Leadership Lab - Gina Miller
About This Episode
For more than 30 years, Gina Miller has built businesses, challenged powerful institutions and campaigned for change across finance, politics, charities and women’s economic empowerment. She has fought hidden fees in the investment industry, spoken out on domestic and economic abuse, and twice taken the UK government to the Supreme Court and won.
In this episode of the Leadership Lab series, Gina reflects on what those battles have taught her about why institutions resist change, what it costs to challenge them, and where leadership so often falls short. She talks about the death threats and professional consequences that followed her public campaigns, why success can make speaking out harder rather than easier, and why transparency alone does not necessarily change bad behaviour. From political short-termism and public distrust to women’s financial independence and the growing power of AI, she argues for a form of leadership grounded in responsibility, long-term thinking and the willingness to act when the easier option is to look away.
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Hi! I'm Amanda, a third year Neuroscience student and Laidlaw alum from UCL. I'm Swedish-Persian and grew up in Sweden before moving to London for uni. These days, alongside my studies, I work for the Foundation as a Marketing Assistant.
For my first year research project, I worked on optimising alginate hydrogels for 3D astrocyte culture systems. In simpler terms, I was figuring out the best way to prepare a jelly-like scaffolds so that star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes could grow in three dimensions rather than flat on a dish. This matters because 3D environments mimic the brain more realistically, which could help researchers develop better treatments for neurological disorders!
For my Leadership-in-Action project, I co-created Beyond the Books, a resource designed to help students from underrepresented backgrounds navigate the unwritten rules of university life, from internships and networking to professional opportunities that aren't always obvious if you're the first in your family to go to uni.
Always happy to connect, whether you want to chat about neuroscience, widening access, the Laidlaw experience, or just say hello! One of my favourite things about this community is getting to meet people from different universities and backgrounds, so please do reach out! 🌟
