The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast

In this episode of The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast, Heidrick & Struggles’ Adam Howe sits down with Shawn Bushouse. Throughout his career, Shawn has spent time on multiples sides of large and small businesses, from start-ups shipping their first order to global enterprises with market value nearing $300 billion. He has led teams of varying sizes, both scaled and sold companies as well as purchased businesses, and led venture capital and private equity–backed businesses. In this interview, Shawn shares his biggest lessons on being an effective executive in both start-up environments and inside a corporate, what the biggest differences and similarities in these environments are, and how he’s adapted his own personal leadership style as he transitions between the two different types of organizations. He also discusses some of the culture trends he’s seen in start-ups transitioning into larger, more established organizations.

In this interview, former CEO Caroline Farberger shares how her mindsets and behaviors changed as a leader after she transitioned and how she realized that her previous way of leading was not inclusive—and what had to change for it to become truly inclusive. She also argues that leaders make better business decisions if they can master the skills of harvesting the unique perspectives and contributions of the people around them, discusses how organizations can gauge whether or not they are inclusive, and shares three things for leaders to consider as they assess their own behaviors to adopt a more inclusive way of leading.

Matt Carter, CEO of Intrado, the Stonepeak-backed provider of 9-1-1 critical infrastructure and technology solutions, and a board member at both JLL and NRG Energy, sits down with Heidrick & Struggles’ Jessica Gentile and Francesca “Chessy” Michel, to discuss his approach to building high-performance teams, the particular leadership skills or capabilities that are most important, and creating strong organizational cultures and driving followership. He also shares how his experience as CEO of both public- and private equity–backed companies as well as a board member shapes his thinking, and discusses the trends he foresees in the digital infrastructure sector and how he thinks teams should prepare to stay ahead of challenges.

In this special feature, three of our Heidrick & Struggles colleagues—Kathryn Bardi, Christina Cary, and Sean McLean—sit down to talk about neurodiversity: what it is and what it means for leaders, particularly CHROs and chief people officers, looking to make their organizations more inclusive. The three offer their advice to a leader or manager who wants to make a positive difference but isn’t quite sure where to start; discuss what it takes to create a workplace that accommodates neurodiversity; and share their thoughts on how leaders should think about remote work when it comes to our neurodivergent colleagues.

A recent study from Bitget Research found that countries in the Middle East saw a 166% increase year-on-year in daily crypto traders in 2024 alone, with the UAE clearly emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for cryptocurrency adoption worldwide. Ben Grolimund, the general manager of the UAE at Rain, the first fully regulated virtual assets brokerage and custodian in the Abu Dhabi global markets, sits down with Heidrick & Struggles’ Mikhail Kozlovskiy and Guy Shaul to talk about what’s been driving the Middle East crypto landscape, how he is adapting his business strategy and leadership style in response, and his view on the depth of talent in that area.

Ujjwal Kumar, group president of Teradyne Robotics, sits down with Heidrick & Struggles’ Jerry Gorss to discuss the changing status quo of the industrial robotics sector and manufacturing generally. Kumar shares his outlook on how the next 12 months will impact the industry, particularly its leadership needs. He also shares what he believes are the key characteristics a successful robotics and automation leader of the future must have, how he thinks about the balance on his teams between specific areas of expertise versus general all-around performers, and how AI and software expertise affects his overall talent strategy.

José Perdomo Lorenzo, chief strategy officer of Deutsche Telekom Group, sits down with Heidrick & Struggles’ Lukasz Kiniewicz to discuss Lorenzo’s primary strategic goals for Deutsche Telekom Group over the next five years, particularly in the context of fiber optic network expansion. Lorenzo also shares how he thinks about balancing AI with data privacy concerns, the role ESG concerns are playing in Deutsche Telekom’s overall strategic plan, what he feels leaders in the field need to be aware of right now, and more.

Avik Dey, the CEO of Capital Power, sits down with Heidrick & Struggles’ Sean McLean to discuss Dey’s journey leading the company in its growth and expansion plans across Canada and the United States as well as accelerating its current strategic drive to net zero. Dey, who has seen the energy industry from multiple viewpoints, including in board, executive, operational, investing, and senior advisory roles, shares what he thinks are Canadian leaders’ areas of expertise as well as areas of growth, and offers advice for other Canadian leaders looking to compete internationally for the best talent against that backdrop. Finally, he discusses how he and his team prioritize where to focus, what to learn, and which expertise to bring onto the team regarding the drive to net zero.

In this next episode of The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast, Heidrick & Struggles’ Charlie Moore speaks to Kabir Nath, the CEO of Compass Pathways. Compass Pathways is a company dedicated to studying investigational psilocybin treatment in treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anorexia. Kabir Nath, whose career has spanned approximately 30 years in the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry, was previously the senior managing director of the global pharmaceutical company Otsuka Pharmaceuticals. In this conversation, Nath shares what attracted him to the biotech space and what it’s like to take over the helm of a company from founders, and how he’s collaborated with them during the transition. He also discusses his perspective on healthcare accessibility, evolving an organizational culture as the business grows, what new skill sets or capabilities he is looking for in talent, and how he manages investor relations. Finally, he shares how he is preparing the leadership team for the organization’s continued transformation over the next few years.