Stay Connected‘James Reed: all about business’ puts you at the heart of fun, dynamic, candid conversation with business leaders, philanthropists and charitable celebrities as they use their journeys to give clear, actionable advice.
Hosted by James Reed CBE, the Chairman and CEO of Reed Group, you’ll hear the highs and lows of what it means to be a true business leader to empower you to implement smarter, more meaningful strategy in your business or career.
Copyright: © Copyright 2026 Reed Global
With new sustainability laws coming into play, how can you make sure your organisation is ESG-ready, without sacrificing your bottom line?
In this episode of All About Business, I’m joined by Profit with Purpose founder Isabel Kelly, where we discuss all things ESG. We explore how you can meet your social and environmental goals while still remaining profitable, and how you can develop an authentic strategy that goes hand in hand with your brand
Isabel is the Founder of Profit with Purpose, a consultancy firm that works with companies to create and embed social impact strategies into businesses and brands. Isabel is a non-executive director at TPXimpact, an AIM-listed tech company where she Chairs the ESG Committee. She is also a member of the board at The Big Give and is a social impact careers advisor for MBA students at the Said Business School, Oxford University.
Timestamps
00:57 Introducing Isabel Kelly and Profit With Purpose
02:12 The Origin Story of Profit With Purpose
03:03 Integrating Social Impact in Business
06:42 Defining Authentic Purpose
09:02 Challenges and Resistance in Purpose-Driven Business
13:45 Navigating ESG Legislation and Reporting
24:57 The Role of B Corps in Purpose-Driven Business
31:56 Airlines and Vaccine Financing
32:53 Promoting ESG in the Workplace
33:33 Salesforce's Environmental Journey
35:26 Challenges and Controversies in ESG
37:36 Purpose-Driven Business Strategies
39:50 Becoming a B Corp
42:12 Consulting for ESG and Purpose
48:30 Diversity and Inclusion in Boards
52:07 Metrics and Reporting for ESG
55:58 Final Thoughts and Future Goals
Links
Follow Isabel Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelkelly-pwp-esgx/
Check out Profit with Purpose: https://profitwithpurpose.co.uk/
Explore the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Follow James Reed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chairmanjames/
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk
In this episode of 'All About Business', James is joined by Sue Douglas, who transitioned from a medical journalism background to becoming a top Fleet Street editor. She discusses her move to apartheid-era South Africa as a reporter for the Rand Daily Mail and witnessed significant historical events firsthand.
Returning to the UK, she navigated her way through the competitive media landscape, encountering both setbacks and successes, ultimately finding her place in the vibrant and chaotic world of Fleet Street journalism.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast
00:28 Guest's Career Beginnings
00:38 Journey to South Africa
01:22 Reporting in South Africa
03:05 Return to Fleet Street
03:50 Joining News of the World
Follow Sue Douglas on LinkedIn
Follow James Reed on LinkedIn
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk
In this bonus episode of 'All About Business,' Journalist, Tech CEO and Entrepreneur, Sue Douglas, explores the complexities of balancing business management and leadership with personal life responsibilities.
Sue delves into the gender dynamics within professional settings, the historical and biological roles of men and women, and the struggle for achieving a balanced work-life equilibrium. The conversation also touches upon personal anecdotes about parenting, societal expectations, and the implications of more women entering the workforce.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast
00:27 Gender Differences and Career Choices
01:12 Balancing Career and Family
02:21 Reflections on Parenting
03:29 Community and Work-Life Balance
05:14 Gender Pay Gap and Workplace Inequality
07:02 Concluding Thoughts on Gender Roles
Follow Sue Douglas on LinkedIn
Follow James Reed on LinkedIn
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk
In this bonus episode of 'All About Business,' James is joined by Journalist, Entrepreneur and Tech CEO Sue Douglas. She delves into a chilling investigation from the 1980s when, as a young medical correspondent she uncovered a story about potentially AIDS-contaminated blood used for transfusions, risking public health.
She describes the challenges, including government hesitation, media backlash, and the impact of her ground-breaking report that led to a public inquiry 40 years later.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast
00:28 A Chance Encounter Leads to a Big Story
01:58 Investigating the Blood Contamination
04:09 Breaking the Story
06:28 The Aftermath and Reflection
Follow Sue Douglas on LinkedIn
Follow James Reed on LinkedIn
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk
Imagine losing everything. Then imagine turning it all around and becoming a multi-millionaire within 5 years.
In this episode of 'All About Business', entrepreneur, property investor, and author Rob Moore shares his journey from being £50,000 in debt to becoming a multi-millionaire in less than five years.
Rob discusses his philosophy on money as a store of time, value, and energy, the importance of finding opportunity, raising money, and building a business from scratch. We explore his views on the significance of hard work, the role of education in preparing future entrepreneurs and the critical aspects of building a personal brand in today's digital age.
Timestamps
01:44 Podcast Introduction and Guest Welcome
03:34 Rob Moore's Early Life and Influences
05:05 The Turning Point: Meeting a Business Partner
09:23 The Rise of a Training Business
14:47 University vs. Entrepreneurship
27:11 The Essence of Money
33:38 Recruitment and Team Building
36:56 The Importance of Management Skills
39:02 Integrity and Honesty in Recruitment
41:42 The Role of LinkedIn in Personal Branding
48:24 The Value of Hard Work and Entrepreneurship
52:51 Rob Moore Foundation: Supporting Young Entrepreneurs
59:20 Finding the Right Business Partner
01:08:04 The Significance of Personal Brand
Links
Follow Rob Moore on LinkedIn
Follow Rob Moore on Instagram
Visit Rob’s website
Follow James Reed on Linkedin
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk
Are you ever too old to turn your favourite hobby into a brand-new business venture?
In this very special episode of All About Business, James Reed is joined by his wife Nicola, founder of the successful drinks company, Beeble.
Nicola shares how she turned her husband’s birthday gift into a thriving business, the ups and downs of bootstrapping a company with her daughter’s friend, as well as some rather disturbing facts about her bee colony.
Nicola is an artist, teacher, beekeeper and entrepreneur. She owns Beeble, a B-Corp that makes a wide variety of spirits with honey from her very own hives. Nicola has a Master's degree in Fine Art from St Martin's School of Art, a PGDip from Chelsea College of Arts and a teaching degree from University College London.
01:37 Introduction
02:27 Nicola Reed's Beekeeping Journey
04:43 Turning Honey into Spirits
07:45 The Beeble Brand and Business Growth
13:22 Balancing Business and Passion for Bees
23:54 Insights and Lessons from Beekeeping
27:07 Beekeeping Courses and Techniques
28:31 Personal Experiences with Bee Stings
30:39 The Undertaker Bee and Bee Communication
32:49 Challenges in the Spirit Business
36:11 Marketing Strategies and Customer Feedback
41:36 Beekeeping in Prisons
43:17 The Joys and Challenges of Beekeeping
46:03 Future Plans for Beeble
48:25 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Try Beeble’s delicious honey whisky
Take a beekeeping course
Follow Nicola Reed on LinkedIn
Follow James Reed on LinkedIn
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk
Climbing to the top of the ladder can be tough. With competition from peers, how do you stand out so you can get that promotion and even become Managing Director?
In this episode of All About Business, James is joined by Donna Murrell, Managing Director of Reed in Partnership. Donna began her career at Reed as an entry-level employment advisor and worked her way up to the very top. In this conversation, she shares little known strategies for boosting your career, explains why diversity in leadership is so important and gives actionable advice for building your confidence no matter where you are in your career.
Donna is the Managing Director of Reed in Partnership, a branch of Reed which delivers public services such as employment support, wellbeing advice and DVSA testing. Donna has been at Reed for over 20 years, starting as an Employment Advisor.
00:58 Introducing Donna Murrell
07:47 Expanding Reed in Partnership
09:54 Leadership and team building
13:08 Donna's management philosophy
20:44 Going from Operations Director to Managing Director
25:16 Advice for aspiring leaders
29:51 Spotting and nurturing talent
31:25 Creating Opportunities for Employee Engagement
37:01 Embracing curiosity and learning
39:30 Women in leadership: challenges and progress
49:34 Preparing for career progression
52:05 Building confidence and overcoming anxiety
54:49 Reed interview round
Follow Donna on LinkedIn
Follow James Reed on LinkedIn
Learn more about Reed in Partnership
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk
With seventy percent of online buyers abandoning their shopping before checkout, how can you create a frictionless customer journey that only takes ten seconds?
In this episode of All About Business, James Reed speaks to customer experience expert Todd Unger.
Todd reveals why most customer journeys don’t work, how low-cost AI can help you understand your customers better, and the hit Ariana Grande song that could transform your approach to customer experience.
Todd Unger is the Chief Experience Officer at the American Medical Association, overseeing membership, marketing and customer experience initiatives. His book, the ten-second customer journey explains how you can rapidly convert customers online, drawing on Todd’s 30 year career in marketing and customer experience.
02:00 Meet Todd Unger: Chief Experience Officer
03:27 The evolution of Customer Experience
08:04 The four points of CXO
10:50 The importance of frictionless experience
18:07 Building effective digital services
24:10 Building a culture of testing and experimentation
26:17 The role of AI in modern testing
26:44 AI's impact on the 10 second customer journey
28:03 Leveraging technology partners for AI
34:29 Practical applications and future of AI
45:17 Customer experience advice for entrepreneurs
48:27 Reed interview round
Follow Todd Unger on LinkedIn
Visit Todd Unger’s website:https://www.toddunger.com/
Buy Todd Unger’s book
Follow James Reed on LinkedIn
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a podcast to elevate your brand, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk
Being a socially conscious business is becoming more and more important, but can it really help you grow your brand long-term?
In this episode of All About Business, James Reed sits down with Centre for Social Justice CEO and proud Leeds native, Andy Cook. They explore the unseen world of philanthropy, why small charities are often more powerful, the best interview questions to ask future employees, and the steps you can take to become a brand locals love.
Andy is CEO of The Centre for Social Justice, an award-winning organisation that aims to solve Britain’s most pressing social issues through political change. Hailing from Leeds, Andy founded another award winning charity that helped disadvantaged youth across the Midlands. Since then, he’s become an advisor to several leading philanthropists and CSJ has been awarded social policy Think Tank of the Year for the last 2 years.
1:56 - Introducing Andy Cook - CEO for the Centre for Social Justice
2:48 - The Centre for Social Justice
8:43 - The five areas of help that affect Society
9:58 - The Big Give
13:38 - The importance of giving people opportunities
16:56 - The power of smaller charities
19:04 - Where do donations go and how to make the process better
21:07 - Should businesses engage more with philanthropy?
25:35:00 - The Kickstart Program
27:40:00 - Finding a balance between education and employer's needs
31:36:00 - The Centre for Social Justice Foundation
34:36:00 - Why businesses should be more involved in the education system
38:18:00 - How you can help
40:10:00 - Reed interview segment
41:50:00 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Find out more about the CSJ
Follow Andy on LinkedIn
Register for the Green Match Fund
Donate to a cause you care about
Follow James Reed on LinkedIn
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to get your brand heard, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk
Talent and customers aren’t just looking at the product or service your company provides. They’re choosing organisations with purpose over those who only prioritise profit.
In this episode of 'All About Business,' James is joined by Becky Willan, CEO of Given, part of Anthesis. They explore the importance of implementing purpose into the heart of your business,, the impact of ESG and sustainability on brands, and practical steps for organisations to align profit with meaningful societal impact. Becky shares her journey from working at Body Shop to founding Given, and discusses how companies like John Lewis and Lloyd's Banking Group are navigating purpose-driven transformations.
01:31- Introduction
02:26- Meet Becky Willan
03:13- Defining Purpose in Business
03:48- The Journey of Given
07:41- Implementing Purpose in Organisations
11:32- Case Study: John Lewis Partnership
20:31- Case Study: Lloyd's Banking Group
24:01- Advice for Entrepreneurs
29:54- Evidence of Purpose-Driven Business Success
31:25- Purpose vs. Philanthropy: Understanding the Difference
33:52- Reed's Purpose-Driven Philanthropy Model
34:54- Steps to Implementing Purpose in Your Organisation
36:44- The Importance of Employee Engagement and Culture
40:14- Challenges and Pitfalls in Purpose-Driven Organisations
42:54- Case Study: Centrica's Purpose Transformation
49:49- IKEA's Purpose and Philanthropy
51:35- Personal Reflections and Future Aspirations
53:56- Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Find out more about Given
Follow Becky on LinkedIn:
Follow James on LinkedIn
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk
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