Navigating with Bertie Russell

Bertie Russell

Welcome to Navigating, hosted by Russell Simpson Managing Director Bertie Russell. Through this podcast, he will be learning about the personal journeys of family members, colleagues, peers, industry professionals and recognised experts. By asking how business, property, family, relationships and well-being have overlapped in their lives, Bertie hopes to stimulate meaningful conversations.

  1. Jun 18

    Navigating Risk, Reward & Property Investments

    Welcome to another instalment of Navigating with Bertie Russell. Today, Bertie is joined by Will Michell, co-founder of Blue Noble, a real estate investment and asset management business working with family offices, entrepreneurs, and investors across Europe. In this episode, Will shares his journey from managing billions of pounds of real estate assets at HSBC to launching Blue Noble alongside his partners and building the business over the last eight years. Together, they discuss real estate investing, entrepreneurship, family offices, building long-term wealth, identifying investment opportunities, the future of property, student accommodation, data centres, and the realities of growing a business from scratch. We hope you enjoy this episode. Subscribe to our channel to be notified of new uploads. 00:00 - Introduction to Will Michell & Blue Noble 01:30 - Leaving HSBC to start a business 04:00 - Working with family offices & investors 07:00 - Blue Noble's club investment model 10:00 - Why student accommodation in Italy 16:00 - The Milan development success story 18:00 - Data centres & future investment trends 22:00 - Investing for the long term 25:00 - Building bespoke portfolios 27:00 - Growing Blue Noble from scratch 30:00 - Leadership, culture & scaling a business 33:00 - Final reflections Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/navigating-with-bertie-russell/id1756534223 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2qL8sCfmVMnjJJ6KU7XXdc?si=df03ac48ae9045bc

    Navigating Risk, Reward & Property Investments
  2. Jun 4

    Navigating Creativity, Learning & AI

    Welcome to another instalment of Navigating with Bertie Russell. Today, Bertie is joined by the team behind Cresconova Labs — an innovative educational space rethinking how children learn and prepare for a rapidly changing future. In this episode, the founders share their backgrounds across finance, investment, technology, design, and education, and explain how their experiences led them to challenge traditional schooling and create a more creative, collaborative, and hands-on approach to learning. Together, they discuss the future of education in the age of AI, the importance of curiosity and critical thinking, learning through failure, creativity in children, and how young people can become active creators rather than passive consumers of technology. We hope you enjoy this episode. Subscribe to our channel to be notified of new uploads. 00:00 - Introduction to Cresconova Labs 01:00 - The founders’ backgrounds and journey 04:30 - Why education needs to evolve 08:00 - Creativity, curiosity & confidence in children 12:00 - AI, technology & future-proofing young people 16:30 - Breaking down silos in learning 20:00 - Collaboration, systems thinking & problem solving 24:00 - Hands-on learning and learning through failure 28:00 - Supporting different types of learners 32:00 - The future of education & human connection 35:00 - Final reflections Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/navigating-with-bertie-russell/id1756534223 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2qL8sCfmVMnjJJ6KU7XXdc?si=df03ac48ae9045bc

    Navigating Creativity, Learning & AI

About

Welcome to Navigating, hosted by Russell Simpson Managing Director Bertie Russell. Through this podcast, he will be learning about the personal journeys of family members, colleagues, peers, industry professionals and recognised experts. By asking how business, property, family, relationships and well-being have overlapped in their lives, Bertie hopes to stimulate meaningful conversations.