Zen Zeng

Crescendo Conversations

Society EN ↓ 7 episodes

Titles describe, music reveals. Crescendo Conversations is an interview series hosted by concert pianist and space-curator Zen Zeng, in which senior leaders share four pieces of music that shaped their identity, career, and life. In choosing four pieces, guests reveal something no CV or keynote ever could: the fear behind a decision, the doubt before a breakthrough, the ordinary humanity inside an extraordinary life. Each conversation moves through four territories: origins, interior moments of change, core values, and present direction. What emerges is not a leadership masterclass. It is some...

Author

Zen Zeng

Episodes

Ambassador Brendan Berne | Knowing When to Stop 29.06.2026 1:21:48

He represented Australia in Paris and Seoul. But the four songs he chose reveal something the résumé never could. Brendan Berne spent decades as one of Australia's most distinguished diplomats — serving as Ambassador to France and South Korea, operating in rooms where history was quietly being made. In this conversation, he leaves the résumé at the door. Through four pieces of music, Brendan trace...

Episode 2 | Martin Dougall: What the Tide Reveals 25.06.2026 1:07:08

He grew up in Hamilton, Scotland. Working class, clear values, and a belief that effort speaks for itself. Martin Dougall is now a Global Senior Partner in Forensic Solutions at KPMG — a career spent following financial crime, understanding what draws good people toward the wrong choice, and watching what happens when the truth finally surfaces. Four songs trace the journey: Dignity by Deacon...

Lewis McDonald, Global Leader of the Energy Sector — Four Songs, Three Continents, One Life. 15.06.2026 1:23:32

Lewis McDonald is the Global Managing Partner, Energy Sector at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer — one of the most senior energy lawyers in the world, with a career built around some of the largest energy deals on the planet. In this episode of Crescendo Conversations, Lewis shares the four pieces of music that have shaped his identity, his career, and his life: Living on a Prayer (Bon Jovi), Privat...

"It takes me straight back home." Martin Dougall on Dignity — the song that holds everything he was built on. 06.06.2026 0:56

Home. Family. Community. The belief that you build something slowly, and you build it right. Martin Dougall, Global Senior Partner in Forensic Solutions at KPMG, shares the song that has never left him — and the values that haven't either.

Who I Am Before the Title: Prof. Paul Kelly on Music, Family and a Life Well-Lived. 19.05.2026 1:05:42

Before he became Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly was a child who loved music. A son. A husband. A keen-fisherman. Someone who felt most alive in particular moments that had nothing to do with a title. In this first conversation of Crescendo Conversations , Prof. Paul Kelly shares four pieces of music that trace the full arc of a life — where he came from, what lit him up, what the we...

WHY Crescendo Conversations? 11.05.2026 4:36

What are the four songs that shaped your life, career and identity?

"The Moment I Felt Most Alive" | Prof. Paul Kelly 03.04.2026 0:42

"Can we do that again?" In this teaser for Crescendo Conversations , Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Prof. Paul Kelly , steps away from the podium to share the moments that define his vitality. From the birth of his children to a breathless, high-speed cycling descent through the Alps with his wife, Jenny, Paul discusses the power of being present. Full episode launches April 21, 2026.