Northern Leaders Podcast

Gavin Wheeldon: 'Named after a bank; shocking the Dragons; turning the world purple'

Fittingly for a man who was named after a bank, Gavin Wheeldon has spent much of his life making money. His parents still hadn’t chosen a middle name when they stopped off a branch of Lloyds Bank enroute to his christening – and decided to call him Lloyd. At the age of 11 he started buying window locks, chains and spy holes for 50p and selling them fitted for £5.50 - giving some of the proceeds to his Mum. At the age of 14 he lied to his bosses to get a telesales job selling kitchens at night – and quickly became the star salesman. The young Wheeldon attended 20 per cent of his last year at school – and it was only years later that his behaviour was explained when he was diagnosed with ADHD. In 2003 he launched his business - Applied Language Solutions (ALS) - with the help of a second mortgage and ran up credit card debts of £54,000. It was while at ALS that he appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2007 after unsuccessfully offering 3% of his business for a £250,000 investment. At the time it was the highest amount ever asked for the lowest amount of equity. “I figured if I go on and get the money that’s a good outcome,” he said. “And if I didn’t, which I fully expected, I’d get some good PR if I didn’t make a mess of it." He eventually sold ALS to Capita for £67.5m but quickly realised that doing nothing wasn’t for him and in 2012 he launched Purple because of his frustration at the quality of the WiFi he kept experiencing. With some help from his daughter, he came up with the name Purple and today the company has evolved into a vital tool to allow businesses to turn their physical venues into intelligent spaces. Despite having a happy knack of making money, he says that’s not his primary motivation. “If money is ever the driving force you’re probably not going to do that well in life,” he said. “You need to love the journey and tech is what I love. “The North is almost the underdog of the UK. It’s come out swinging, particularly in the tech scene. There’s more in London but Manchester and other parts of the North have got an incredibly thriving tech scene, which is fantastic.” Purple raised £10.5m from BGF in 2023 and Wheeldon believes AI will change the world in more ways than people imagine. “There’s so much potential for what it can do,” he said. “Whether it’s two or five years, coding won’t exist. There are so many jobs that will not exist in their current form. “Right now people have got their heads in the sand. It will turn everything on its head. People who learn how to ride that wave will do very well.” Host: Chris Maguire, executive editor, BusinessCloud Guest: Gavin Wheeldon, CEO, Purple Producer: Ellice Street, What Media Sponsors: Sancus UK

William Lees-Jones: 'Pints, pubs and politicians'

William Lees-Jones is the larger-than-life managing director of JW Lees. He’s held the role for more than 22 years, growing the 197-year-old family brewer into a £100m turnover business. He’s helped navigate the company through some of its biggest challenges, including the smoking ban and Covid. Now he’s gone to war with the Labour government over its controversial inheritance tax reforms. “When I became MD we had 172 pubs,” he told the Northern Leaders podcast. “We now have 138 but we’ve sold 124. Pretty much everything has changed.” The 60-year-old says he’ll never forget the impact of Covid and the day in 2020 when Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the country into lockdown. “It was everybody’s worst nightmare,” he said. “I went to six of our pubs on the way home and I could see people were terrified. “I ended up in our local and went round all the tables buying everyone a drink saying ‘I’ll see you on the other side’ and people said ‘can you keep away from me please?’ You could tell we were going into something unprecedented.” Lees-Jones also told the podcast about the challenges facing his beloved Man Utd. “I love Man Utd in a completely irrational and crazy way,” he said. “I feel as though Jim Ratcliffe has got his work cut out if this is going to end well.” Host: Chris Maguire, executive editor, BusinessCloud Guest: William Lees Jones, managing director of JW Lees Producer: Ellice Street, What Media Sponsors: Sancus UK

Jennifer Atkinson: ‘Life isn’t like you see on Instagram’

Jennifer Atkinson has legendary status in the world of travel. She first made her name at ITC Travel Group, where she went from marketing manager to CEO, growing turnover from £40m to £90m and a £5m profit. Now, she’s at the helm of Travel Seen, which she’s already grown to more than £20m turnover with plans to grow even further. However, in between these two events, she’s had to contend with everything life can throw at her, including divorce, Covid, menopause and imposter syndrome. In an incredibly honest interview she tells the Northern Leaders podcast why there are so few women in senior leadership positions and why she’s yet to find the magic formula of having it all. Her big break came when she went to work at ITC Travel Group, initially as the marketing manager before being promoted to CEO by her mentor Drew Foster, who tragically died in 2009. Foster is credited with pioneering luxury travel and had a huge impact on Atkinson’s life. “He gave me belief,” she said. “I don’t need much but I need someone alongside me to say ‘you can do that’. That’s what he gave me at ITC. He really believed in me.” Atkinson also talks about ADHD, imposter syndrome, menopause and the lack of women in senior leadership roles. “I’m yet to find the magic formula of having it all,” she said. “I don’t think you can have it all.” Guest: Jennifer Atkinson is the founder and executive chair at Travel Seen Ltd Host: Chris Maguire, executive editor, BusinessCloud Producer: Ellice Street, What Media Sponsors: Lockton, the world’s largest independent and privately held insurance brokerage Contact: Chris Maguire Chris.Maguire@BusinessCloud.co.uk [Chris.Maguire@BusinessCloud.co.uk]

James Whittaker: ‘Why I never compare myself to my father’

James Whittaker: ‘Why I never compare myself to my father’ James Whittaker is the managing director of Peel Waters and is involved in some of the North’s most important developments. However, he's arguably best known as the son of billionaire John Whittaker, who gave the North game-changing projects like MediaCity and Trafford Centre. Recalling his childhood he said: “We very rarely saw Dad as children. He was working so late. He wouldn’t be in until 12pm and when he did come in, he would be on the phone.” He told the Northern Leaders podcast about his father’s vision for the Trafford Centre when he was a young child. “He pointed to some land from the Barton Bridge next to the Manchester Ship Canal and said ‘I’m going to build the biggest retail leisure destination in the world here’ and as children we laughed at him.” At the age of eight, James went to boarding school at Ampleforth College with some words of wisdom from his father ringing in his ears. “He said ‘don’t worry about education, just play 1st team rugby,’ James recalled. “He said rugby teaches you every life lesson you need to learn – teamwork, commitment, camaraderie and training.” The young Whittaker did get picked for the 1st team – even keeping future England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio out of the team. James also spoke about his father’s relationship with Sir Howard Bernstein, the late, great, chief executive of Manchester City Council. Host: Chris Maguire, executive editor, BusinessCloud Guest: James Whittaker, managing director, Peel Waters Producer: Ellice Street, What Media Sponsors: DSW Capital, which owns the Dow Schofield Watts brand

Lisa Morton: From washing cars to tackling sexism - and why Gary Neville is a true leader

Lisa Morton is a doyen in the world of Manchester PR. She’s the founder and CEO of PR and marketing agency Roland Dransfield, which she named after her mentor who got her into business at the age of eight. “He bought me a bucket and sponge and told me ‘you’ve got a car washing round’,’’ she recalled. “He taught me about repeat customers, attention to detail and raising your prices on the back of good performance.” Morton, who once sold ladybirds in matchboxes to make money, founded her PR company in her 20s while juggling raising two young children. “It was terrifying,” she said. “I thought ‘if I lose the business I’ll have no way of feeding my kids. What do I do?’.” Morton also told the Northern Leaders podcast about the repeated sexism she endured, especially at the start of her career. “When I was about 22 I went to a big board meeting and got cheered,” she recalled. “When I look back and think about what it was like for a young woman back then, there was a huge amount of sexual harassment and prejudice and some encounters that you kind of brushed aside but were in fact horrendous. I’ve gone home from events before now when I was younger and cried my eyes out.” In her mid 20s one client even asked her to lie naked on a slab for a music video! “I do think it’s better now but it’s not completely sorted itself out,” she said. Morton identified some of the business leaders she most admires, including former footballer-turned-businessman Gary Neville, and lists her perfect dinner party companions. Host: Chris Maguire, executive editor, BusinessCloud Guest: Lisa Morton, founder and CEO, of Roland Dransfield Producer: Ellice Street, What Media Sponsors: OpenRain, a specialist training business that harnesses the power of AI to deliver human-led training