BNP Asset Management CEO: Making Mistakes is a Law of Nature

Sandro Pierri had no clue what mutual funds were when he first ventured into the world of finance. Today, the boy who grew up in a small Italian village sits at the helm of BNP Paribas Asset Management, overseeing half a trillion euros. He credits people always taking a bet on him early on in his c…

John Chambers: Former Cisco Chief on Leadership Lessons from a Child

A legend in the tech industry, the former CISCO CEO reveals why a chat with a young girl at a work function turned out to be a pivotal moment in his professional and personal life. In this candid and informal chat, John talks about disruption, dyslexia and why he’s always motivated to do the right …

Julia Hartz: Eventbrite CEO on Activating Her Mamma Bear

At the start of the pandemic, Julia Hartz realized she might lose everything she had spent 14 years building. So the co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite activated her mamma bear. She got fierce. She moved fast. And she kept the live events platform alive. In this episode, Julia Hartz talks about how s…

Bobbi Brown's Second Act: A Clean Makeup Brand That's Distinctly Bobbi

More than 30 years ago, a new mom, tinkered with creating lipsticks from her bedroom in a New York City suburb, found a chemist who manufactured it for her and they split the $15 earned per tube, evenly. So it began Bobbi Brown’s journey that made her a global, household name. Bobbi sold her compan…

CFA’s CEO on The World’s Toughest Exam and More

In the early days of her career, Marg Franklin took the formidable CFA exam. It didn’t go according to plan. An exhausted new mother, she dozed off, only to wake up two hours later. Eventually, she passed it and today, she’s the first woman to be the President & CEO of this 75-year-old institution.…

One Night in a Manila Slum Sparked a Global Movement

When Hugh Evans was 14, he spent one night in a Manila slum as part of a school trip. Surrounded by crawling cockroaches and rancid garbage, he tossed and turned while his host, a local boy, slept soundly. Hugh realized the only reason the boy slept there, and not in his comfortable Melbourne home…

A Celebrity Chef in Earthquake-Ravaged Turkey

Hours after the earthquake that flattened parts of Turkey and Syria, celebrity chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, José Andrés turned up in Istanbul. Since then, he’s been driving to the worst-hit areas, collaborating with local restaurants to feed quake survivors. They are currently serving…

Sixty Thousand on the Waitlist: Why Women Are Flocking to This Club

Carolyn Childers grew up in a town so small it had no traffic lights. Now, the club she co-foundered - Chief - connects more than 20,000 women in business across the US and has 60,000 more on the waitlist. Chief opened its first overseas branch in the UK in January 2023. Childers explains what memb…

LL Bean’s Great Grandson and Company Chairman Takes us Inside the Outdoor Business

Over 100 years ago, L.L. Bean combined leather with rubber to create a unique shoe that would keep his feet warm when he went fishing. The result? The Maine Hunting Shoe, a functional, innovative boot that changed footwear forever. Today, his great grandson, Shawn Gorman is the Chairman of the fami…

Dropbox CEO: On Work, Guitars and Steve Jobs

Dropbox is best-known for its service that lets consumers easily sync files between computers. At least, that's how began 15 years ago. Today, it's a publicly-traded company worth more than $8 billion at the time of recording, with consumers and enterprise clients paying for cloud-storage in quanti…