Finding Your North Star: conversations on career, leadership and purpose

Hosted by Kai Ojo, CEO of Planisware UK and Chair of the School’s Industry Advisory Board, the series creates space for honest, unscripted conversations about careers, leadership and the realities of the modern workplace. Students lead the conversation – asking questions, challenging perspectives and exploring what success really looks like in today’s world. 

While rooted in the student experience, the podcast speaks to a wider audience – from early-career professionals to those reflecting on their own career journey. 

Kai explains: “Most career podcasts talk at students. This one is led by them. They’re not passive listeners – they’re in the room, setting the agenda and asking the hard questions. There are no scripts and no PR filter. You get real people talking about real choices, including the ones they’d make differently. Because the best conversations about work are never just about work.” 

Finding Your North Star explores leadership, career choices, mentorship, diversity and inclusion, and how technology is shaping the future of work.  

Through open and reflective conversations, listeners - from students to early-career professionals and beyond – gain insight into the decisions, challenges and turning points that shape careers. The series is designed to build confidence, spark curiosity and support people in finding their own direction. 

Kai adds: “If even one student finishes an episode thinking ‘I hadn’t considered it that way’ - that’s a win. Beyond individual insight, I hope it builds confidence. Hearing that the people at the top are still figuring things out is more valuable than any advice they could give. 

The first series brings together current students, alumni and industry insight to explore topics including: 

• Mentoring and networking 

• The role of artificial intelligence in today’s industries 

• Career readiness and standing out beyond the CV 

• Lifelong learning, diversity and navigating change 

Each episode offers a mix of lived experience, practical advice and reflective discussion grounded in the real world of work. 

The series reflects Salford Business School’s commitment to collaborative, real-world learning - bringing together students and industry to share knowledge and perspectives. 

By connecting different experiences and viewpoints, Finding Your North Star creates a space where people can learn from each other, building confidence and insight through shared conversation. 

Kai explains: “I’ve benefitted enormously from people who took the time to be direct with me about what worked, what didn’t, and what I should think harder about. This podcast is a way of passing that forward at scale. Salford Business School is full of smart, curious people who deserve access to those conversations, not in a formal staged way, but in a way that reflects the real world.”