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
  • #401 "Dubai Is Not as Easy as You Think" | Jason Grundy, MD of Robert Walters on Hiring, Talent and the Truth About the UAE Job Market

    #401 "Dubai Is Not as Easy as You Think" | Jason Grundy, MD of Robert Walters on Hiring, Talent and the Truth About the UAE Job Market
    Jun 8 2026
    Most people arrive in Dubai thinking the opportunities will find them. Jason Grundy has spent 25 years watching that assumption play out badly. As Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa at Robert Walters, Jason has seen every side of the hiring market. The candidates who oversell themselves. The companies that leave great people waiting a month for feedback and wonder why they lost them. The businesses generating AI written job descriptions that have nothing to do with the actual role. And the expats who land in Dubai assuming opportunities will fall into their lap, only to find one of the most competitive job markets on earth. This episode covers what is really happening in the UAE job market right now, which industries are hiring, which have gone quiet, and when the bounce back comes. Plus the honest truth about Emiratisation, why culture retains talent more than salary, and why the best candidates are never on a job board. If you are hiring, being hired, or just trying to understand where Dubai is heading, this one is worth your time. Timestamps: 1:30 How Jason fell into recruitment and why one snap decision defined his entire career 6:40 How to choose the right recruiter, why trust matters, and what makes Robert Walters different 13:15 The Middle East versus Africa and the miracle of what this region has built in 50 years 17:30 Emiratisation: the honest answer, the real challenge, and the only playbook that works 23:50 What is hiring and what has gone quiet after the regional conflict 27:00 Jason's honest forecast: when Dubai will bounce back and what it will look like 31:54 Why badly trained interviewers are losing great candidates and how to fix it 36:32 AI in recruitment: what is actually happening, the quiet tap no bot can replace, and the one line that says it all 45:34 Why a third of candidates are hesitating and why two thirds are still saying yes to Dubai 53:40 Culture is the only real difference between companies that keep people and those that always hire 57:00 How to stand out as a candidate, what your LinkedIn is doing wrong, and why the CV is just the door 1:02:30 Degrees: do they still matter and what Jason told his own kids 1:07:00 Quickfire: red flags, overpaid professions, secretly dying careers, and Dubai versus Abu Dhabi 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 Jason Grundy on Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasongrundy/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/robert-walters/posts/?feedView=all https://www.instagram.com/robertwalterslife/?hl=en
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • #400: 8 Years. 400 Episodes. The Guests Spencer Never Forgot | Ashley Cain, Paul Griffiths, Rachel Conlan & Daniel Priestley

    #400: 8 Years. 400 Episodes. The Guests Spencer Never Forgot | Ashley Cain, Paul Griffiths, Rachel Conlan & Daniel Priestley
    Jun 1 2026
    Eight years. Four hundred episodes. And Spencer still can't quite believe it. For the 400th episode, Spencer sits down to reflect on the podcast that has shaped him as much as he has shaped it and revisits four conversations that moved him, changed him, and that he hasn't been able to stop thinking about. None of this happens without the people who have shown up every single week for eight years behind the camera, behind the scenes, behind every idea that made it to air. Four hundred episodes is built on trust and a team that believed in this long before the numbers did. Spencer says these are the guests that educated him, challenged him, and broke his heart open. The ones that reminded him why this podcast exists in the first place not just to learn, but to feel, to connect, and to find hope in other people's stories. There is a CMO who told their sales team something they didn't want to hear. A CEO who played the organ for the Pope and then went back to managing a quarter of a million passengers a day. An entrepreneur who built seven companies past a million dollars without a single penny of funding. And a father who counted his daughter's last breaths and then ran 109 miles in her name. Four hundred episodes in and the conversations are only getting bigger, bolder, and more human. The next hundred starts now. Timestamps: 0:00 Spencer reflects on 400 episodes and introduces the four guests 3:56 Rachel Conlan on why the agency model is dead and referral is the most powerful tool in marketing 10:30 The five channels that actually work, how Binance grows without paid media, and the affiliate opportunity nobody told you about 29:00 Paul Griffiths on playing the organ for the Pope in front of 180,000 people 34:00 How Dubai Airport went from 30 million to 93 million passengers with fewer employees 40:00 Why airports are a hospitality business, not an infrastructure problem 35:33 Daniel Priestley's five step framework: thesis, outreach, suspects, the magic sentence, and the LAPS dashboard 51:00 Why you should never run ads before your business is already on fire 57:30 Ashley Cain: the moment Azalea Diamond Kane was born and his life felt complete 59:40 The diagnosis, the hospital floor, and the six months he would give the rest of his life to relive 1:05:00 The bell that never got rung and the relapse nobody saw coming 1:12:00 109 miles, the Yukon 1000, the length of Great Britain, and the reason behind all of it 1:13:00 Standing on a bridge and choosing to jump differently 1:17:00 Spencer's closing reflection on 400 episodes and what comes next 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 19 mins
  • #399 "The Doctor Is Not Always Right" | Hein Van Eck, CEO of Mediclinic Middle East on AI, Future of Hospitals, and Why Dubai's Doctors Are World Class

    #399 "The Doctor Is Not Always Right" | Hein Van Eck, CEO of Mediclinic Middle East on AI, Future of Hospitals, and Why Dubai's Doctors Are World Class
    May 25 2026
    "The Doctor Is Not Always Right" Hein Van Eck is a healthcare actuary by training, a breed of thinker who sits at the intersection of data, ethics, and human behavior. He started in insurance in South Africa, was handed his career-defining job after answering a single ethical question correctly, and has spent the last 20 years on the provider side watching an industry transform in real time. He moved to Dubai in 2014 and hasn't stood still since. As CEO of Mediclinic Middle East, Hein oversees six hospitals, 27 clinics, 4,000 babies born annually, and a workforce of doctors recruited from around the world not by headhunters, but by hospital directors who fly to the UK in winter specifically to sit across a candidate and ask: would I feel comfortable if this person treated my family? That detail tells you everything about how he leads. This conversation goes places most healthcare interviews don't. Hein talks honestly about the agency problem at the heart of modern medicine doctor has the knowledge, patient consumes, insurer pays and what happens when that system breaks down. He explains why Ozempic and Mounjaro might genuinely extend lives, not just shrink waistlines. He reveals an AI model that predicts, with 95% accuracy, which patient won't show up to their appointment. And he shares his vision of what a hospital looks like in ten years: a theatre complex, an ICU, and almost everything else happening at home. If you think Dubai healthcare is second-tier, this conversation will change your mind. Timestamps: 0:00 - 20 years at one company in Dubai: why Hein never needed to leave 2:00 - From actuary to hospitals: the agency problem at the heart of healthcare 5:00 - Post-Covid consumerism: why visits per person have doubled from four to eight a year 9:00 - Peptides, Ozempic, and the traffic light system: green, amber, and outright quackery 14:00 - Insurance, self-pay, and the moral dilemmas that arise every single day 21:00 - Collaborative management without consensus: how he leads 4 million patient interactions 25:00 - The mentor, the one ethical question, and how Hein got the job 28:00 - Payment cycles: 20 days in South Africa, 100+ days in the UAE and the hidden cash flow crisis 34:00 - How Mediclinic recruits doctors: hospital directors on planes, not recruiters on LinkedIn 40:00 - Spencer's spinal fusion story and the one doctor who made it human 47:00 - Hospitals as healthcare malls and why the big scary hospital is disappearing 52:00 - AI that predicts no-shows with 95% accuracy and ambient AI that frees doctors to look up 56:00 - In ten years, a hospital will be a theatre and an ICU and everything else happens at home 1:02:00 - The blue chair in every boardroom: every decision tested against what's best for the patient 1:07:00 - Quickfire: the biggest lie in healthcare, what scares him about AI, and the hardest truth about technology adoption 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 Hein Van Eck on Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hein-van-eck-a632881a/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/mediclinic-middle-east/ https://www.instagram.com/mediclinicme/?hl=en
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • #398 Katy Keenan, CEO of BCCD, on Rebuilding and Why Success in the UAE Takes Longer Than You Think

    #398 Katy Keenan, CEO of BCCD, on Rebuilding and Why Success in the UAE Takes Longer Than You Think
    May 18 2026
    Katy Keenan has turned the British Chamber of Commerce Dubai into one of the most respected business communities in the UAE 1,200 members across 29 sectors, a board that's now 50% women, record profits donated to charity, a 98% satisfaction rating, and a LinkedIn following that grew from 6,000 to nearly 33,000 with no marketing budget whatsoever. Just authentic storytelling, genuine relationships, and a woman who remembers every person she's ever met. Katy was bullied at school. She spent her Saturdays caring for severely disabled children. She's supported women escaping domestic violence, trailing spouses who've lost their professional identity, and menopausal women being quietly pushed out of the workforce. Her hairdresser told her at age seven: "No matter how happy you are, always have your own money." She's never forgotten it, and she tells her daughters the same thing. This is one of those conversations that moves between the boardroom and kitchen table, between hard business reality and the kind of honest human warmth you rarely get from a leader of her calibre. You get a masterclass on what it actually takes to build something real in Dubai and why the people who dismiss this city from afar are the ones who wouldn't have made it here anyway. Timestamps: 0:00 – Why Spencer hates networking and what the Chamber is actually for 2:22 – The secret sales team: how the Chamber coaches members who hate selling themselves 5:38 – Her first day: the numbers were dire, the board wasn't diverse, she nearly walked 7:25 – From 13% to 50% female board and why diversity has to be earned, not forced 9:26 – Speed networking with a 3–5 week wait list: what that tells you about Dubai right now 12:18 – The old boys' club conversation: gender events, merit, and the allies that actually helped 17:17 – Lifelong volunteering, the Rashid Centre, and where her empathy really comes from 21:17 – Hyper helping mode, setting boundaries, and why she remembers every single person 27:25 – From deficit to record profit: the turnaround, Covid calls, and 6,000 government surveys 33:09 – Zero marketing budget and the editorial approach that worked 34:22 – Exiting members for bad behaviour and why psychological safety is non-negotiable 37:17 – The biggest mistake UK businesses make when they arrive in the UAE 42:54 – What "Made in Dubai" means to her and why her children were essentially made here 49:11 – The Liberated Woman, trailing spouses, and why mature women are better hires 51:32 – The hairdresser's advice at age seven: "Always have your own money" 58:48 – How the Chamber could support Spencer's school-building charity model 1:02:00 – Bullying, Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, and how being the outsider became her superpower 1:09:04 – Cranial sacral therapy, personal coaching, and a body "bracing for a car to hit you" 1:13:21 – UK media bashing Dubai and why the critics are the ones who wouldn't have made it anyway 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 Katy Keenan on Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-keenan-b457794/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/british-chamber-dubai/posts/?feedView=all https://www.instagram.com/bccdubai?g=5 https://www.instagram.com/katykdxb/
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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • #397: "It's Not If You'll Be Attacked, It's When" | Ossama, CEO of GBM on AI, Cyber War, and more

    #397: "It's Not If You'll Be Attacked, It's When" | Ossama, CEO of GBM on AI, Cyber War, and more
    May 11 2026

    Ossama El Samadoni leads GBM, one of the most respected technology organisations in the region, with over 300 employees, triple-digit million dirham revenue, and clients across the Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Russia. The disappointment that derailed his dream is exactly what built him.

    But this isn't a story about career pivots. It's a conversation that should make every business leader in this city sit up straight.

    Ossama has spent decades at the intersection of global technology and human vulnerability working with Dell, Oracle, HP, and IBM before taking the helm at GBM. He's seen cyber attacks quadruple during regional conflict. He's watched AI agents invent their own secret language when they detected they were being supervised. He's tracked state actors who wiped entire company systems without issuing a single delete command. And he's deeply worried that most leaders still don't understand what's already here.

    This is a rare conversation Ossama's first podcast and he gives everything. No corporate script. No polished PR lines. Just a trench fighter who trusts primary information over secondary noise, believes technology should serve human welfare not just profit, and will tell you plainly: it's not if you'll be attacked, it's when.

    Whether you're a founder, a CEO, or just someone trying to understand what AI is actually doing to our world this one will stay with you.

    Timestamps:

    0:00 – "A podcast virgin" Osama's first ever appearance

    0:09 – Employees feeding company data into ChatGPT: the risk nobody talks about

    2:11 – How generative AI actually works and why bias is already baked in

    5:38 – The moment two AI agents invented their own secret language to hide from their supervisor

    13:34 – Cyber-attacks quadrupled during regional conflict and why every company is a target

    19:21 – How a demo system became a state actor's entry point

    22:21 – The KPMG case: an entire system wiped with zero delete commands

    25:56 – Password hygiene, the 14-day rule, and why you must never open junk mail in Outlook

    28:39 – How to spot AI snake oil salesmen and the two questions that cut through the noise

    30:13 – Deepfakes are already here and why trust will return to the room

    47:10 – Made in Egypt, polished in UAE and why Dubai is harder than it looks

    57:32 – If he started again at 21: invest in human welfare, not hype

    59:35 – Leading from the trenches and the multiplier effect of great leadership

    1:04:50 – Quickfire: rogue AI, the one question every CEO should ask, and more

    Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media:

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    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076

    https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en

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    https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/

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    Follow Ossama El Samadoni on Social Media:

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/ossamae/

    https://www.linkedin.com/company/gbm/

    https://www.instagram.com/gbmmiddleeast/
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    1 hr and 10 mins