If you're a female or minority leader, this episode is your beacon of empowerment. Michelle Tran, Head of Strategic Partnerships SVP at Vestwell and Co-Founder of NYC FinTech Woman—a thriving 10,000+ member organisation, is a passionate advocate for diversity in leadership. Join us as we discuss the challenges faced at the intersections of being female and a person of colour. Michelle highlights the alarming funding disparities, revealing that institutional investment in female fo...

In the dynamic landscape of global leadership, the significance of Diversity and Inclusion strategies cannot be overstated. This is such an important episode for all leaders - from D&I strategies to the power of listening and alignment, this episode is filled with indispensable value. Sheree Atcheson is a multi-award winning diversity and inclusion executive, Group Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion at Valtech, keynote speaker and published author. It’s fair to say th...

Becoming the first of anything puts you on a precipice, makes you a pioneer, and brings the best out of budding leaders-to-be… that’s where Dan Storms stepped up. Dan has been the first executive hire at several startups, pushing him to develop small businesses FAST, and he’s now a driving force as VP of Product & Engineering at The Rounds. It’s a pleasure to hear from Dan as he shares first steps after joining a startup, his four principles for working with Founder-CEOs, the three types ...

The COO role is utterly unique, demanding multidisciplinary mastery. It begs expertise where you may have none, to become a cross-functional manager, and Edwina Johnson’s tenure at Alloy had seen her thrive in achieving exactly that Edwina, now thriving as GM of MoneyGram Online International, joins us for this episode of Leaders Unscripted, as we dive into the art of building, leading and growing teams outside of your expertise. This episode covers: Edwina’s grounding as a business builder ...

Anything in business can be distilled down to a set of decisions, and a great system makes choosing the right one for your team infinitely better. Griffin’s decision making method has seen an overhaul in ways which they carve their path forward, and as VP of Engineering, James Trunk has been at the forefront of this vital process. James joins us on Leaders Unscripted to take us through the values underpinning business decisions, why reflection trumps perfection, and the art of early feedback....

In a business as huge and culturally diverse as Netflix, it’s imperative that you value all of those voices in your team. Culture is a living organism, and curating that culture at Netflix is firmly within Shweta Saraf’s sights, in her role as Director of Platform Networking. She’s worked within companies like Cisco, Digital Ocean and Equinix, and shares with us on the Leaders Unscripted podcast just how those experiences have shaped her leadership approach today. This episode covers: How Shw...

When you think ‘pinnacle of journalism’, you think New York Times. He’s been a startup Founder and large enterprise leader, embarking on a notable transition between the two and embracing the modernized culture of a centuries-old organization. We catch up with David as he talks about the tension between the leader you want to be vs the company’s style, what it means to do the right thing, and how you stick the landing between startup and super-sized business. This episode covers: How Da...

Backing a budding leader is always easier when you’ve already been a successful one… Once a Founder & CEO, now investing in technical founders as Partner at ‘boldstart ventures’, Ellen Chisa’s enlightening story covers a seldom spoken topic - transitioning out of leadership. Her perspective is a fascinating one; join us on Leaders Unscripted to discover how the CEO role has shaped Ellen’s wise perspectives. This episode covers: Common issues for first time CEOsParticular challenges in sta...

When Namrata Sarmah became a CPO, the job role didn’t really exist the way that it does today. Two CPO roles later, and she’s using her power to transform product teams. INTO University Partnerships marked a vital role in her journey, getting comfortable with the unteachable nature of the CPO position. She’s also the Founder of Women in Product UK. She joins us on Leaders Unscripted to uncover how CPOs become change agents, which unexpected aspect of strategy is hardest, and embracing t...

We’re more aware of burnout than ever before, but are we looking out for leaders as much as our teams? As GitHub’s Anjuan Simmons can attest, burnout is an equal opportunity force, which affects teams, managers, VPs and CEOs alike. His advice on spotting and dealing with burnout within yourself and your team is absolutely inspired, and makes for an incredibly powerful episode of Leaders Unscripted. This episode covers: How Star Trek influenced Anjuan’s careerSpotting the signs of burnout, and...

Leaders are humans too, and Etsy’s culture has given Jenn Clevenger the opportunity to lead through remarkable adversity. In her 8 year tenure, she’s become VP of Engineering, tackled a pandemic, and stayed her course while her house burned down. It’s the staggering story of a remarkable leader and a resilient human, one which we delve into on episode 26 of the Leaders Unscripted podcast. This episode covers: Jenn’s ‘zigzag’ path to leadershipLeadership lessons learned from Etsy’s cultureOur ...

The most organic path to becoming a leader is to follow your values, with no aspirations of leadership. At least that was my experience, as I found my way into a COO role. What I seldom share on Leaders Unscripted is the path I paved to get there. In this episode the tables are turned on me, as Extrology podcast host Lee Cooper steps in to interview me on my own journey, uncovering my formative experiences, philosophies and morals. This episode covers: My early challenges and formative experi...

When your identity is so strongly focused around leadership, anything that challenges your identity can be a world-altering experience. Pleo’s Meri Williams has been through the reinvention of her leadership style after her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome diagnosis, cementing her role as a self-empathetic CTO. Meri joins me on Leaders Unscripted to discuss the balance of her CTO role with her diagnosis, and her wisdom for those finding themselves newly diagnosed while leading. This episode covers: The...

There are few challenges like leading a varied range of software engineers, and few places more prestigious than Google at which to do so… 18 years strong into her tenure at Google, Madleina Scheidegger is a Software Engineering Manager whose lessons on leading software teams is absolutely golden. From staying flexible and balancing internal vs external stakeholders, to building partnerships and setting your North Star, this episode of Leaders Unscripted is a masterclass in leadership longevi...

Being the first people leader in a business is a uniquely privileged position, brimming with untapped potential. That’s why Christie Williams has seized those opportunities, culminating in her current role as Softdocs’ VP of Employee Success. With such an intriguing job title, it’s hard not to see how Christie’s multidisciplinary experience feeds into her insightful approach to people leadership - an approach that we learn more about in episode 22 of Leaders Unscripted. This episode covers: W...

Management has the power to both embolden us, or burn us out. It’s a very real danger, and we’re all more aware of it thanks to growing awareness of mental wellbeing, but Vimeo’s Vaidehi Joshi knows first hand how to overcome leader burnout. Vaidehi joins Suzan for this week’s Leaders Unscripted, taking us through the battle against perfectionism, managing a team alongside your mental health, and what makes a great management experience. This episode covers: The expectation vs reality of mana...

What’s a CEO without a playbook to follow, and how do they communicate their plan with their team? Mindaugas Petrutis, who was suddenly thrust into the CEO role at Coho, leads with a transparency and honesty which he was never able to exhibit in his previous roles. Sharing the areas of focus that any new CEO should prioritise, Mindaugas details his bold and brilliant leadership style in this week’s episode of Leaders Unscripted. This episode covers: How Mindaugas follows his instincts as a CE...

Awareness of disability in business leaders is far from normalized, which makes the mission of John Samuel and Ablr absolutely paramount. A visually impaired CEO who’s gained the confidence to be open about his disability, John is creating opportunities for greater equity and inclusion in business. His impactful story and charming optimism made for a rousing conversation in the latest episode of Leaders Unscripted. This episode covers: John’s experience of vision loss and navigating the worki...

The only certainty in business is uncertainty; the only constant is change. As leaders, we’re tasked with the impossible in navigating that change and to bring our teams with us. While in her role at Blackboard, Ashley Hunsberger held several Director roles throughout her 17 year tenure, and has found some fantastic ways to guide your team through the choppy waters of change. Ashley joins me on Leaders Unscripted to share her ‘structures for reflection’, an ideal approach to feedback, a...

When the world throws challenges at you from both your business and personal lives, it can be hard to overcome them all. For leaders, this dilemma scales up immensely - first-time Founder Kirk Fernandes has learned the tools first hand that help to manage the unmanageable. With three family members sick in the same year, and his business Merit in relative infancy, Kirk’s story is an unmissable tale of resilience, strength in numbers, and honest leadership. This episode covers: The need for ne...