Bonus Episode: John Roberts' Crisis Compass

Explicit content warning

04/21/25 • 2 min

John Roberts is one of Britain's most successful and energetic businessmen, a lad from Bolton who turned a one pound bet with a friend into a billion pound success story.

In this special Business episode, John joins Andy to share the invaluable lessons behind building one of Britain’s most trusted brands. From selling deformed gingerbread men in school to pioneering e-commerce out of Bolton, John reveals how cheek, grit and imagination shaped AO, but the journey to success has not been a straight road. He talks openly about the crushing lows — including losing a £160 million gamble in Germany, navigating the chaos of early online retail, and how singing Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now on loop helped him show up for his team during the darkest moments.

Here is John's Crisis Compass - his points of navigation for when trouble comes.

X: @johnrobertsAO

Host: Andy Coulson

CWC team: Jane Sankey, Hana Walker-Brown, Bill Griffin

With special thanks to Ioana Barbu and the brilliant people at Global

For all PR and guest approaches please contact – [email protected]

John Roberts is one of Britain's most successful and energetic businessmen, a lad from Bolton who turned a one pound bet with a friend into a billion pound success story.

Here is John's Crisis Compass - his points of navigation for when trouble comes.

X: @johnrobertsAO

Host: Andy Coulson

CWC team: Jane Sankey, Hana Walker-Brown, Bill Griffin

With special thanks to Ioana Barbu and the brilliant people at Global

For all PR and guest approaches please contact – [email protected]

Previous Episode

Founder and CEO of AO.com John Roberts on risk, empowerment, and the power of a one pound bet

John Roberts is one of Britain's most successful and energetic businessmen, a lad from Bolton who turned a one pound bet with a friend into a billion pound success story.

In this special Business episode, John joins Andy to share the invaluable lessons behind building one of Britain’s most trusted brands. From selling deformed gingerbread men in school to pioneering e-commerce out of Bolton, John reveals how cheek, grit and imagination shaped AO, but the journey to success has not been a straight road. He talks openly about the crushing lows — including losing a £160 million gamble in Germany, navigating the chaos of early online retail, and how singing Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now on loop helped him show up for his team during the darkest moments.

He shares the thinking behind AO’s legendary customer service and the power (and perils) of leading from the front. Plus we hear about his work to level the playing field for young people in our poorest communities, and what government and businesses can learn from a green teddy bear and a humble kitchen salesman to build a better future.

X: @johnrobertsAO

Host: Andy Coulson

CWC team: Jane Sankey, Hana Walker-Brown, Bill Griffin

With special thanks to Ioana Barbu and the brilliant people at Global

For all PR and guest approaches please contact – [email protected]

Next Episode

Mark Turnbull on being ambushed in Baghdad, Cambridge Analytica and facing terminal cancer

Mark Turnbull has spent thirty-five years as a geopolitical communications strategist, working behind the scenes to shape some of the most consequential political moments of modern times. It's a career that's taken him from the American invasion of Iraq to the final days of apartheid South Africa — from the inner sanctum of a leading KGB defector to the cockpit of Cambridge Analytica.

In this episode, Mark talks about the physical dangers and reputational risks of his trade — and the pressure it put on his family. From being ambushed by insurgents in Baghdad and battling Somali warlords, to taking on Putin's propaganda machine and the sting operation that would bring down Trump campaign agency Cambridge Analytica. Along the way, it cast him as a poster boy for data theft and dirty tricks.

He reveals the chilling moment when Alexander Litvinenko warned him about the KGB’s preferred method of assassination and lifts the lid on the Cambridge Analytica sting operation that made global headlines—explaining how it unfolded, what the media got wrong, and the cost to his professional and personal life.

Finally, he reflects generously on his terminal cancer diagnosis and how as a self-proclaimed "incurable optimist" he remains fiercely upbeat about his life and how he continues to lead it, with purpose, resilience and courage.

Host: Andy Coulson

CWC team: Jane Sankey, Hana Walker-Brown, Bill Griffin

With special thanks to Ioana Barbu and the brilliant people at Global

For all PR and guest approaches please contact – [email protected]