Stagione 1
Charlotte Hill OBE - CEO of The Felix Project - Leading the Fight Against Food Insecurity
Felicity Mercer - Politics, Campaigns and Life with Johnny Mercer
Lisa Puddle - Brewing a Brand: The Rise of Momo Kombucha
In this episode, we speak to Charlotte Hill OBE, CEO of The Felix Project, about leadership, impact, and the realities of balancing a high-pressure role with motherhood. Charlotte Hill shares what true leadership looks like in practice—not just setting direction, but rolling up your sleeves and making things happen. In just over three years, she has overseen extraordinary growth, helping the organisation deliver nearly 16,000 tonnes of food to more than 1,200 community organisations across London—including 170 schools—and prepare over 1.3 million meals through Felix’s Kitchen. At its core, The Felix Project rescues surplus food that would otherwise go to waste and redistributes it to those who need it most. Following its merger with FareShare, the organisation now combines resources to support around 1.5 million people annually, reaching over 8,000 community organisations. With a career spanning leadership roles at UK Youth and Step Up To Serve—and an OBE awarded in 2019 for her services to young people—Charlotte brings a wealth of experience and insight, sharing lessons in leadership, resilience and creating meaningful social impact.
Before Johnny Mercer decided to run for Parliament, Felicity Mercer had no background in politics at all. Yet she quickly found herself at the heart of it — becoming the wife and campaign manager of a future MP and experiencing the intense highs and devastating lows of political life firsthand, including facing online abuse and personal threats. But her story doesn’t end there. Since stepping away from politics after the 2024 election, Felicity Mercer has reinvented herself as an entrepreneur, launching an award-winning business The Dress Barn. In this episode, we talk about being thrown into the deep end of politics and learning it all on the hoof, resilience through the toughest moments, and what it really takes to reinvent yourself and start again after public life.
What does it really take to turn a kitchen experiment into a purpose-led brand stocked across the UK? In this episode, we sit down with Lisa Puddle, co-founder of MOMO Kombucha, to unpack how she transformed small-batch home brewing into one of the country’s most respected kombucha companies - and a certified B Corp. Leaving behind a career in fashion marketing, Lisa and her husband Josh began brewing kombucha in their kitchen with a clear vision: to create a drink that was better for people and the planet. What followed was a crash course in entrepreneurship - navigating an emerging category, building a brand from the ground up, scaling production, and holding firm to their values as demand grew.
We are joined by Tracy Edwards, a pioneering sailor who made history as the first woman to skipper an all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Race. Tracy shares her remarkable journey, from her challenging childhood marked by loss and rebellion to her ground breaking achievements in sailing. She recounts the scepticism she faced, the triumphs of her crew aboard Maiden, and the subsequent challenges, including a devastating financial collapse that led to her bankruptcy. Despite these setbacks, Tracy's resilience shone through as she founded the Maiden Factor Foundation, advocating for girls' education worldwide. The conversation delves into her experiences of breaking into a male-dominated sport, the importance of mentorship, and her ongoing commitment to empowering young women through education.