The Gentleman‘s Journal Podcast

Vogue Traders – David Gandy and Terry Betts

David Gandy is the most successful British model of his generation, a fashion entrepreneur in his own right, and an investor in several menswear start ups. He's joined today on the show by Terry Betts, the former Buying Director at Selfridges and now the head of business development at Thread, the revolutionary online stylist. 

In today's episode, these kingpins of the fashion industry tell us why menswear has exploded in the past decade, how the rise of influencers could be a dangerous thing, and why we may all soon be getting our clothes delivered from a blimp. 

Look at the mountaintop, not at the mountain – Geoffrey Kent

Geoffrey Kent is the founder, chairman and CEO of Abercrombie & Kent, the world's first ever luxury travel company and still the industry's gold standard.

In this week’s episode, the travel tycoon tells us how he convinced the richest man in the world to become one of his first customers; why most entrepreneurs fall at the first hurdle; and how an incident with a tailored shirt changed his outlook on life forever.

Our thanks to Mark's Club for playing hosts.

The Future of Wealth – Alex Scott, Charles Hambro, and Piers Hedley

Getting rich is easy. It's staying rich that's the hard part. Today, we speak to three titans of the wealth management industry – Alex Scott, Charles Hambro, and Piers Hedley – and discover just how much this ancient game has changed in recent years.

From the fallout of the financial crisis, to the rise of millennial billionaires and the advent of investment algorithms, today's guests give us an unprecedented insight into wealth management’s inner workings, its future, and the strategies that will help secure it.

Along the way, Alex, Charles and Piers tell us how they can instantly tell a good entrepreneur from a bad one, how the wealthy make their own luck, and how everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.    

Becoming a green energy mogul – Arthur Kay

Arthur Kay is the founder and CEO of Bio-Bean, an award winning clean energy company that recycles old coffee grounds into advanced bio-fuels. Arthur chanced upon the beautifully simple idea while he was studying for a degree in architecture, and kicked off the company just a few days after he graduated. Very soon, he had raised several million pounds in private funding and built an expert team with decades of combined experience in the energy industry. Today, the waste from one in ten of the UK's cups of coffee goes through Bio-Bean's factory. 

In this episode, Arthur tells us how ideas mean nothing without execution, about the danger of being labelled a “green” entrepeneur, and how he hopes to hack the world’s major cities, one problem at a time.

A passport to the high life – Aaron Simpson

Aaron Simpson is the founder and chairman of Quintessentially, the world’s most famous luxury concierge company. Founded with university friends Ben Elliot and Paul Drummond in the late nineties, Quintessentially has become the gatekeeper of the good life, offering its clients unprecedented access to just about anything. Today, the company has over 3,500 employees, offices in 60 cities around the world, and big, big plans.

In this episode, Aaron tells us about his project to build the world’s biggest superyacht, the changing spending habits of the mega rich, and his secret plans to create the world’s most ambitious immersive experience.  

Our thanks to Mark's Club for playing hosts.

Cause trouble – Henry Porter

Henry Porter is the UK Editor of Vanity Fair and a renowned political columnist. Speaking to us just a week after the General Election, Henry gives the inside scoop on the modern media landscape, before telling us why he was compelled to start The Convention – an organisation that holds the debates that parliament won’t.

Along the way, he talks to us about the importance of causing trouble; the dying craft of self-editing; and the power of finishing what you’ve started.

Never be boring – Henry Wyndham

For many years, Henry Wyndham was the senior auctioneer and chairman at Sotheby’s, the world renowned auction house. Known for his towering height and garrulous style, the auctioneer presided over some of the most significant bidding wars in art history. His £65 million sale of Giacometti's "Walking Man" sculpture in 2010 was at the time the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction. 

Today, Henry talks to us about his failed first career as a door to door salesman, how auctioneering is all in the eyebrows, and how a shooting accident might just have changed his life for the better.

How to win friends and influence people – Tim Jefferies

Tim Jefferies is the owner of Hamiltons, Britain’s foremost photographic gallery. Today, the entrepreneur and retired playboy tells us why the smart money invests in photography, how fame can both help and hinder a business, and how camera phones have ruined any chance of us ever having fun.

Our thanks to Mark's Club, Mayfair, for playing hosts.

Know thy weakness – Pierre Lagrange

As a founding member of GLG Partners, Pierre LaGrange was for many years the posterchild of London's hedgefund scene. But then he decided to change tack dramatically, becoming CEO of Savile Row tailors Huntsman as the recession took hold. Today, Pierre tells us how a chance encounter in Ibiza changed the course of his life, how love at first sight in business is never a good thing, and why the American Ralph Lauren is the world’s best British brand.

Our thanks to Mark's Club, Mayfair, for playing hosts.

How to work your way up the foodchain – Robin Hutson, Kurt Zdesar, and Rupert Clevely

Today's episode is all about working your way up the foodchain -- almost literally, in fact. In a special edition of the show, we speak to three men who have started at the bottom of the hospitality industry and worked their way to the very top: Robin Hutson, the father of the 'boutique hotel'; Kurt Zdesar, who brought Nobu to London; and Rupert Clevely, founder of Geronimo Inns.

Our thanks to Mark's Club, Mayfair, for playing hosts.