Cloutology

Activist, educator and feminist: Njoki Njehu is co-founder of Daughters of Mumbi Global Resource Center, the coordinator of the pan-African Fight Inequality Alliance and has worked with many of the world’s leading NGOs. She has testified three times before the U.S. Congress on debt, HIV/AIDS and other crises facing Africa. She’s based in Nairobi, Kenya where she was brought up by a mother who farmed and father who bought and sold cars. Her local church awarded her with a scholarship to study in the United States, kick-starting her career. She has been profiled and quoted in media ranging from the New York Times and Washington Post to the Financial Times and Sankei Shimbun. She is a highly sought after speaker.

Stig Abell is the editor and publisher of the esteemed Times Literary Supplement. He presents Front Row, an arts magazine show on equally esteemed Radio 4 and pops up as a commentator in the British and US media. Upon graduating from Cambridge University, he enjoyed a meteoric rise through the media industry to become Director of the Press Complaints Commission in his early twenties and Managing Editor of The Sun newspaper in his early 30s. His ambitious and well-received book How Britain Really Works examines exactly what the title suggests.

Michael Howard was born into poverty in London and by the time he was sixteen he was fending for himself. He juggles several low-paid jobs just to cover his room and board before he got a break selling office furniture. He worked his way up through the business until he was able to buy it. Maris Interiors now designs and fits out office spaces throughout London and has a turnover of around 100 million pounds a year. I sat down with Michael in the corner office he occupies in the shadows of the the Shard building in central London to hear his incredible rags to riches story…

Rachel Shabi is a left-leaning British journalist best known for her work with the Guardian newspaper, previously as Middle East correspondent and now as a commentator on British society and politics. She appears regularly on television as a commentator on Middle-Eastern and British affairs and trains people from a diverse range of backgrounds on how to make the break in to TV. In her critically acclaimed book ‘Not the Enemy,’ Rachel tracks the history of Mizrahi Jews in Israel,and here she describes herself to Max Foster as a migrant driven to succeed by her outsider status.

Liam Halligan is an economist, author and broadcaster, best known for his award winning ‘Economics Agenda’ column in The Sunday Telegraph. He’s also reported for the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Economist, Channel 4 News and he’s a regular panelist on my show CNN Talk. A vocal Brexiteer, he argues the UK economy is stronger outside the European Union which he explains in the book ‘Clean Brexit.’ Between 2007 and 2013, Liam took swapped journalism for a role as chief economist at a multi-billion dollar asset management firm but then returned to his original passion for writing. He was the first member of his family to attend university and here he describes his rise from humble beginnings to the heights of the commentariat.

Professor Kate Williams is a historian and author of several award-winning, bestselling books including Queen Victoria and Josephine Bonaparte biographies and the novel Storms of War. Her work has been adapted for stage and screen and she often appears on television in her own right as an expert and panelist on a wide range of factual and entertainment shows. Here she speaks to Max Foster about what she’s learnt about royalty, power and the benefits of embracing your fears.

Ayesha Hazarika is a columnist, author, political commentator, stand-up comedian and Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, which is an honour bestowed by Queen Elizabeth. Previously, she was a Labour Party special advisor to the likes of Gordon Brown when he was Prime Minister and Ed Miliband as Leader of the Official Opposition. She has also advised business leaders in the music industry and other sectors. Here, she speaks to Max about what she’s learned about achieving success in her own right after spending so many years coaching others. Her fear is of losing what’s she has built up for herself.

If James Murray was from the US, he would epitomise the American dream. He’s British however, which makes his rise to success even more remarkable. The UK culture isn’t steeped in entrepreneurialism and risk-taking and was even less so in the 1990s when James was starting out.  Dyslexic, he left school with few qualifications and moved to London to find work whilst his counterparts went off to university. After failing as a delivery driver, he found his feet as a telecoms salesmen and then set up Alternative Networks with a friend in 1994. They each invested £5,000 in the new venture. 22 years later, they sold for £184,000,000. James now mentors young entrepreneurs. Here’s his story …

Dr. Brian Klaas is an Assistant Professor in Global Politics at University College London. He’s also a columnist for The Washington Post, an author and regulator media contributor - usually on the subject of Donald Trump’s presidency. Apart from US politics and democracy, he specialises in authoritarian leadership and he brings those topics together in a series of books including "The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy" and ’How to Rig an Election." He first gained public attention on Twitter for his posts that aim to debunk what he sees as false statements made by the president. Here to talks to Max about the good, the bad and the ugly of politics, social media and the dictators and terrorists he’s spent time with. Fear is something he both studies and is driven by:

Lucy Beresford is an investment banker turned author, psychotherapist and media ‘agony aunt.’ She appears regularly on ITV, LBC and the BBC. The Huffington Post describes her as a ‘Sex & Relationships Guru’ but she also offers commentary on the public response to national disasters such as terror attacks. At her private practice in London, Lucy counsels high-profile people on dealing with fame, addiction and associated anxieties. Here, she describes to Max what she’s learnt about success from her deep insight in to people’s characters and how she’s personally driven by the fear of appearing lazy.