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Selling Out! – Ep 8: People, Power and Panna Cotta | Adam McHale & Ric Hayden / Selling Out!

Selling Out!

Friday, 3 July 2026 - 1 hour 18 minutes

Selling Out! is the podcast for LGBTQIA+ founders, leaders and creatives. Real conversations about building a life and a career on your own terms — straight jackets not included. 🏳️‍🌈Adam McHale (he/him, G) grew up in a McHale clan that upped sticks from Manchester to Blackpool to run a B&B. He carried toast racks, studied performing arts, gave up acting for people development and never looked back. From Butlins to Classic Collection Holidays, he's built L&D functions from scratch, mentored teams across the country and found his sweet spot at MPB — one of Brighton's most progressive businesses — where roughly one in three colleagues identifies as something other than straight. He once turned down Butlins before Adam got there. (Ric can confirm.)Ric Hayden (he/him, G/Q) wanted to be a fashion designer, changed his mind at Central Saint Martins, did a master's in psychology, ended up in Sydney launching Vodafone's customer training operation and has been running LearningCog, his independent L&D consultancy, for the past fifteen years. He's delivered leadership programmes across Southeast Asia, stood his ground against homophobic regional directors and once got his entire board to fund a programme they'd just rejected — by walking back in and telling them why he hadn't explained it well enough.Two people who've spent their careers building the conditions in which other people can be themselves — and who both know first-hand what it costs when those conditions don't exist.This episode covers the long road from knowing you're different to knowing what to do with it, internalized homophobia in corporate life, why DEI isn't optional (it's on your bottom line), and what happened when a penis-shaped panna cotta arrived at a company offsite. It also features a serious conversation about trans rights, solidarity, and why the letters in LGBTQIA+ exist together for a reason."It was the trans people fighting for us at Stonewall. So let's get back and support them."🎙️ Sponsored by Legends Brighton — legendsresortbrighton.com — and Mortgage Medics — mortgage-medics.comVideo & Audio by Always Cinematic — alwayscinematic.comPowered by GoSucceed®Keywords / Tags:LGBTQIA+, queer business, learning and development, people development, DEI, diversity and inclusion, trans rights, corporate culture, representation, Brighton, MPB, LearningCog, leadership, Stonewall, Selling Out, GoSucceedSeason: 1 | Episode: 8Selling Out! is the podcast for LGBTQIA+ founders, leaders and creatives. Real conversations about building a business your way, hosted by Gary Salters and Jonny Monroe.New episodes drop on the first and third Friday of every month. Follow us and never miss a story.Selling Out! is the podcast for LGBTQIA+ founders, leaders and creatives. Real conversations about building a business your way, hosted by Gary Salters and Jonny Monroe.New episodes drop on the first and third Friday of every month. Follow us and never miss a story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.