Coach Class

Joy Cosgrove is a UK and Ireland based Retail Learning Consultant & Personal Coach. She has years of hands on experience in the training room and on the shop floor, and I had the pleasure of training with her at Barefoot. She is also the proud mum of three lovely kids, one of whom is a talented and powerful young woman. Who, as it happens has Down Syndrome. I was struck by a po

Rosie and Claire first met over a lunch where they shared their stories about belonging, culture, leadership and coaching. Their ambitions were to create cultures where people felt they didn’t have to be something they weren’t, they were confident to speak up and contribute and leaders brought out the best in their people. Toegther they founded Flying Iguana. In this podcast we

Professor Ralph Tench is the Director of Research for Leeds Business School and the elected President and Head of the Board of Directors for the European Public Relations Research and Education Association (EUPRERA). He was one of my tutors at Leeds Met back in 1994, having left the field of journalism and advertising and ventured into academia. The girls loved him, the lads loved

In a follow up to the podcast I recorded with my dad last October, in this episode I am pleased to introduce you to 'the mother, 'Josie Burch, my mum, whose life story is a testament to resilience, compassion, and the indomitable spirit of believing in yourself. Our conversation is rich with personal anecdotes and pearls of wisdom, as we delve into the experiences from he

In this, my 50th podcast, I welcome back Steve Smith, who was my first guest on Coach class nearly three years ago. Steve shares valuable insights into leadership and life, being your authentic self whether you're washing the car, buying a bagel or appearing on stage as the CEO of Maine's most famous brand L.L.Bean. With a break from the norm, we also take questions from

Tony Page is a turnaround specialist and an expert in solving distress situations particularly for private equity-backed businesses. He is also a transformative leadership mentor and coach.He started his career as a fresh produce buyer at Sainsbury's. But really cut his teeth at Asda in the mid 90s and early naughties. In our podcast he reflects on those early days describing

Claire is the Chief People and Inclusion Officer at Co-op. Prior to the Co-op, she worked across Asda and Walmart for 23 years, setting up, establishing and leading the procurement team. As well as sharing learning and experiences with wider Walmart international markets to grow procurement support and influence, Claire also held a UK-based role leading the US IT Sourcing team, wor

After trail blazing in flexible working within their organisations, Chloe Fletcher and Laura Walker came together as a jobsharing pair in 2021. After repeatedly being asked to share tips and advice, and realising the gap in knowledge of the benefits and practicalities of jobsharing, The Jobshare Revolution was born.They now offer inspiration, advice and consultancy support to help

Where do you start, when you interview your own dad. An inspirational leader and coach in his own right, albeit a university lecturer and football team coach, rather than the type I normally interview.Lucky to survive his birth, his aunt Agnes nursed him for the first three weeks of his life, then fortunate to survive a heart attack when just 44, he is 80 tomorrow. His own father d

Neil Nugent is a professional chef and food innovation expert, having left school at 16 and worked his way up through professional kitchens in his home town, then London, then across the world.He then entered the retail sector, innovating new food ranges at Asda, then Waitrose, Morrisons and Iceland. He now develops his own range of food - Panku - that is sold in many of the major