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The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast

This podcast series explores the intersections of business, organizational culture and talent through conversations with leading thinkers – and doers – around the world.

This podcast series explores the intersections of business, organizational culture, and talent through conversations with leading thinkers – and doers – around the world. Learn more at: https://www.heidrick.com/Heidrick

Latest episode

  • From CFO to CEO: Joe Lister, CEO of Unite Students, reflects on his first year as the top executive

    26:45|
    After nearly 23 years at Unite Students, the United Kingdom’s largest student accommodation provider, Joe Lister moved from the role of CFO to CEO in January 2024. In this interview, he discusses how his mindset and perspectives regarding leadership have shifted, how he deals with mental health and wellness, and what it’s like managing a wide range of stakeholders. He also shares how he built out his executive team, what he looks for in future-ready leaders, and his advice to someone stepping into the CEO role for the first time: get match fit. 

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  • Embedding sustainability and systems thinking as core healthy leadership qualities: A conversation with Stendert Krommendam, chief people and sustainability officer at Ecotone

    24:16|
    Stendert Krommendam is the chief people and sustainability officer at Ecotone, a leading private equity–backed company in Europe for organic, vegetarian, healthy and fair-trade food. Krommendam, who has built a dynamic career at the intersection of people, sustainability, and business, was formerly an HR leader in Unilever and Ahold Delhaize. In this interview, he discusses his new leadership model that embeds sustainability and systems thinking as core leadership qualities, describing what healthy leadership means in the context of Ecotone’s mission of biodiversity. He also shares the leadership qualities he believes are critical for balancing performance, purpose, and sustainability; how he fosters a purpose-driven culture; and his perspective on the balance between long-term sustainability commitments and the growth and profitability expectations that are typical in a PE environment.
  • Santiago Argelich Hesse, CEO of Cellnex Poland, on fostering trust and alignment through M&A and the future of digital infrastructure

    22:55|
    Santiago Argelich Hesse, CEO of Cellnex Poland, Europe's largest digital infrastructure provider, shares his approach to leading diverse teams that are aligned with both local market needs and a unified global vision, as well as how the maturation of the digital infrastructure sector is changing talent needs, specific skills, and mindsets. He also shares the strategies he feels are most important to foster trust and alignment within the leadership teams of organizations during a merger, and what specific steps he took to minimize attrition and ensure continuity of expertise, especially for critical leadership roles within the strategy of the expanded organization.
  • Five critical components of the connecting leader: A conversation with Heidrick & Struggles' Adam Pacifico and Regis Chasse

    27:28|
    In this special episode of The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast, Heidrick & Struggles’ Adam Pacifico sits down with Dr. Regis Chasse, who leads leadership development solutions initiatives for Heidrick Consulting. Adam and Regis discuss the five imperatives Heidrick has identified through which leaders can focus their capabilities and, over time, become what we call connecting leaders. These imperatives are: envision the future, deliver today, act with purpose and courage, harness the power of others, orchestrate ecosystems, and cultivate a learning mindset. For more on the connecting leader, see “The connecting leader: Five imperatives for leaders today.”
  • Fostering trust and alignment: Ludovic Gaudé, CEO of Qinshift and Avenga, on leading in technology companies across ownership types, through mergers, and amid culture transformations

    23:53|
    Ludovic Gaudé, CEO of Qinshift and Avenga, discusses the challenges and opportunities of leading tech companies under private equity ownership compared to other ownership structures, including private ownership or a publicly traded company, as well as balancing value creation with fostering innovation. Having led through mergers, he also shares how he adapts his leadership approach in a merger scenario and what qualities or strategies are most critical for success, as well as how he thinks about culture shaping, fostering trust and alignment, and minimizing attrition. Finally, he discusses the key trends he sees shaping the IT services market in the Central and Eastern Europe region and globally, and how those trends will impact leadership.
  • Impactful and approachable leadership in a global energy business: A conversation with Emma Delaney, executive vice president at BP, about balancing growth and sustainability

    16:52|
    For this interview, Heidrick & Struggles’ Sherree Kendall sat down with Emma Delaney, executive vice president at BP, to discuss balancing growth and sustainability. Delaney, who has exposure and experience in both the upstream and the downstream verticals, shares how that has influenced her approach to leadership, emphasizing the importance of the strength and power of the team. She also talks about balancing being impactful as well as approachable and shares what skills and capabilities she believes business leaders will need to deploy in order to successfully lead an organization in the future.
  • Theresa Roessel, CFO of Canada Diagnostic Centres, on the leadership capabilities that have helped her succeed as a finance executive across industries and the importance of fostering your own learning

    23:17|
    In this next episode of the Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast, Heidrick & Struggles’ Sean McLean speaks to Theresa Roessel, the CFO of Canada Diagnostic Centres, about her 30-year career journey in finance. Theresa has led large global teams through strategic, collaborative leadership and proactive approaches to complex business issues. She has worked as CFO at the Calgary Zoo, as well as with CNOOC International. She also has served on the board of the Canadian Red Cross, among many others.In this conversation, Theresa shares her journey and discusses the leadership capabilities that have helped her succeed and navigate change, as well as how the finance function is adapting to evolving AI tools and capabilities, how her board experience has impacted how she approaches her executive mandates, and what organizations can do to build a more gender-diverse finance function.