This conversation on portfolio careers between Karunesh Prasad, the show host and guest Shanta Vallury Gandhi explores the challenges and opportunities of a portfolio career. Some highlights of the episode:

• The importance of finding purpose beyond corporate roles.
• Networking and building relationships are crucial during career transitions.
• Personal branding should reflect authenticity and consistency across roles.
• Continuous learning and upskilling, even after leaving a full-time job.
• The importance of financial planning during career transitions is highlighted.
• Board roles require a different level of accountability and perspective.

This conversation explores the intricacies of startup culture, highlighting the crucial role of founders and early employees in shaping organisational behaviour. It examines the impact of boards on culture, the challenges of recruiting from larger companies, and the significance of comprehending board dynamics. The discussion also highlights the importance of resilience and humility in startup environments, as well as the strategic intent behind forming advisory councils or boards.

Key takeaways

• The nuances of the founder have a profound influence on the culture.
• The first hundred employees significantly shape company culture.
• Hiring challenges intensify as companies expand beyond 100 employees.
• Boards can greatly influence startup culture and decision-making.
• High performers tend to excel in various environments.
• Resilience and humility are crucial for success in startups.
• Understanding board dynamics is essential for founders.
• The intent behind forming a board can unlock opportunities.
• Hiring from big companies requires adaptability and humility.
• Culture can be structured into clear dimensions for better understanding.

In this engaging conversation, the show host Karunesh Prasad, CEO of Board Match Up, and the podcast guest Ashok Barat, Corporate Advisor and Board Member, delve deeper into the topic of Profit and Purpose.

Ashok Barat argues that profit and purpose are not binary. Profit is the precondition for any sustained purpose; purpose must be contextual, economically viable, and aligned with regulation.

Boards are broadening the definition of stakeholders and integrating ethics, environment, and community outcomes into governance. He also outlines a playbook for post‑retirement careers.

This engaging conversation between show host Karunesh and guest Nancy focuses on what career transitions will look like and the challenges and opportunities the executives will have.

The highlights of the episodes are:-

Executive Transitions Are on the Rise - Many C-suite leaders are leaving full-time roles to pursue portfolio careers, including board memberships, advisory positions, fractional and interim roles, or entrepreneurship.

This fantastic and thought-provoking episode focuses on:-

• People Agenda: A Missing Priority in the Boardroom
• Talent is the most valuable currency for organisational success.
• However, human capital discussions are underrepresented in boardroom conversations.
• The need is urgent to elevate the people agenda to the board level where strategic decisions are made.
• The future of work is not in the future—it’s the present.
• Traditional full-time employment extends to contractual, gig, hybrid, and skill-based careers.
• Organisations must adapt recruitment, development, and compensation policies to reflect this new reality.
• GenAI is revolutionising white-collar work, much like how the internet changed business.
• HR must now manage a mixed workforce: full-timers, part-timers, machines, software, and AI agents.
• The new role of HR leaders is to act as Chief Productivity Officers, managing how work gets done, not just who does it.
• HR policies must consider AI tools, automation, and hybrid teams in addition to human workers.
• Organisations are focusing on “no headcount increase” growth, where productivity must rise through reskilling and AI integration.
• HR must move beyond engagement and retention dashboards to focus on strategic talent planning.
• There is a need to reskill and upgrade HR’s understanding of tech, productivity, and strategic alignment.
• Boards often underestimate the execution risk of strategies that rely heavily on people.
• Succession planning is often superficial—HR and boards must take ownership to ensure real readiness.
• Two common misconceptions:
• Both are flawed. HR professionals can add immense strategic value, but must also be board-ready.
• HR professionals aspiring to board roles must invest in governance training (e.g., SID’s LED program).