Redefiners

As a youngster struggling through grade school, it was hard to imagine Feike Sijbesma would go on to be the formidable leader he is today. But, after a slow start, Feike found success in school and life through hard work, determination, and a desire to make the world better. Feike left his mark in business by transforming Royal DSM (a multinational corporation with tens of thousands of employees) from a bulk chemicals company to a leader in nutrition, health and biosciences. Now, he’s leaving his mark on the world by bringing equity and food security to some of the poorest people on the planet.  In this episode of Redefiners, Feike shares how his admiration of Charles Darwin inspired his belief in the power of adaptability. From funerals for failed ideas to a belief in doing good in the world, don’t miss this conversation with Feike Sijbesma.   To read our report, How CEO Commitment Affects Sustainability Integration, as discussed by RRA Managing Director Sarah Galloway, click here.   If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:  

The board director role is one of the most coveted roles in business. But how do you land your first board seat? And what is life really like when you get there? We invited RRA leadership advisors Alvin Chiang and Anupama Puranik into the Leadership Lounge to share why a board role isn’t just something you should think about once you’ve already made it. Gone are the days when boards are only populated with ex-CEOs, CFOs or other senior leaders. As new issues emerge at breakneck speed—sustainability, DE&I, digital transformation, economic volatility, and geopolitical tensions—boards need diversity of thought more than ever before. Leaders who can help boards steer confidently into the unknown are now in high demand. As Alvin Chiang makes clear: Being a board director is no longer just about stopping the ship from sinking. It’s about making sure there’s a strategy for sailing your boat and crew from point A to point B. Tune in to discover more about what sets great board directors apart—and how to land your first board role (and stay there). 

The Leadership Lounge is a new Redefiners spin-off podcast providing real-world learnings on enduring leadership issues. Host Emma Combe, Board and CEO Advisor in the Russell Reynolds Associates London office, brings her expertise and insight to a range of topics including, how to secure your first board role, how to recover from failure, lessons on avoiding the pitfalls of new leadership, and how to really prepare for an executive interview. Emma puts listeners’ most pressing questions to RRA’s global team of leaders who are on the ground, every day, working with clients and gaining insights that you will not find on any other podcast. 

Ram Charan is a world-renowned business advisor who has been called the most influential consultant alive by Fortune magazine. He started his business education as a child in his family’s shoe shop, where holidays and weekends did not mean a day off. He’s taken that knowledge and work ethic far beyond the borders of his small village in India. Ram’s intellect caught the eye of Harvard Business School and eventually led to a career in academia. But his thirst for knowledge and action couldn’t be confined to the classroom. Ram set out on his own, where his business acumen and ability to whittle any problem down to an actionable task list earned him a seat at the table of some of the biggest corporations in the world. He has advised global companies such as Toyota, Bank of America, and Novartis, helping them cut through complexities in order to focus on core business problems. Ram has also authored and co-authored over 30 books- including four Wall Street Journal bestsellers.  In this episode we manage to get Ram, the constant world traveler, to stop for 30 minutes and share his insights. Hosts Clarke Murphy and Nanaz Mohtashami chat with Ram about his coaching style and why EQ and LQ are often more important than IQ. From sports analogies to business anecdotes, listen in as Ram shares his expertise on how to turn advice into action. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:   How the Barely Possible Can Overcome the Barely Solvable with First Mode’s Chris Voorhees  Leadership Reimagined: Transformation Tips from Jim Hagemann Snabe  Private Investme

Emily Chang is a master bridge builder – and it’s made her a wildly successful leader in the US and in Asia. As the former CEO of McCann Worldgroup China, she bridged US and Chinese cultures to establish brands that are thriving, global, and remarkably agile. We’ll talk about the differences between the two markets, and how brands can succeed in the notoriously challenging Chinese market. We’ll also talk about another kind of bridge—between people—and how Emily literally opens her home to those in need and how that led her to the concept of social legacy, the topic of her bestselling book Spare Room. We’ll also talk about capacity and how to take control of your time – perhaps the most valuable commodity of all. There’s a lot to learn from this leader who, prior to McCann, was a top exec at Starbucks China, InterContinental Hotels Group China, Procter & Gamble, and Apple.  If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:  From Burnout to Performance: Creating a Culture of Resiliency  Unreasonable Hospitality: Will Guidara’s Recipe for Greatness  Thriving Through Adversity: How WTO’s Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is Solving Global Problems  From Server to COO: Kat Cole’s Journey to the Top 

Kat Cole went from restaurant server to VP within seven years. Forging her own path is something that’s built into Kat’s DNA. The first person in her family to be admitted to college, she had the vision and courage to drop out in order to follow bigger opportunities. The risk paid off. Kat Cole saved Cinnabon from the ashes of a post-recession economy and went on to a leading role at the parent company overseeing 7000 operations and over $1billion in annual sales. Always choosing opportunities based on her passions and ability to make change, Kat is now President and COO at Athletic Greens.   In this episode of Redefiners, Kat spells out her formula for success which centers around three key things: ask, answer, and act. From salary negotiations to navigating the unknown waters of operating through a pandemic, listen in as Kat tells her story of working through what seem like incapacitating difficulties with enthusiasm, refreshing honesty and wit.        Clarke Murphy is joined by guest host Jenna Fisher, a managing director in Russell Reynolds Associates’ Palo Alto office and author of To the Top: How Women in Corporate Leadership are Rewriting the Rules for Success.    If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:   Unreasonable Hospitality: Will Guidara’s Recipe for Greatness  From Gillette to Jamba Juice: How to Lead Iconic Brands with Empathy, Purpose & Integrity  Digital Transformation and the Power of Listening with Microsoft’s Jacky Wright 

Chris Voorhees built his career on solving massive challenges on Earth and in space. He’s Co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer of First Mode, a creative engineering company developing carbon reduction and clean energy solutions for heavy industry. Before that, he was an award-winning NASA engineer with integral roles on three Mars rover projects – Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. We talk with Chris about his fearless approach to problems, how he builds teams and culture, and how creativity and curiosity have enabled him to find solutions to the nearly unsolvable, from outer space to sustainability. It’s 30 minutes that will shift your thinking in how you approach problem solving and how you define “impossible.”   If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiner episodes:  Daring to Build a More Sustainable World with Kate Brandt and Sophia Mendelsohn  Feeding the World and Protecting the Planet with Yara International CEO Svein Tore Holsether  Trust Your Gut: AXA’s Thomas Buberl Talks Transformation and Reinvention 

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala thrives on challenge. As the first woman and first African to serve as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi is responsible for negotiating seemingly impossible deals on global finance, trade, sustainability, and social welfare. We talk with her about her sense of purpose, values, and her firm belief in the power of trade to lift developing countries out of poverty and help them to achieve economic growth and sustainable development. We’ll also discuss another key leadership attribute: courage – in Dr. Ngozi’s case, growing up in war-torn Nigeria, taking on some of the world’s most consequential roles in the public sector, and persevering in her cause even when her mother’s kidnappers demanded Dr. Ngozi resign. This is a conversation about resolve, duty, and embracing risk you won’t want to miss.  If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these other Redefiners episodes: Daring to Build a More Sustainable World with Kate Brandt and Sophia Mendelsohn Power, Politics and Purpose: Leadership Lessons with Former PM of Australia Julia Gillard Risk-taking and Dealmaking with Global MedTech Leader, Kevin Lobo

When you run one of the top 50 restaurants in the world, your business is operating at near perfection. But in order to become the best, Will Guidara knew he’d have to redefine hospitality. Will is the former owner of Make it Nice, the hospitality group with restaurants covering the spectrum from fine dining to fast casual, including the acclaimed Eleven Madison Park, NoMad in New York, London, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and Davies and Brook at Claridge's hotel in London. Knowing his true passion lies in making people happy, Will opted to be unreasonable in his approach to service and hospitality, leading to Eleven Park Madison being named the best restaurant in the world in 2017 and the writing of his first book, Unreasonable Hospitality (Penguin Random House).  In this episode of Redefiners, Will discusses not only how to go above and beyond for customers, but how to inspire and support a team to do the same. Will’s unique perspective on hospitality can be applied across industries. From the benefits of starting at the bottom, to setting expectations for feedback, to building a culture of excellence, listen in as one of the restaurant industry’s great leaders shares his ascent to the top.    If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:    From Gillette to Jamba Juice: How to Lead Iconic Brands with Empathy, Purpose & Integrity  From Harvard to Hollywood: A Conversation with Debra Martin Chase  The Power of Art and the Art of Power with Henry Timms 

Like many of us, Svein Tore Holsether is a leader under pressure. Svein is CEO of Yara International, the world’s leading crop nutrition company with operations in more than 60 countries. Yara’s mission is to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet at the same time – no simple task given the current food and energy crises impacting Europe and other parts of the world.  In this episode, Svein shares how and why he radically reoriented Yara’s mission to make purpose and sustainability paramount in their ambition to grow a nature-positive food future. He talks about why trust is so critical when it comes to sustainability, climate change, and achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. And he also talks about the revenue opportunities that comes with sustainability and how it can be the driver of a business’s success. It’s a conversation about turning pressure into purpose and influence into action.  If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiner episodes:  Leadership Reimagined: Transformation Tips from Jim Hagemann Snabe   Daring to Build a More Sustainable World with Kate Brandt and Sophia Mendelsohn  Trust Your Gut: AXA’s Thomas Buberl Talks Transformation and Reinvention  Thriving Through Adversity: How WTO’s Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is Solving Global Problems