“The city has been my ally; I've never been frightened to make any career changes”

Han Thompson is the Production Executive for BBC’s Morning Live. Her rural roots in the Cotswolds haven't stopped her from finding her place here in Manchester, something she attributes to “typical Manc chattiness and openness”, which she experienced right from the start of her time in the city region.

Morning Live is a voice for the north for 90 minutes every day.

Han and the team are working to make routes into the TV industry open to more people across the region. You’ll hear how you make culture in the workplace more than a box tick, build a strong team and continue to nurture them.

You’ll hear about the mentality that has helped Han to keep moving forward when facing tough times, and the strong Manc relationships that have supported and brought her so much comfort, especially when she was in a place of grief. Those connections have made Han confident that Manchester is the place for her.

As well as the people she’s met in the 14 years Han’s been in Manchester, she also talks about the relationships she’s had with the city. For her, Manchester has been her ally, and the city has always had Han’s back.

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Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre. From that point, the business and its team members have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.

To celebrate the 29 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield:

Via our website

On Instagram

On X FKA Twitter

Connect with Han

Via LinkedIn

“It’s exciting to be part of the city; we've got so much further to go”

On this episode of Drawn Here Not Born Here from We Built This City, Lisa talks to Joe Manning, Managing Director of MIDAS, Manchester’s inward investment agency.

Joe explains how MIDAS is building relationships between Greater Manchester and leading global cities, creating opportunities for international businesses to invest, collaborate and grow here.

You’ll hear how the city region’s collaborative nature attracted Joe to Manchester, via Yorkshire, London, and Cheshire, and how, as a proud Yorkshire man, he’s getting leaders from all over the world excited about Manchester and the way Mancs get things done.

They discuss the next decade of growth and what Manchester is really known for around the world, and why cities like Osaka Japan, are calling themselves “the Manchester of the East.”

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Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre. From that point, the business and its team members have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.

To celebrate the almost 30 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield:

Via our website

On Instagram

On X FKA Twitter

Connect with Joe and MIDAS

Via LinkedIn

Via the MIDAS Website

On this episode, We Built This City has partnered with Manchester Metropolitan University. Wherever your business wants to be, Manchester Met is there to help you go further.

Visit mmu.ac.uk/business or follow Business at Manchester Met on LinkedIn, to find out more.

“Manchester has a DNA, which is very powerful, founded on things that matter in life”

Meet Manc 100.

Michael Ingall is the Chairman and CEO of the property and investment group Allied London.

Michael and his team have always had an incredible understanding of the energy and confidence of the city, and a vision for what it could become in the future.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Allied London developments like Spinningfields, St. John's, Versa Studios and Bonded Warehouse came to be.

Join Lisa Morton as Michael shares his story of placemaking in Manchester over the past 20-plus years; from a chance meeting at Manchester's town hall on his first trip up from London, to building a barn in the middle of Manchester's newest district.

When Lisa and Michael caught up in the summer of 2025, they were fresh from the launch of Allied London’s newest development, Campfield. You’ll hear how the historic Victorian market hall has been transformed into a space for thriving communities nearly 150 years after it first opened. You’ll also hear about Michael’s commitment to sharing spaces across the city region, to help people access new opportunities.

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Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre. From that point, the business and its team members have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.

To celebrate the 29 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

Connect with Michael

On LinkedIn

Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield:

Via our website

On Instagram

On X FKA Twitter

On this episode, We Built This City has partnered with Manchester Metropolitan University. Wherever your business wants to be, Manchester Met is there to help you go further.

Visit mmu.ac.uk/business or follow Business at Manchester Met on LinkedIn, to find out more.