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Made in Dubai with Spencer Lodge

Made in Dubai with Spencer Lodge

Written by: Spencer Lodge
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Formerly the Unscripted Podcast with Spencer Lodge Join Spencer Lodge as he connects with the most fascinating personalities in Dubai. A city that rose from the desert sands to become one of the most ambitious, innovative and inspiring places on Earth. Behind its glittering skyline are people with stories just as extraordinary - pioneers, dreamers and doers who dared to turn bold visions into reality. Made in Dubai is where those stories are told. Hosted by Spencer Lodge, each episode is a front-row seat to conversations with the people shaping the UAE's future — from business leaders and record-breakers to cultural icons and creative disruptors. But this isn't just about their success. It's about the journey - the risks they took, the challenges they faced and the moments that defined them. It's about the unique magic of Dubai: a place where ambition meets opportunity, where cultures from around the world collide to create something truly special and where anything feels possible. Whether you're an entrepreneur searching for your next big move, someone curious about life in the UAE or simply in need of inspiration, Made in Dubai is your invitation to step inside this vibrant city and meet the people who make it remarkable. If it was made in Dubai, you'll hear it here. Politics & Government Self-Help Success
Episodes
  • #404: Dennis McGettigan, From a House of Ten in Dublin to Dubai's Biggest Pub Empire

    #404: Dennis McGettigan, From a House of Ten in Dublin to Dubai's Biggest Pub Empire
    Jun 29 2026
    Dennis McGettigan is the founder and CEO of McGettigan's, one of the most recognisable hospitality brands in the UAE. But the story behind it starts in Dublin, in a house with ten children run "like a business", where the kitchen was locked at 7pm and every kid got jobs and five pounds a week. His father started as a dishwasher on the QE1 at nineteen, bought his first pub for eight thousand pounds in 1964, and built a hotel empire across Ireland, the UK and eventually Dubai. This conversation is about grit. The 2008 crash that left him with zero revenue and hundreds of millions in exposure. The international expansion he opened in three weeks and closed during Covid. And the personal side too: his wife Nicola's cancer and recovery, told through a racehorse and a moment at Royal Ascot that still moves him. This is one of the most grounded, human conversations about what it actually takes to build something that lasts. Timestamps: 0:00 Growing up one of ten in Dublin, a house run like a business, the kitchen locked at 7pm 6:30 His father: from dishwasher on the QE1 to a pub empire across Ireland and the UK 12:15 Why he would hire work ethic over a university degree every single time 14:00 The Burlington Hotel, the 2008 crash, and becoming a fireman putting out fires 18:30 How McGettigan's was born from one simple idea: a bar he wanted to go to himself 36:45 Where he got it wrong: New York, Singapore, Jakarta and the cost of moving too fast 44:00 The £70 million monster in JBR and the deal he signed right as the conflict began 52:18 Why he believes Dubai will bounce back bigger than ever 1:14:00 Nicola's cancer, a racehorse at Royal Ascot, and the moment that still moves him 1:04:00 Quickfire: one word for Dubai 2026 and the hardest phone call he ever makes Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/madeindubaipodcast/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076 https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer.lodge https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV https://www.facebook.com/spencerlodgeofficial/ Follow Dennis McGettigan on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/dennismcgettigan/?hl=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennismcgettigan/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/mcgettigan's-irish-pubs/ https://www.instagram.com/mcgettigansjlt/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/mcgettiganspubs/?hl=en
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • #403 From Top of Her Class in America to Vice Chancellor | Dr. Amina Al Marzouqi, a Life Built on Discipline and Service

    #403 From Top of Her Class in America to Vice Chancellor | Dr. Amina Al Marzouqi, a Life Built on Discipline and Service
    Jun 22 2026
    In 1981, a young Emirati woman convinced her father to let her travel to America to study. On her very first exam in a class of 75 Americans, she came first. That woman is now Vice Chancellor of the University of Sharjah. Dr. Amina Al Marzouqi's story is one of the most inspiring journeys Spencer has covered on this show. After graduating in the US, she came home and was made deputy director of the UAE's entire primary healthcare system. She did her master's degree and went on to help build 106 primary healthcare centres that earned WHO recognition. Twenty four years in education later, she leads one of the UAE's most respected universities. This conversation is full of wisdom. Dr. Amina talks about what university is really for, why a great teacher matters more than a famous institution, and why she believes students need less lecturing and more genuine interaction. She shares what it was like chairing her university's Covid response committee and supporting thousands of students through lockdown. She reflects on running a campus during the missile attacks, why students felt safer on university grounds than anywhere else, and the quiet strength the UAE revealed when it mattered most. Timestamps: 0:00 How hard is it to be a student today with AI, mental health pressure and a region in conflict 1:30 Chairing the Covid response committee and what students needed most during lockdown 8:02 What university is really for: independence, critical thinking and self discipline 12:22 The teacher makes the subject: why a great lecturer matters more than a great university 18:13 Arriving in America in 1981, defying her father, and her first mixed classroom 22:24 The professor who saw her potential and the exam that changed everything 27:40 No management training, one year to get a master's, and building the UAE's healthcare system from scratch 31:48 AI as a tool not a threat and the careers students are not talking about yet 37:47 How the missile crisis made students more thoughtful and more mature 48:58 From mandatory cousin marriages to confronting a queue jumper: how UAE culture has shifted 51:31 The UAE's defence strength that nobody knew existed until it mattered 58:52 Defining success as impact and why she hates exams and textbooks 1:04:26 Quickfire Questions Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media https://www.instagram.com/madeindubaipodcast/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076 https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer.lodge https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV https://www.facebook.com/spencerlodgeofficial/ Follow Dr. Amina Al Marzouqi on Social Media https://www.linkedin.com/in/amina-al-marzouqi-7b286b151/ https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-sharjah/
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • #402: Stop Feeling Guilty. It Is a Wasted Emotion. | Dame Heather McGregor on Reinvention, Breaking Barriers and Why It Is Never Too Late

    #402: Stop Feeling Guilty. It Is a Wasted Emotion. | Dame Heather McGregor on Reinvention, Breaking Barriers and Why It Is Never Too Late
    Jun 15 2026
    Known to millions as Mrs. Moneypenny from her 16 year Financial Times column, Heather has been an investment banker, executive search entrepreneur, Edinburgh Fringe performer, off Broadway actress, PhD holder, chartered accountant and now Provost of Heriot-Watt University Dubai, overseeing 5,500 students and 600 staff. She qualified as a chartered accountant three weeks before her 60th birthday. She borrowed £1.8 million personally to buy a business, then gifted it to her staff. She co-founded the 30% Club when women held just 12% of FTSE board seats. It is now 45%. This conversation covers all of it. Why she rejects guilt and regret as wasted emotions. What structural barriers actually stop women from getting ahead and how to dismantle them. Why Dubai's greatest advantage is not the skyline but the connectivity and free movement of capital and labour that Europe has quietly forgotten. And what she really thinks about the value of a university degree. Heather also shares the story behind the Taylor Bennett Foundation, built to help Black and minority ethnic graduates break into professional services, funded from her own dividends, and the moment she knew it was working. Timestamps: 0:00 Four failed engagements, a baby to feel anchored, and the unvarnished truth about having children 5:30 The queen of reinvention: why preparation meets opportunity and how Heather built her career in layers 7:11 Her one regret: not qualifying as an accountant sooner and why she finally did it at 59 11:19 Dubai versus Singapore versus Hong Kong: what makes this city different from every other global hub 15:46 Living through the missile attacks, what inflation and food security really look like from the inside, and who has barely noticed 21:18 Structural barriers, the 30% Club, and why three women in a room of ten changes everything 27:01 Borrowing £1.8 million, building Taylor Bennett, and then giving it all away 33:49 Mrs. Moneypenny: 16 years, 800 columns, and the barometer story that almost ended her career 39:25 The Taylor Bennett Foundation and why she measures success by impact not money 43:44 Selling out Edinburgh Fringe and performing off Broadway: the chapter nobody expected 52:22 Heriot-Watt Dubai: why they only teach subjects that lead to jobs and what universities are actually for 59:06 Entrepreneurship, incubators and why she finds young people today far more ambitious than her generation 1:01:24 Why she hates the word networking and what building social capital actually means 1:04:09 Quickfire: the best way into investment banking, what every future leader needs, and what Dubai understands that Europe has forgotten Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media https://www.instagram.com/madeindubaipodcast/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076 https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer.lodge https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV https://www.facebook.com/spencerlodgeofficial/
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    1 hr and 12 mins
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