Steve Tappin is the CEO of Xinfu, coaching the worlds top CEOs, future Presidents/Prime Ministers, Dames and sporting icons. Tappin has hosted the BBC World television series "CEO Guru" from 2012 onwards, and authored "The Secrets of CEOs".
Current focus
Tappin continues to be a personal confidant and friend for CEOs, future Presidents/Prime Ministers, Dames and sporting icons. He is currently co-authoring a book focused on elevating leaders' self-awareness, in order to help address the gap in leadership around the world. Tappin is a top 100 LinkedIn influencer and passionate Leeds United fan.
Xinfu
Tappin is CEO and Co-Founder of Xinfu, which is an award-winning, global CEO coaching and consulting firm with a mission to help incredible leaders bring their vision to life, and to help create an incredible world within 5 - 10 years. Xinfu has presence in the UK, Australia, China and Silicon Valley, working with the world's top CEOs, future Presidents/Prime Ministers, Dames and sporting icons. Xinfu utilises Tappin's 30 years of working with the world’s top CEOs to distill the key business and leadership elements needed to create an inspired company that can outperform its expected results. Many of Xinfu’s clients have won awards, including EasyJet, Croda International and Reckitt Benckiser winning 1st, 3rd and 4th respectively in "Britain's Most Admired Company". In addition, a number of clients have won industry awards, including the Co-Op which won the “Retailer Awards”.
''BBC CEO Guru''
The BBC CEO Guru ran for 8 seasons. The series features Tappin interviewing CEOs, sharing CEO best practice and the latest advancements on the global CEO agenda. The format consists of several short films, plus associated web articles for BBC World News TV, BBC.COM, BBC Capital and BBC News online. These networks reach an audience of hundreds of millions across the globe. Previous interviewees include: Richard Branson, Jeff Immelt, Liu Chuanzhi, Ryan Holmes, Sir Martin Sorrell, Walter Robb and John Mackay, Guo Guancgchang and Wang Shi. Several episodes have featured specific CEOs and their organisations including, WholeFoods and Fosun.
Tappin is a China expert and a trusted confidant to many of China’s CEOs, and he is an honoured and trusted friend to many of China's domestic entrepreneurs. In October 2014, the CEO Guru won an award for a special episode that featured the China Entrepreneur Club. The CEC is a prestigious network of 52 of China's most elite entrepreneurs, whose businesses have a total equivalent wealth that is representative of 4% of China's GDP. Members include: Jack Ma of Alibaba, Wang Jianlin of Wanda, Liu Chuanzhi of Lenovo, Li Shufu of Geely. Tappin was the first Westerner to gain access to the CEC for interviewing Chinese CEOs for his book, "Secrets of Chinese CEOs" and "Dreams to Last". Through his unique experience, he brings to life the motivations of Chinese leaders, understanding how they tick and how to best work with them. Tappin was recently appointed as one of China's Leading Lights by the British Council and was an ambassador for the London 2012 Olympics.
Early career
Tappin began his career with the chemical giant ICI, working from the bottom-up on a fast track management scheme. ICI's fortunes turned around under the leadership of Sir John Harvey-Jones. After he left, Tappin was mentored by Sir John Harvey-Jones. Some of the problems Tappin encountered as part a large global company convinced him that there must be a better way to lead global companies and that the starting point is the CEO. Tappin also set up his own company, Edengene, which helped large corporations set up new businesses. During this time Edengene helped British Telecom set up BT Broadband. Edengene won Management Consultancy Association Awards for Best Small Business and Best Assignment. In his late 20s and early 30s Tappin worked as a consultant and managing partner at KPMG, PA Consulting and Heidrick and Struggles. It was here he noticed these global professional services firms faced similar challenges to the major corporations they advised. This motivated Tappin to create Xinfu.
