Meet the startup building the first commercial space station - and shaping how we'll live and work in space
Release Date: 11/12/2024
How pro basketball and theoretical physics shaped one health tech CEO
Meet The Leader
Non-communicable diseases like stroke and heart disease have swapped spots with infectious diseases as top global killers. Improving health access -- whether in the developed or emerging world -- can save the lives of billions. CEO Bernd Montag explains how Siemens Healthineers is partnering with providers around the world to deliver technologies and help reduce the complexities that can stand in the way of efficient treatment. He’ll also share his own unique background -- as a professional basketball player and later theoretical physicist -- and how it shaped how he makes decisions and...
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A Gen Z founder on breaking down big stigmas and surviving hustle-culture burnout
Meet The Leader
Nadya Okamoto launched her nonprofit Period as a teenager at the height of startup mania, hustle culture and girlboss memes. It grew to become one of the largest youth nonprofits in the world, but the fast growth led to burnout and a harsh cost to her well-being. She talks about how she learned to value rest, set boundaries and get 10 hours of sleep a day – and the moment she decided to pass the leadership torch for the organization’s next phase. Her non-profit Period, one that got started distributing menstrual pads to the homeless in San Francisco, and her current startup August, a...
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7 women leaders on the books that shaped them
Meet The Leader
In this special collection episode, top women leaders in business, non-profits and more share the books that inspired them, informed them and changed their minds. These books will make you take a second read of a classic - whether it's a favorite business book or an Agatha Christie mystery. And these insightful picks will have you thinking differently about a range of big problems, from geography's role in a fractured society to how transit design can widen gender gaps. These books will help you get sharper at your role -- and even find new ways to make room for joy. Global Gender Gap Report...
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Bridging the gap in women's health research, policy and innovation: Kearney
Meet The Leader
Women's health is under-researched and under-funded, leading women to live longer in poor health than men. However, tackling this gap can boost lifespans and GDP, a fact Paula Bellostas Muguerza understands well. This global head of healthcare and life sciences at consulting firm Kearney, discusses the role that policy and collaboration can play in creating incentives for real change, and driving awareness and education. She'll talk about [w]Health, a special platform she helped found that has grown into a community of 350 organizations sharing best practices to bridge gaps and what leaders...
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We’re ‘losing the war’ on modern slavery: What business leaders can do - HPE’s John Schultz
Meet The Leader
Slavery is not a problem cast to the annals of history. Modern slavery and forced labour are hidden in plain sight, found everywhere from nail salons to pristine factories, estimated to impact millions worldwide. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s John Schultz explains more about this worsening problem and how it impacts economies and communities. He also explains how data and artificial intelligence are being leveraged in new ways to draw insights from sources such as from shipping reports, photos, supply chain data and victim impact statements to tackle this issue in a way that’s never been...
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Protect employability, not just jobs: Adecco exec on effective coaching and upskilling
Meet The Leader
Staffing giant president Christophe Catoir of Adecco got an early start at the firm as an intern. He’s had a front-row seat to how work has evolved since. He shares the insights from the firm’s annual skilling report, giving compelling statistics on the percent of workers globally trained in AI so far and what’s needed to keep workers both engaged and employed as upskilling cycles accelerate. He also shares his thoughts on how leaders in remote and hybrid workplaces will need to re-evaluate how they coach and train teams, how apprenticeship thinking can help, and how his own career...
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‘I’ll show you a real leader’ - Platon, the photographer of power, on finding humanity in all of us
Meet The Leader
Platon has made over 20 Time magazine covers with his portraits of people such as Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, George Clooney, Silvio Berlusconi, Mohammed Ali, Adele and Sinead O'Connor. But he has also photographed people who are the opposite of famous and powerful - and recently published a book called The Defenders: Heroes of the Global Fight for Human Rights - which contains work done over 15 years around the world telling the stories of refugees and other oppressed people. He tells us what makes a true leader, and how the meaning of a photograph can change over time, and...
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The 'triple strength' leaders must develop to drive a sustainable future: OMV CEO
Meet The Leader
How can we live more sustainably? OMV's Alfred Stern takes us through the big innovations the Austrian energy and chemicals company has in progress, including a geothermal heating project that will help to decarbonise Vienna by 2040. But he also shares the bigger tactical pieces that must be in place for real change, from updating mundane practices like permitting to continually educating staff (from execs to those in the field) on topics like measuring methane and ways to curb emissions. This former research scientist who got his start in academia also shares what his background taught him...
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The ‘inevitable’ caregiving cost nightmare: One young founder's story and solution
Meet The Leader
Lily Vittayarukskul was a college student at just 14 and on track for a career in aerospace engineering. However, an aunt’s cancer battle later upended those plans, wreaking havoc on her family and their finances. The experience inspired her to launch the AI-powered startup Waterlily, helping people better predict expenses for getting older, including eldercare or assisted living, costs most don’t realize aren’t fully covered by either health insurance or Medicare. In this talk, Lily wades through the mounting data showing how super-ageing societies will struggle to afford long-term care...
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What you might get wrong about progress - lessons for leaders: Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker
Meet The Leader
Renowned Harvard cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker studies the big questions facing human nature: Why do we fight? What helps us get along? How do we understand the world around us? His research has uncovered an insight we might not expect – that humanity is doing better than we might think. Despite host of major challenges that still exist, from geopolitical unrest to climate change, data shows that humans today live longer, face fewer wars, and live more comfortable lives than in preceding generations. He explains why a better understanding of progress and its uneven nature can help us...
info_outlineHumans have learned to survive in space. But as Tejpaul Bhatia reminded Meet the Leader, it’s time to learn how to live, work and thrive. One step towards that goal is Axiom Station, the first commercial space station. With the International Space Station due to be decommissioned, he explains how Axiom Station will build on decades of lessons learned for a future-ready station factoring in principles of ergonomic and industrial design, a station planned to adapt to new technologies and needs. And while it employs its share of former astronauts and rocket scientists, this unique company also designs space suits - like the one for the upcoming Artemis moon mission set for 2026. This means it also counts sewers and costumers from places like Cirque du Soleil on its team – people who understand performance fabrics and who have the skill sets to hand sew parts of uniforms that can’t be tackled with a machine. He’ll share how this incredibly diverse group works together and how learning how to tap such a range of capabilities is a window into the unique pioneering collaborations that will drive the space economy.
To learn more:
Axiom Space: https://www.axiomspace.com/
Report:
Space: The $1.8 Trillion Opportunity for Global Economic Growth: https://www.weforum.org/publications/space-the-1-8-trillion-opportunity-for-global-economic-growth/
Related podcasts:
This former astronaut shares what’s key to building strong, effective teams: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/soichi-noguchi-astronaut-build-effective-teams/
From space to the ocean's depths - how a space CEO and explorer approaches risk: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/dylan-taylor-voyager-space-risk-leadership/