The Human Edge

The Human Edge returns!And what better way to celebrate the new edition of the podcast than an interview with my Dad.This is a conversation I've wanted to have for a long time, for two reasons - first it's the creation of a family artefact; and, second, to have a deep dive into my Dad's early years, and to ask (some of) the questions I might not be able to have answered in years to come.I may be biased, but this was a fascinating conversation. From humble beginnings in a lower middle class upbringing in Liverpool, all the way to becoming a QC (KC since the death of the Queen) and then a Judge. My Dad achieved a huge amount of success, and like all successful people, did so in spite of insecurity and self-doubt. Success gave him so much, but also came at a cost, and regrets that he carries to this day.There's so much I learned from this conversation - about the man, about overcoming the obstacles that life puts in front of you, and about living a life of purpose.

Paul van Zyl first came to prominence in the 1990s as part of the team supporting South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, working alongside figures such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. The Commission focused on uncovering the truth about apartheid-era crimes, offering a model that prioritised truth-telling and accountability alongside the possibility of amnesty.Following this, Paul co-founded the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), where he served as Executive Vice President. Through ICTJ, he worked with governments, civil society groups, and international bodies in countries including Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, and Afghanistan—supporting efforts to address past abuses through mechanisms such as truth commissions, reparations programmes, and institutional reform.He later moved into the private sector as a co-founder of Vérité, focusing on human rights within global supply chains. In that role, he worked with major multinational companies, NGOs, and institutions to tackle issues such as forced labour and worker exploitation.Today, Paul is co-founder and CEO of The Conduit, a members’ platform designed to bring together leaders across business, policy, activism, and philanthropy to tackle global challenges. The Conduit blends elements of a private members’ club, an ideas forum, and an impact network, hosting events, partnerships, and initiatives focused on issues like climate, inequality, and economic inclusion.This conversation was a fascinating exploration of leadership as a force for good, how leadership can unite even in the most fractured of societies, and a salient reminder of what is - and still can be - possible.  

Pete Maiden is the founder and CEO of CHEXS, a Hertfordshire-based charity that’s been making a quiet but powerful impact since 2011. His career began in the Royal Navy, where he developed the kind of discipline and leadership skills that would later shape his approach to community work. After leaving the military, Pete turned his attention to supporting young people and families, driven by a belief that small, consistent changes can lead to meaningful transformation.Through CHEXS, he’s helped hundreds of young people each year—particularly those aged 8 to 16—through a unique GROWTH programme that blends coaching, outdoor learning, and personal development. Alongside that, he’s built a robust family support service, offering everything from parenting workshops to one-to-one sessions tailored to each family’s needs.Pete is more than a charity leader—he’s a recognised champion of social mobility and was awarded the Broxbourne Civic Award for his outstanding service to the community. The work he does is really inspiring and so is his story, from humble beginnings, his adventures in the Navy, learning how to live with significant dyslexia, to founding and running CHEXS. It is full of twists and turns including some pretty frightening health issues! It made for a fascinating conversation, which I loved and I hope you do too.To find out more about CHEXS, go to www.chexs.co.uk 

Nicolas Trindade is a Senior Portfolio Manager at AXA Investment Managers, responsible for managing global and sterling credit portfolios running into hundreds of millions of pounds.If you're thinking "this is going to be a dry episode" - think again! It was a very rich (no pun intended) conversation, talking about: - Nic's immigrant background (his Portuguese parents were immigrants to France and Nic is a Frenchman living in London) and the values that come with that- his love for acting and improvisation and how those skills have served him in the business world- how to build trust and long-lasting relationships- what great leadership looks like- his role as a father of two young children,- and so much more!Nic's story is a wonderful advert for the value of immigration and for good, old-fashioned values. I'm really grateful that Nic came to talk to me despite suffering with back pain and I hope you get as much from the episode as I did!You can learn more about Nic here - https://www.axa-im.co.uk/research-and-insights/experts/nicolas-trindade

David Brown is a life coach, a former Antarctic research scientist, and a martial arts instructor. David is also founder of the Institute of Sovereign Leadership.This is one of my favourite conversations to date. I loved David's thoughtful and articulate responses to my questions about his work around sovereign leadership, his journey as a leader, how he's overcome setbacks in life (including the death of his brother), and of course what his 'edge' is and how he's leaning into that.Watching the episode back and re-living our conversation was an absolute pleasure and I urge you to spend an hour or so in David's company.Read more about David here https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-brown-institute-of-sovereign-leadership/

Amanda Craig is a British novelist, short-story writer and critic. Born in South Africa in 1959, she grew up in Italy, where her parents worked for the UN, and was educated at Bedales School and Clare College Cambridge.After a brief time in advertising and PR, she became a journalist for newspapers such as The Sunday Times, the Observer, The Daily Telegraph and the Independent, winning both the Young Journalist of the Year and the Catherine Pakenham Award. She still reviews children’s books for The New Statesman, and literary fiction for The Observer, but is now a full-time novelist. Her seventh novel, Hearts And Minds, was long-listed for the Bailey’s Prize for Women’s Fiction, and her eighth, The Lie of the Land, was a Radio 4 Book At Bedtime, a YOU Magazine Book Club choice and picked by six national newspapers as a Book of the Year in 2018. Her latest novel, The Three Graces, was published on 8th June 2023 by Abacus. Described as My Brilliant Friend meets A Room With a View, The Three Graces has just been optioned for TV serialisation by Alison Owen at Momentum Pictures after a three-way auction.My conversation with Amanda ranged far and wide, and among many topics, we talked about growing up in Italy, the state of the publishing industry, her advice for aspiring writers, the immense struggles she had in the early years of her career while raising children, and of course her writing (including a sneak preview about what she's working on at the moment). Amanda is such an articulate and thoughtful guest and I loved listening to her talk - I hope you do too!If you want to know more about Amanda - https://www.amandacraig.com and @amandapcraig on X

Sometimes you meet someone in life who has such an extraordinary journey that you want to have them share it with you. Euphemia began life in a small village in Ghana and now leads the legal team for Kraft Heinz’s Northern Europe business, managing legal operations for a $1.2 billion revenue region.Her journey is characterised by courage, resilience and positivity and I'm thrilled to be able to share it here. Among other things, we talked about overcoming the challenges of being separated from her mother at the age of 13, being a black woman in a majority white male environment and balancing the demands of a high-profile role with raising two young daughters (both born during Covid to boot)This is one of my favourite conversations so far and I hope you get as much out of it as I did!

Conor Gearty KC is a founder member of Matrix Chambers. His practice as a barrister is primarily in human rights law and in public law, together with work in the field of corporate social responsibility. Apart from his work as a barrister, Conor is Professor of Human Rights Law at the London School of Economics (LSE) where he has been Director of its Centre for the Study of Human Rights and LSE’s Institute of Public Affairs. Gearty is also a published author, with the acclaimed book on human rights law, On Fantasy Island (Oxford University Press) and Homeland Insecurity. The Rise and Rise of Global Anti-terrorism Law, which was published in 2024.This was a shorter conversation that many, but no less engrossing for it! It's always a thrill for me when sitting down with someone so intelligent and articulate. His life story, which took Conor from Ireland to the heart of the English establishment, is absolutely fascinating - as are his musings on his own vulnerabilities (or lack of them).As my editor said to me: "the clarity and precision of his mind is exhilarating." I hope you think so too! 

Madeleine Holt is a filmmaker, entrepreneur and campaigner in education. Formerly culture correspondent on BBC Newsnight, she makes films about innovative, community-minded comprehensive schools through her enterprise, Schools on Screen. She runs the pioneering Meet the Parents project in North London, encouraging all families to support their local, non-selective secondary schools. In 2019 she won the Fred and Anne Jarvis Award for education campaigning, subsequently won by Marcus Rashford.In this conversation, Madeleine and I talk about her career as a BBC journalist, her transition from journalism to education activism, what innovation in education can look like, the drawbacks of the current English education system and whether university really is the key to a successful career and life.If you've got school age kids (and even if you haven't!), this is a must-watch.

Professor Mark Peters is Consultant Paediatric Intensivist at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), Professor of Paediatric Intensive Care at UCL Great Ormond St Institute of Child Health, and lead author in a landmark NHS study, which has found that reducing oxygen levels for critically ill children on mechanical ventilators in intensive care could save tens of young lives each year.Mark and I talked about the state of the NHS (of course!), what his version of leadership looks like, especially in the context of an emergency situation, the necessity of struggle in the context of leading a fulfilled life, and the Oxy-PICU study (including its genesis half way up Mount Everest).It was a real eye-opener for me and I hope it is for you too!______To learn more about the Oxy-PICU trials:https://m.soundcloud.com/openpediatrics/less-is-more-oxygenation-targets-in-critically-ill-children-by-m-peters-openpediatricshttps://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(23)01968-2/fulltext

Andy Payne is without doubt one of the pre-eminent figures in the UK's video games industry.A 40 year (and counting career) has seen him, among many other things, run Mastertronic from 1988 – 2015, chaired trade body Ukie from 2005-2015, founded games industry charity, GamesAid, mobile and tablet specialist AppyNation, and Good Shepherd, which is the world’s first equity based crowdfunding platform for games and movies. Andy also founded simulation specialists Just Flight, where he is now CEO and a VP of games charity, Special Effect. He is also chair of The British Esports Federation and was a board adviser to the world’s biggest esports company, ESL until that company was sold in 2022. You'd have thought we would predominantly talk about video games, but as I say in my intro to the conversation, we talk about so much more! If you're interested in Andy's views on leadership, how to create a great company culture, economics, law and regulation and his entrepreneurial journey (and more), please have a listen, Andy's an entertaining guest!

Stevie Griffiths started his working life in the boxing ring, turning professional at an early age. After retirement, he found a new passion in youth work and is now a social entrepreneur, bringing together communities in the King's Cross area of London.Stevie I began by talking about his boxing career, why he chose boxing over football and rugby, the fear that he used to feel in the changing room before fights and how the techniques he learnt to deal with fear help him in his career today. We also talked about how the education system is failing disadvantaged youth and what needs to be done instead, how he's bringing the world of big business together with the residents on the 'other' side of the King's Cross tracks, and how he became a social entrepreneur, and what you need to do to become an expert networker.As you can tell, our conversation was incredibly wide-ranging and enjoyable - and really insightful too! I hope you enjoy it.Check out one of Stevie's projects here - https://www.fishtankldn.co.uk

Paula Keve is a PR powerhouse! She now owns and runs her own consultancy (Intra PR) and across her 20+ year career in PR has worked with well known brands such as Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, BNP Paribas, Headspace and Tinder.This is a must-watch for working parents (but I especially suspect working Mums who feel terrible guilt about the amount of time they're not spending with their kids). Paula and I also talked about insecurity - how having a high profile position in a big organisation was really challenging. We talked about whether or not to scale her business and why growth isn't always the right path. And of course we talked about PR and Paula was kind enough to give me some on-the-spot advice!I hope you find the conversation as valuable as I did - enjoy!You can find more about Paula's work herehttps://www.intrapr.com/

Sydney Sam is an African entrepreneur on a mission to transform the continent, one creative solution at a time. He's a four times founder, a global speaker, an entrepreneurship educator, a brand/marketing leader and in 2019 made the Forbes 30 under 30 list. And he's as impressive in person as his bio suggests!But what made the conversation so special for me was its unexpected twists and turns, taking in Sydney's journey, the hammer blow that was his (now) wife's question "who are you outside what you do?", the long period of introspection that followed and the challenges men face in the world today.The conversation was a real joy and I hope you find it as rewarding as I did!Find out more about Sydney at https://www.workspaceglobal.com

Mark Dowds is a serial entrepreneur, currently scaling the Belfast based RESPONSIBLE, a pioneering tech company in the resale industry. Mark was formerly a Church Minister, and brings a uniquely spiritual approach to business and to life. Mark's zest for life - and for what he calls 'wild' adventures - is inspirational to behold.Our conversation ranged from cancer survival, to business leadership, to his work in the Church (leading to him being told by the 26 Churches of Northern Ireland that he "was not of God and neither was his work") to living a purposeful life.It was such a pleasure being in Mark's company and I plan to be so again on this podcast. I hope you're as energised and inspired by this conversation as I was.

Kitch is a 25 year old rapper from Walthamstow, East London. He was born with a speech impediment and it wasn’t until he found fluency in rap that his journey as a once frustrated young man, blossomed into that of an artist expressing his voice through music. Kitch uses a blend of Hip-Hop, UK Rap, and Grime to tell stories of life’s complexities, music that resonates with a wide and diverse audience.Can you imagine having a stammer and still having the courage to appear on a long-form conversation format podcast? That courage is testament to Kitch's resilience and his drive and determination to forge a successful career in music. Kitch and I talk about how he came to write lyrics to express the frustrations and feelings he couldn't originally express out loud, how he needed to be told "you're not good enough", the transformation that happens when he gets on stage, and what success means to him.There is so much to admire and so much wisdom in Kitch's words and I hope you love the conversation as much as I did!http://www.youtube.com/@Kitch_officialHome | KitchOfficialKitch (@kitch_official) • Instagram photos and videos

Jeremy Crane is a consultant transplant and vascular surgeon based in London. His practice encompasses kidney and pancreas transplantation, dialysis access surgery, vascular surgery (including varicose vein surgery) and he has a specialist interest in treating chronic wounds.Jeremy and I discuss why some surgeons have a God complex, how the medical staff working in the NHS have lost a sense of belonging, how the NHS often wastes its vast resources, the future of organ transplantation and much more.Jeremy is both thoughtful and direct and the conversation is a compelling watch. I hope you agree!

Sam Kukathas has pioneered a new approach in personal development and transformative guidance called Neuro Resonance Optimisation™️ - a revolutionary system using self-generated sound which helps leaders to break through the emotional, mental and energetic glass ceilings that holds them back from achieving the results they desire.Sam and I began the conversation talking about anxiety and how in his early 30s, having suffered from crippling anxiety since childhood, he was able to cure himself. We went on to talk about his extraordinary work with Neuro Resonance Optimisation, my own experience of it, as well as the transformative experiences he's witnessed first hand with his clients. This was such a fascinating and insightful conversation and I hope you think so too!Here's how you can find out more about Sam:https://www.facebook.com/sam.kukathas/https://www.soulpurposeleaders.comhttps://www.instagram.com/samkukathas/https://www.linkedin.com/in/soulpurposeleadershttps://samkukathas.bandcamp.com/album/being-one

Mucktaru Kargbo, or MK, as most people know him, is a multi-award winning, high-end barber, who is as skilled cutting European hair as he is cutting African hair. He's worked in salons, on TV, in film, for the catwalk, in session shoots and has taught extensively both in the UK and internationally.In this conversation, MK and I explored his journey from roots to tip (pun intended!) MK's approach to customer service makes a compelling watch and if you're in a sales or service role, whatever industry you're in, there are plenty of golden nuggets here for you.This was also a conversation about God, spirituality, the importance for men of being able to talk to each other, and how to live a good life.This one is not to be missed!

For over 14 years, Richard Wain has been supporting local businesses and organisations to impact the world positively through their digital marketing activities and to connect with their clients through authentic storytelling as the founding director of Vu Online, a digital marketing agency based in the South West of England.Passionate about nature and regeneration, Richard co-founded the Positive Nature Network in 2022 to provide businesses with a space to pause, reflect, share knowledge and connect with nature. Richard is also the author of Beyond the Brink Is The Beginning, a collection of poems that offer a soothing balm for eco-anxiety and a vision of a thriving future.Richard and I talk about the importance of storytelling, both the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we tell about ourselves to the people in our world. We talk about Richard's recent ADHD assessment and the impact that has had on his life. We talk about Richard's writing, what it is to be a man in today's society and how he thinks about climate change and the future of the planet. Richard also performed for me one of his powerful poems, 'Atoms' from Beyond The Brink Is The Beginning.The conversation was filmed on Zoom, but was no less profound for it. I hope you get as much out of it as I did!

Frank Reeves is an entrepreneur and tech investor. He co-founded and was the CEO of avvio.com and allora.ai, until his exit in 2022. He is now the Founding Partner at Voyria, a fund investing in start-ups in the travel sector.Frank and I talked about how he turned Avvio around from technical insolvency, the importance of therapy, ADHD, finding purpose, how to create the DNA of a business, the reasons behind the sale of his business, and what he hopes to achieve with Voyria.Despite an embarrassingly stilted introduction by me 😂, this was a great conversation with a wonderfully open guest. I hope you enjoy it!

Richard Morris was a pioneer in Silicon Valley, building the internet infrastructure and services we use as utilities today. After a successful exit and moving back to the UK, Richard wanted to focus more on social impact and co-founded and managed TheGivingMachine, a not-for-profit social enterprise that enables us all to shop and give for free to the causes of our choice, enabling over 1 million free donations to date, benefiting thousands of UK charities and schools. Richard is also a coach to entrepreneurs.Richard and I talked about his time in Silicon Valley, what great leadership looks like, the importance of vulnerability, the difficulty that many men have being vulnerable, and the necessity of giving and of service.I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Leo Elstob, aka Leo Zero, is a true creative - a graphic designer, a radio presenter, a DJ and a remixer for the likes of Dua Lipa, Florence and the Machine, David Bowie and Lou Reed, among other things.Whether you're a creative person, or want to become more creative, or you're simply curious about how creative people work, this episode is for you.The conversation covers what creativity actually is, how to create the conditions to allow your natural creativity to emerge, and the importance of spirituality to our journey as human beings. Leo and I also talk at length about the music industry and how at one point in his career, Leo found himself at a fork in the road, where one path led to fame and celebrity, and he chose the other.This was a fascinating conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Mark Ridderhof is a former professional basketball player and is now Head of Sales of a UK-based scale-up.Mark is passionate about people and companies and helping to empower them to reach their goals. He is endlessly curious about why we do certain things and likes to challenge himself and others to see how we can improve. This is something he always looks to in his life whether it's privately, coaching his own team, or dealing with customers and partnerships. Mark and I talk about his life as a professional basketball player in The Netherlands, and the pressure of being the son of a Dutch basketball icon. We also talked about the transition from top level sport to 'normal' life was incredibly challenging, as it came at the same time as the birth of his daughter and the break up of his then relationship. Out of dark times came the insight into who he is and Mark credits that time as giving him the mental strength to be the leader he is today.

Patrick Onyido is a super-talented, self-taught baker. He's the owner of a bakery and cafe business in North London, Paddy Cakes, which has become a hub for the local community, and has a loyal following of customers as a result of the sensational quality of his products.Patrick and I talk about the immigrant experience (Patrick moved to London from Nigeria when he was 10), the experience of growing up as a black man in England, the importance of mentors in his life, how food influenced his career, and how his experience of being on remand in prison made him into the man he is today. Patrick and I also discussed how most men don't talk about how they're feeling, which is contributing to a crisis in men's mental health - and how we're trying to encourage men to talk to each other.ps reference to "On The Mat" - this was my first recorded show and this was the working title of the podcast at that time

Mia is a model, with collaborations including Vichy, L’Oreal Paris, Armani, Max Factor, and M&S. She is also a panel speaker, a content creator, and a writer. She’s done commercial voiceovers, and landed a role as Disney’s first black, silver haired, middle-aged mermaid in the live action film; The Little Mermaid. Her overarching mission is age inclusivity, and authentic representation of her generation.Imagine becoming a model at 54 and, with low body confidence, being asked to take your clothes off for an underwear shoot? We explored how Mia has managed to overcome her insecurities to thrive and what it truly means to take a stand for a cause you believe in. We talked about purpose-driven work, the importance of role models, the joy of having adult children and how "despite what we’ve been taught, midlife truly can be amongst some of the best years of your life!"

Rich Scott is CEO of Genomics England, a UK government owned organisation that partners with the NHS to provide whole genome sequencing diagnostics, helping to find the causes of disease and the development of new treatments.This was a fascinating conversation, taking in Rich's journey from medical school through to leading an organisation employing 500+ people, at the cutting edge of genetic research. We talked about the challenges - and joys - of leadership; how to create a team that's as driven as its leader; the necessity of having a growth mindset (and what that actually means!); and how to handle the pressure and responsibility of being at the top of an organisation.

Gabriel Van Rel began studying the various martial arts of Aikido, Judo and Tae Kwondo from the age of seven. At sixteen, he was invited to represent Team USA at the North American Cup, winning silver and bronze medals. In 1993, he was the youngest member of five-man team that won the US National Championships. In 2003, he was part of the bronze medal winning team at the World Shotokan Karate Championships and in 2005 he won gold and silver medals at the North American Cup. In 2009, Gabriel moved from New York to London and since 2014 has been teaching karate at his own, very popular, Dojo.Gabriel and I talk about how to perform at your best in the face of fear, how to quieten the mind and see through your own self-story, the importance of an ancient discipline like karate for modern day living, his journey from novice teacher to 'Sensei', and the life lessons he's learned along the way. 

Lea Esterhuizen is co-founder and CEO of &Wider, a business headquartered in Amsterdam which works with businesses to evaluate human rights risks throughout their supply chains and facilities, tracking progress and identifying areas for improvement.Prior to creating &Wider, Lea has worked in incredibly challenging arenas such as genocide, forced migration and state-sponsored violence and she talks beautifully how it's possible to find joy, wit, humour and beauty in the darkest of circumstances.Our conversation also explores how leaders can be most effective, especially in the impact-driven space and the challenges of juggling the demands of motherhood with the demands of business and broader human rights.

Manny Patel is co-founder and CEO of Jiva.ai, a cutting-edge AI start-up which is democratising the development of AI. In this episode, Manny and I talk about the holy grail of AI - general intelligence -  and how he thinks AI is not the existential threat to humanity many believe it to be. We talk about the importance of spirituality in Manny's life and how bringing spirituality into his working life transformed his leadership. Manny describes how he was asked to step up from CTO of the business to being its CEO and the insecurities that held him back which he had to work hard to overcome (and is still working hard on!)We also talk about failure and Manny is incredibly candid on this subject as it relates to his roles as a CEO, husband and Dad.