Melanie Smith on running the UK's biggest events, Ocado/M&S and the benefits of walking hundreds of miles
Melanie Smith is the chief executive of the NEC Group, the owner of the NEC in Birmingham, the largest event venue in the UK. Before that she ran Ocado's retail business with Marks & Spencer and started her career with McKinsey. Originally from New Zealand from a family with little business background, Smith has fought her way to the top of the business world.
In this episode we cover the "extraordinary" Blackstone conference where Smith gets to meet and learn from other chief executives, why she has the best job in Britain, why private equity ownership is better than being listed on the stock market, the opportunities that HS2 will bring to the economy, the challenges of M&S/Ocado and why she walks hundreds of miles on her own in some of the remotest parts of the world.
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Business Leader
Business Leader's team of top journalists - Graham Ruddick, Sarah Vizard, Josh Dornbrack, and Dougal Shaw - take a second look at stories of success and failure, provide masterclasses from world-leading experts and guide you through what matters in the business worldHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- No. of episodes: 120
- Latest episode: 2025-05-01
- Business Management
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