Authentic leadership in a time of volatility
Business Leader's Voice
In this episode of the Business Leader's Voice podcast, Ahmed Abdel Wahab, General Manager for India at Mars, joins our Head of Content, Emma Carroll, in conversation. They discuss what it takes to be a truly authentic leader today, particularly in a time of volatility. Ahmed shares insights on these matters and more: Authentic leadership is not about being "soft". It is centered around holding people accountable, being responsible, and driving accountability to the last mile, all while respecting the people involved. When addressing critical turning points,...
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How to align, focus, and deliver innovation around trust
Business Leader's Voice
Aurelija Pletiene, Director of Product Management at Vinted, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our Business Leader’s Voice podcast. They discuss how to cut through the noise to align, focus, and deliver innovation around trust and safety. Aurelija shares her insights on these matters and more: At Vinted, Aurelija says that innovation is rooted in problem solving, not just feature building. The team process starts with identifying and deeply understanding a core problem by asking, "What are we trying to fix?" ...
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AI adoption: Moving beyond the hype to achieve success
Business Leader's Voice
Husayn Kassai, CEO and Founder of Quench.ai, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our Business Leader’s Voice podcast. They discuss AI adoption and how you can move beyond the hype to achieve success. Husayn shares his insights on these matters and more: Husayn suggests that successful AI adoption is primarily a behavioural challenge rather than a purely technological one. Organisations often struggle with deployment, especially larger ones, due to a lack of training, trust, and a clear desire to implement new...
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Targeting tech investment as a CIO
Business Leader's Voice
Andrew Brothers, former CIO at Primark, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our Business Leader’s Voice podcast. Andrew shares his insights on the following matters and more: The CIO's primary agenda is to add business value by driving sales growth and increasing operational efficiency through technology. Prioritising tech investment involves balancing strategic initiatives, risk mitigation, and refreshing your technology. Decisions here involve healthy debate with the executive team. ...
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Creating business resilience as a chief legal officer
Business Leader's Voice
Matthew Wilson, Chief Legal Officer at Fremantle, and Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, caught up on the latest episode of our Business Leader’s Voice podcast. Matthew and Emma shared their insights on the following matters and more: An adaptable internal culture—grounded in trust, transparency, and ethical governance—is key to resilience. Strategies to build resilience include diversifying your portfolio, establishing clear governance frameworks, and maintaining transparent communication. AI is transforming the content industry,...
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Solving business problems with AI—the tech-comes-second approach
Business Leader's Voice
Francine Bennett, Board Member at the Ada Lovelace Institute, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our Business Leader’s Voice podcast. Francine and Emma shared their insights on the following matters and more: Businesses first need to think about their problems and then select AI tools intelligently, rather than following the hype. Many leaders are eager to integrate exciting new solutions without having a clear understanding of the problem they want to solve. Beyond just knowing you want to implement a solution, its important to...
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Navigating regulation while driving growth in healthcare
Business Leader's Voice
Mizanu Kebede, Chief Quality & Regulatory Officer at Smith & Nephew, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our Business Leader’s Voice podcast. Mizanu shares his insights on the following matters and more: AI is transforming diagnostics, personalised medicine, and operational efficiency within the healthcare industry. The integration of AI and machine learning, and advanced data analytics into medical devices, promises to enhance patient outcomes while reducing costs. Cybersecurity is a...
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Transforming procurement with data, culture, and tech
Business Leader's Voice
Sarah Ricketts, SVP for Procurement at Rolls Royce caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our Business Leader’s Voice podcast. Sarah shares her insights on the following matters and more: The level of disruption in supply chain recently means there is a heightened focus on risk, including geopolitical, financial, and capacity risk. The key to managing this is having a standardised framework and understanding the leading indicators to be able to prioritise and mitigate potential risks before they arise. Digital...
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Moving with pace: building a culture of innovation and speed as general counsel
Business Leader's Voice
Vicki Bradin, General Counsel at Sage, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our Business Leader’s Voice podcast. Vicki shared her insights on the following matters and more: · General counsels could be seen as a person that slows things down and says no—but this isn’t how today’s best GCs work. Instead, they need to think about the areas where the business needs to take more risk and lean into this. · With the fast-paced...
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Delivering Revenue Across Business Cycles—The WeWork Story
Business Leader's Voice
Benjamin Samuels, Former Chief Revenue Officer at WeWork, joins Emma Carroll, Source’s Head of Content, on the latest episode of our Business Leader’s Voice podcast. We talk to Benjamin about navigating growth and change as Chief Revenue Officer at WeWork. He shares the ups and downs on the journey from hypergrowth, through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and beyond. We discuss the following issues and more: Benjamin’s five pillars that need to be tweaked during different stages of growth are: goals & commission, communication, team structure,...
info_outlineIn this episode of the Business Leader's Voice podcast, Ahmed Abdel Wahab, General Manager for India at Mars, joins our Head of Content, Emma Carroll, in conversation. They discuss what it takes to be a truly authentic leader today, particularly in a time of volatility.
Ahmed shares insights on these matters and more:
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Authentic leadership is not about being "soft". It is centered around holding people accountable, being responsible, and driving accountability to the last mile, all while respecting the people involved.
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When addressing critical turning points, good leaders actively listen to those around them to understand what is not working and what changed that led to the current struggle. The best leaders will leverage and combine this insight with transparent communication about the commitment needed to navigate the path forward.
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Leadership is a two-way relationship where the leader evolves, and the people they lead evolve. The best leadership happens when both parties are learning from each other, making the relationship "mutual" and "purposeful".
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Instead of striving for unattainable "perfection," leaders should commit to the mantra: "We always need to be better than yesterday". Focusing on incremental improvement helps reach the next level.
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Leaders are humans who have their own flaws, mistakes, and weaknesses. They are not "invincibles" and should not be expected to show a "poker face". It is essential for leaders to "have fun, enjoy the journey," and remember to pause and breathe. This encourages a culture of self-acceptance and vulnerability.