Lee McQueen

Lee McQueen is an entrepreneur and business leader who specialises in transforming talent acquisition through data-driven innovation and early career development. As Founder and CEO of award-winning software company Phoenix51 and Raw Talent Academy, he has built successful ventures that reshape how organisations identify and nurture talent, drawing on over two decades of recruitment expertise. Winner of Series 4 of The Apprentice, McQueen's journey from leaving school with one GCSE to building multi-million-pound businesses demonstrates authentic resilience that resonates powerfully with audiences. His sessions equip leaders and entrepreneurs with practical strategies for building high-performing teams, overcoming adversity, and creating sustainable business growth through smarter hiring decisions.

During a recession that saw countless businesses falter, Lee McQueen steered his software company Phoenix51 to over £1 million in sales revenue, secured £1 million in funding, and built a £3.5 million pipeline, elevating the firm's pre-tax valuation to £4 million. His victory in Series 4 of The Apprentice in 2008, beating 20,000 candidates to work alongside Lord Alan Sugar, launched a career defined by transforming how organisations find and develop talent. That partnership led to the establishment of Amscreen, which became a digital signage market leader in the UK, and set the foundation for McQueen's mission to revolutionise recruitment through data-driven innovation and early career development programmes.

With over 22 years in talent acquisition, McQueen has built his expertise across corporate and entrepreneurial environments, from leading the IT Resourcing division at Capita Business Services, contributing to a £32 million turnover, to founding Raw Talent Academy. The award-winning recruitment business has launched sales academies across the UK in cities including Bristol, Birmingham, Watford and Windsor, providing SMEs and corporate organisations with structured pathways to build internal talent pipelines. His work focuses on creating Early Career Programs across professional service sectors, offering young people practical routes into employment whilst giving businesses access to motivated, trainable talent. McQueen's approach challenges traditional hiring practices by emphasising potential over qualifications, a philosophy rooted in his own journey from leaving school with one GCSE to building multi-million-pound ventures. Beyond business, he co-hosts the award-winning sports podcast LWOS, which reaches 50,000 downloads per week and ranks in the top 10 podcasts worldwide, demonstrating his ability to connect with diverse audiences.

McQueen equips leaders and entrepreneurs with practical strategies for building high-performing teams, making smarter hiring decisions, and turning adversity into opportunity. His sessions combine real-world experience with actionable frameworks that organisations can implement immediately, from designing effective early career programmes to using data-driven assessments that reduce hiring risk and improve retention. Audiences leave with clarity on how to identify untapped talent, create pathways for development, and build resilient businesses that thrive during uncertainty. His story, from a working-class family in north-west London to successful CEO and family man in Oxfordshire with his wife and three daughters, offers authentic proof that tenacity, strategic thinking and a willingness to challenge convention deliver lasting commercial results.