, moved to the US to work in telecom, then returned to Europe and built a career in PE-backed businesses, eventually joining Loveholidays in 2019 as founder-led growth transitioned to a professional CEO.
Barclays CEO Venkat: business turnaround, cancer, capital requirements and an £800m crisis
Q: What advice would you give to UK scale-ups seeking investment and growth?
Be ambitious, work with banks to build strong business plans, push for practical regulatory rules that enable lending, and hire good people while managing yourselves well to sustain long-term growth.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Business Leader

What is Business Leader about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A business-focused show featuring interviews with founders, CEOs, and senior executives who lead growth-driven, mission-oriented companies across tech, retail, and consumer sectors. Episodes commonly explore scaling strategies, leadership lessons, product-market fit, and resilient pivots that sustain rapid expansion while maintaining core purpose. Noteworthy threads include pragmatic governance, international expansion, and culture-led transformation, with a bias toward actionable insights for founders and mid-market leaders seeking practical guidance and evidence-based approaches.

Overall, listeners are likely drawn to evidence-based leadership strategies, case-study style storytelling, and real-world reminders that sustainable growth ble... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Business Leader?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Business Leader:

1. High Performance Business
2. James Sinclair's Business Broadcast
3. The High Performance Podcast
4. The Business
5. The Bottom Line

How many episodes of Business Leader are there?

Business Leader launched 4 years ago and published 221 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Business Leader?

Recent guests on Business Leader include:

1. Nick Jenkins
2. Dame Irene Hays
3. Mia Drennan
4. Donat Rétif
5. Nadine Merabi
6. Alidad Moghaddam
7. Adam Jay
8. Kim Innes

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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