Mike Soutar

Mike Soutar is passionate about helping the next generation of founders and CEOs become confident, inspiring, and effective leaders. Best known as one of Lord Sugar’s trusted advisors on BBC’s The Apprentice for 13 seasons, Mike brings decades of real-world experience and insight into leadership, innovation, and business growth.

Throughout his distinguished executive career, Mike has led some of the UK’s most influential media brands and transformed the publishing landscape by founding Shortlist Media, the company that revolutionised UK magazine publishing.

Today, Mike serves as a Non-Executive Director of Scottish Rugby, a Trustee of V&A Dundee, and a Board Advisor to high-growth businesses across fintech, data, contemporary art, and social media sectors. In 2025, he joined the UK Government’s Board of Trade, championing the best of British business on the global stage.

As a keynote speaker and business mentor, Mike Soutar delivers thought-provoking talks filled with imagination, humour, and honesty. His presentations combine real-life lessons from top-level leadership with practical strategies for success in today’s fast-changing business world.

Key Business Topics:

• Leading with confidence in an age of constant change
• Building resilience and making smart decisions under pressure
• Creating transformational opportunities from the ground up
• Harnessing innovation and adaptability to drive growth

⚡Why Everything You Know About Leadership Is About To Expire 

The traditional management playbook has been replaced by a set of dynamic new rules. Here are the essential pivots leaders need to make now.

In a world defined by rapid cultural, geopolitical and technological change, the rules of leadership can switch in a matter of months. This speech isn't just about hybrid work or digital transformation. It's about the fundamental rewiring of how we guide organisations in an era where: Your biggest competitor might not be another company, but an algorithm learning faster than your team. Your workforce may soon include more AI agents than humans, each requiring a different kind of leadership. Your next strategic decision won't just test your judgment – it could define your legacy. The next generation of successful executives won't just do things differently - they'll think differently. This session will equip you with the cognitive tools and adaptive strategies required to maximise your opportunities in a changing world. 

🚀 Transform Your Fears Into Career-Defining Wins 

The greatest risk isn’t making the wrong decision - it’s being too afraid to make the right one.

As the interviewer who strikes dread into candidates on The Apprentice, Mike Soutar has spent a decade studying how the fear of failure corrupts business judgement. Through forensic analysis of real business decisions - both spectacular successes and career-defining failures this session reveals: Why even brilliant people make terrible decisions under pressure (and how the best leaders avoid this trap) How to lead others through their fears when you're navigating your own Why authentic executive presence comes from competence and preparation, not bravado or bluster This isn't about eliminating fear - it's about harnessing and transforming it into a strategic asset. Because in business, as in The Apprentice boardroom, it's not the most qualified candidate who succeeds. It's the one who maintains precision and purpose when everyone else has lost their heads.

💼 Mike Soutar’s 10 Essential Business Lessons

Transformational insights to help you lead high-performance teams and build remarkable enterprises.

From his first job writing horoscopes for a local Scottish paper, to founding a £50 million media powerhouse during the worst recession in living memory whilst becoming a ferocious interviewer on television’s The Apprentice, Mike Soutar has mastered the art of building market-leading brands from almost nothing. In this unflinchingly honest session you’ll discover frameworks to: Transform rejection into your secret weapon: Why hearing "no" is the competitive advantage that makes you bullet-proof Develop Risk Intelligence: The practical agenda for distinguishing between calculated risks that build empires and reckless gambles that destroy them Master resilience under fire: Concrete techniques to stay composed, focused and effective in moments of extreme pressure These aren't classroom concepts from a management consultant. These are ten battle-hardened lessons that will focus your teams, improve your productivity, and help you build something genuinely remarkable. No jargon. No vague platitudes. And no sugar-coating. Just authentic, uncompromising wisdom from a business leader who's spent a career navigating the fine margins separating catastrophic failure from astonishing achievement.

📩 Book Mike Soutar for Your Next Event

📧 E-Mail info@primeperformers.co.uk
📞 Call 020 3500 3331