The Downtown Den Podcast

Phil Neville may not be considered to be one of the most naturally gifted footballers of his time – but few would claim to have been more hard working and committed than a man who played for Manchester United and Everton Football Clubs.

Whilst at United, he won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and a Champions League. He won 59 caps for England, and he captained Everton for the bulk of his eight years at Goodison Park.

Phil moved into coaching and was appointed head coach of England women’s team in 2019, leading the ‘Lionesses’ to fourth place at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

He now manages MLS team Inter Miami. He is also the co-owner of Salford City and the innovative Trafford-based University UA92.

In this fascinating conversation, Phil explains the huge influence his family have had on his career, shares his tips for team building, and lets the cat out of the bag in terms of his tattoo!

DIB boss Frank McKenna talks to Phil about:

-Miami and Becks

-Family values

-The culture of the club

-Sir Alex & Manchester United

-Leading by example

-People, Character, and Recruitment

-England

-Terry Venables

-Missing out of the World Cup

-The Lionesses

-Winning the treble

-Evertonians

-Politics

-Non-retirement plan 

Listen and enjoy one of the most honest and open conversations we have had the privilege of hosting in the Downtown Den.

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Find out more about joining DIB here.

 

Victoria Brown set up her first business when she was just 17. She has gone on to become the owner of multiple businesses, including leading HR consultancy company HPC, award winning tech business oneHR, and property investment company Viridis.

In this fascinating insight into the thinking of an entrepreneurial mindset, Victoria takes us through her journey of teaching PT sessions in church halls, owning and eventually selling a hair and beauty salon, building a successful HR consultancy, launching an online brand, and striking the right work/life balance.

DIB boss Frank McKenna talks to Victoria about:

-Hair, Beauty, and Fitness

-HR

-Business Culture

-Building a Team, Building a Business

-Having a Business Coach and Accountability

-Selling a Business

-Social Media Influence

-Making a Difference

-Kids

-Learning to Live Dangerously    

To find out more about the HPC and DIB partnership, click here.

To follow Victoria on Instagram, click here.

To follow Victoria on Twitter, click here.

Twitter

To find out more about High Performance Consultancy, click here.

To find out more about oneHR, click here.

Follow DIB here:

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Twitter
Instagram
YouTube

This episode was sponsored by Moore Media

https://www.jaynemooremedia.com

How does a shy lad from the small town of Berwick-Upon-Tweed end up becoming one of the most successful footballers of his generation?

In the first Downtown Den podcast of the new series, DIB chief executive and Group Chairman Frank McKenna is in conversation with Trevor Steven.

Through the Eighties and Nineties Trevor played for Burnley, Everton, Glasgow Rangers, and Marseille. He also represented England, winning 36 full caps, and competing in the 1986 and 1990 World Cup Finals.

In his club career he won two English League Championships, an FA Cup and a European Cup Winners Cup; seven Scottish Premier League titles, and three Scottish League Cups; and a French Ligue 1 championship.

He is now a mental health ambassador for Causeway Technologies.

In this fascinating discussion, Trevor talks:

• Berwick Rangers
• Burnley and cleaning Martin Dobson’s boots
• Scoring the winner at the Stretford End at the age of 16
• Everton, Howard Kendall, and resilience
• Turning down Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United
• Glasgow Rangers and moving abroad
• Mental health      

To find out more about the Causeway/DIB mental health campaign go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s73qRXrtwbQ

https://causeway.com/mentalhealth

https://www.causeway.com

Trevor’s Instagram is @trevorsteven7

Trevor’s Twitter account is trevorsteven63

Follow DIB here:

LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube

This episode was sponsored by Moore Media

https://www.jaynemooremedia.com

As we get set to return to ‘live’ events, we could think of no better guest to launch our new  podcast series than Thom Hetherington, the chief executive of Holden Media and a huge influencer and advocate for the Hospitality and events industry.

In this fascinating discussion, Thom talks about his career journey, which has included two redundancies, two economic crashes and a near death experience. Despite these challenges, his business is in good shape and his passion for live events, bars, restaurants, Manchester, and the North shines through in his contribution here.

For an optimistic view of the future, for some key business lessons, and for some great stories, A Frank Conversation with Thom Hetherington is well worth a listen.      

From the 10 year old starting work in a fish and chip shop in Belfast to the successful entrepreneur and author of ‘Fear Less’, in this weeks Downtown Podcast we hear from Founder of International apartment buildings, Dream Apartments, Tom Smyth.

Tom joined Downtown in Business CEO, Frank McKenna to discuss all things business from struggling to start out to the international success Dream Apartments is today.

Downtown in Business CEO, Frank McKenna caught up with Lancashire based entrepreneur and owner of Cotton Court Business Centre in Preston.

Frank & Rob discussed the progression from Rob spending 17 years at a previous company, building up from starting out as an apprentice, to today as the owner of a successful business in Lancashire and widely known entrepreneur across the region.

Downtown CEO, Frank McKenna speaks to Founder & Managing Director of Manchester based Marketing & PR Company, Roland Dransfield, Lisa Morton. 
Frank and Lisa discuss Lisa's progression from starting work (at just 8 years old) to their joint works with UnitedCity, the newly created group of business leaders from across Manchester, working together to help get the city back on its feet post-Covid.

In the new episode of The Downtown Podcast, Downtown CEO, Frank McKenna spoke with Founder & Owner of Salford Restaurant and Bar Menagerie, Karina Jadhav. Frank and Karina discuss Karina's journey from hospitality worker, to the stepping stones in becoming the owner of the venue visited by international superstars from Justin Timberlake, Drake & even Beyonce's dance troupe, but also how the pandemic has impacted the venue and building back up to success from their reopening on 17th May.

Richard Angell, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the Terence Higgins Trust and the former chief executive of Labour pressure group Progress, was the latest podcast guest to have a ‘Frank Conversation’ with DIB boss Frank Mckenna. In a wide ranging and fascinating discussion, Richard explains the positive impact the drama series ‘It’s a Sin’ has had on raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and the progress that has been made in combatting the pandemic of the 80’s. he also gives his candid assessment on the performance of government and opposition, offering some thoughts on how the Labour Party might win the next General Election. Richard’s selection of his ideal government cabinet is female formidable – we’ll leave it to you to judge weather his top team would outperform Boris & co.        

Downtown CEO, Frank McKenna spoke to Founding Director of Metro Dynamics, Mike Emmerich. Frank and Mike discussed Mikes roles pre-Metro Dynamics, the impacts of the pandemic on business, Brexit and so much more.