The Worlds Toughest Interviewer - Mike Soutar - The Apprentice

What does it take to scale a business, earn trust at board level, and become the most feared interviewer on British television? In this episode of We Have A Meeting, we sit down with Mike Soutar — co-founder of Shortlist Media, board director at Scottish Rugby and the V&A Dundee, and the man behind 13 seasons of The Apprentice’s most intense interviews. You’ll learn: • How Mike scaled Shortlist into one of the UK’s most successful freemium media businesses • What really happens behind the scenes on The Apprentice UK — and how candidates crack under pressure • Why founders need fast feedback, not fake validation • How AI is reshaping the kind of people we hire — and the rise of the “super generalist” • What every pitch deck gets wrong • And how Mike’s daily mentoring gives him a frontline view into the mindset of the best emerging leaders This is a sharp, honest, and story-driven conversation about what actually works when it comes to building businesses, making good decisions, and earning trust. Watch now, only on We Have A Meeting. Listen & follow the podcast: 🎧 Spotify | Apple | YouTube 🔎 Search: “We Have A Meeting” wherever you get your podcasts 📲 Follow Mike Soutar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesoutar/ Buy our book: