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The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast
The importance of sponsors and mentors: Kimberly Susan Cuccia, the senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at NiSource
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In this episode of The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast, Heidrick & Struggles’ Victoria Reese speaks to Kimberly Susan Cuccia, the senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at NiSource, a US utilities company based in Indiana. Cuccia, who has been at NiSource for more than 15 years, shares her leadership development journey at the company, including the ways in which NiSource’s leadership supported her, why her willingness to take lateral roles benefitted her in the long run, and what competencies and traits she believes made her the best fit for the general counsel role. She also notes the importance of mentorship and sponsorship to leadership development, and offers advice to young lawyers coming up in an in-house environment. Cuccia also discusses the general counsel’s role in DE&I and ESG, sharing her philosophy and approach to navigating all of these complex topics with her executive team, board, and employees, and how she is navigating the evolving role of AI in organizations, sharing her perspective on balancing between innovation and managing risks both known and unknown.
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Adapting your personal leadership style: Shawn Bushouse, former president of emerging brands at Nestle Health Science, discusses the differences in leadership at start-ups and larger organizations
21:18|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.Transitioning from a man to a woman as the CEO of an insurance company: Caroline Farberger shares her unique experience and remarkable insights on inclusive leadership
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35:26|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.