Ewan Venters and Rita Clifton join James Ashton to discuss retail under pressure, tackling self doubt, the importance of kindness and knowing when it’s the right time to move on.

Ewan Venters is chief executive of Fortnum & Mason, the Queen’s grocer which was founded in 1707 and is famous for its luxury hampers, teas and preserves. In charge since 2012, Venters has boosted online delivery and opened new stores in Hong Kong and Heathrow Airport, but the Covid-19 pandemic has dealt trading a severe blow.

Venters spent a decade at Sainsbury’s, starting out on the management trainee programme, later running the food and internet operations at department store Selfridges. In 2021, he will become chief executive of Hauser & Wirth, the contemporary art gallery group.

Rita Clifton is a branding expert, non-executive director, speaker and author.

She was vice chairman and strategy director at the advertising group Saatchi & Saatchi before joining Interbrand, the global brand consultancy, as London CEO and later chairman. In 2013, Clifton became co-founder and chair of the business consultancy BrandCap, which was later sold to its managers. She is a non-executive director at Nationwide Building Society and Ascential, and formerly Asos and Bupa.

Her leadership book, Love Your Imposter, demonstrates how people can take on their imposter self and use it to come out stronger.


Leading is supported by Lockton, the world’s largest privately-owned, independent insurance broker. Lockton's independence means its 8,000 associates worldwide are free to focus solely on their clients' risk and insurance needs. To hear more from Lockton experts, please visit locktoninternational.com/gb/insight

For further details of this series, follow @leadingpod or go to leadingpod.com

James Ashton’s book The Nine Types of Leader (bit.ly/NINEbook) is available to order now.