David Marquet is a celebrated author, management consultant and speaker. 

Kenny Blair describes himself as a “failed university student turned entrepreneur.”

Selling your business can be a major decision. When you have spent years or even decades building up your initial idea to a business of substance, value and further potential, it can be a real wrench when you finally decide to sell up.

Vistage speaker Balaji Krishnamurthy sometimes describes growing a business as a task that requires ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ work. 

So what does this mean? Hard tasks are those you generally associated with growing a business – managing finances, setting the right organisational structure and introducing the right processes or systems. 

The soft tasks are the more human, intuitive challenges – creating a strong brand, defining the company culture and looking after the wellbeing of your people.

Vistage Chairs often have an interesting story to tell – perhaps none more so than Charles Llewellyn.

Harry Marsland is no stranger to business challenges. After a successful career in marketing and advertising, when the opportunity arose to become a Vistage chair, he said yes. Eighteen months on, Harry chairs not one but two dynamic groups in the North East, and has been awarded New Chair of the Year - but the path didn’t always run smooth. 

Marie Owen is the CEO of LS Productions, a photo and film production company with offices in Edinburgh, Manchester, London and Bangkok. From humble beginnings working at her kitchen table in Edinburgh, Marie has grown the business into an award-winning, international outfit with a sterling reputation in the industry and a showreel to match.

What do leaders really do? It’s a big question; one which is asked and answered by Vistage speaker and author Jeff Grout. As Jeff puts it, we all understand the importance of leadership, the significance of being the person at the top, the person who holds ultimate responsibility - but what about the practical realities of what leaders actually do? 

“I had fourth-division feet and a first-division head”, said a younger Jurgen Klopp in the days when he was managing Borussia Dortmund FC. And since his managerial career began in 2001, he’s shown just what that first-division head can do. He secured promotion to the Bundesliga for Mainz 05, won consecutive league titles for Borussia Dortmund – upsetting German top dog Bayern Munich – and, most recently, took Liverpool close to winning the 2018-19 Premier League title, not to mention a Champions League win the same year.

Vistage members provide a valuable source of advice and support for one another, and over time they can develop strong personal bonds. Frank Esson's Vistage group became so close they ended up attending a pre-work rave at London's Ministry of Sound nightclub.