Andy Law

Chairman, Fearlessly Frank. Author. Innovator.

How did David Beckham become such a successful global icon? And why aren't more British brands as successful as he is? You have to look to France fo...

Natalie Bennett

Green Party leader

One in 10 British workers is working fewer hours than they'd like to. Forced casualisation is a reality for millions. The 'underemployment rate' for 16-24-year-olds is 30%. Retail workers are being offered 12-hour weeks, at a level that puts them below the national insurance payment threshold.

John Worne

Director of Strategy, the British Council

But in these austere times she also asked for better evidence of the value of culture. In short, her point was that if we want UK Government to continue investing in culture - as public spending gets the squeeze - we in the cultural industries need to demonstrate a return on that investment

Mark Wilkinson

Leading designer of fine British furniture

There's a case that students, who could be the next generation of leading scientists, architects, designers and mathematicians, could be slipping through the net through lack of awareness about visual/spatial thinking and the skills that those with a bias towards such thinking can bring to the table.

Seth Freedman

Whistleblower at the centre of the UK gas price-fixing story

The knives are out for the energy companies in the press and political spheres alike, with public outrage increasing with every new revelation aired. But their anger is not directed solely at the likes of BP and Shell, but also at the lax regulatory environment which has allowed such alleged abuses to flourish for years.

Anthony Eskinazi

Founder of ParktamyHouse

To try and attract shoppers with variety, it needs to be made easier and more accessible for new businesses to get space on the high street. While last year might have been terrible for the big retailers, it was a bumper year for startups.

Mike Foreman

Mike Foreman, General Manager, SMB at AVG Technologies

Cloud offers greater ease of deployment yes. But it also offers a more controllable and flexible means of buying exactly the right amount of software services at any one point in time -- and this "amount of cloud" can be reduced (or increased) and so tweaked to the exact needs of the business.

Hannah Lippitt

Journalist who works in digital media.

The groups that seem to be frequently ignored, are the growing amount of serious yet micro startups, which are quietly chipping away building profitable businesses by keeping keen and staying lean and focusing specifically on a niche in the market with no incentive to seek out investor cash.

John Bowman

Managing Director and Co-Lead, Education - CFA Institute

The public, and those who represent its interests, simply don't believe that financial organisations are willing to take the necessary steps to ensure that the industry's reputation is restored and that future crises are avoided.

simon baldwin

Retail Expert and Director at Mall-to-Mobile: DestinationCMS

Shoppers are brainwashed into thinking that the giant out-of-town retailers decision to sell all that they do is still giving us choice. The 'habit' has become an 'addiction' ... or has it?

Dessislava Bell

Founder, Chief Product Officer and CFO of Zaggora

The reality today is that women with career and family ambitions need to be as disciplined as or even more so than male counterparts.

Nick Beecroft

Senior Markets Analyst and Chairman at Saxo Capital Markets UK

Last week I wrote that the US economy was in a sweet spot for the markets, with a Goldilocks, 'not too hot, not too cold' type recovery that won't cause the Fed to tighten, but will provide enough cheer to keep risk 'on'.

Emma Gannon

Writer, Blogger, Social Media consultant

Abercrombie & Fitch has never made me feel good. I've always left the store feeling a) robbed of money b) cold (the fabric is thin), fat (it's hard not to), and also angry in general that I'd succumbed to the societal pressures of attempting to prove I am living a certain lifestyle.

Lindsay Pattison

CEO of Maxus UK & Global Chief Strategy Officer and First Women Awards 2013 nominee

Being super-organised is another essential part of the package. Coordinating school drop-offs and pick-ups and after-school activities around the working day means that working mums have to focus and plan their time precisely.

Mark Young

Owner and Managing Director of Retriever New Business Ltd

I remember my first proper sales job really well. I worked at a publishing company on various titles selling advertising space. The company was irreverent, creative, and professional and I absolutely loved going to work there.

Nicola Carter

Senior planner, Rufus Leonard

This latest development hasn't made him any friends, but is this really a 'Big, Fat, Marketing mistake' (Fox News), or brand management in action?