The Provocateurs

The economic case for climate-smart transformationKatie McGinty is the vice president and chief sustainability and external relations officer at Johnson Controls. In this episode she shares insights from her remarkable career spanning both public service – including as the first woman to chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality under President Clinton – and private sector leadership.Challenging the persistent myth that environmental initiatives harm the bottom line, Katie explains how sustainability and economic success are not opposing forces but complementary strategies, demonstrating through real-world examples how Johnson Controls achieves significant carbon reductions while generating substantial cost savings for clients.Key themes include:The importance of systems thinking in environmental solutions.How buildings can be transformed from climate problems to climate solutions.The power of technological innovation through efficiency, electrification, and digitalization. Drawing from her unique background in chemistry, policy, and business leadership, Katie illustrates how bringing diverse perspectives together catalyzes creativity and transforms environmental challenges into competitive advantages and economic opportunities. Sustainability, she contends, is becoming “strategy essential” for businesses.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

A sustainable systems scientist, Weslynne Ashton is professor of environmental management and sustainability at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where she also co-directs ID's Food Systems Action Lab.Here she discusses her work in industrial ecology and the circular economy, drawing from her experiences growing up in Trinidad. Weslynne argues that businesses need to adopt a more holistic view of value creation and regeneration, moving beyond purely financial metrics. Weslynne Ashton's research, teaching, and practice are oriented around transitioning socio-ecological systems to create more sustainable and regenerative business practices and emphasizes the importance of expanding beyond traditional views of capital to include eight different types: natural, human, financial, manufactured, social, political, cultural, and digital. But how do we get these multiple capitals onto the balance sheet of business? Find out more in this conversation with hosts Geoff Tuff and Des Dearlove.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

The 2024 Provocateurs series featured nine inspiring thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and business authors who challenged us to re-think conventional approaches to leadership and management. Neri Karra Sillaman shared her remarkable story from refugee to building a multi-million-dollar sustainable fashion brand; Marcus Collins explored the hidden power of cultural influence in consumer behaviour; Lisa McKnight revealed how she transformed Barbie into a cultural phenomenon and billion-dollar success; and Andrew Winston redefined the role of business to create a thriving “net positive world”. One of the key highlights of the 2024 series was recording live at New York Climate Week with Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, who delivered an emotional and unequivocal call to action to address the “moral vacuum” in global leadership. We must cultivate leaders, he says, who are equipped to embrace restorative, reparative, and regenerative practices and lead with purpose.We also learnt leadership lessons from Amy Chang on becoming an AI entrepreneur; Jeff Wetzler on leveraging the wisdom of the people around you; Dane Jensen on harnessing the positive power of pressure; and Atif Rafiq on driving innovation and digital transformation in traditional, legacy companies.In this episode, Steve Goldbach, Geoff Tuff, and Kulleni Gebreyes of Deloitte, join Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove of Thinkers50, to reflect on their key takeaways and thought-provoking insights from Provocateurs 2024.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Transforming BarbieExecutive vice president and chief brand officer of Mattel, Lisa McKnight is credited with leading the transformation of the Barbie brand. Under her leadership, Barbie became the number one global toy property in 2020 and 2021, and she redefined Barbie's global social mission with the launch of the Dream Gap Project in 2018, a multi-year initiative which has positively impacted over 25 million girls.In this conversation with Steve Goldbach, leader of Deloitte's sustainability practice in the US, and Des Dearlove, co-founder of Thinkers50, Lisa explains what drew her to the world of toys, why the Barbie brand had fallen out of touch with its market, and how she and her team tackled the challenge of making Barbie relevant again.Find out more about the importance of brands being consumer-centric and staying connected to culture, how Mattel overcame corporate reservations in the making of the Barbie movie, and why you need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable when making decisions.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Recorded Live at Climate Week, New YorkPaul Polman is a business leader, campaigner, and co-author (with Andrew Winston) of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive By Giving More Than They Take, a Financial Times Business Book of the Year. Together with Andrew, Paul is ranked #3 on the Thinkers50 Ranking. As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), Paul demonstrated that business can profit through purpose, delivering shareholder returns of 290% while the company consistently ranked 1st in the world for sustainability. Today he works across a range of organisations to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which he helped develop. In New York for the 2024 Climate Week, Paul sat down with Thinkers50 co-founder, Des Dearlove, and Steve Goldbach, head of Deloitte's Sustainability Practice in the US, to discuss how business can be a force for good, what it means to be ‘net positive,' and how to develop the next generation of leaders. He identified a fundamental moral vacuum in our current approach to global challenges and emphasised that addressing this void requires more than systemic reforms – it demands a profound transformation in how we think and lead. A new leadership mindset is called for, he argues; one that focuses on restorative, reparative, and regenerative practices and places cooperation above competition.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

The Courage to be Net PositiveAndrew Winston is one of the most widely read writers and thinkers on sustainable business. His books on sustainability strategy include Green to Gold, The Big Pivot, and most recently, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, which he co-authored with Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever.Andrew and Paul are ranked #3 in the Thinkers50 Ranking of top management thinkers and Net Positive featured on the Thinkers50 Best New Management Booklist in 2022.In this Provocateurs podcast, Andrew joins Thinkers50 co-founder, Des Dearlove, and Kulleni Gebreyes, Deloitte US Consulting Life Sciences and Healthcare Industry Leader and US Chief Equity Officer. They address how leaders can stand up for their social and environmental values and overcome resistance from within and without their organisation.How can a business become ‘net positive' – one that thrives and profits by solving the world's problems, not creating them? How do you align purpose and profit? Why are companies often expected to prove immediate ROI for sustainability initiatives and not others? Find out more about the prevalence of ‘green hushing,' the positive impact of collective courage, and how younger millennials are driving change in corporate behaviour.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Atif Rafiq: Digital DisruptorProvocateur of the C-Suite, Atif Rafiq has been disrupting companies for more than 25 years in Silicon Valley, the Fortune 500, and through a variety of his own startups. Having begun his career in digital native companies including AOL, Yahoo, and Amazon, Atif was named the first chief digital officer in the history of the Fortune 500 when he took on that role for McDonald's in 2013. He has overseen thousands of employees as a global P&L transformation and innovation leader in multiple companies and industries.Today, over a half million people follow Atif's ideas about management and leadership on LinkedIn, where he is a Top Voice, and his newsletter, Re:Wire, has attracted over 100,000 subscribers. Atif's 2023 book, Decision Sprint: The New Way to Innovate into the Unknown and Move from Strategy to Action, is a Wall Street Journal bestseller. In this podcast, Atif talks with Geoff Tuff of Deloitte and Des Dearlove of Thinkers50 about the accidental metamorphoses along his career path and his latest venture and software tool, Ritual. He also discusses how to bring digital transformation to a traditional bricks-and-mortar business, and his methodical approach to innovation, which involves giving teams space for exploration, multiple input meetings before output, and the leader as calibrator rather than controller.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Decoding the Power of PressureHow can we harness the positive powers of pressure? How can we mitigate the negative effects of pressure when the stakes are high?Dane Jensen is the CEO of Third Factor, an instructor at Queen's University and the University of North Carolina, and author of The Power of Pressure. In this podcast with Deloitte's Geoff Tuff and Thinkers50's Stuart Crainer, he explains that pressure is a function of three things: importance – how much the outcome matters to you; uncertainty – lack of surety about the eventual result; and volume – how many high-stakes situations you face.Although pressure can be hugely destructive and lead to anxiety and burnout, Dane argues that it can also be hugely elevating. Being an emotional energy, pressure can be harnessed for peak performance. There are more world records set at the Olympic Games – one of the most pressure-packed environments – for example, than anywhere else in the world of sport. Listen to the podcast to find out the differences between pressure and stress, peak pressure and long-haul pressure, and the meaning of the ‘third factor.'This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

How to Tap into the Hidden Wisdom of the People Around YouWhy do people withhold information from each other? Why are some of the smartest, successful people the worst at learning from each other? Jeff Wetzler is on a quest to transform learning opportunities, both in business and in education. If we want to create a workforce for the future, with skills that cannot be replaced by AI, he explains, we have to do things differently not just within an organisation but at every stage of the education journey.Jeff is the former chief learning officer at Teach for America and is currently CEO of innovation organisation, Transcend. In his new book, Ask: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You, he outlines the origins and steps of his Ask Approach™ framework, starting with Curiosity.To find out more on how to improve the communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills needed to tackle global challenges, from climate change to inequality to polarisation, listen to this Provocateurs podcast. Here, Jeff is chatting with Steve Goldbach, Principal and Sustainability, Climate & Equity Leader at Deloitte, and Stuart Crainer, co-founder of Thinkers50.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Neri Karra Sillaman: From Refugee to Fashion Revolutionary At age 11, Neri Karra Sillaman's world was turned upside down when her Bulgarian-Turkish family was forced to flee their home country. Driven by a hunger for education and a better life, Neri grabbed an opportunity to study business management at the University of Miami, where she became interested in how businesses – in particular, businesses founded by immigrants – are created and sustained.She has subsequently become an expert in international and ethnic entrepreneurship, researching how the unique capabilities and mindset of immigrants create businesses that last. She received her doctorate from the University of Cambridge and her own 25-year-old leather accessories company, staffed by a workforce largely made up of people from disadvantaged backgrounds, has been recognised by B Corp as a social innovator.In this Provocateurs podcast, Neri chats with fellow immigrant Kulleni Gebreyes, the US Consulting Life Sciences and Health Care Industry Leader and US Chief Health Equity Officer at Deloitte, and Thinkers50 co-founder, Stuart Crainer. She explains how she ended up in the fashion industry almost by accident and reveals the secrets behind sustainable companies, from building a resilient workforce to “frying in your own oil.” Neri is a member of the Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2024, a professor of practice and entrepreneurship expert at the University of Oxford, and author of Fashion Entrepreneurship. This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Culture, Connections, and CommunityMarketer extraordinaire, Marcus Collins is a clinical professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. A former advertising executive who worked on iTunes + Nike sport music initiatives at Apple, Marcus contends that what we wear, what we eat, where we work, who we date, and just about every facet of our social living is informed by our underlying culture. And the primary goal of all industries is to “get people to move”, whether it is to buy, to click, to watch, vote, or subscribe.In this intriguing conversation with Steve Goldbach of Deloitte and Stuart Crainer of Thinkers50, Marcus discusses his latest book, For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, And Who We Want To Be, and explains that his work is really just about connections – “connecting things that are normally disparate, so they come together and create new and novel things.”He also describes how he came to lead digital strategy for Beyoncé, the influence of Émile Durkheim on his ideas, and the power of collective effervescence.Marcus is the recipient of the Thinkers50 2023 Radar Award and his book, For the Culture, features on Thinkers50 2023 Best New Management Booklist.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Amy Chang: Becoming An AI EntrepreneurAmy Chang serves on the board of directors for The Walt Disney Company and Procter & Gamble, and has previously served on the boards of Cisco, Splunk, Marqeta, and Informatica.In 2018, Amy's start-up business, Accompany, an AI/ML-based relationship intelligence platform serving Fortune 500 companies, was acquired by Cisco for $270 million. Post-acquisition, she led Cisco's multi-billion-dollar 6000-person Collaboration business.Prior to Accompany, Amy was at Google, where she led the teams for Google Analytics for over seven years, growing Google Analytics to serve over 86% of the entire web. She also fulfilled roles at eBay and McKinsey, having started her career in hardware with Intel, AMD, and Motorola.In this Provocateurs podcast with Des Dearlove from Thinkers50 and Steve Goldbach of Deloitte, Amy reveals what provoked her to leave the comfort zone of Google to start her own company. She shares her insights on leadership – as the founder CEO of a startup you need to be “the everything,” from plumber to custodian to cleaner – and explains the importance of culture, transparency, and hiring the right people.She also offers tips on becoming a new member to a board of directors, and the vital role of cardio exercise in taking care of your brain as well as your heart.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

What did we learn from our provocateurs in 2023? Who provoked us to think again and act differently? Which stories remain with us?The Provocateurs podcast series gives you direct access to the ideas, experiences, and insights of remarkable leaders from around the world. In 2023, in collaboration with Deloitte, Thinkers50 hosted an inspiring mix of guests in thought-provoking conversations.The topics that were discussed and debated ranged from The Inside Track on Growth with Tiffani Bova to Radical Candor with Kim Scott. Along the way we unpicked branding and the metaverse with Martin Lindstrom, learned how to play our cards right with Annie Duke, and normalised anxiety with Morra Aarons-Mele. Chip Bergh told us his story of rescuing Levi's, Shelley Zalis gave us the state of play on equality in the workplace, Jim Stengel dived into activating purpose, and we marched to a different drum with Sunny Bonnell and Rare Breeds.In this episode, Stuart Crainer, Des Dearlove, Steve Goldbach, and Geoff Tuff share some of their key take-aways from Provocateurs 2023 and introduce new co-host for 2024, Kulleni Gebreyes.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Rescuing Levi'sA self-declared ‘brand guy', Chip Bergh was appointed president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. in 2011. During his tenure the company has experienced a dramatic turnaround marked by outstanding performance and reclaiming its cultural relevance. In short, Levi's has become cool again! Along the way, Chip has shown himself to be a provocateur.  In this podcast with Des Dearlove, co-founder of Thinkers50 and Geoff Tuff, Principal of Deloitte Consulting LLP, Chip explains why his own Levi's have never seen the inside of a washing machine, how he galvanised the business community into pressing for  gun violence prevention legislation, and the importance of continuing the legacy of Levi Strauss: for business to make a difference in society.Chip also shares his insights on how he made the Levi's brand great again and kept it relevant for the fickle Gen Z market – without alienating the baby boomers like himself.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

 Rare Breeds – Marching To A Different Drum Leadership and brand expert Sunny Bonnell is the bestselling co-author of Rare Breed: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous, and Different (with Ashleigh Hansberger, 2019). Sunny and Ashleigh are also the creators of the Rare Breed Leadership Platform, and the hit YouTube show, Rare Breed TV. In this Provocateurs podcast with Thinkers50 co-founder, Des Dearlove, and Geoff Tuff of Deloitte, Sunny outlines seven unconventional traits displayed by ‘rare breeds' – traits that are traditionally seen as vices, such as being rebellious, audacious, emotional, and hot-blooded. However, she explains that if organisations can see these so-called weaknesses as strengths they can create the cultures that allow rare breeds to thrive – and unleash their potential powers for innovation. Sunny and Ashleigh founded their award-winning branding company Motto in 2005 with just $250, after dropping out of college together. Sunny is now the CEO and Chief Visionary of the company. This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

The author of New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, Kim Scott joins Steve Goldbach of Deloitte and Stuart Crainer of Thinkers50 to talk through the politics, practicalities, and purpose of feedback in the workplace. In this discussion, part of The Provocateurs podcast series, Kim explains how her two-by-two framework for radical candor can help create productive feedback by avoiding the two extremes of obnoxious aggression and ruinous sympathy. She also shares her insights on bias, prejudice, and bullying and offers actionable responses for each one that can help eliminate workplace injustice, paving the way for greater engagement, collaboration, and growth.As well as Radical Candor, Kim is also the author of Just Work: How to Root Out Bias, Prejudice, and Bullying to Build a Kick-Ass Culture of Inclusivity and three novels: Virtual Love, The Househusband, and The Measurement Problem. She was CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, and Twitter, and a member of the faculty at Apple University. Previously, she led AdSense, YouTube and DoubleClick teams at Google, managed a paediatric clinic in Kosovo, and started a diamond cutting factory in Moscow during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Kim is co-founder of executive education company, Radical Candor.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Author of The Anxious Achiever and Hiding in the Bathroom, Morra Aarons-Mele is also founder of the award-winning social impact agency Women Online. In this Provocateurs podcast episode, she joins Geoff Tuff of Deloitte and Stuart Crainer of Thinkers50 to set the record straight on normalising anxiety. Data shows that high achievers manage more anxiety and depression, and Morra explains how to rethink the relationship between mental health and success. She describes anxiety as a spectrum, where at one end it can be quite debilitating and at the other, it's a nervous but motivating energy. Having learned how to manage her own mental health through a career in digital marketing, politics, consulting, and more recently running her own business, Morra set out to learn the stories of other leaders who manage anxiety and depression. Her own podcast, The Anxious Achiever, for LinkedIn Presents, won the 2023 Media Award from Mental Health America, was a 2020 Webby Awards Honoree, 2022 “Best Commute Podcast” Signal Award winner, and is frequently a top 10 management podcast and top 50 business podcast. This podcast episode discusses mental health conditions including anxiety and depression. If you experience any personal mental health concerns, please consult a doctor, mental health professional, or seek help from a recognised mental health organisation. ------Terms in this podcastVUCA: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and AmbiguityThis podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Former professional poker player Annie Duke is a master of decision making. In this Provocateurs podcast, hosted by Stuart Crainer of Thinkers50 and Steve Goldbach of Deloitte, she challenges us to examine our own biases and self-narratives to focus on the things we can control, in order to make better choices. By sharing practical insights and strategies for improving decision making and developing resilience, Annie emphasises the importance of analysing decisions objectively, rather than relying on the outcome to determine their quality.The author of Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away, released in 2022, and national bestseller Thinking in Bets, Annie draws on her experience as a poker player to demonstrate that by re-evaluating our approaches to quitting we can re-think the way we make decisions in business and in life.Annie is a special partner focused on decision science at First Round Capital Partners, a seed stage venture fund. She is also the co-founder of the Alliance for Decision Education, a nonprofit whose mission is to improve lives by empowering students through decision skills education.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Self-confessed contrarian thinker and provocateur since childhood, Martin Lindstrom is an international branding expert and one of the world's leading authorities on the metaverse. Here he joins Geoff Tuff of Deloitte and Des Dearlove of Thinkers50 in a fascinating conversation about branding as an emotional construct, the power of small data, and lying on a bed of Lego.In the 1990s, Lindstrom pioneered how to build brands on the internet and has since coined terms such as clicks & mortar, contextual marketing, and texting. He has published eight New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including Buyology (2008), Small Data (2017), and The Ministry of Common Sense (2021).In 2022, Lindstrom launched the “Engineering our Dreams” project – a $22,000,000 metaverse experiment, with the multi-pronged purposes of understanding human behavior, the role of businesses, brands, work environments, and ethical standards in virtual worlds. Co-founder of several multi-billion-dollar startups, including YellowPages.com and Hitwise, Lindstrom is a Thinkers50 Ranked Thinker, listed by TIME magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people, and named by LinkedIn as 2021's most influential business thinker in the USA. He is the founder and chairman of Lindstrom Company.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Shelley Zalis is a pioneer for online research, becoming the first female chief executive ranked in the research industry's top 25, and today she works with Fortune 500 companies, impact organizations, and conscious leaders to advance equality in the workplace. And she mentors women all over the world. Shelley is the CEO of The Female Quotient, an equality services company that creates platforms for women and solutions for organizations committed to closing the gender gap in the workplace. Its signature Equality Lounge is now a stand-out feature at key industry conferences around the globe.In this compelling conversation with Deloitte's chief growth officer Stacy Janiak and Stuart Crainer of Thinkers50, Shelley Zalis talks about the origins of The Female Quotient and the state of play in achieving workplace equality.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Jim Stengel is the President and CEO of The Jim Stengel Company, which works to build brands and companies by activating their purpose. He has authored the books ‘Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies' as well as ‘Unleashing the Innovators: How Mature Companies Find New Life with Startups.' He is also a speaker with the Washington Speakers Bureau, the host of The CMO Podcast, and serves as Dean of the Young Marketers Academy at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.Jim is the former Global Marketing Officer of Procter & Gamble, the largest marketer in the world, and is known for having personally led the transformation that has firmly established P&G as one of the most admired brand-building companies in the world under the mantra that an activated purpose is what inspires, motivates, and retains employees and customers.In this conversation with Chief Growth Officer at Deloitte, Stacy Janiak, and Thinkers50 co-founder, Des Dearlove, Jim dives into activating purpose, staying curious, asking the right questions, and understanding implicit biases in the room. This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Tiffani Bova: The Inside Track on Growth Tiffani Bova is the global growth evangelist at Salesforce and the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller GROWTH IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make or Break Your Business. Tiffani is a true change maker whose thought-provoking and forward-thinking insights have brought her international attention. She also hosts her own excellent podcast What's Next!Prior to working with Salesforce, she was a sales, marketing, and customer service executive for startups as well as Fortune 500 companies. After her success in the corporate world, she was also a Distinguished Analyst and Research Fellow with Gartner for many years. In this conversation with Steve Goldbach and Stuart Crainer, Tiffani tells the compelling story of the development of her insights, ranging all the way from running E. K. Fernandez Shows to her time at Salesforce. She also spills exclusive nuggets from her forthcoming book, always with a keen eye on weighing both consumer and employee satisfaction and experiences. This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Stuart Crainer, Des Dearlove, Steve Goldbach, Stacy Janice and Geoff Tuff marshall their thoughts and make sense of our podcast episodes from the year. What have they learned? What has surprised them? Which guests really made them re-think and re-set?  There are plenty of inspiring stories to choose from. We have had some amazing guests: Valerie Rainford, who has championed talent and diversity in the banking world and now for her own company; Debbie Bial, the founder and president of the Posse Foundation; the board member, author, and now member of the UK's House of Lords, Dambisa Moyo; the former CEO of Best Buy, and author of the Heart of Business, Hubert Joly; the trailblazer for Leading for Girls, Julie Carrier; Nobel Laureate, Bob Lefkowitz; astronaut, Charlie Camarda; the Dutch entrepreneur and pioneer of new ways of working, Tom van der Lubbe and the author of The Quit Alternative, Ben Fanning. In this special episode the Provocateurs hosts share their memories, insights and conclusions. And the results are as inspiring as the people who inspired them.  Listen to learn more about flipping failure for learning, the virtues of transparency, humility's role in leadership and how to really maximize diversity in teams. Be provoked!This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

What is peanut butter and jelly leadership? And why does every business leader need a podcast? Ben Fanning is the host of the top ranked Lead the Team podcast, where he interviews world-class CEOs about their everyday success strategies that can apply to businesses of 1 to 100,000. In this fascinating episode, Ben, who is also a professional speaker, #1 bestselling author, and corporate trainer, explains the unique power of podcasts to communicate a leader's authentic self. By showing vulnerability and intent, podcasts allow the leader to get the ear of followers in a new and exciting way that is ideally suited to today's challenges. Listen and learn.Check out Ben Fanning's podcast Lead the Team: https://www.benfanning.com/blog/ This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Tom van der Lubbe is the visionary and inspirational co-founder of Viisi, a Dutch financial services company that offers customized mortgage solutions. Founded in 2010 at the height of the financial crisis, Viisi is a remarkable company.  Its purpose is to change the world of finance, to make the industry better, more sustainable and more focused on the long term. Its open and transparent organization is part of Tom's mission to leave the world a better place. Radical and disruptive, Viisi's management and organization challenge the basics of how companies are traditionally run.  In a captivating and challenging conversation with Stuart Crainer (Thinkers50) and Geoff Tuff (Deloitte), Tom van der Lubbe recounts his entrepreneurial adventure and his drive to re-think why things are done the way they are done in organizations.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

It isn't every day you get to meet a real-life astronaut! Dr Charles Camarda – (Charlie to his friends) was selected as an Astronaut Candidate in 1996 and flew as a Mission Specialist on STS-114, NASA's Return-to-Flight mission immediately following the Columbia disaster of 2003, which claimed the lives of its seven crew. He was responsible for initiating several teams to successfully diagnose the cause of the Columbia tragedy and developing an in-orbit repair capability, used on successive Shuttle missions until the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. As well as being an Astronaut, Charlie is a research engineer, inventor, author, educator, and internationally recognized expert and speaker on engineering design, safety, organizational behavior, and education. He has over 60 technical publications, holds 9 patents, and over 20 national and international awards. He was inducted into the Air and Space Cradle of Aviation Museum's Hall of Fame in 2017. This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Trained at Columbia, the National Institute of Health and Harvard before joining the faculty at Duke University in 1973, Bob Lefkowitz is a Nobel Prize winning scientist who is best known for showing how adrenaline works via stimulation of specific receptors. He is also a cardiologist and the author of the memoir, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm: The Adrenaline Fueled Adventures of an Accidental Scientist. In this wide ranging conversation with Deloitte's Steve Goldbach and Stuart Crainer of Thinkers50, Bob Lefkowitz looks back on his amazing career and the lessons he has learned along the way.  Filled with inspiring anecdotes, this episode travels far and wide featuring the inside take on mentoring, how to lead brilliant people, the power of enthusiasm and storytelling, the role of humour and how a refusal to be compartmentalized led eventually to a Nobel Prize for research which has touched the lives of tens of millions of people worldwide.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Julie Carrier is a trailblazer in the field of young women's leadership. The CEO of Girls Lead Worldwide and founder of The Leadership Development Institute for Young Women, she researches and brings evidence-based, applied-neuroscience leadership coaching and development to girls and young women in high school through a set curriculum. Shortlisted for the Thinkers50 Coaching and Mentoring Award in 2021, Julie is recognised as the ‘World's #1 Coach for Young Women' by Marshall Goldsmith and is a former Pentagon Senior Management Consultant in Leadership. She is the author of the US national bestseller Girls Lead.In this episode, we hear about Julie's provocative work – not only from herself, but also from special guests: president of St. Ursula Academy in Toledo, Ohio, Mary Werner, and student representative, Ella Stoll, who shed a light on the impact it has made.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Hubert Joly has been described as ‘a visionary', and ‘one of the most gifted leaders of our time.' As CEO of the electrical retailer Best Buy, Joly led a turnaround that Amazon's Jeff Bezos described as ‘…remarkable – a case study that should be taught in business schools around the world.'  Now a lecturer at Harvard Business School and a member of the board of directors of Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren, Joly's book The Heart of Business is a playbook for leaders who are ready to abandon old paradigms and lead with a noble purpose. In it, Joly agitates for business to commit to diversity and inclusion to ‘unleash human magic'. In 2021, it earned him the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Award for Leadership.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

The Posse Foundation identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential and places them in supportive, multi-cultural teams.  Since 1989, Posse's partner colleges have awarded $1.6 billion in scholarships and more than 10,000 scholars have so far been selected.  Posse scholars graduate at a rate of 90 percent.  Deborah Bial is the president and founder of Posse.  In conversation with Deloitte's Stacy Janiak and Stuart Crainer of Thinkers50, Debbie shares insights from her remarkable story of running with a powerful idea when aged just 23 and turning it into a Foundation which makes an enduring impact on peoples' lives—and the world.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Dambisa Moyo is a true pioneer.  Zambian-born, she serves on the global corporate boards of the 3M Corporation, Chevron, and Condé Nast.  Her compelling combination of contrarian thinking with measured judgment, plus a uniquely wide ranging curiosity, can be seen in her succession of bestselling books: Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth and How to Fix It, Winner Take All: China's Race for Resources and What it Means for the World, How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly and the Stark Choices Ahead and Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa. Most recently Dambisa is the author of How Boards Work And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World.  In this inspiring conversation with Stuart Crainer of Thinkers50 and Deloitte's CSO Steven Goldbach, Dambisa maps out her world view, the rise and recognition of global talent, the realities of life in the boardroom, and the importance of seeking out wisdom from the older generation; truly thought-provoking.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Valerie Rainford: Passion Plus PurposeIf passion and purpose are the currency of business, then Valerie Rainford has a lifetime of wealth from which to draw. Now, the founder and CEO of Elloree Talent Strategies, she is author of the award-winning memoir Until the Brighter Tomorrow: One Woman's Courageous Climb from the Projects to the Podium. Her remarkable career is loaded with firsts: the youngest officer promoted in the history of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the most senior black woman and the first black woman Senior Vice President at JPMorgan Chase & Co. where she created and led the company's global Advancing Black Leaders strategy which helped increase black leadership by over 50% in less than three years.In this remarkable conversation with Stuart Crainer of Thinkers50 and Geoff Tuff of Deloitte, Valerie charts her rise from being the child of sharecroppers to success in the corporate world. ‘Especially early in my career, I didn't know what I was capable of. I didn't have any role models to help me. So, I think that combination of being observant—asking what's happening with other people, asking what are they seeing?—and then someone saying, "You could do that", has been hugely successful for me,' says Valerie as she shares the remarkable and inspiring story of her life and career.  This is the first interview in the Provocateurs podcast series of conversations with remarkable people. This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

The Provocateurs, a collaboration between Thinkers50 and Deloitte, is a new podcast series profiling the world's boldest leaders and the moves they make. These are people who have accomplished incredible things by ‘provoking' the future they desire – in business and for society overall. Often overcoming human biases and acting with imperfect data along the way, each episode will profile a single provocateur and their story.  In this inaugural episode, we will introduce our five hosts and what you can expect from the series. Our second episode will feature the provocateur Valerie Rainford, the founder of Elloree Talent Strategies and former senior executive of JPMC and the Federal Reserve.  Join us for the beginning of this journey to inspire leaders everywhere to build conviction to act and #DoSomething!This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.