{"podcast":{"title":"Business Leader","slug":"business-leader-5718807","podcast_index_feed_id":5718807,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/665f2584aa134f0012248c29","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/665f2584aa134f0012248c29","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/665f2584aa134f0012248c29/1773238209478-64865cc5-209d-41cb-b0c3-06a01ee13ffd.jpeg","author":"Business Leader","episode_count":212,"summary":"Richard Harpin grew his business HomeServe from a single idea to a £4.1bn sale. On the Business Leader Podcast , he speaks to entrepreneurs and business leaders about the moments that shaped their success and failure, unlocking original advice and practical insights for anyone building or leading a business. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/business-leader-5718807"},"episode":{"title":"Rentokil CEO: ‘This industry is unglamorous but gets in your blood’","slug":"rentokil-ceo-this-industry-is-unglamorous-but-gets-in-your-blood","published_at":"2026-03-17T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/business-leader-5718807/rentokil-ceo-this-industry-is-unglamorous-but-gets-in-your-blood","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/business-leader-5718807","url":"https://shows.acast.com/business-leader-podcast/episodes/rentokil-ceo-this-industry-is-unglamorous-but-gets-in-your-b","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/665f2584aa134f0012248c29/e/69b3d95a5668adfee6701866/media.mp3","summary":"After just over 12 years as CEO of global pest firm Rentokil Initial, Andy Ransom shares what he has learned as he prepares to step down. In that time the share price has quadrupled and profits breached $1bn. Ransom discusses how he progressed from a working-class background to a legal career at ICI, where he took charge of a legal case in the US that cemented his reputation. When he joined Rentokil, it was involved in many business areas, from parcel delivery to laundry. One of his first decisive actions, he explains to Sir Richard Harpin, was to focus the business on pest control. Ransom explains how he prides himself in being a deal-maker and has used a strategy of M&A to grow the global business and make it more efficient through operational “density”. He also discusses the challenges of cracking North America, which is responsible for half the global pest-control market.  Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"After just over 12 years as CEO of global pest firm Rentokil Initial, Andy Ransom shares what he has learned as he prepares to step down. In that tim…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2973,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/business-leader-5718807/episodes/rentokil-ceo-this-industry-is-unglamorous-but-gets-in-your-blood/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/business-leader-5718807/rentokil-ceo-this-industry-is-unglamorous-but-gets-in-your-blood.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}