Scale-Up Sessions

A strong personal brand is not simply about being visible or promoting your achievements. When it is built around genuine expertise, clear values and useful insights, it can strengthen trust in both a leader and the business they represent.
In this episode of Scale-Up Sessions, we explore how founders and senior leaders can build visibility without feeling as though they are constantly selling themselves. From deciding what you want to be known for and choosing the right platforms to using awards, networking and collaboration as trust signals, we unpack how personal credibility can support business growth while allowing the company to develop an identity of its own.
Joining us is Debbie Gilbert, a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, CEO of Best SME Awards and founder of Best Business Women Awards. She helps founders and business leaders build their visibility, credibility and reputation.
Debbie Gilbert shares practical insights, including:
Why the strongest personal brands are built around authentic expertise, experience and a clear idea of what you want to be known for.
How sharing useful advice, lessons and industry observations can build visibility without relying on constant self-promotion.
Why credible awards can create recognition, PR opportunities and valuable third-party validation for a business.
How strategic networking, collaboration and the right online channels can help leaders strengthen relationships and reach new audiences.

● Follow Martin Kennington on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/
● Follow Debbie Gilbert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debgilbert/
Scale-Up Sessions is brought to you by Cynergy Bank. To learn more about Cynergy Bank, visit https://www.cynergybank.co.uk/
This episode was produced by Flamingo Media. If you want to create a chart-topping podcast, visit www.flamingo-media.co.uk.

Sustainability is not simply about compliance or reducing environmental impact. When it is embedded into innovation, business models and decision-making, it can help growing businesses become more resilient and commercially successful.

In this episode of Scale-Up Sessions, we explore how scale-ups can move beyond superficial quick fixes and use sustainability to strengthen their business. From identifying where environmental impact overlaps with cost, risk and reputation to embedding sustainability into budgets and growth opportunities, we unpack how businesses can turn sustainability into a source of long-term competitive advantage.
Joining us is Mark Shayler, CEO of Ape Sustainability and author of Do Disrupt and You Can’t Make Money From a Dead Planet. With 35 years of experience, Mark Shayler helps businesses move beyond short-term initiatives to develop more profitable, sustainable and regenerative models.
● Follow Martin Kennington on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/
● Follow Mark Shayler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-shayler-778ab64/

Scale-Up Sessions is brought to you by Cynergy Bank. To learn more about Cynergy Bank, visit https://www.cynergybank.co.uk/
This episode was produced by Flamingo Media. If you want to create a chart-topping podcast visit www.flamingo-media.co.uk

Scaling a business is not just about increasing revenue. If key relationships, decisions, processes and knowledge remain dependent on the founder, growth can make a business more fragile and ultimately more difficult to sell.
In this episode of Scale-Up Sessions, we explore what it takes to build a business that is valuable, transferable and ready for an eventual exit. From reducing founder dependency and documenting the way the business operates to creating a data room and understanding potential buyers, we unpack how founders can build resilience today while creating more options for the future.
Joining us is Rachel Murphy, founder of The Grafter, an advisory firm supporting leaders as they scale, raise investment and exit their businesses. Her 25-year career has included turnaround and transformation work across the public and private sectors, as well as leading the launch of the NHS App. She has also built and sold two companies and is now building her third.
● Follow Martin Kennington on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/
● Follow Rachel Murphy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachthegrafter/
Scale-Up Sessions is brought to you by Cynergy Bank. To learn more about Cynergy Bank, visit https://www.cynergybank.co.uk/
This episode was produced by Flamingo Media. If you want to create a chart-topping podcast visit www.flamingo-media.co.uk

Cyber attacks are an increasing risk for growing businesses, but protecting your organisation isn't simply an IT responsibility. Cyber resilience means being able to prepare for, respond to and recover from incidents while keeping your business running and maintaining customer trust.
In this episode of Scale-Up Sessions, we explore how growing businesses can build cyber resilience, prepare for the critical first hours of an incident, manage third-party risk and respond effectively when things go wrong.
Joining us is Jenny Pirault, Cyber Risk and Resilience Manager at Sodali & Co. Jenny works with organisations and leadership teams to prepare for cyber incidents, strengthen resilience and recover from disruption.
Jenny shares practical insights, including:
Why cyber resilience needs to be built into business strategy as an organisation grows, including procurement, contracts, suppliers, technology and critical business processes.
How to prepare for a cyber incident before it happens, from establishing strong cyber hygiene and identifying your business's “crown jewels” to mapping third-party dependencies and testing an incident response plan.
How AI is changing the cyber threat landscape, including the rise of “shadow AI”, increasingly sophisticated attacks and the need for businesses to combine AI governance with employee education and AI literacy.

● Follow Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/
● Follow Jenny on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jennypiraultcv
Scale-Up Sessions is brought to you by Cynergy Bank. To learn more about Cynergy Bank, visit https://www.cynergybank.co.uk/
This episode was produced by Flamingo Media. If you want to create a chart-topping podcast visit www.flamingo-media.co.uk

AI is transforming the way businesses operate, but simply adopting more AI tools doesn't automatically create more value. The real opportunity lies in knowing where AI can genuinely improve the way your business works.
In this episode of Scale-Up Sessions, we explore how growing businesses can move beyond AI experimentation and start using it to create real commercial advantage. From identifying the right use cases to redesigning workflows and avoiding unnecessary complexity, we unpack what it really takes to use AI as a lever for sustainable growth.
Joining us is Yinka Fasawe, AI Go-To-Market Lead for FSI capital markets at Google Cloud for the UK, Ireland and Sub-Saharan Africa. Yinka works with organisations to help them adopt AI strategically, enabling businesses to move beyond the hype and focus on where AI can improve productivity, decision-making and long-term competitiveness.
Yinka shares practical insights, including:
Why the businesses seeing the greatest return from AI aren't simply adopting more tools, they're rethinking how work gets done.
How to identify the business processes where AI can create the greatest value, rather than automating for automation's sake.
Why successful AI adoption is ultimately a leadership challenge, and how businesses can build the right culture, governance and mindset to turn AI into a genuine competitive advantage.

● Follow Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/
● Follow Yinka on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yinkafasawe/
Scale-Up Sessions is brought to you by Cynergy Bank. To learn more about Cynergy Bank, visit https://www.cynergybank.co.uk/
This episode was produced by Flamingo Media. If you want to create a chart-topping podcast visit www.flamingo-media.co.uk