Episodes

In this episode, Cynthia Hansen, Managing Director of the Innovation Foundation at Adecco Group, delves into the non-linear career journeys of Catalysts. She reflects on her own leap from a civil society domain expert to leading a financial services practice at the World Economic Forum. She shares how the hiring manager was drawn to, what she articulates as, her Catalyst superpowers: identifying opportunities, setting a clear north star, establishing guardrails for exploration, and creating a sa...

In this dynamic episode,Shellery Ebron, Senior Director of Corporate Innovation at RTI International, shares her journey of fostering innovation and leading transformative change. Known for her tagline, “dreamers that do,” Shellery emphasizes the importance of moving forward even in the absence of perfect information, inspiring teams to turn vision into action. Shellery shares her methodology for driving innovation: building a structured yet flexible roadmap with clear milestones to guide pro...

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of changemaking withHeather Jerrehian, VP of Product Management at ServiceNow and author of Sail to Scale. Heather, who describes herself as a “hexagon” rather than a square peg in a round hole, embraces her multifaceted nature as a Catalyst. She shares insights on why Catalysts are vital for organizations to navigate today's accelerated pace of change and how, as a leader, she prefers paving new roads over following old paths. Heather's wisdom on art...

In this inspiring episode, Shannon Schuyler, Chief Purpose and Inclusion Officer at PwC, talks about the art of crafting a fulfilling and impactful career. Shannon, a trailblazer who has shaped her own roles multiple times, shares her insights on aligning your work with your purpose while simultaneously understanding and supporting the goals of key stakeholders to drive meaningful change. Shannon highlights the power of intellectual curiosity as a cornerstone of her success. This mindset has ...

In this deeply personal and inspiring episode, we sit down with Amit Sidhpura to explore the transformative power of self-discovery. Amit recounts his own journey, from climbing the corporate ladder and relocating to Singapore to confronting feelings of isolation and disconnection. This pivotal moment launched him into a quest to uncover his true self and personal purpose. Amit shares invaluable insights on aligning work with your vision of happiness and fulfillment. He emphasizes that true succ...

In this insightful episode, we sit down with David O'Malley, Principal at Stay Lean, Go Fast and former SVP of Product Strategy & Innovation at VNS Health, to unpack the essentials of leading change in large organizations. Drawing a brilliant parallel to Newton’s First Law of Motion, David reveals how overcoming inertia in organizational transformation begins with one crucial role: the Catalyst. He emphasizes that to get the rock rolling, leaders must build trust, identify a burning platform, ra...

In this inspiring episode, we speak with Ruth Gotian, Chief Learning Officer at Weill Cornell Medicine, who has spent years studying the world’s most successful individuals, including Nobel laureates, astronauts, and Olympic champions in order to understand what they do when the world isn't watching. Ruth shares her key insight: the value of choosing the more interesting path in life and balancing it with her mentor’s advice to “Do something important, not just interesting.” Ruth also tackles im...

In this episode, Dr. Ebrahim Patel, Future Markets and Sustainability executive at RMB Bank, South Africa, introduces Innovative Empathy—a transformative approach for Catalysts driving change. He emphasizes the power of understanding stakeholder realities, including their constraints and resources, to foster trust and dismantle resistance. Drawing from his karate practice, Dr. Patel shares the importance of meeting resistance with humility and self-awareness, rather than force, offering a fresh ...

In this episode, Katie Blum, Associate Vice President for Strategic Innovation at the University of Illinois Foundation, shares valuable insights into the challenges she’s faced as a Catalyst executive. She explores three key hurdles: the need to balance visibility and influence, managing objection burnout, and cultivating a supportive community of “yes and” peers.. She emphasizes the power of amplifying other innovators’ work to gain visibility and understanding when it’s culturally appropriate...

Catalysts walk a fine line between being outsiders and belonging—a tension that fuels their ability to think differently and connect dots that others may not see. In this episode, George White, Director at Slalom, explores how Catalysts can navigate this knife edge of having a vision for change while needing to bring others along on transformative journeys. George shares how essential frameworks, like the Houde Prototyping Model, combined with the power of storytelling, can clarify a vision for ...

In this podcast episode with Matteo Cattaneo, Group Chief Transformation & Services Development Officer at Reale Group, we dive deep into the key skills required to lead successful transformation efforts. Matteo emphasizes the importance of understanding the business and speaking the language of key stakeholders combined with the need to be able to stay aligned with the speed business and not move too fast. He shares insights on how to help organizations navigate the hype while creating safe ...

In this podcast episode, we’re thrilled to welcome Nezha Alaoui, CEO of Women Choice. From her time working at the United Nations, Nezha saw firsthand the urgent need to uplift women on a global scale. Her experiences led her to establish Women Choice, an organization that operates at the powerful nexus of business, government, and institutional influence, focused on driving measurable impact. Nezha shares her insights on the importance of having a clear vision to mobilize others toward chang...

In this episode, Christopher Wellise, Global VP of Sustainability at Equinix, dives into his unique journey at the crossroads of environmentalism and business. Christopher shares his experiences in taking calculated risks, from moving from a government research role into tech marketing to persuading C-suite executives who once resisted sustainability to become its champions. Reflecting on his most impactful moments, Christopher reveals that his career breakthroughs came when he challenged the...

In this episode, Tony Martignetti, Founder of Inspired Purpose Partners, explores the role of extreme curiosity as a powerful driver for meaningful impact. Tony shares his insights on what it takes to be a Catalyst—a courageous force willing to take bold action while inspiring others to join in. He discusses the art of bringing stakeholders along on a change journey without compromising the heart of a vision, cautioning against letting an idea morph into a “Frankenstein” just to please everyone....

In this episode, Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President of Market Development for Mastercard EEMEA, joins Shannon Lucas and Tracey Lovejoy to discuss her transformative journey as a Catalyst. Starting from her early days in Pakistan, Amnah’s determination to challenge cultural norms led her to a career marked by resilience, independence, and a focus on empowering others. She shares real-world strategies for leading big, transformative change, which has been a hallmark of her career. Amnah beli...

In this episode, we chatted with Yvette Standberry, former Head of Innovation at Mathematica, about her journey as a Catalyst leader. Yvette shares how her commitment to "learning by doing" shaped her success. She shared the importance of recognizing patterns across systems to create efficiencies and how learning to tell compelling stories helps bring stakeholders on board at the right time. She emphasizes the importance of empowering others in the change process, cautioning that Catalysts ca...

Ralph Loura, Co-founder of Sustainable IT.org and former CIO – Catalytic Transformation is 99% Mindset In this episode, we sat down with Ralph Loura, seasoned tech executive, former CIO at HPE and Clorox, and Co-founder of Sustainable IT.org , to discuss the unique dynamics of being a Catalyst executive. Having recently shared his wisdom at Davos and UN Climate Week, we were thrilled to learn from Ralph about insights from his personal catalytic journey. Ralph unpacks how the ability to see t...

Manoj Govindan, a Venture Leader with a 30-year career, takes us through his transformative path from engineering to becoming a strategic force in business and innovation. Manoj reflects on his early influences, particularly his upbringing in India, where he was steered into engineering despite his passion for politics and policy. His journey led him to the U.S., where he embraced his true identity and transitioned from technical roles to business analysis and consultancy. Early in his career...

In this episode we had the great fun of having two amazing guests, Stephen Kelner, President & Tiffany West, Head of Programming at Ascent Leadership Networks. Collectively they bring decades of experience working with some of the world’s largest organizations to drive change. As we discussed the challenges Catalyst leaders face, they shared two great insights into how aligning motivations can unlock transformation. To help reduce resistance to change, we need to align to the motivations and win...

In this episode, Meghann Brock, Director of Innovation for The Permanente Medical Group Northern California region, shares her insights on how to match catalytic speed to what she calls “the organizational speed limits.” Our desire as Catalysts to move quickly and get things done at speed can feel good at first, but she points out, as we leave people behind in our desire to move quickly, it will actually take us longer to get to the finish line. This can be particularly true in heavily regulated...

In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dominick Bizzarro, a Catalyst executive and former Chief Strategy Officer at MVP Healthcare, now an executive coach specializing in guiding women and humanistic leaders into top leadership roles. Dominick shared valuable insights on driving change within large organizations, emphasizing the importance of kindness, involving others in realizing a shared vision, and fostering self-awareness. He highlighted how supporting Catalysts in his organi...

In this episode, Andre Christian, founder of Evoke IQ and former VP of Innovation and Product Design at SES Satellites, shares his journey of discovering his unique value as a Catalyst and how it has shaped his leadership approach. Andre begins by discussing the realization of his unique skills. Throughout his career, he often felt like a "jack of all trades, master of none," until he connected with the Catalyst community. This experience helped him understand that his ability to anticipate chan...

In this episode, we connect with Tricia Carey, Former Chief Commercial Officer at Renewcell, a leader with decades of experience in the industry. Tricia shares her insights on overcoming resistance to change by emphasizing the importance of knowing your audience and building strong relationships. She highlights how understanding the motivations and needs of different stakeholders is key to driving transformation. Tricia underscores this with her belief that "it's not companies who do business...

In this episode, we connect with Chuck Patrick, Head of Strategic Program Management at AXIS Capital. Chuck shares his journey and how he has carved out a unique role helping executives turn transformative ideas into reality. He emphasizes the "Mobilization of Great Ideas," guiding leaders through the process of moving from vision to execution and iteration. Chuck discusses how great Catalysts excel at getting others to embrace change by viewing the organization as an ecosystem, building trust, ...