Fearless Creative Leadership

"The Equalizer."   Shelley Zalis has made the business of equality the focus of this stage of her life and career. A successful entrepreneur in her own right, she founded the Girl's Lounge to provide professional women a place to get together at major conferences and support and learn about each other. From that platform, she has now built the Female Quotient - an organization dedicated to driving...

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Visionary CEO'.  Steve Shiffman has been CEO of Calvin Klein for almost exactly three years. In that time he has led what has been described by the New York Times as, 'the biggest redefinition of American fashion in decades.'   Steve talks about why he was willing to disrupt one of the world's most successful and iconic brands, about the challenges of guiding an $8.5 billion global business t...

A five minute edited highlight of our full length conversation

'The Experience Designer'.  Design has become one of those terms used with increasing regularity across the creative industries - sometimes insightfully, sometimes not.  The introduction of the word 'design' suggests a method, a process, a plan. And yet, as with all powerful and impactful expressions of creativity, the very act of designing requires an openness to trial and therefore to error.  Ni...

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation

'The Psychoanalyst'.   Unlocking creativity requires celebrating uncertainty and embracing risk. Most businesses aren't designed that way. Nor are most human beings.   Instead, we stop ourselves, unconsciously and consciously. We act against our own self interest, willingly and unwillingly. We are hesitant, we are anxious, and very often - far more often than we realize or are prepared to admit -...

A five minute highlight of our full conversation

'The Modern Women'.  Gina Hadley and Jenny Galuzzo created The Second Shift to provide talented, accomplished, professional women with opportunities to re-enter the workforce on their terms. It is an idea of its time. An idea of this time. Like all great ideas it is simple and obvious. Like most revolutionary ideas, it still has some work to do to break down a stubborn status quo. In this case, th...

A five minute highlight from our full conversation.

'The Dean of Purpose'.  Jim Stengel has unlocked creativity throughout his career. As a brand manager and then Global Marketing Officer at P&G, as a founder of his own consultancy and as a thought leader, author and teacher. He has been described as the 'Dean of Purpose' and a 'CMO Consigliere'. Jim talks to me about how Purpose became part of his professional and personal life, what he has learne...

A five minute highlight of our full conversation.

'The Taste Maker'.  Umber Ahmad has lived many lives in one lifetime. Professional violinist at 13. Pilot at 15. Aspiring surgeon at 18. Financier. Investor. Entrepreneur. And finally, (although probably not lastly) baker. She talks about the inspiration that set her on her path, the triumphs and despair she has encountered along the way, the moment when she realized that even $10 was more than sh...

A five minute highlight of our full conversation.

'The Power Couple'.  Carter Murray and Susan Credle are one of the advertising industry's power couples. Smart, brave and generous, they successfully marry art and commerce on a daily basis. In this episode of Fearless, they talk about their partnership, their disagreements and how they help each other keep their eyes on the stars and their feet on the ground. For more information:   FearlessCreat...

A five minute highlight of our full conversation.

'The Mad Man'.  Barry Day is the author of 38 books covering creative luminaries as diverse as Noel Coward, Johnny Mercer and Raymond Chandler.  Before he started documenting the life of other creators, he was a legendary ad man responsible for some of the most famous commercials of all time. He was also a thought leader - before anyone knew what that meant - bringing the thinking of Marshall McLu...

A five minute highlight of our full conversation

'The Magicians'.  Jon Collins, the President of Integrated Advertising at Framestore, runs one of the most multi-disciplinary and technologically complex creative businesses in the world. He talks to me about how he has guided the company through its evolution from a classic visual effects supplier into a collaborative network of world-renowned, award-winning creators of consumer-centric magic. Fo...

A five minute highlight from our full conversation.

'The Intentioned Woman'.  Heidi Hackemer is building a brand strategy business in her own unique image - purposeful, opinionated and conscious. The journey that brought her and her company to today covers thousands of miles of reflection and exploration. In this episode of Fearless, Heidi talks to me about why becoming a waitress was a critical career step, what she has learned is the single most...

Five minute edited highlights from our full conversation. 

'The Unreasonable Man'.  Carl Johnson, the co-founder and CEO of Anomaly, talks about what makes him an 'unreasonable man', why  Anomaly was named Ad Age's 2017 Agency of the Year despite not being an ad agency, and what he thinks is critical to ensuring the future of his company.   

A five minute highlight from our full conversation.

'The Founders'.  Justin Stefano and Philippe von Borries are the co-founders and co-CEO's of Refinery29 - a 12 year old media and content company built for, 'the most powerful generation of women around the world.' They are listed as one of America's fastest growing private companies and the site is reported to generate one billion page views annually. I sat down with Philip and Justin in the Refi...