Leadership Discoveries

This is Part 2 of a 2-part series on internships, and what happens when students move from the classroom into the workplace. Charlie Askew & Aoibhinn Murphy are students currently working on the award-winning BSc in Digital Business & Innovation at Dublin City University Business School (DCU), a programme started by our previous guest, Professor Brian Harney. Charlie has an internship with...

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series on internships, and what happens when students move from the classroom into the workplace. Brian Harney is Head of School for Work, Psychology, and Strategy and Professor in Strategy & HRM (Human Resource Management) at Dublin City University Business School (DCU). He is founder and former Programme Director of the award-winning BSc in Digital Business & I...

In this special solo episode, Host Shirley Kavanagh explores the skill of leading yourself. Hear why we don’t spend nearly enough time on self-leadership, why leaders stall, how to choose growth over the comfort of the familiar, how to exercise bravery & openness as a leader, and how to keep learning throughout your career. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn

For 20+ years, Julia Payne has helped founder-led B2B companies sharpen their market position, improve commercial performance, and build systems for sustainable growth. She’s worked with 500+ organisations as a Founder, CEO, Board Director, Advisor, and Fractional CMO/GTM Lead. Today, she helps ambitious B2B companies reduce founder dependence, strengthen go-to-market capability, and build commerc...

Ben Beckley is the CEO of RevHealth, a full-service agency that partners with progressive healthcare companies to communicate cutting-edge science, launch novel therapies, and help life-changing treatments reach the patients who need them the most. He has over 20 years of experience in healthcare marketing & communications. Hear how to make yourself redundant as a leader, how to be a builder a...

After 30 conversations on Leadership Discoveries, it’s time to take a moment to reflect on the leadership lessons that keep coming up and to look at what matters most for leaders today. In this special episode, Host Shirley Kavanagh has become Guest Shirley Kavanagh, interviewed by Guest Host Max Branstetter of MaxPodcasting (better known as Shirley’s Wingman & Podcast Producer). Hear why Shir...

Three-time guest Dean McAlister, EVP, Inizio Biotech, has spent over 35 years in Fortune 500 pharma leadership, including nearly 3 decades at AstraZeneca. His book, How to Matter Forever, comes out at the end of 2026. Hear how to think about passing the baton as a leader, how to have good judgment as a leader, the importance of constructive dissent, how to have conversations with respect while not...

In this episode, I speak with Antoinette Dale Henderson, Founder & Owner of Gravitas Programme, about Leading with Gravitas: finding your voice, presence, and influence. Antoinette is a TEDx Speaker, 2x Author, and Executive Coach. Drawing on over 25 years of experience in leadership communications, including 16 years holding senior positions at the world’s top PR consultancies, Antoinette ref...

In this episode, I speak with Steve Widdoss, Chief People Officer of One Physics, about what it takes for HR to become a truly strategic leadership function. Drawing on senior HR leadership roles across global organisations including JPMorgan Chase, Capital One and Barclays, Steve reflects on why commercial credibility is essential for today's Chief People Officer, how HR earns a genuine seat at t...

In this episode, I speak with Terri Moloney, Chartered Director, about leading & advising in complex environments. Terri is a seasoned business leader with over 3 decades of international experience across private and public sectors, currently serving as an Independent Non-Executive Director at RTÉ and Enterprise Ireland. Hear how important values are to an organisation, what good HR really lo...

In this episode, I speak with Rob Wood, Portfolio Investor and Founder of the Rob Wood Enterprising Futures Academy, about entrepreneurship, scale, reinvention and widening access to enterprise. Rob founded STEM Healthcare in 2007, scaling it internationally before its acquisition by UDG Healthcare. Today, he is an active portfolio investor, working with technology-enabled pharma services and AI-d...

In this episode, I speak with Deirdre Garvey, Secretary General of the Irish Red Cross, about courage, compassion, and resilience in leadership. Deirdre leads the staff team, supports the Board, and works alongside thousands of volunteers in an organisation dedicated to saving lives, alleviating suffering, and helping communities respond to emergencies and disasters. With senior leadership experie...

Sylvia Cronin is a highly experienced Chairperson and Independent Non-Executive Director (INED) with an exceptional leadership career spanning financial services, insurance, governance, and regulation. She also currently holds a number of major board roles, including Chairperson of Mercer Global Investments Europe and AIB Life, and Senior Independent Director of FBD Insurance and Canada Life. Hear...

John Broderick, MSc is a Senior Psychologist with considerable experience in assessment, training, and coaching in emotional intelligence assessment, leadership development, and psychometrics. He is a qualified trainer in a range of psychometric tools, the Emotional Capital Report (ECR) and ECR 360, the MMPI-2, and NEO Personality Inventory. He is a Founding Director of RocheMartin Ltd, a leadersh...

Aoife O’Brien is a Workplace Culture Strategist, Podcast Host, and the Founder of the award-winning podcast Happier at Work. Her upcoming book, Thriving Talent: How Great Leaders Drive Performance, Engagement, and Retention, explores how leaders can create environments where people feel valued, aligned, and equipped, and where performance follows as a result. Hear how leaders can lift & sustai...

Returning guest Dean McAlister, EVP, Inizio Biotech, has spent over 35 years in Fortune 500 pharma leadership, including nearly 3 decades at AstraZeneca. Hear how to prepare to lead in an uncertain environment, how to develop conscious competence as a leadership skill, how to become more adaptable as a leader, how to stop your ego from getting in the way as a leader, and how to build the courage t...

Dr. Kisito Futonge Nzembayie is an Assistant Professor at Trinity Business School, Director of the MSc in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, and a serial EdTech founder. Hear how to build entrepreneurial spirit within your organization, why AI readiness (Artificial Intelligence) is about more than just technology, the importance of digital literacy & digital fluency when it comes to AI, what c...

Welcome back to our special Gen Z mini-series of Leadership Discoveries! In this episode, you’ll hear Ailbhe Mc Namara, 1st Year Human Resources Management (HRM) Student at Technological University Dublin. Hear how leaders can provide more guidance & mentorship, what we can learn from bad leadership, why Gen Z has the reputation of being more outspoken, why a strong purpose makes a strong cult...

Welcome back to our special Gen Z mini-series of Leadership Discoveries! In this episode, you’ll hear Barry Kavanagh, Customer Success Manager at Diligent. Hear how Gen Zers and Zillennials think about their career path, why Steven Bartlett is so inspiring, what goes into a holistic company culture, the importance of emotional intelligence (EQ) in a leader, and a Quick-Fire round filled with AI. C...

Welcome to our special Gen Z mini-series of Leadership Discoveries! In this episode, you’ll hear Clara Bolger, Payroll Manager for Transoft Solutions in the Netherlands. Hear what leadership means to her, the leaders who inspire her, the company culture Gen Z looks for, her advice to older generations when interacting with Gen Z, and a riveting Quick-Fire round. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKava...

Jill Ellul has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and is the Founder & Managing Director of Mojoco, a business consultancy that offers innovation-led solutions to the Pharma, MedTech, and Biopharma sectors. Hear how to boost innovation & creativity in your organisation, how to dissolve groupthink, whether generative AI helps or hurts innovation, how to keep innovati...

Richard Cotter is the Head of Organisation Development and Research at Allianz Ireland and is a published academic researcher who holds a PhD in Management Learning. He shares what happens at the intersection of culture & strategy, why he recruited a business anthropologist, the power of ethnography over surveys, how they turned the research into culture change, and how your organisation can h...

Dr. Emmet Oliver is an academic, journalist and broadcaster. Drawing from his recent book Irish Nation Building: Government, Business and Power (1922–1958), Emmet reflects on the lessons modern corporate leaders can learn from history — from flexibility in decision-making to naming the uncomfortable truths others avoid. Emmet uncovers lessons in courage, adaptability and the art of learning from f...

Returning guest Dean McAlister, EVP, Inizio Biotech, has spent over 35 years in Fortune 500 pharma leadership, including nearly 3 decades at AstraZeneca. Hear how to focus on your people while scaling for growth, how to balance performance and cost control, why leadership needs to happen at all levels, how to approach feedback in today’s world, and whether empathy is still relevant. Connect with S...

Cameron Bray is a business consultant specializing in building high-performing teams & in leadership development. He’s been the Chief People Officer in a number of organizations, and spent a formative part of his career working for The Body Shop in the UK. Hear how to build an organization around virtual teams, how to lead in a virtual world, how to optimize productivity in hybrid work environ...