​We’re constantly evolving – towards ever better things – so long as we stay curious! That’s the message from Nicky Acuna Ocana’s guest on this episode of Leaders with Ambition. Lesley O’Leary’s career provides a vivid roadmap for what it looks like to maximise potential and do so with delight. As Chief Operating Officer at Charles Russell Speechlys, she incorporates lessons throughout her varied career (in real estate as well as legal services spaces) to create a workplace culture based on...

Emma Baylis - Managing Director of Interpath Advisory Our guest on this episode of Leaders With Ambition podcast series, Emma Baylis, reached the ranks of Senior leadership at the Big Four accounting firm of KPMG and more recently was named Managing Director at Interpath. She shares with Host Nicky Acuna Ocana a decidedly unconventional career journey, recalling the mentors who helped her learn to manage important clients, navigate challenging circumstances and ultimately find her voice...

From the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) to Brexit to Covid19, Kristian Gavan has ridden out a remarkable series of unpredictable economic events. Most remarkable of all? He has somehow managed to remain grounded and connected throughout, using his accounting expertise and people skills to navigate a wild ride. On this episode of Leaders With Ambition, host Nicky Acuna Ocana invites her guest to take a comprehensive look at the fulfilling opportunities accountancy has afforded him, both...

​J​ay Linder - Global Director of Communications at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft Our guest on this episode of the Leaders With Ambition podcast knows exactly what it takes to build a robust marketing and professional services career. Jay Linder, Global Director of Communications at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, walks Nicky Acuna Ocana through his impressive career. He lets us in on valuable lessons learned and shares thoughts on the importance of embracing both ambiguity and...

​​Seeking words to live by as you build your professional services marketing and communications career? Our guest on this episode of Leaders With Ambition has them in abundance. Peter Columbus, Chief BD, Marketing & Communications Officer, is sharing wisdom accumulated over decades of success in both the accounting and legal sectors. His actionable advice comes fast and furious: Focus on two or three top priorities and protect them at all costs. Be proactive in looking for...

Everything that has come before in his career has perfectly positioned our guest on this episode of Leaders With Ambition for today’s demand for professional services support. Kevin Iredell, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer at Lowenstein Sandler, and President of the Legal Marketing Association in 2024, shares with Host Nicky Acuna Ocana the complementary skills he has developed through stints in retail, telecom, media and legal marketing. Kevin explains why the current...

“Keep your eyes and ears open – and your mouth shut!” Unlikely as it may seem, these words of advice from a wizened WWI veteran resonate still today for Nicky Acuna Ocana’s guest on this episode of Leaders with Ambition. Stuart Davis, Global Head of Marketing & Business Development, Litigation at Dechert LLP, believes being alert and attentive is key to building valuable relationships in all areas of life – and success in professional settings. Based in Washington, D.C., Stuart shares...

​While his trajectory hasn’t always been straight ahead, Brad McAvoy was never taken off course toward his goal to make Partner at an accounting and advisory firm. The head of James Cowper Kreston’s award-winning M&A transaction services team shares his fascinating career journey with Host, Nicky Acuna Ocana on this episode of Leaders With Ambition. A native Australian, Brad walks us through his early professional development, including transformational stints in Guernsey and Hong Kong...

Claire Mason wanted to be where the action was, generating rather than reacting to change. What that looks like, as we learn on this episode of Leaders With Ambition, is the phenomenally successful global B2B thought leadership and strategic marketing consultancy known as Man Bites Dog. An Oxford graduate from a comprehensive school raised in an entrepreneurial family, Claire’s core values and openness have been foundational, not only to her branding, messaging and communications approach,...

Claire Mason wanted to be where the action was, generating rather than reacting to change. What that looks like, as we learn on this episode of Leaders With Ambition, is the phenomenally successful global B2B thought leadership and strategic marketing consultancy. known as Man Bites Dog. An Oxford graduate raised in an entrepreneurial family, Claire’s core values and openness have been foundational, not only to her branding, messaging and PR approach. They are also woven into the workplace...

​“Timing is everything,” or so goes the old adage. But, as Nicky Acuna Ocana’s guest on this episode of Leaders With Ambition amply demonstrates, our choices also have everything to do with creating good luck! As Chief Executive Officer at Wilkin Chapman Solicitors, Robin Simmonds has brought intentionality to every stage of his career development – which isn’t to say that he hasn’t also had the benefit of fortunate timing on his side! He moved into the legal services realm (from his...

​A thought leader in the human resources space, Kevin Hogarth reflects on today’s evolving workplace cultural landscape on this episode of Leaders With Ambition. His most recent role, as a Partner at Strengths Unleashed, is the culmination of a myriad of high-profile roles at major global professional and financial services firms such as Ernst & Young, Capital One, Norton Rose and Freshfields. In this episode, you'll learn about the defining values that have driven Kevin’s enormously...

​Strong, healthy workplace cultures start with intentionality and, as we learn on this episode of Leaders With Ambition, clearly defined core values are the bedrock. Nick Waterworth, co-founder and Executive Chair at the Ambition Group, shares with host Nicky Acuna Ocana the forward-thinking global recruitment company’s origin story, from its inception in 1999 to the bright post-pandemic future now taking shape. You’ll learn about the ethos that shaped what Nick and his co-founder Paul...

​Professional success stories often focus on skill, confidence and good luck. But in this episode of Leaders With Ambition we are hearing from a corporate warrior whose superpower was in many ways born of vulnerability. Tammy Bessinger, FS UK Markets Finance Lead with a Big 4, has built an enormously successful consulting career in part due to key skills learned as the result of medical and emotional challenges; skills like resiliency, empathy and authenticity. As she shares with Host, Nicky...

We see it again and again, professionals at the top of their game are invariably clear about the importance of keeping things in perspective. Or, as our guest on this episode of Leaders With Ambition simply put it “Take your job seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously!”. Erin Lawler, Head of Marketing & Business Development, Americas, at Hogan Lovells, explains to Host Nicky Acuna Ocana how she has found her way into exactly the right role in exactly the right environment. It...

​It’s okay not to know! That’s the message from Maureen Penfold, Managing Partner at Moore Kingston Smith and Nicky Acuna Ocana’s guest on this episode of Leaders With Ambition. Her career reflects a unique mix of authenticity and confidence – including the ability to seek the counsel of others. Navigating a traditionally male-dominated professional services firm has required clarity and communication, says Maureen, whose steady hand guided Moore Kingston Smith’s evolution through the...

Paying it forward is an investment – one made happily by Mike Mellor, who followed his passion as a Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer for the New York-based law firm of Pryor Cashman LLP. In this episode, Mike shares words of wisdom as well as important career and life perspectives with Host Nicky Acuna Ocana. You’ll learn how Mike came to work in legal services, what it’s like to support busy Attorneys and why it’s so important to secure their buy-in. By constantly...

Chris Hinze, our guest on this episode of the Leaders With Ambition podcast, has found at Steptoe & Johnson LLP the perfect platform to showcase a collection of skill sets developed over the course of a uniquely varied, challenging and successful career. As the Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, he brings to the mix a deep understanding of global communications, brand messaging, team building, strategic sales and, most recently, research and information. He tells host...

​The travel bug – with its freedom, independence and insights into cultures of all kinds – attracted Lee Curtis from an early age. As he shares on this episode of Leaders With Ambition, his father’s decision to launch the family on a two-year sailing adventure maps directly to a peripatetic, entrepreneurial career that has led to Lee, from Nottingham, becoming Head of Global Sales at Simmons & Simmons. Having developed business and marketing teams across three continents (Australia,...

​Being bold may not always come naturally to Jess Gowar, who is Nicky Acuna Ocana’s guest on this episode of Leaders with Ambition. But she has cultivated her capacity for clear, straightforward communication and in doing so, has risen to become Partner for Markets & Clients at BDO UK. Originally from Canada, Jess is a dynamic marketing professional who has evolved from a new arrival in London (when she literally got lost at the airport) to becoming a leader, mentor and exemplary...

One of the best quotes taken from the latest episode of the Leaders with Ambition podcast comes from Nicky Acuna Ocana’s guest, Sue Staunton, who states that "it’s not a question of whether you’re going to encounter unexpected roadblocks along your professional journey. You absolutely will! The only question is, are you prepared to embrace them?'". Sue Staunton’s highly successful career has been built on openness and flexibility – a formula that has led her to James Cowper Kreston, where...

Confident, not cocky. It’s a description that  perfectly describes Host Nicky Acuna Ocana’s guest, Peter Skinner on this episode of Leaders with Ambition. Having moved through the ranks of many of the UK’s most influential law firms, Peter has at every juncture taken the opportunity to stretch himself and bring others along as well. Currently Head of Business Development & Marketing at Wedlake Bell, he is sharing with us  insights into his professional journey and lessons learned along...

Susanne Pugsley’s highly successful career trajectory has been defined by the professional and personal commitments she has consistently honoured. In this episode of Leaders with Ambition, we learn how this dynamic mentor and pioneer in the area of legal marketing carved out a niche that was anything but foregone. As she explains to Host Nicky Acuna Ocana, the first critical career decision Susanne made was to change course when her vision of becoming a Lawyer proved not to be the right fit....

Host Nicky Acuna Ocana's guest on this episode of the 'Leaders With Ambition' podcast shares great leadership insights as he is a leading expert on U.S. expat employment tax accounting. It’s a niche that Doug Michael, a Partner at Anderson & Brown, cultivated organically. As Doug explains to Nicky, 'our paths are all individual, but staying open and stepping up are universal ingredients for success'. For Doug, that meant modelling his work ethic and desire for excellence on his parents,...