The Bottom Line
BBC Radio 4
The definitive business podcast from the BBC. Each week, the BBC's Evan Davis is joined by bosses, entrepreneurs and industry experts, to lift the lid on how their businesses work, and what it’s like to be in charge. They discuss a big issue, a big challenge, or a big question facing their industry. From managing AI to managing millennials, from supermarkets to supercharging a new product.And our guests will share their stories of success and failure along the way. Podcasts are published every Thursday. And as well as being a podcast, we are also available every Thursday afternoon and Tuesday evening on BBC Radio 4. You can now also listen to The Bottom Line on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play The Bottom Line”. It works on most smart speakers.The Bottom Line has published a spin off series - Decisions That Made Me - where Evan asks entrepreneurs and business leaders about the most crucial moments in their lives and careers. You can watch these episodes here: https://t.ly/oJ8lW. Got a question or a comment? Get in touch with Evan and the team on email at bottomline@bbc.co.uk.The Bottom Line is produced in partnership with The Open University and is an EcoAudio certified production.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 27, 2014 • 28min
Serving the Super-Rich
Serving the super-rich: what do the seriously wealthy do with their money? How do they preserve or spend their multi-million or even billion pound fortunes? And who is helping them manage those assets? With more billionaires in the world than ever before, working for the very rich is a growth industry. Whether finding staff for their superyacht or helping them give away the money, there's a raft of businesses ready to serve the ultra high net worth individual. Evan Davis talks to three firms whose job is to serve the wealthy elite.Guests:Richard Wilson, CEO, Billionaire Family OfficeKaren Clark, Director and Head of Private Clients, SandAireLucy Challenger, Manager, Bespoke BureauProducer: Sally Abrahams.
Mar 20, 2014 • 28min
Energy Upstarts
Turning up the heat: the new energy companies breaking into a market dominated by big established firms. Evan Davis meets two small entrants to the sector to find out how they're gaining market share. Is the strategy to compete on price, customer service or green credentials? He'll discuss the role of the price comparison websites in encouraging customers to switch providers and hear how some smaller companies are cutting gas and electricity bills when their bigger rivals aren't.Guests:Dale Vince, Founder and CEO, EcotricityStephen Fitzpatrick, Founder and Managing Director, Ovo EnergyAnn Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.comProducer: Sally Abrahams.
Mar 13, 2014 • 28min
Transformation
Corporate turnaround and transformational tales. Evan Davis and guests discuss how companies fail, struggle and find their way again.Guests:Bruno Cercley, CEO of Rossignol Group
Harriet Green OBE, CEO of Thomas Cook Group
Martyn Gibbs, CEO of Game Retail LtdProducer: Kent DePinto.
Mar 6, 2014 • 28min
Chocolate
Chocolate is a big business as well as a delicious indulgence. Evan Davis and guests discuss how this global industry is tackling the pressures of rising food prices, speculation and climate change.Guests:Jonathan Horrell, Director of Global Sustainability of Mondelez International
Sophi Tranchell, Managing Director of Divine Chocolate
Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, Country Director of Cargill GhanaProducer: Kent DePinto.
Feb 27, 2014 • 28min
Self-Improvement
Self-improvement: If you want to look better, feel better, perform better, there's no shortage of help available. Whether it's cosmetic surgery for the perfect body, fitness programmes to boost self-esteem, or self-help books to improve the mind, there's plenty of choice. But do they promise the world and fail to deliver - or give you the strength to achieve the personal growth you desire? Evan Davis and guests discuss the industry of making your life better.Guests: Jon Congdon, President and Co-Founder, Beachbody.com Carole Tonkinson, Publisher, Harper NonFictionJohn Ryan, Founder and Chairman, Make Yourself AmazingProducer: Sally Abrahams.
Feb 20, 2014 • 28min
Life After CEO
Business leaders spend their lives climbing the corporate ladder, so what happens when it is time to step off? Evan Davis and guests discuss life after CEO.Guests:
Lord Browne of Madingley, former Chief Executive of BP
Kate Wilson, former MD of Scholastic UK, Managing Director of Nosy Crow
Robert Polet, former CEO of Gucci GroupProducer: Kent DePinto.
Feb 13, 2014 • 28min
TV Formats
Successful TV formats like Big Brother, Pop Idol, X-Factor and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire are sold and broadcast all round the world, netting their creators billions of pounds. But how can you protect such a valuable asset? And are too many copycat versions saturating the market and crushing original ideas? Evan Davis finds out from those at the top of the lucrative global industry of TV formats.Guests:
Charlie Parsons, Creator of Survivor and CEO, Castaway Television Productions
Louise Pedersen, Managing Director, all3media international
Ricardo Pereira, TV Globo Director for EuropeProducer: Sally Abrahams.
Feb 6, 2014 • 28min
MBAs
Business school or school of life? An MBA from a top business school is what defines many of today's high powered CEO's - but is the qualification worth the cost or are would-be entrepreneurs better off learning business acumen in the real world? Evan Davis debates with guests.Guests:
Colin Drummond, Chairman of Viridor and Harvard MBA graduate
Kim Winser, former CEO of Pringle, now CEO of Winser London
Glenn Sykes, Associate Dean of The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, LondonProducer: Kent DePinto.
Jan 30, 2014 • 28min
The Sharing Economy
The "sharing" economy is the topic of discussion for Evan Davis & his guests in the first of a new series of The Bottom Line. The market is built around renting out your possessions to strangers and entrepreneurs have piled in to enable us to share our homes, cars, bikes, clothes, tools and much more besides. At its heart is the idea that business works better if it collaborates, rather than competes, with other companies. How disruptive might these innovative enterprises prove to be? How much profit can they make (and is that the point anyway?).Guests :Even Heggernes, UK & Ireland Country Manager, Airbnb
Ali Clabburn, Founder, Liftshare
Fiona Disegni, Founder, Rentez-VousProducer : Rosamund Jones.
Nov 21, 2013 • 28min
Design
Decorating your home is big business - in the UK and around the world. In China and India the home decor market is evolving fast - but will the result be a global homogenous style? Who sets the trends? And what do you do if your products lose their fashionable edge? Evan Davis and guests discuss the volatile world of design.Guests:
Kelly Hoppen, founder Kelly Hoppen Interiors
Andrew Graham, CEO Graham and Brown
Lois Jacobs, Global CEO FitchProducer: Rosamund Jones.
