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Chamber Podcast

The official podcast of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, getting to the heart of key topics affecting West Midlands businesses.
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Episodes

93: Daniel Aston, Access Bookings

Daniel Aston on his rapid career rise at Access Bookings and being crowned Young Professional of the Year 2020 at the Sutton Coldfield, Lichfield and Tamworth Chamber of Commerce annual dinner and awards.

Jul 06, 202027 min

92: How do SMEs win work on major projects?

EiB Group chief executive Scott Brown joins Chamber chief executive Paul Faulkner to provide an insight into the process of bidding for work on major projects such as HS2 and the Commonwealth Games.

May 19, 202022 min

90: Maintaining trust in a virtual workspace

With organisations responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Government mandating home working where possible, the number of people working from home has rapidly increased - many for the first time. As a result, many companies are finding it challenging to manage their workforce. During this episode, Chamber press and PR assistant Jess Brookes chats to Jo Rix from Curium Solutions and Mark Saunders from Birmingham Business School, on how to maintain trust in a virtual workplace, and how busine...

Apr 21, 202012 min

89: How can stress disrupt our performance at work?

Ex-Royal Marines and founders of Find Your Edge Coaching, Ben Williams and Antony Thompson, join Lisa Powney from Curium Solutions to discuss the impact of stress on work performance - and how leaders can support staff by building a resilient organisational culture.

Mar 24, 202033 min

88: Unlocking the potential of our plastic brains

In the third instalment of the Growth Through People 2020 podcast mini-series, press and PR assistant at the Chamber, Jess Brookes, talks to Professor Gina Rippon about plastic brains. This podcast will focus on The Potential of our Plastic Brains , discussing, in particular, Gina's insights on unlocking potential, the idea of the gendered brain and the significance of brain plasticity in the workplace. You can listen to the podcast below. Find us on iTunes or audioboom , Spotify , Deezer and Go...

Mar 20, 202011 min

87: Propelling women to senior roles

In this special episode of the podcast for International Women’s Day, as part of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce’s Growth Through People campaign, The Apprentice 2020 finalist Scarlett Allen-Horton discusses diversity and women in business. Scarlett, also senior partner at Harper Fox Partners, discusses her personal journey, how representation at senior levels is changing and why businesses across all sectors can better support and develop female talent. For more information on Growt...

Mar 08, 202012 min

86: GTP20: Creating a people development plan for your business

McDonald's franchisee and Chamber patron Doug Wright and NatWest's head of large corporate and institutions in the West Midlands, Kim Paterson, discuss creating a comprehensive people development plan for employees in their respective businesses. This episode is part of the Chamber's 2020 Growth Through People campaign.

Feb 29, 202011 min

85: Tapping into the Apprenticeship Levy fund

Small and medium-sized businesses across the West Midlands are being encouraged to utilise the West Midlands Combined Authority's Levy Transfer Fund to help fund their apprentices. In this episode, Jess Brookes, press and PR assistant at the Chambers, talks to Jose Lopes, head of business engagement at the Combined Authority, to discuss what the levy fund is and how local businesses can tap into it.

Feb 25, 20208 min

84: Why apply for a Queen's Award?

Why should your business apply for a Queen's Award for Enterprise? West Midlands Deputy Lieutenant Simon Topman, Kate Canty from the West Midlands Lieutenancy office and Rowan Crozier from past winner C. Brandauer discuss the benefits and the application process.

Feb 20, 202022 min

82: Andy Street on HS2, local transport, gigafactories and 5G

In the first episode of a two-part interview, West Midlands mayor Andy Street talks to Chamber chief executive Paul Faulkner about HS2, his ambitious transport plans for the region, the bid to build a gigafactory battery plant and 5G technology.

Feb 11, 202020 min

80: Talking Tamworth

Leader of Tamworth Borough Council, Councillor Daniel Cook, chats to Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce chief executive, Paul Faulkner on everything Tamworth, including future developments in the town, supporting young people, and the council's What's Next campaign.

Jan 29, 202016 min

78: Putting Lichfield on the map

Paul Faulkner is joined by key figures from Lichfield to discuss future plans for the city and wider district. They talk about the ongoing masterplan exercise for some important developments in the city, initiatives to drive growth and to market the area as a tourist destination.

Jan 15, 202018 min

77: The FA's Dal Darroch on diversity and inclusion in football

Dal Darroch, head of diversity and inclusion at the Football Association, joins us to discuss the work that is being done around equality, diversity and inclusion in football. Dal is also a committee member of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce.

Jan 08, 202026 min

76: Changing perceptions of Birmingham

What do we love about Birmingham and how have perceptions of the city changed? Hotel du Vin Birmingham's general manager Tom Gallimore and Ben Britain from University of Birmingham/City-REDI join us for our latest Birmingham Economic Review podcast.

Nov 19, 201918 min

75: How strong is Birmingham's economic growth?

Our latest Birmingham Economic Review podcast focuses on how Birmingham is making inclusive economic growth happen. Dan Harrison and Emily Stubbs from the Chamber are joined by Dr Tasos Kitsos (Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham’s Department of Strategy and International Business) and Johnny Shah (head of Trust Charity at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust).

Nov 13, 201914 min

74: Remembrance Day: The armed forces and business

Army major turned businessman Ed Colver joins Curium Solutions co-founder Andy Dawson and Chamber chief executive Paul Faulkner ahead of Remembrance Day to discuss links between the armed forces and business, making the transition between the two, resilience and leadership.

Nov 07, 201924 min

73: Birmingham: What will the city of the future look like?

Mark Jones from Arup and the University of Birmingham's Professor John Bryson discuss how Birmingham is connecting communities with opportunities through transport, connectivity and environmental sustainability. This episode is part of our 2019 Birmingham Economic Review mini-series.

Nov 05, 201919 min

72: Birmingham's future workforce

The latest podcast in our Birmingham Economic Review 2019 mini-series focuses on what Birmingham is doing to create a workforce fit for tomorrow. Dan Harrison and Emily Stubbs from the Chamber are joined by Millennium Point's interim chief executive Abbie Vlahakis and Professor Anne Green from the University of Birmingham.

Oct 28, 201915 min

71: How is the Birmingham city-region performing?

Chamber chief executive Paul Faulkner and director of policy Henrietta Brealey are joined by University of Birmingham's Professor Simon Collinson to discuss themes arising from the 2019 Birmingham Economic Review. Talking points include Birmingham's economic growth, the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and the strength of the city-region's visitor economy. This episode is part of a Birmingham Economic Review 2019 mini-series.

Oct 23, 201922 min

70: Birmingham Women's Hospital staff discuss baby loss

To coincide with Baby Loss Awareness Week, we are joined by members of the Birmingham Women’s Hospital team to discuss the support given to families going through the traumatic experience of baby loss. Bereavement midwife Alison Rea discusses the current care and processes at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, while corporate strategic partnerships manager Saranne Moreno talks about the hospital’s Woodland House Appeal and how it will lead to a greater level of care for those affected. Businesses who ...

Oct 10, 201911 min

69: What is the Birmingham Clean Air Zone?

Birmingham City Council's cabinet member for Transport and the Environment joins us to discuss how the city is gearing up for the introduction of a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in July 2020. Councillor Waseem Zaffar talks to Chamber chief executive Paul Faulkner and press & PR manager Dan Harrison about the zone's implementation, the potential impact on business and how firms can stay informed.

Sep 25, 201919 min

68: Business adaptability and resilience in the global marketplace

Western Union's head of partnerships Christina Wadlow and the Chamber's Henrietta Brealey discuss the global economy and how businesses can adapt to changes on the horizon. This podcast is part of our Raise the BAR campaign, which focuses on business adaptability and resilience.

Sep 13, 201915 min

67: The future of Sutton Coldfield town centre

Key figures from Sutton Coldfield discuss challenges and opportunities facing the Royal Town. Chamber chief executive Paul Faulkner is joined by Sutton Coldfield Chamber president Katie Hale and Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council leader Cllr Simon Ward.

Sep 11, 201919 min

66: Chamber PR chief John Lamb on Telegraph People book

The Chamber's Press and PR director John Lamb discusses his new book 'Telegraph People'. Published by Takahe Publishing Ltd, the book centres around John's three spells at the Coventry Telegraph newspaper and recalls the heyday of multi-edition regional newspapers.

Aug 23, 201911 min

65: Jason Stokes, Eastside Co

Eastside Co's founder and CEO Jason Stokes talks to Dan Harrison about the digital and e-commerce firm's rapid growth and its work with some big-name brands.

Aug 02, 201914 min

64: Ex-Chamber president Paul Bassi discusses new book

Former Birmingham Chamber president Paul Bassi talks about his new book 'Brick by Brick: Success in Business and Life'. He joins Chamber chief executive Paul Faulkner to discuss lessons from his illustrious business career and why he chose to document his stories and experiences in print.

Jul 01, 201917 min
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