Solomon B Taiwo grew up in East London on the same street as rap star Dizzie Rascal and with the same passion for music, but at the age of 19 he discovered acting and that became his ambition. His father didn’t approve, they fell out and Solomon ended up homeless. This is the story of how he rebuilt his life and his relationship with his father without compromising on his dream…

Cloutology

Solomon B Taiwo, actor

Professor Kristofer Helgen is a zoologist renowned for his daring expeditions to far flung corners of the globe where he has found dozens of previously undiscovered species of mammal. When he’s not on out in the field, he’s looking for clues for his next adventure in the backrooms of world museums. I found him in a dusty space full of animal skeletons deep in the bowls of London’s famous Natural History Museum…

Prof. Kristofer Helgen, Zoologist and Explorer

Noëlla Coursaris Musunka was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo but sent to live in Europe with relatives when her father died and mother could no longer afford to keep her. She was forced to work long hours as a domestic worker whilst trying to study but got a break when she won a competition to model for the high-end lingerie brand Agent Provocateur. She now works between London and New York appearing in the likes of Vogue and Vanity Fair. She spends as much time as possible back in Congo where she set up a school for girls and supports the surrounding village. Noëlla has appeared on stage many times alongside speakers like former US President Bill Clinton to advocate for African youth.

Noëlla Coursaris Musunka, model and advocate

Ian Marber was in his twenties and working in property investment when he was diagnosed with coeliac disease. He became so interested with his diet, that he decided to resign and use his savings to study nutrition full-time. He went on to set up The Food Doctor consultancy which he has since sold. Ian still advises individual and corporate clients but is best known for his television appearances, newspaper columns and bestselling books…

Ian Marber, nutritionist

Sarah Willingham started working in a restaurant in northern England in her early teens and by her early 20s, she was managing one of the busiest eateries in Paris. She later moved to London, secured a senior management position at a leading British chain before deciding to break out on her own. Sarah now invests in a wide range of businesses and has been repeatedly cited as one of the UK’s most influential business leaders. She’s best known perhaps as a judge on the hit TV show Dragons Den. Money doesn’t drive Sarah but freedom does…

Sarah Willingham, investor

Tom Kerss is an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London – founded in 1675, its one of the most important scientific sites in the world. Tom has also authored books including Moongazing: Beginner’s Guide to Exploring the Moon. If space is his passion then failing to communicate that is his fear.

Tom Kerss, astronomer

Sir Geoffrey Kent is founder of the award-winning luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent and he’s credited with inventing the experiential holiday. He has hosted everyone on his legendary African safaris from David Rockerfeller to Richard Burton and Prince Harry - each guest adding to his extraordinary bank of wild tales from every corner of the globe. Sir Geoffrey was brought up in the African bush himself and was trained at the Royal Military Academy in England but he has an old Land Rover and a few old notes of cash to thank for the towering empire that he eventually built…

Sir Geoffrey Kent, travel agent

Linda Yueh is a Fellow in Economics Oxford University, a Professor at the London Business School and visiting Professor at Peking University. She’s advised the World Bank, European Commission, Asian Development Bank, World Economic Forum in Davos and held non-executive directorships at several major companies. She’s also a widely published author who’s had her own TV shows at Bloomberg and the BBC. With so many different roles, how does she describe herself?

Prof. Linda Yueh, academic and journalist

Mark Wright is an award-winning entrepreneur and self-taught digital marketing specialist. He made his name winning The Apprentice TV show in the UK and he now runs several successful businesses. He made the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Europe in 2017, was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2018 UK Business Awards and it all started when he arrived in London as a backpacker from Australia.

Mark Wright, digital entrepreneur

Levison Wood is a soldier-turned-explorer, best-selling author, photographer and documentary film-maker. In 2014, he completed a nine-month expedition along the length of the Nile and followed up with an even more ambitious trek along the Himalayas from Afghanistan to Bhutan and then a 5,000 mile circumnavigation of the Arabian peninsula from Iraq to Lebanon. Previously, Levison served as an Officer in the British Parachute Regiment and saw combat against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2008. It may not surprise you to hear his fear is being stuck behind a desk.

Levison Wood, explorer

Activist, educator and feminist: Njoki Njehu is co-founder of Daughters of Mumbi Global Resource Center, the coordinator of the pan-African Fight Inequality Alliance and has worked with many of the world’s leading NGOs. She has testified three times before the U.S. Congress on debt, HIV/AIDS and other crises facing Africa. She’s based in Nairobi, Kenya where she was brought up by a mother who farmed and father who bought and sold cars. Her local church awarded her with a scholarship to study in the United States, kick-starting her career. She has been profiled and quoted in media ranging from the New York Times and Washington Post to the Financial Times and Sankei Shimbun. She is a highly sought after speaker.

Njoki Njehu, activist

Stig Abell is the editor and publisher of the esteemed Times Literary Supplement. He presents Front Row, an arts magazine show on equally esteemed Radio 4 and pops up as a commentator in the British and US media. Upon graduating from Cambridge University, he enjoyed a meteoric rise through the media industry to become Director of the Press Complaints Commission in his early twenties and Managing Editor of The Sun newspaper in his early 30s. His ambitious and well-received book How Britain Really Works examines exactly what the title suggests.

Stig Abell, editor and publisher

Michael Howard was born into poverty in London and by the time he was sixteen he was fending for himself. He juggles several low-paid jobs just to cover his room and board before he got a break selling office furniture. He worked his way up through the business until he was able to buy it. Maris Interiors now designs and fits out office spaces throughout London and has a turnover of around 100 million pounds a year. I sat down with Michael in the corner office he occupies in the shadows of the the Shard building in central London to hear his incredible rags to riches story…

Michael Howard, company chairman

Rachel Shabi is a left-leaning British journalist best known for her work with the Guardian newspaper, previously as Middle East correspondent and now as a commentator on British society and politics. She appears regularly on television as a commentator on Middle-Eastern and British affairs and trains people from a diverse range of backgrounds on how to make the break in to TV. In her critically acclaimed book ‘Not the Enemy,’ Rachel tracks the history of Mizrahi Jews in Israel,and here she describes herself to Max Foster as a migrant driven to succeed by her outsider status.

Rachel Shabi, journalist and media trainer

Liam Halligan is an economist, author and broadcaster, best known for his award winning ‘Economics Agenda’ column in The Sunday Telegraph. He’s also reported for the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Economist, Channel 4 News and he’s a regular panelist on my show CNN Talk. A vocal Brexiteer, he argues the UK economy is stronger outside the European Union which he explains in the book ‘Clean Brexit.’ Between 2007 and 2013, Liam took swapped journalism for a role as chief economist at a multi-billion dollar asset management firm but then returned to his original passion for writing. He was the first member of his family to attend university and here he describes his rise from humble beginnings to the heights of the commentariat.

Liam Halligan, journalist

Podcast with CNN's Max Foster exploring what drives successful people.

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Cloutology

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