“Can you hear me OK? It’s not a great line…” those were some of my first words to Frederik Paulsen, Jr. – the Chairman of Ferring Pharmaceuticals; a company he inherited as a small family concern (with revenues of around U$15 million), and which he turned into a global biopharmaceuticals company employing 6,000 people in over 60 countries (amassing himself a fortune estimated at U$7 billion).
The Story of Humanity’s Relationship With its Most Precious Resource. In this interview series we speak to Guy Ryder (Chair, UN-Water & Director General of the International Labour Organisation, ILO), Professor Steven Chu (Nobel Prize Winning Scientist & 12th U.S. Secretary of Energy), Dr Peter Gleick (President Emeritus & Chief Scientist, Pacific Institute), Christoph Gorder (President & Chief Water Officer, Charity Water), Professor Mark Zeitoun (Professor of Water Security and Policy, University of East Anglia), Barbara Frost (CEO, WaterAid), Professor Benedito Braga (President of the World Water Council) and Gary White (Co-Founder & CEO, Water.Org). We discuss how water has shaped our species, the scale of the global water crisis, how it’s impacting our species and environment, and how we can achieve a future where we have enough water for all of us, and all our needs.
My conversation with Usain Bolt – the world’s fastest man.
In this article we talk to Frank Willem (FW) de Klerk (Former President of South Africa and Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize), George Takei (Actor & Social Justice Activist), Prof. Githu Muigai (Attorney General of Kenya), Patrisse Cullors (Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter), Dr. Nils Muiznieks (the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights), Nikesh Shukla (Author), Lord Herman Ouseley (Founder of ‘Kick it Out’) and Iby Knill (Holocaust Survivor). We discuss the impact of racism, discrimination and intolerance on our society, and how we can build a better future for our world.
On Portugal: A Conversation with H. E. António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal
For the first time in over 20 years, I feel brown… I find myself being extra careful in terms of how I dress, where I go, how I speak, what I carry and how I behave; not to conform to any new social norms- but rather, so that people don’t mistake me for a terrorist, or make assumptions about my intentions. I am not the only brown person I know who has a ‘pre-flight shave’ at airports, nor the only one I know who is acutely aware of themselves on public transport.
In these exclusive interviews we speak to Sir Antony Gormley (One of the world’s most influential sculptors), Bear Grylls (Adventurer, TV Host & Author), Marina Abramović (internationally acclaimed performance artist), Sir Ken Robinson (widely considered to be the world’s foremost expert on creativity, innovation and human resources in education and business), Sadhguru (visionary, yogi & mystic), Sir Anish Kapoor (Internationally renowned artist and sculptor), Captain Alan Bean (NASA astronaut and artist, fourth person to walk on the Moon), Dan Pink (bestselling author and expert on human behaviour), Susan Cain (Author, Chief Revolutionary and Co-Founder of Quiet Revolution), Dr. Eric Thomas (World Renowned Author, Speaker, Educator and Pastor) and Robin Sharma (Leadership Expert, Author & Speaker). We discuss the essence of our life long journey of understanding our purpose, and who we are.
The Power of Poetry and the Written Word: In this exclusive series of interviews, we speak to Dr Maya Angelou (1928-2014, a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist), Sir Andrew Motion (Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009, Founder of the Poetry Archive), Lemn Sissay MBE (Internationally acclaimed poet, and Chancellor of the University of Manchester), Saul Williams (internationally acclaimed rapper, poet and actor), George the Poet (Poet and spoken word performer), Yann Martel (multi award-winning author, best known for his internationally acclaimed work ‘Life of Pi’) and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter (MC of ‘The Roots’, actor and lyricist).. We discuss the very fundamental question of why we write and explore the role of the written-word in culture, social change and the story of humanity itself.
A Conversation with Laurence Graff OBE, Founder of Graff Diamonds
A conversation with Troy Carter, the strategist and manager behind household names like Lady Gaga, John Legend, Meghan Trainor and Miguel; who is also a serial-entrepreneur and investor with holdings in companies including Spotify, Warby Parker, Songza, Dropbox, Fab and Uber.
A conversation with fashion icon and entrepreneur, Donna Karan, on brands, business, life and inspiration.
In this article, we speak to Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Astronaut, who secured his place in history when, on July 20th 1969, he became one of the first two humans to set foot on the Moon. We talk to Dr. Aldrin about the relationship between humanity and space, the future of space exploration, its economics, and the commercial opportunities it presents.
In these exclusive interviews, we speak to Kailash Satyarthi (Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Human Rights Activist), Carolyn Miles (President and CEO of Save the Children), Dr. Jean Zermatten (Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child) and Georgette Mulheir (CEO of LUMOS). We look at the plight of children worldwide- discussing issues ranging from poverty to exploitation, health to education, climate change to conflict, the media and more. We also look at the fundamental role of children in human progress, and why they are key to the future of our society.
In a privileged interview, I caught up with Sir Richard to get his views on entrepreneurship and to learn more about the man behind the brand.
Is Humanity Defined By Its Images? In this exclusive interview series, we speak to Rankin, David Bailey CBE, Albert Watson and Peter Lik (four of the world’s greatest photographers), HRH Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands (Patron of the World Press Photo Foundation) and Professor Francis Hodgson (Co-Founder of the Pictet Prize). We discuss the powerful role of photography in culture, arts and communication; and examine the true nature of the photograph, the photographer and- in the process- ourselves.
A conversation with Adeo Ressi, CEO of The Founder Institute.
I have anxiety and depression, I don’t ‘suffer with them’ as the description would normally go. I have them in the way I have arms, legs, eyes and a mouth, they are a part of me, and something I’ve learned (admittedly the hard way) to live with.
A Conversation with will.i.am Global Music Artist, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist “Entrepreneurship is about taking risks, pushing boundaries, and not being afraid to fail,” Sir Richard Branson told me, adding that it’s “a combination of passion, vision, creativity and a sense of adventure,” that drives entrepreneurs to do what they do….
A Conversation Matthew W. Barzun Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Originally published in British Airways Business Life, September 2016 We often hear policy-makers talk of the ‘special-relationship’ between the United States of America and the United Kingdom, and…
A Conversation with Entrepreneur & Philanthropist, Naveen Jain I remember when I was still at school, almost 20 years ago now, when I started my first business. At the time, it started out as me- on my own- building websites and doing graphic design and making (frankly) a lot more…