Leadership Next

Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen have been co-leading global design and architecture firm Gensler for 18 years. Gensler has 53 locations and 6,500 designers distributed across the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Gensler has designed some high profile projects including airport additions like SFO's T2 terminal, office redesigns like the Marriott HQ in Bethesda, MD and sports stadiums like the New York Mets' Citi Field. Hoskins and Cohen believe great design is researched-based and responds to the crises and innovations transforming our world. In fact, they've written a book about the need for great design, entitled “Design for a Radically Changing World,” set to publish in February 2024.In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram chat with Hoskins and Cohen about the return to work trends revealed in Gensler's 2023 Workplace Report and how the design of office spaces should change to accommodate these trends. They also discuss the opportunities and challenges of converting empty office space into housing, the demand for sustainable design, and how they've been able to successfully navigate being co-CEOs for 18 years.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

Due to deep disruptions caused by global crises like Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine, the supply chain has been top of mind, and top of the media cycle, for more than three years. Even the most casual business news observers now have a basic knowledge of how the supply chain works, and how it breaks. But none of us are quite the expert that Dave Clark is. Clark is probably best known for his 23 year stint at Amazon. He joined Amazon in 1999 and is credited with building out its current logistics infrastructure and ended his tenure there as the CEO of Worldwide Consumer Business. He left Amazon in June 2022, and soon after he became the CEO of freight forwarder Flexport.In this episode of Leadership Next, Clark joins host Michal Lev-Ram to discuss his plan to transform Flexport from a freight forwarder into an end-to-end supply chain platform. He also reflects on how this moment in Flexport's history feels very similar to when he joined Amazon, and what elements of Amazon's culture he is bringing to Flexport- and which elements he isn't. Additionally, he shares his advice on building a team to lead the business you want, rather than the business you have. Clark also gives his take on the current state of the supply chain and what it means for this year's holiday shopping.Leadership next is powered by Deloitte.

The great crypto crash of 2022 was spectacular, to say the least. $2 trillion evaporated seemingly overnight. FTX collapsed. The price of Bitcoin fell to $18,000 in June 2022 just one year after it reached an all time high price of $69,000. The stablecoin company Circle was not also not spared. It lost half its valuation, had to delay going public, and was impacted by the SVB collapse. But things have turned around for Circle. It's USDC stablecoin regained its dollar peg in March and there is $26 billion of it in circulation.In today's episode of Leadership Next, Circle CEO and co-founder Jeremy Allaire joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to discuss how Circle, and the entire crypto industry, is pulling itself out of last year's wreckage. He compares the crypto crash of 2022 to the dot com bust of the late 90s and predicts that crypto will one day be as ubiquitous as the internet. Allaire also discusses the underlying value of crypto beyond being a speculative asset and how Circle's focus on stablecoins sets them apart. He also shares his take on the importance of the regulation of crytpo, both by the U.S. government and global bodies. Additionally, Allaire talks about the increasing role of traditional finance institutions in the crypto market and Circle's partnership with the UN to make USDC usable by Ukrainian refugeesLeadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

In 2021, the popular mediation app Headspace merged with the enterprise teletherapy provider Ginger. The merger created a $3 billion mental health care company that serves both enterprise and consumer customers. The company says it now serves 4,000 employers across 200 countries and that several million people actively use the Headspace app each month. Headspace Health is keenly interested in the growing need for mental health support in the work place. A May 2023 Headspace Health survey of over 4,000 workers found that 49% of respondents felt a sense of dread at work at least once a week. That number climbed to 59% for CEOs.In this episode of Leadership Next, Headspace CEO Russ Glass joins host Michal Lev-Ram to discuss how the provider's services can help address these dreadful feelings and why he thinks these feelings have persisted beyond the pandemic. He also talks about how the company's approach differs for its enterprise and consumer customers, and why those differences matter. Additionally, Glass shares what he thinks business gets wrong about mental health and offers his advice to leaders on how they can support their employees' mental health while also protecting their own. Glass also discusses how meditation changed his life and why he stepped back from his career for over a year to raise his three daughters.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

We are more than three years into a pandemic-altered way of working. Many companies have decided to stay fully remote or offer their employees hybrid work options, which means workers across the world have become very familiar with ever-present apps like Zoom and Slack. But there is a new remote work tool that claims to have identified the shortcomings of these existing applications, and promises to make hybrid work more efficient and connected- a tool that claims to cut down meeting times to an average of eight minutes and includes a digital floor plan to see whose in the office and who isn't. Founded by co-founder and former CEO of Yext Howard Lerman, Roam is a "cloud HQ" for distributed teams. Roam launched in November 2022 with $40 million in Series A funding and 40 initial corporate clients.In this episode of Leadership Next, Lerman joins host Michal Lev-Ram to discuss why he was inspired to start Roam. He also shares how Roam cuts down meeting times, makes communication between colleagues more seamless and how it differs from its competitors. Lev-Ram and Lerman also discuss employees' wariness of the surveillance implications of remote work tools like Roam. They also chat about why Lerman moved the company to Miami and his take on tech hubs outside Silicon Valley.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

Kara Nortman fell in love with women's soccer at the Women's World Cup in Vancouver in 2015. She promptly went out to buy a jersey to show her support ... and couldn't find one. She struggled to find a way to watch more women's games. And eventually, this led her to join other investors to bring a women's soccer team to her hometown of Los Angeles. The Angel City FC inaugural season was 2022. Then, in March of 2023 she - along with business partner Jasmine Robinson - launched the Monarch Collective. With an initial raise of $100 million, the fund invests in women's sports, from teams and leagues to adjacent revenue streams like media and gaming.Today on Leadership Next, Nortman tells hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram what prompted her to leave her long-time job as a tech investor and dive headfirst into the world of women's sports. She lays out the opportunity she sees and plainly states the challenges that accompany her work. Finally, she offers advice to anyone else who is considering making a big career move.

Fortune's 2023 Brainstorm Tech Conference took place over three days last week, and it was one of our buzziest conferences yet. CEOs, a former Vice President, investors, founders, journalists and entrepreneurs gathered in Park City, UT, our first year hosting BST in the "Silicon Slopes," to discuss what's happening in the tech industry.In this episode of Leadership Next, host Michal Lev-Ram is joined by guest co-host Deputy Tech Editor Alexei Oreskovic to recap the conference's highlights alongside its most controversial moments. We hear from four Utah-based CEOs on the advantages and challenges of doing business in the burgeoning tech hub. Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez and Keith Rabois of the Founders Fund also discuss how the political situation in Florida is affecting tech workers' inclination to relocate to the state. Lev-Ram recaps her conversation with former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann about what he learned from his experience as the embattled founder and leader of the co-working giant and about his new venture, Flow.Later in the episode, the hosts dig into the tech topic on everyone's mind- A.I. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei discusses the short term, medium term and long term risks of generative A.I. and Dr. Arati Prabhakar, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology, shares her thoughts on what a national strategy for A.I. regulation could look like. Then, Meredith Whittaker, the president of encrypted messaging app Signal, shares why it is imperative to address the privacy issues in tech and what Signal is doing about it.Finally, Vice President Al Gore shares his view of what is happening in green tech, his thoughts on President Biden's climate legislation and the potential technology has to save the planet.You can find more Fortune conference coverage here.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

When Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz took over the toymaker in 2018, he was the company's fourth CEO in four years. Mattel's internal culture was rigid and top down, and operating income was at a $343 million loss. Kreiz implemented cost saving and restructuring measures, which included laying off almost 2,000 people and closing five Mattel factories. In 2021, the company recorded $730 million in profit. Mattel is now betting big on using its beloved toy brands as IP in other media, starting with the much anticipated Barbie movie, in theaters on July 21st. Mattel currently has 14 films in various stages of production, each centering on an iconic toy like Hot Wheels and the Magic 8 Ball.In this episode of Leadership Next, Kreiz joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to talk about his experience of joining Mattel at one of the company's lowest points and his strategy for turning it around. He also explains why he thinks Mattel's toy brands hold so much promise as larger franchises beyond the toy aisle, so expect a lot of conversation about the Barbie movie. Kreiz talks about how he expects the movie to affect the perception of Barbie and what he thinks of Will Ferrell's portrayal of Mattel CEO. Additionally, he shares more about how his experience as a media exec prepared him for this role and Mattel's plans for more diverse and inclusive toys - and how he deals with political blowback for creating those toys.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

The changing public expectations for how corporations should honor Pride month has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride over the past decade. Pressure from both the public and from employees to support the LGBTQ+ community has been vocalized and well documented. That pressure was followed by some corporate missteps and accusations of pinkwashing, but this year’s corporate pride celebrations have been the most conflicted in recent memory.Right-wing backlash led Target to pull its Pride merchandise from stores and AB InBev to yank ads featuring a transgender influencer. Those companies have made a lot of headlines, but they are not alone in facing backlash and needing to figure out how to respond. These responses have impacted both the public perception of companies and their bottom lines.In this episode of Leadership Next, GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to discuss how the country's political atmosphere has impacted this year's Pride, and why it feels different from previous years. She shares advice and guidance for companies in supporting the LGBTQ+ community and explains what happens when CEOs listen to the needs and desires of both shareholders and stakeholders to guide these sorts of decisions. Ellis also talks more about GLAAD's transformation under her leadership from a media watchdog to a consultant and advisor to media, advertising, social media and business industries on representation and support of LGBTQ+ people.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.

Dave Calhoun took over as the CEO of Boeing in January 2020 in the midst of two major crises: the crash of two of Boeing's 737 Max aircrafts that led to the grounding of the fleet and an abysmal internal culture that was being discussed in the press and throughout the industry. Calhoun has led the company through a notable turnaround in the past three years, as reflected in the company's earnings and increased demand for its aircrafts. Boeing's Q1 earnings for 2023 grew 30% year over year.In this episode of Leadership Next, Calhoun joins hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram to discuss leading Boeing through a difficult and complicated period in its history. He shares what he chose to prioritize in his turnaround efforts and why, including initiating a safety overhaul for Boeing's aircrafts and emphasizing transparency throughout the company. He also discusses how supply chain issues are impacting Boeing and the aerospace industry at large in the face of unprecedented demand, along with his predictions for when the problem may resolve. Additionally, Calhoun shares how working with Jack Welch at G.E. influenced his leadership style, the needs of both Boeing's military and commercial arms, and producing more sustainable aircraft.Leadership Next is powered by Deloitte.