Call them changemakers. Call them rule breakers. We call them Redefiners. And in this provocative podcast, we explore how daring leaders from across industries and around the globe are redefining their organizations—and themselves—to create extraordinary impact in today’s rapidly changing world.
In each episode, Russell Reynolds Associates Leadership Advisor Hoda Tahoun and former CEO Clarke Murphy host engaging, purposeful conversations with leaders in and out of the business world who share their insights and perspectives on how they lead, boldly. You’ll come away with fresh ideas and tangible takeaways on how you can redefine your own leadership trajectory – no matter where you are on your journey.
Our Hosts:
Clarke Murphy
Clarke Murphy is the former Chief Executive Officer of Russell Reynolds Associates and serves on the Board of Directors. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he was the Global Leader of the firm's CEO/Board Services Practice.
While at Russell Reynolds Associates, Clarke has conducted a number of significant projects in the industry, including Fortune 100 board searches and CEO successions. In addition, he has led notable searches in the private equity industry including searches for the Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus.
Hoda Tahoun
As a leadership advisor and leader of the global Leisure & Hospitality Practice at RRA, Hoda Tahoun identifies, assesses, and develops dynamic C-suite leaders for global hospitality, travel, and leisure companies. Based in Miami, Hoda helps clients solve their most pressing leadership issues at the CEO, C-suite, and other executive-levels. She also advises clients on customer-centric, go-to-market leadership roles such as chief marketing officers and chief experience officers. Hoda is committed to reshaping the hospitality and leisure landscape to ensure it is an industry that leads with purpose, value, and wellbeing and continues to attract and retain talent across all facets of diversity.
Hoda spent more than seven years working for a boutique executive search firm, rising to the title of principal where she worked closely with hotel management companies, cruise lines and private equity firms. Previously, Hoda was an assistant vice president at SHUAA Capital in Dubai where she led the firm’s investment banking efforts. She has also worked at American Express, Bank of America and Citi.
Call them changemakers. Call them rule breakers. We call them Redefiners. And in this provocative podcast, we explore how daring leaders from across industries and around the globe are redefining their organizations—and themselves—to create extraordinary impact in today’s rapidly changing world.
In each episode, Russell Reynolds Associates Leadership Advisor Hoda Tahoun and former CEO Clarke Murphy host engaging, purposeful conversations with leaders in and out of the business world who share their insights and perspectives on how they lead, boldly. You’ll come away with fresh ideas and tangible takeaways on how you can redefine your own leadership trajectory – no matter where you are on your journey.
Our Hosts:
Clarke Murphy
Clarke Murphy is the former Chief Executive Officer of Russell Reynolds Associates and serves on the Board of Directors. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he was the Global Leader of the firm's CEO/Board Services Practice.
While at Russell Reynolds Associates, Clarke has conducted a number of significant projects in the industry, including Fortune 100 board searches and CEO successions. In addition, he has led notable searches in the private equity industry including searches for the Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus.
Hoda Tahoun
As a leadership advisor and leader of the global Leisure & Hospitality Practice at RRA, Hoda Tahoun identifies, assesses, and develops dynamic C-suite leaders for global hospitality, travel, and leisure companies. Based in Miami, Hoda helps clients solve their most pressing leadership issues at the CEO, C-suite, and other executive-levels. She also advises clients on customer-centric, go-to-market leadership roles such as chief marketing officers and chief experience officers. Hoda is committed to reshaping the hospitality and leisure landscape to ensure it is an industry that leads with purpose, value, and wellbeing and continues to attract and retain talent across all facets of diversity.
Hoda spent more than seven years working for a boutique executive search firm, rising to the title of principal where she worked closely with hotel management companies, cruise lines and private equity firms. Previously, Hoda was an assistant vice president at SHUAA Capital in Dubai where she led the firm’s investment banking efforts. She has also worked at American Express, Bank of America and Citi.

C-suite executives face an unprecedented cascade of simultaneous challenges—AI transformation, regulatory upheaval, geopolitical instability, and economic turbulence. Unlike previous generations who weathered single crises, today’s leaders must navigate sustained uncertainty that many have never experienced before.
So, how can the right mentor transform leadership under pressure? And what makes mentorship relationships truly effective for senior executives?
In this episode of Leadership Lounge, we talk to three of our trusted advisors—Kurt Harrison, Amanda Foster, and Jeffrey Cheng—who share their perspectives on:
"Mentorship is not remedial. It's developmental, and it's all part of an agile, constantly learning mindset, which keeps executives fresh in how they look at the future rather than looking backwards."
Amanda Foster, Leadership Advisor, Russell Reynolds Associates
Four things you'll learn from this episode:
In this episode, we will cover:
(00:01:56) How sustained uncertainty differs from episodic crises and why this changes mentorship needs
(00:04:02) Why cross-industry mentor-mentee pairings are often the most successful
(00:10:07) The importance of building authentic mentorship relationships
(00:14:18) How external mentors provide objective perspectives often impossible internally
(00:15:48) Strategies for maximizing value from mentor relationships through preparation and goal-setting
A closer look at the research from this episode: