Meet The Leader
In these one-on-one conversations, host Linda Lacina interviews the world's top leaders, change-makers and experts on the solutions they're building to tackle the world's biggest challenges, the habits they can’t work without, and their lessons learned, all from the World Economic Forum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Speak last, lean on your team, and one CEO's other top lessons learned: Norsk Hydro
04/26/2024
Speak last, lean on your team, and one CEO's other top lessons learned: Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro was founded nearly 120 years ago to tackle global famine. Today, it has evolved to take on a bigger challenge: climate change. The company focuses on low- and no-carbon aluminium, a material that will be key in electric vehicles, construction and comprises 2% of emissions. CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim shares the unique technologies and partnerships that are helping to drive a green energy transition. She also takes us through her unique path to the top job, one that has spanned a range of roles, from plant manager to auditor to HR leader. She shares how seemingly unrelated roles can help you better understand yourself and how you can contribute as a leader -- better motivating people and tapping the full capabilities of your team. This episode was recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, 2024.
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The founder using 'pocket forests' to transform cities and protect biodiversity
04/19/2024
The founder using 'pocket forests' to transform cities and protect biodiversity
SUGI is a unique global organization that brings pocket forests -- ultra-dense, biodiverse forests leveraging the proven Japanese Miyawaki Method -- to cities all over the world. The group has built 200 pocket forests in 42 cities so far, with each providing a key form of "urban acupuncture" that can protect biodiversity, restore ecosystems, and even better reconnect people to nature. Founder and CEO Elise Van Middelem shares more about SUGi and how it got started - and the unique ways these projects are reviving places from England to Cameroon. This interview was recorded at the Urban Transformation Summit in Detroit, Michigan in October 2023. Photo by Joya Berrow
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Workers have changed - How leaders must adapt: Randstad's Sander Van't Noordende
04/12/2024
Workers have changed - How leaders must adapt: Randstad's Sander Van't Noordende
What workers want - and what keeps them motivated - has changed drastically in recent years. And with big technological and demographic shifts driving labor shortages, knowing how to both retrain and retain your workforce will be more important than ever. Randstad CEO Sander Van't Noordende will share insights from the talent firm's annual Workmonitor survey, giving a one-of-a-kind snapshot on how workers are thinking about everything from ambition, to purpose, to flexibility and pay. He'll also share what new habits leaders will need to adopt (including the value of microfeedback) and how leaders should be approaching everything from how they connect with workers to how they future proof their talent pipelines. Recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos, 2024. Transcript here:
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This pivot helped a mom-turned-founder scale modern student transit - and transform lives for moms and kids
03/29/2024
This pivot helped a mom-turned-founder scale modern student transit - and transform lives for moms and kids
As a busy mom working in tech, Ritu Narayan understood the chaos school logistics can bring to kids and parents. Her personal experience inspired her to found Zum, a startup providing an end-to-end solution for districts with optimized bus routes, one including bus fleets to match different-sized schools, and an approach that makes school transit transparent and efficient for the first time in a century. The startup was launched originally as an on-demand service and she shares the key questions that helped her pivot the company for scale -- questions that can help any founder make a big shift happen. She also discusses the unexpected impact wrangling family logistics can have on parents' work lives (even nudging some moms out of the workforce altogether) and how tackling that can boost opportunity for parents and kids alike. This episode was recorded at the World Economic Forum's Urban Transformation Summit in Detroit in October 2023.
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What adventure taught this eco-entrepreneur about leadership and tackling risk
03/20/2024
What adventure taught this eco-entrepreneur about leadership and tackling risk
Kat Bruce is an eco-entrepreneur who founded NatureMetrics, one of the world's leading nature technology companies measuring the very tiny traces of DNA that organisms leave in the air, water and soil. She’s also a former jungle explorer who has undertaken expeditions in the Amazon, working in research stations, riding down tributaries on balsa rafts she’s made herself. She shares how such experiences have helped her to be a better leader: to be reflective to find new solutions, to understand different people’s unique roles in a team, and to make tough choices quickly. She also shares the potential environmental DNA provides, and why more leaders than ever are understanding the need to leverage data in new ways to tackle their environmental impacts. This episode was recorded at the Sustainable Development Impact Meeting in the World Economic Forum's New York City office during UN Week September 2023.
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What workers really want - and how it can bridge the gender gap: Reshma Saujani
03/07/2024
What workers really want - and how it can bridge the gender gap: Reshma Saujani
Forget snacks and gym memberships: Today's worker wants to know you value their family. When Reshma Saujani founded Moms First -- a movement to drive paid leave for families --she already had a successful non-profit under her belt in Girls Who Code. But she quickly learned that advocating for moms and parents uncovers a host of structural barriers that hold back both women and families. In a special conversation recorded at the 2024 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, she shared how leaders will need to focus on their teams' families to stay competitive and to bridge a host of gaps - including gender pay gaps and labor shortages coming down the line. She also shared how a special AI-powered tool her organization built -- PaidLeave.AI -- is helping thousands better understand leave benefits in New York State and showing how new technologies can expand opportunity in surprising ways.
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12 leaders share what to prioritize in 2024
02/23/2024
12 leaders share what to prioritize in 2024
Where do you see yourself and your team a year from now? How can you maximize tech - and mitigate its risks? How can you stay focused despite increasing geopolitical tensions? What impacts will small decisions now have in 5 to 10 years? In this special compilation episode of Meet The Leader recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos, heads of top companies, civil society organizations and non-profits shared what leaders should prioritize this year. They share questions to ask yourself, how to set your objectives, ways to better serve your team, the risks to keep on your radar and ways to build your vision for the long term. In this episode: Sander van 't Noordende, CEO, Randstad Fidelma Russo, CTO, HPE Milton Cheng, Global Chair, Baker McKenzie Daphne Koller, CEO, Insitro Hilde Merete Aasheim, CEO, Norsk Hydro Petra Jenner, senior vice president and general manager, Splunk Christy Hoffman, General Secretary, UNI Global Reshma Saujani, founder, MomsFirst Olajumoke Adekeye, Founders, Young Business Agency Catalina Cock Duque, Co-Founder and President, Fundacion Mi Sangre Rudayna Abdo, founder, Thaki Jagan Chapagain, Secretary-General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
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What's next for the global economy? IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva on AI, preparedness - and the unexpected
01/30/2024
What's next for the global economy? IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva on AI, preparedness - and the unexpected
What’s next for the year ahead? Is a much-promised “soft landing” for certain economies possible? And what new impacts can we expect from inflation? Meet The Leader caught up with International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva at the Annual Meeting in Davos to get her take on what's ahead, including how upcoming elections and other global challenges could make some moves especially tricky in 2024. She discusses the findings of a new IMF report exploring how AI will impact jobs in different economies around the world in the decades to come -- and how leaders can get prepared now. She also shares the mindsets and approaches that can help leaders stay nimble in what could be an unpredictable year -- along with what gives this "die hard" optimist hope.
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3 shifts all effective collaborators make
01/23/2024
3 shifts all effective collaborators make
New approaches to partnering and collaboration will be key to tackling climate action. This will require new mindsets, new systems and connecting with people and groups you might have otherwise overlooked. To better understand how collaboration is evolving, this week’s episode talks to Chief Procurement Offers, leaders who do more than acquire goods and services, but who increasingly work across the business and hold a holistic perspective, exposed to everything from the bottom line to changing trade rules, innovations and shifting geopolitical contexts. They share methods they use to collaborate in new ways -- practices any leader can put to work to push climate action forward. In this episode: Rachael De Renzy Channer, Global Head of Sustainability, Egon Zehnder Andrea Fuder, Chief Procurement Officer, Volvo Group Björn Stenecker, Chief Procurement Officer, Vattenfall Dan Bartel, Chief Procurement Officer, Schneider Electric
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Davos 2024: A conversation with Diane von Fürstenberg
01/18/2024
Davos 2024: A conversation with Diane von Fürstenberg
Canadian-Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy interviews fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg about the designer's life and one-of-a-kind perspective. The spirited, wide-ranging conversation goes beyond the creation of the famous wrap dress and how Furstenburg built one of the world's most recognizable brands, to explore how these two strong female creatives open doors for others and navigate challenges in their industries. Recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 18, 2024. Watch the full session here: https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2024/sessions/wrapped-in-leadership
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Davos 2024: A conversation with Pat Gelsinger
01/18/2024
Davos 2024: A conversation with Pat Gelsinger
Intel Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger talks with World Economic Forum Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab in this wide ranging conversation on technology, leading edge semiconductor production and the trends shaping the year ahead. Recorded January 17, 2024. Watch the session here: ---- Check out all our podcasts on : - : - : - : - : Join the :
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Davos 2024: A conversation with Satya Nadella
01/17/2024
Davos 2024: A conversation with Satya Nadella
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella speaks to World Economic Forum Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab in a special wide ranging conversation covering how AI will transform science, new game-changing technologies that will drive progress, and more. This conversation was recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Recorded January 16, 2024. Watch the session here: https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2024/sessions/a-conversation-with-satya-nadella-and-klaus-schwab
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Lessons from Davos Leaders Ahead of Annual Meeting 2024
01/14/2024
Lessons from Davos Leaders Ahead of Annual Meeting 2024
How do the world's top leaders maximize their time to connect and build solutions to the world's biggest problems? This special highlight episode shares insights recorded at past Annual Meetings in Davos, Switzerland with a range of voices including CEOs, entrepreneurs, civil society leaders and an astronaut. They share the personal approaches they employ to listen effectively, build trust, strengthen collaborations, seek out new perspectives and ensure their leadership meets the moment. In this episode: Roy Jakobs, CEO, Royal Philips Priya Lakhani, CEO and Founder, Century Tech Alex Liu, Chairman, Kearney Matthias Maurer, astronaut, European Space Agency David Rubenstein, founder, Carlyle Group Achim Steiner, administrator, UNDP Ashleigh Streeter-Jones, founder, Raise Our Voice Australia
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This simple question helped Amazon teams get future ready: AWS AI and data chief
01/10/2024
This simple question helped Amazon teams get future ready: AWS AI and data chief
Swami Sivasubramanian’s first experience using a computer was in high school in India, where there was just one computer for the entire school. While each student could use the computer for just a few minutes a day, those few minutes sparked his lifelong passion for technology, one that led to his current role as VP of Data and AI at Amazon Web Services. It also drove home to him that any exposure to new technologies can be transformative. He talks to Meet the Leader about why it's critical to prioritize access to AI training for a range of ages and backgrounds, especially those in non-technical fields like HR or Marketing where new possibilities will be on the horizon. He also shares a slate of free AWS programming for cutting edge AI tools as well as guidance for leaders setting training priorities for the year ahead. He’ll also explain how he's changed as a leader and technologist since starting at Amazon as a mere intern and the key questions that can help teams get future ready, including one that helped teams at AWS maximize technologies like machine learning.
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13 leaders on the books that changed how they live, think and lead: 2023 Books Roundup
12/15/2023
13 leaders on the books that changed how they live, think and lead: 2023 Books Roundup
Want a book for that hard-to-shop-for person? Or a book to make you that much sharper in the year ahead? In this special collection episode, CEOs, startup founders and more share the books that have changed their minds, how they lead and even changed their careers. Their book picks include business classics, as well as surprising selections from histories, how-to books and the Bible. These recommendations helped this year's class of leaders better manage teams, their time and their energy, all while making critical shifts in their lives and mindsets. Interviewees include: Alyssa Auberger, CSO, Baker McKenzie Deborah Braide, E-Guide Didier Elzinga, Chief Executive Officer, Culture Amp Martine Ferland, Chief Executive Officer, Mercer Tiya Gordon, founder, It's Electric Fahd Jamaleddine, co-founder, Nafda Lebonan Cassandra Mao, Chief Strategy Officer, Halo Car Benjie de la Pena, Chief Executive OfficerShared Mobility Center Blake Scholl, Chief Executive Officer, Boom Supersonic Mitzi Short, CEO of New Season Coaching and Consulting Aaron Tartakovsky, Chief Executive Officer, Epic Cleantec Dylan Taylor, chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Voyager Space Angela Williams, Chief Executive Officer, United Way Worldwide Interviews in this episode were recorded at: Annual Meeting, Davos Switzerland; Sustainable Development Impact Summit, New York; Urban Transformation Summit, Detroit.
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Helping the unprecedented number of forcibly displaced
12/08/2023
Helping the unprecedented number of forcibly displaced
2023 saw an unprecedented number of forcibly displaced people worldwide - 110 million and counting - all thanks to climate calamities, conflict and more. Kelly Clements, the deputy high commissioner of the UN’s refugee agency shares the unique ways businesses around the world have stepped in to help tackle this problem, putting training in place to help refugees become economic drivers or even designing education solutions that help children in remote areas stay in school. She also shares what gives her hope, what keeps her up at night and the traits she depends on most to drive this work – insights that can help leaders of any stripe tackling complex challenges.
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Build cultures of accountability and integrity: Anti-corruption expert explains how
12/06/2023
Build cultures of accountability and integrity: Anti-corruption expert explains how
Demanding transparency and accountability aren't just the right things to do - they're key to tackling big global goals and rooting out things like corruption, self-dealing and undue influence. Ahead of International Anti-Corruption Day, we speak to Delia Ferreira Rubio, a lawyer, anti-corruption expert and the former long-time chair of global society organization Transparency International. She helps leaders look at the big picture to make things happen, sharing what’s needed to build cultures of integrity - and the risks that can emerge if key steps aren’t taken. Recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos in 2023
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How to negotiate: Ahead of COP28, a diplomat and politician shares her personal approach
11/30/2023
How to negotiate: Ahead of COP28, a diplomat and politician shares her personal approach
As the climate summit COP28 kicks off this week, and Egypt hands the summit baton to Dubai, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation discusses what any negotiation needs to be effective. In her role, Rania Al-Mashat helps drive economic diplomacy and she shares the phrases that can help build common ground, the personal traits that can forge perseverance and the mindsets that are key to make trust and action possible. This conversation, recorded during UN Week in New York this September, also explores some of the key priorities leaders will explore for climate action this year and what should be kept in mind to drive progress.
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2 executive coaches share how promotions really happen
11/22/2023
2 executive coaches share how promotions really happen
Executive coaches Mitzi Short and Lori Marcus share a tactical approach to careers and promotions to help women get their work noticed while eliminating gender bias in the workplace. These coaches, two of the 6 members of Band of Sisters (a group of former executives turned authors and speakers), discuss the the block and tackle of promotions: what experiences you must have on your CV for C-Suite roles; what development conversations you should be having with your boss (or your direct reports); and if you’re a male leader, how you can be a better sponsor across your organization to help position women and people of color for leadership positions and opportunity. Band of Sisters: https://thebandofsisters.com/ Excerpts from Band of Sisters' recent book “You Should Smile More” This stubborn barrier is widening the gap for women in leadership: How 'sponsors' can achieve gender parity in leadership: The 4 insidious phrases prevent the gender gap in leadership from closing:
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What an astronaut can teach leaders about collaboration and aiming high
11/10/2023
What an astronaut can teach leaders about collaboration and aiming high
Matthias Maurer, an astronaut for the European Space Agency, returned home from his first space mission in May 2022 after 177 days living and working on the International Space Station (ISS). There he helped to conduct more than 35 experiments benefiting biology and robotics and more - an experience that drove home for him the need to protect space and maximize its potential. He spoke with Meet The Leader at the Annual Meeting in Davos about his experience, sharing what’s needed for collaboration to balan
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More effectively manage change, fear, layoffs and more: One CEO's lessons learned
11/03/2023
More effectively manage change, fear, layoffs and more: One CEO's lessons learned
How can leaders best navigate layoffs -- and rebuild for the future? Melbourne-based software firm Culture Amp recently conducted research on this question -- and then unexpectedly faced cuts of its own. CEO Didier Elzinga shares insights from the research and his applied experience, including common myths, surprising findings, and strategies his firm used to recalibrate and reprioritize. He also shared the tough realities leaders must keep in mind during times of change as well as his thoughts on how leade
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Reach your changemakers: Arctic Basecamp's Gail Whiteman and Rainn Wilson
10/27/2023
Reach your changemakers: Arctic Basecamp's Gail Whiteman and Rainn Wilson
Melting arctic ice will have knock-on effects around the globe, impacting farms, homes, livelihoods and more. But making people care about melting ice or the Arctic - things most people will never see firsthand - can be almost impossible. Unless you get creative, that is. Arctic Basecamp (a group of arctic experts and scientists), has found a range of creative ways build awareness, including: a special basecamp during Davos (where visitors can learn the latest research by day and some spend the night lik
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Rally others to your cause: Former trial lawyer, Baptist minister (and current United Way CEO) explains how
10/19/2023
Rally others to your cause: Former trial lawyer, Baptist minister (and current United Way CEO) explains how
The first black female CEO of one of the largest privately-funded global non-profits discusses the experiences that helped her learn how to be a better advocate for others. These experiences range from a father who served in the NAACP tackling civil rights in 1960s South Carolina, to her own life journey serving as a trial lawyer, a Baptist minister and in the military during Operation Desert Storm. Angela Williams will explain what she’s learned about partnering and rallying others for a cause - and w
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Master these skills to build fast-moving, future-ready teams: Siemens CEO Roland Busch
10/12/2023
Master these skills to build fast-moving, future-ready teams: Siemens CEO Roland Busch
The digital transformation is shifting more than technology - it’s changing the skills workers will need, the mindsets required to tackle big challenges, and the nature of business itself. Roland Busch, Siemens CEO, shares how tech is reshaping Siemens and how reskilling will evolve, and how managers especially will need to empower teams for the changes ahead. He shares why more decisions should happen near the bottoms of organizations (to compete in a fast-changing world), the corners leaders will be tem
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Turning points and lessons learned: Meet The Leader's top leadership moments so far
10/05/2023
Turning points and lessons learned: Meet The Leader's top leadership moments so far
Trust time. Pick your moments. Find joy in doing. Know the future is not ordained. These are just some of the hard-won lessons learned that have guided the top minds in government, civil society, business on Meet the Leader. This 101st episode collects the program’s highlights, from Jane Goodall's run-in with a grumpy cabbie, to a moment that changed how Al Gore communicates, to a habit that Verizon’s CEO can’t work without. Dig in and take a tour though the one-of-a-kind insights, aha moments and
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How climate philanthropy can speed solutions and progress
09/21/2023
How climate philanthropy can speed solutions and progress
Helen Mountford is the president and CEO of ClimateWorks Foundation, a philanthropy platform that has granted more than a billion dollars to worthy projects and grantees in more than 50 countries since 2008. She’s a key partner in a World Economic Forum initiative that launched this year called GAEA - Giving to Amplify Earth Action - and she'll tell us why philanthropy can be a cr
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The surprising climate progress blindspot no team can overlook
09/12/2023
The surprising climate progress blindspot no team can overlook
More companies have set sustainability goals than ever. But many will struggle to meet those goals. Baker McKenzie's Alyssa Auberger shares insights from a special survey that reveals business leader worries and the blindspots that some might overlook. As the global law firm's first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer, she also shares her unique journey to the role -- from pianist to lawyer to her current position -- and how the discipline and creativity required in music shapes how she works even today. /episode/index/show/839e8316-85a0-463a-bc5f-7852c410c6c7/id/28747693
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How a space CEO and explorer approaches risk and navigates the unexpected
08/24/2023
How a space CEO and explorer approaches risk and navigates the unexpected
Dylan E. Taylor is the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Voyager Space, a space infrastructure company and one of the firms helping with efforts to replace the aging International Space Station. He and his team are working hard to ensure there’s no ‘space station gap’, all while getting the infrastructure in place so as many people as possible could one day live and work in space.
In this episode, he talks about why expanding access to space motivates him, how his own visit to
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This founder climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro after a big pivot - and learned a key lesson about patience and innovation
08/17/2023
This founder climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro after a big pivot - and learned a key lesson about patience and innovation
Trust time, make one thing better everyday and keep upgrading yourself. CEO Yuxiang Zhou shares the lessons he has learned in co-founding Black Lake Technologies and his journey to help digitise factories -- a too-often analog world where too many still depend on paper and pencil. It’s a trip through big ideas, big disappointments (including a failed startup), and the slow process of building back from the ground up. The World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer talked to Forum video producer Kateryna Go
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How innovation can tackle the food crisis: A biotech leader explains
08/10/2023
How innovation can tackle the food crisis: A biotech leader explains
How can something as simple as a seed help the world begin to make progress across big challenges such as protecting water, tackling climate change and even strengthening food security and opportunity? Ponsi Trivisvavet, the CEO of seed design company Inari, shares the innovations that are helping to protect the earth while tackling stubborn problems like hunger.
She also shares her leadership journey, the question she feels is key to strengthening any leader's resilience and the unique approac
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