How to Grow Your Firm - The Saltwhistle Podcast

Laura Hatfield is Head of Litigation, Regulatory, and Insolvency & Restructuring at Bedell Cristin in the Cayman Islands — one of the jurisdiction's most experienced litigators, with a career spanningLondon's legal world and nearly 25 years at the heart of Cayman's growth from a small offshore centre into a global financial powerhouse. Her practice covers commercial litigation, insolvency, professional negligence, and regulatory work for clients ranging from Big Four accountancy firms to funds, insurers, and statutory bodies across multiple jurisdictions. In this episode, she shares what she's learned, what she'd do differently, and what the next generation of lawyers is going to experience.

Whether you want to write about what you've done  or what you've learnt - a book is one of the most powerful things you can put your name to. I have enjoyed every minute of working on four published professional books and I'm now working on a fiction novel. I've been lucky enough to have the wonderful Helen Francis as my editor more recently. Today we're looking at what a book can do for your career or business, where people go wrong before they've written a single word, and how to navigate the publishing world.
 
Helen Francis spent two decades at the heart of publishing - as project editor at Faber and Faber, commissioning editor at Head of Zeus, as a book scout working between London and Barcelona, and now she teaches writing at Jericho Writers having  previously taught at Bath Spa and the Faber Academy.  She works as a consultant editor and ghostwriter.Her website can be found here

Kirsteen started her life in one of the High Street banks in the UK, working her way up successfully to director level. She learned a lot about women's roles within financial services and experienced the challenges of becoming a leader over the years. After 15 years as a director, she changed direction and set up Elevate Women. She began to work with other women to help them to achieve their goals. In the podcast, we both discuss our experiences of the financial sector over our careers, what affects our confidence and how we let ourselves down by putting everyone else first. Oh, and also by having a far too long a ‘to do’ list!

Michela Ferraro and I met in a queue waitng for a bus after an exhibition at the NEC. We started to joke together and ended up chatting in the carpark for an hour! Im so pleased she joined me for this podcast and gave me the opportunity to talk about the luxury goods market. She is a jewellery expert and educator with over 30 years of international experience in the industry. She specialises in luxury, innovation, sustainability, and precious additivemanufacturing for the jewellery industry,/ which she believes are the key drivers for ethical, responsible, and sustainable practices. She has won multiple awards from the Goldsmiths' Craft and Design Council for her jewellery designs using direct precious metal 3D printing. In fact I am trying to steal her bracelet at the moment as it is absolutely stunning.

Today's guest spent 28 years in the military, nearly seven of them deployed. Gurkha jungle warfare specialist. Counter-terrorist helicopter pilot. Specialist Military Unit commander. He's been shot. He's watched his own men go down. And he's carried all of it.
 
After leaving the military he became a Senior Partner at McChrystal Group, then led international operations at Palantir Technologies.
 
But none of that is why he wrote the book.
 
He wrote it because success on the outside doesn't mean you've dealt with what's on the inside. Mindful Soldier, co-authored with trauma researcher Dr Jessica K. Miller, it is the honest account he wishes someone had handed him.  Childhood trauma, self-doubt, failure, and what resilience actually looks like when it's real.
 
This is Ash Alexander-Cooper.To order Ash's book please see hereRoyal British Veterans EnterpriseThe Gurkha Welfare Trust

Sir Philip Davies knows what it takes to serve people well. After 12 years as a senior manager in customer service and marketing at Asda, he spent 19 years as the Conservative MP for Shipley before being knighted in 2024 for Parliamentary and Public Service. He now runs Nessen Ltd, his own public affairs and customer service consultancy.
In this episode, Philip shares what he's learnt across decades on the frontline from retail to politics and gives practical, no-nonsense advice on what separates businesses that get customer service right from those that get it badly wrong.
Whether you're running a team of two or two thousand, there's something in here for you.

This follow-up episode goes deep into the mechanics of the Cayman Islands' new Chief Restructuring Officer regime — from who can file, to how the automatic moratorium works, to what powers the court can grant. Chip Hoebeke, Fiona MacAdam and Martin Trott break down the technical detail in plain, accessible terms, with plenty of practical insight from practitioners who know this territory inside out. Essential listening if you caught the overview episode and want the full picture.

The Cayman Islands has finally introduced a dedicated restructuring regime — and it's a game changer. Host Rebecca Harding is joined by experts from Rehmann, Walkers, and Rawlinson Hunter to explain why the new Chief Restructuring Officer process is so significant, how it compares to US Chapter 11 and English administration, and what it means for cross-border practitioners. Clear, accessible, and packed with practical insight.

Are electric vehicles really stalling — or were we just promised too much, too soon? Automotive expert Rob Purcell, fresh back from China's factory floors, and US restructuring specialist Chip Hoebeke join host Rebecca Harding to cut through the hype on EVs, Chinese OEMs, and what the next decade really holds for the global car trade. Honest, sharp, and genuinely entertaining.

Today's guest is someone who's spent decades making sure brilliant women don't go unnoticed. Pinky Lilani CBE was born in Calcutta in 1954 and educated at Sophia College in Bombay and Loreto College at the University of Calcutta. But it's what she's built since then that's really remarkable.
 
She's the founder and chair of the Asian Women of Achievement Awards, the Women of the Future Award, and the Global Empowerment Award - platforms that have recognized thousands of influential women and leaders. 
 
She's also an Indian cookery specialist and runs her own business, Spice Magic Ltd. In 2007, she received an CBE for her work celebrating women's achievements, and she's been called one of Britain's most entrepreneurial women.
 
In this conversation, we dig into what drove her to start recognizing women in the first place, the pushback she faced, and whether she's actually seen things change over the years. We talk about what makes a successful entrepreneur, and the lessons she's learned from meeting thousands of incredible women. 
 
Plus, she shares some stories about the celebrities she's met along the way - from Cherie Blair to Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
 
This is a conversation about perseverance, purpose, and what it really takes to champion change.