The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast

In this interview, Mitja Schulz, the newly appointed CEO of Debrunner Koenig, a Swiss wholesale company specializing in reinforcements, steel and metals, metal services, and technical products, describes his leadership style and shares the core leadership competencies he believes are essential for steering his organization through today's dynamic business landscape that places increasing demands on CEOs. He also discusses how he thinks about developing leaders who excel in collaboration, staying agile, and being goal oriented; strategies he has implemented to develop these competencies within his leadership teams; and some common challenges that arise when building high‑performing teams. Looking into the future, he also shares how he thinks digital tools and AI will shape the future of leadership development, and how he is preparing his teams and wider workforce to adapt to these changes.

In this interview, as part of our ongoing series examining how leaders across functions are managing and incorporating AI, Heidrick & Struggles’ Julian Ha spoke to Miriam Vogel the president and CEO of EqualAI, which is a nonprofit organization created to promote artificial intelligence governance.Miriam, who has extensive experience working with C-suites and boards and the government to help them establish best practices for legal regulatory compliance, as well as operationalizing those best practices, discusses the ways that leaders of all kinds have become much more AI literate with respect to potential harms and litigation risks, and how they are mitigating liability as well as avoiding those harm to companies, individuals, and communities. She also shares what she’s excited about when it comes to the future of AI, what it means to her to lead in an AI-enabled world, and how she believes that leaders must balance guardrails and innovation, so that their organizations remain competitive, ensure there's trust in AI systems, and that those AI systems deserve our trust.

In this interview, Heidrick & Struggles’ Scott Bae and Alexis Hennessy sit down with Lior Susan, the founder and managing partner of Eclipse Ventures, a venture capital firm dedicated to partnering with entrepreneurs, transforming industries that are critical to people's lives and national economies, such as manufacturing, supply chain, transportation, healthcare, and defense. Susan shares the leadership traits that he believes are uniquely critical to success in start-ups in the physical industries, as well as how leaders can seamlessly adapt between start-ups and large companies, how he thinks about investing in highly regulated industries, and his perspective on AI’s evolution and impact on the space.

James Borzi is the executive vice president and chief supply chain officer at Baxter International, a healthcare company; he joined Heidrick & Struggles’ Fabrice Lebecq to discuss how AI is helping leaders of the supply chain function across industries deliver value. Borzi shared how AI was rolled into the function at Baxter, as well as his perspective on finding the talent needed to make the most of these tools and managing the culture changes necessary to integrate the tools into ways of working. He also shared how he approaches balancing the opportunities of AI with its risks both ethical and sustainability-related; how he sees AI continuing to optimize the healthcare supply chain; and what it means to him as a leader to lead in an AI-enabled world.

In the first of our interview series exploring AI and its impacts on leaders across functions, Heidrick & Struggles’ Lindsay Leach and Hugh Marshall were joined by Chris Koehler, the chief marketing officer at Twilio, a customer engagement platform that drives real-time personalized experiences for leading brands. Chris discusses the ways in which his marketing function is using AI and where they are finding it adding particular value, as well as how he uses AI tools in his day-to-day work. The three also discuss what skills and mindsets marketing leaders will need to thrive in this AI-driven world, as well as how they will continue to find talent to make the most of AI.

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. 

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, 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.

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.”