Paula MacKenzie: PizzaExpress CEO shares her turnaround playbook
Seven CEOs in 11 years, a billion-pound restructuring and 73 closures. Paula MacKenzie on how she's turning PizzaExpress around
Listen HereAuthor
Dougal Shaw
Date
01 September 2026
Business Leader
Empowering ambitious founders and CEOs of £3m+ businesses to scale with clarity and confidence.
We partner with mid-sized founders and CEOs to bring focus to unlock sustainable growth, and support the building of the next generation of great British businesses.
Are you building the company you know you're capable of?
How it works
Our Membership supports founders and CEOs of £3m+ businesses.
We combine personal CEO coaching and peer forums, powered by the proven 9 Steps framework, alongside practical content, masterclasses and company visits so you can focus on what matters and scale with confidence.
Start with a conversation
Book a call with a membership adviser to discuss Business Leader in more detail and tell us a little about your company.
Attend a Roundtable
Join a small-group Roundtable with Sir Richard Harpin, where he shares his HomeServe scaling journey and the 9 Steps to creating a billion.
Build your 12-month Growth Plan
Create a focused 3 year ambition & 12-month Growth Plan that aligns leadership, strategy and execution for accountability.
Join your trusted peer forum
Join a trusted peer forum with eight sessions per year for challenge and accountability.
Get started
Join Sir Richard Harpin in Marylebone for a Roundtable to learn how he built and scaled HomeServe from £50,000 to a sales of £4.1bn, the 9 Steps, and how Business Leader supports.
- Hear Sir Richard’s growth story, lessons and 9 Steps in practice
- Meet a small group of other ambitious founders and CEOs
- Sharpen your priorities and clarify your next stage of growth
- Learn more about Business Leader membership
World-class learning for leaders scaling serious businesses
We bring you inside the thinking, systems and real experiences of leaders who've scaled far beyond where you are today.
- Micro-learning webinar
- When
- 8 September
- Where
- Online
- Tickets
- Members only
- Company Visit
- When
- 15 September
- Where
- London
- Tickets
- Members only
- Business Masterclass
- When
- 16 September
- Where
- London
- Tickets
- Members only
- Company Visit
- When
- 6 October
- Where
- London
- Tickets
- Members only
- Leadership Masterclass
- When
- 13 October
- Where
- London
- Tickets
- Members only
- Micro-learning webinar
- When
- 29 October
- Where
- Online
- Tickets
- Members only
Great British Billion-Pound Businesses
Meet Britain’s entrepreneurial elite. Here are the leaders who have managed to create a UK business worth £1bn – and kept going. These are people who have built ventures spanning everything from artificial intelligence and virtual reality to hoodies and craft beer.
Insights & Perspectives
Clear thinking for leaders navigating growth, from sharp journalism and informed opinion to podcasts, masterclasses and real-world case studies.
Agentic commerce: Why B2B haggling is ripe for disruption
Futurologist Magnus Lindkvist argues agentic commerce will hit B2B harder than retail. We unpack the data, the risks and what it means for your business
Read ArticleAuthor
Dougal Shaw
Date
10 September 2026
Why Motorway's CEO wants less AI output
Tom Leathes on why AI-generated presentations no longer impress anyone and how the unicorn uses Claude to solve real problems instead
Read ArticleAuthor
Dougal Shaw
Date
13 August 2026
The Brexit warning hiding in a Mayfair housekeeper's pay packet
When the wealthy decide a country has lost its pull, the people who staff their homes know first
Read ArticleAuthor
Josh Dornbrack
Date
10 July 2026