

SPEAK LIKE A CEO
Oliver Aust, founder of Speak Like a CEO Academy
Speak Like a CEO is the podcast for ambitious leaders who want to become top 1% communicators - and scale themselves and their businesses by mastering the ultimate leadership skill: communication.
Hosted by Oliver Aust - one of the world’s leading voices on leadership communication, bestselling author of Unignorable and Message Machine, and trusted advisor to Fortune 500 leaders, unicorn founders, and government leaders - this show pulls back the curtain on how the world’s most effective communicators think, speak, and lead.
Hosted by Oliver Aust - one of the world’s leading voices on leadership communication, bestselling author of Unignorable and Message Machine, and trusted advisor to Fortune 500 leaders, unicorn founders, and government leaders - this show pulls back the curtain on how the world’s most effective communicators think, speak, and lead.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 30, 2021 • 47min
#105 - Making the magic of personal branding happen, with Oliver Aust & Dawn Barson
“Personal branding is what people think or say about you when you’re not in the room. It makes sense to care for our reputation, in order to get the recognition that we deserve”, says Oliver Aust, leading European expert on personal branding.
Today, in this special episode of Speak Like A CEO, Oliver goes in depth about his philosophy around personal branding, with marketing expert Dawn Barson. Oliver tells us about the 4Ms of personal branding, taken straight from his Unignorable System – Mindset, Motivation, Message, Method. Giving us insights into golden rules of personal branding, he takes us on a journey to marketing ourselves in order to become truly unignorable.
Dawn Barson, who is a business mentor to coaches and 7-figure entrepreneur, gives us precious insights as well into business strategies, into the art of consistency, and in finding your niche.
They also exchange thoughts and feelings about their inspiring journeys as entrepreneurs, with all the right advice for aspiring CEOs and communicators.
Tune in to hear more specifically about:
How to move past your psychological barriers about personal branding
How to grow your audience with Oliver’s ACES system
How to keep your audience engaged in interested in your message
How Dawn helps fellow entrepreneurs reach their first 6 figures milestone.
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Did you enjoy this episode of SLACEO? Let us know what you think on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also email me at hello@oliveraust.com.
If you want to learn how to build an unignorable personal brand in 30 days, check out my latest book Unignorable on oliveraust.com.

Apr 23, 2021 • 29min
#104 - Building the #1 sports platform, with Andreas Kitzing
Athletes need sponsors, and sponsors need successful faces to link their names to. To bridge this mutual need, Andreas Kitzing founded Sponsoo – the current n°1 marketplace for sports sponsorships.
Sponsoo connects brands with athletes – from Olympic teams to local clubs, and takes care of over 5000 clubs and athletes. From football to e-sports, they have quickly established themselves as leaders in their domain.
Today, Andreas tells us about his journey, from doing his MBA at Cambridge to founding three start-ups. Having found the courage to disrupt a highly traditional industry, Andreas uses a range of strategies to differentiate himself and his company from the competition, from ‘f**k up nights’ to talk openly about failure to direct hustling in person with sportspeople. With a transparent communication style, an openness to feedback, and a humble attitude towards victory, Andreas is the sports entrepreneur to watch closely.
In this new episode of Speak Like A CEO, Andreas talks with Lena and Oliver talk about:
· Andreas’ strategy to lead Sponsoo to success
· Bringing data-driven strategies to a traditional industry
· Tackling the high market fragmentation of the sponsorship industry
· Using authenticity as a driving force in communications
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Did you enjoy this episode of SLACEO? Let us know what you think on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also email me at hello@oliveraust.com.
If you want to learn how to build an unignorable personal brand in 30 days, check out my latest book Unignorable on oliveraust.com.

Apr 16, 2021 • 39min
#103 - The art of peak performance with Gerrit McGowan
How do you get CEOs to open up about their emotions in order to thrive? How do you get young students to become successful entrepreneurs? Can you build a lasting legacy for a business? Gerrit McGowan has all the answers when it comes to helping founders become peak performers.
Gerrit McGowan has been an entrepreneur for 20 years and has helped countless CEOs with bringing the best out of themselves. From founding the Kula group to building the WHU Entrepreneurship Centre for young entrepreneurs, Gerrit McGowan is a multidisciplinary virtuoso. He is also the host of ‘The Most Awesome Founder’ podcast.
His second favourite thing, after building his own dreams, is to help others build theirs. He does so through research in optimal performance, blending in neuroscience and psychology. Brimming with passion for the human race, Gerrit McGowan is taking us on a journey into understanding how to improve humanity – one entrepreneur at a time.
In this new episode of Speak Like A CEO, Lena and Oliver to Gerrit about:
· How to help CEOs open up in order to help them thrive
· The biology and science behind storytelling
· Helping large networks of young entrepreneurs reach their dreams
· Communication in a more and more complex world.
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Did you enjoy this episode of SLACEO? Let us know what you think on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also email me at hello@oliveraust.com
If you want to learn how to build an unignorable personal brand in 30 days, check out my latest book Unignorable on oliveraust.com

Apr 9, 2021 • 28min
#102 - Selling 1 Million Litres of Vegan Milk, with Nicolas Hartmann
No-one wanted to invest in Vly. It was called a “mega flop”. Today, it is one of the fastest growing food start-ups in Europe.
Nicolas Hartmann is a dreamer. He quit his job at Bain to found his company, Vly, which sold over 1 million litres of their milk alternative in less than a year in supermarkets all over Germany. The secrets to his success? A milk full of protein, that doesn’t taste plant-based.
To bring this vision to life, Nicolas has adopted a scientific approach to nutrition. He believes that food, like tech, should be optimised. Using consumer habits as his main KPI, attending conferences where he presents new ideas to the food industry, and talking directly to supermarket owners, Nicolas is working with his team towards a healthier, more ethical future.
Because if 1 litre of a milk alternative can change someone’s habits, then what about 1 billion litres, the number Vly is working to sell in the future?
Tune in to hear about:
- The team’s appearance on Die Höhle der Löwen
- How start-ups can get into the media
- How Vly aims to target all lifestyles, from Berlin hipsters to traditional farmers
- How Nicolas and his co-founders use communications to preserve their harmony
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Did you enjoy this episode of SLACEO? Let us know what you think on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also email me at hello@oliveraust.com.
If you want to learn how to build an unignorable personal brand in 30 days, check out my latest book Unignorable on oliveraust.com.

Apr 1, 2021 • 31min
#101 - Changing humanity through tech, with Daniel Rebhorn
Will humans give up decision-making to machines by 2036? A utopian, or dystopian vision? Daniel Rebhorn, co-founder and Managing Director of Diconium thinks that it might not be the worst idea.
As the complexity of the world increases, technology could help humans make better decisions. Perhaps as a supporting function – unless decision-making ends up being fully handed to technology in a far future.
Daniel has been enthusiastic about the digital world since childhood, and programmed his first computer at thirteen. He recently wrote a book which focuses on how digitalisation could change humanity.
His company, Diconium, has accelerated the digitalisation of work for 25 years. This tech company is older than Google itself. Diconium handles every stage of the digital transformation – from forming strategies to managing and implementing them.
You need more than talent to create such a strong company, in an age of ever-accelerating innovation: you need vision. From designing the car of the future to protecting his employees’ mental health, Daniel Rebhorn is telling us all about it.
Tune in to hear more about:
🚘 How software is becoming the key to power up next-gen cars
🖥 How digitalisation is affecting ALL industries
👨🏾💻 How changes in tech affect human experience
🤔 What the future of humanity may look like in 2036
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Did you enjoy this episode of SLACEO? Let us know what you think on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also email me at hello@oliveraust.com.
If you want to learn how to build an unignorable personal brand in 30 days, check out my latest book Unignorable on oliveraust.com.

Mar 26, 2021 • 30min
#100 - Becoming CEO in the middle of a crisis with Nina Pütz
How do you steer a billion-euro company through the Covid crisis?
When Nina Pütz joined the fintech giant Ratepay as the new CEO, she knew that building human connections was going to be a challenge. Germany was going back into lockdown and she had to position herself at the head of one of Europe’s largest payment providers.
As the new leader of over 200 employees in Germany and Europe, this wasn’t an easy task. But Nina knew that effective internal and external communications were essential. Luckily she had a plan both to establish herself in the company and to help streamline operations…
“The key is to speak the language of your respective counterpart. Different people communicate differently. With the right amount of empathy and feeling, you can make this work very well – over video for example.”
Tune in to the latest episode of Speak Like a CEO where Nina shares her experiences and strategies with Oliver and Lena. They will be talking about:
🎨 The art of building meaningful relationships virtually
💪The secret to maintaining a strong company culture from the home office
🧑🏾💻Increasing team productivity in lockdown with new digital tools
👍About why giving employees more freedom leads to better performance
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Did you enjoy this episode of SLACEO? Let us know what you think on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also email me at hello@oliveraust.com.
If you want to learn how to build an unignorable personal brand in 30 days, check out my latest book Unignorable on oliveraust.com.

Mar 19, 2021 • 34min
#99 - Turning a newsletter into a 1 million strong community with Max Rofagha
How can you quickly grow an engaged community for your business?
Founder Maximilian Rofagha might just have the answer.
He’s the brains behind finimize, a fintech company which quickly grew from a bare-bones newsletter to a 1 million strong community.
In 2016 Max was looking to invest a chunk of cash. But he quickly realised that the world of finance was daunting – particularly for young people. So, he set out to build a platform which helps people invest independently and with confidence.
At the beginning finimize was just a newsletter. Then came small online events. And this quickly grew into one of the world’s most successful finance communities.
Have a listen to the latest episode of Speak Like a CEO if you’re interested in Max’s interview with Oliver and Lena. Expect to hear more about:
Strategies to quickly build an engaged community for your business
Working closely with your userbase to guide key business decisions
Developing an easy to understand and jargon free comms strategy
The best way to build consumer trust through open communications

Mar 12, 2021 • 28min
#98 - How tech is revolutionising medicine as we know it with Lina Behrens
For most of us, falling sick means a trip to the doctor.
Soon though this may no longer be the case.
The world of telemedicine is taking off and it’s now possible to get a diagnosis and prescription without getting up from your desk.
Digital medicine is well and truly taking off in 2021. And one of the companies working to accelerate this transition is Berlin-based Flying Health. Their team is fostering an ecosystem for next-gen healthcare, bringing together experts from medicine, science, entrepreneurship and tech. Working with startups and industry giants alike, they are driving the digital health revolution.
In this episode of Speak Like a CEO, Oliver and Lena are joined by Flying Health Managing Director, Lina Behrens. Along with looking after the business on a day to day business, she is a passionate advocate for female founders and gender equality, and advises the German government on these themes. Tune in to hear more about:
The importance of shaping the narrative around healthcare in the digital age
Using innovation and digital tools to support and enhance medical diagnoses
Establishing trust with clients and employees in a digital setting
How international experiences shaped Lina’s views on female empowerment

Mar 5, 2021 • 40min
#97 - How to win the fight against plastic waste with Boris Jebsen
Every year we produce almost 400 million tons of plastic.
According to some estimates as much as 50% of this is single-use.
And once this plastic ends up in the bin only 10% is recycled.
Entrepreneur Boris Jebsen realised that something has to change if we are to avoid irreversible damage to our planet. Having founded one of the largest tech conferences in the world, with a presence in 26 locations worldwide, he’s no stranger to single-use plastics. From packaging to disposable forks, he spent years watching waste pile up.
But he’d had enough of this throwaway culture. With his latest venture 1less, Boris is using smart technology to establish circular economies for events. The goal driving this: helping to minimise plastic waste in professional settings.
Does communicating around sustainability topics appeal to you? Want to hear about changing mindsets when working with slow-moving, traditional stakeholders? Tune in to the latest episode of Speak Like a CEO to hear Oliver, Lena and Boris discuss:
- Why businesses struggle with sustainability communications in 2021
- How 1less employs cutting-edge technology to reduce plastic waste
- Communicating to change mindsets around waste and recycling
- Building and scaling one of the largest tech conferences in the world
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Are you passionate about a topic that you want to make heard more strongly? A good way is to start is by building your personal brand. Become Unignorable and check out Olivers book offer including 4 bonuses to set you up for success at www.oliveraust.com/unignorable

Mar 4, 2021 • 7min
#96 - What is message-market fit and why is it so important? with Oliver Aust
Your message-market fit is determined by how appealing the messaging sounds to your customer.
If you are a founder, CEO or business leader you really want to nail this. With the right messaging, everything is made easier. It will attract the right people to your product, who want to be part of your journey and your brand.
To be successful in business you need both product-market fit and message-market fit. If your product is not selling, it could be down to two things:
#1 Your product or service isn’t good. People don’t like it and they just won’t buy it.
#2 Your message isn’t resonating with your audience.
Listen to the episode and learn more about Oliver's formula to ensure message-market fit.


