Inspired Execution

Inspired Execution host Chet Kapoor kicks off Season 5 of the podcast with a quick refresh on topics discussed, upcoming guests, and exciting new segments!

Host Chet Kapoor shares his favorite moments and learnings from Season 4 of Inspired Execution. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we are joined by Hussein Mehanna, Head of AI and ML at Cruise. He’s helping build the future of transportation with the world’s first self-driving car. Today we discuss his most impactful experiences, his unpopular opinions about AI, and what the future of autonomous vehicles looks like.

Today, we hear from the Co-Founder and CEO of the World Justice Project. Bill dominated in his field as a lead lawyer for Microsoft for almost 25 years before serving as Managing Partner for the San Francisco Giants. Now, he runs his own company with the mission to promote the rule of law throughout the world. Tune in to hear Bill’s nuggets of wisdom and lessons in fair play from business to baseb...

Today, we are joined by Sagnik Nandy, CTO and President of Technology at Okta, the world’s #1 identity platform. After spending fifteen years at Google, Sagnik transitioned to Okta and turned his focus to identity management and keeping us all safe in the digital world.  He joins the show to talk about what it takes to build scalable products, how to stay grounded in high-stress situations, and mu...

In this episode, we are joined by one of the brightest minds in marketing, Raja Rajamannar. He is the CMO & CCO of Mastercard, as well as President of their Healthcare Business. For more than 30 years, Raja has influenced large enterprises across the globe with brands like Unilever, Citi, and now Mastercard. You can read all about his fresh perspective on the future of marketing in his WSJ bestsel...

Jennifer Edwards is a founder, author, and professional coach whose recently published book, Bridge the Gap, is named by Forbes as a must-read business book in 2022. She shares tips for overcoming Zoom fatigue and forming connections in our digital world, how to communicate in times of high stakes, and so much more.

Today, we are joined by Kelly Battles, a seasoned CFO and board member for many enterprises at the forefront of innovation. From an education at Princeton and Harvard to changing the world one board seat at a time, Kelly knows what it takes to lead teams and scale businesses. Tune in to hear her practical and tactical advice for finding work-life balance, knowing when to take risks vs. opt out, an...

Today we hear from Elizabeth Hunter, Former SVP of Technology at T-Mobile and advocate for diversity and inclusion. A Vogue hopeful turned telecom expert, Elizabeth shares how success doesn’t always come from climbing only one ladder, tips for creating a culture of belonging, and how to tap into your resilience through periods of change.

Today, we hear from Anna Claiborne and Dave Ward of PacketFabric. Anna co-founded the company in 2015 and currently serves as CTO and CPO. Dave joined PacketFabric as CEO in 2020. Listen as they discuss why a business is only as strong as its network, how to trust yourself through your journey, and lots more!

Today, we hear from HackerOne CEO Marten Mickos, who is on a mission to create a safer internet. From his humble beginnings in Finland to his meteoric rise in the U.S., Marten offers advice for aspiring leaders and how to embrace pain and suffering in order to grow. We also learn about technical physics and the importance of security and privacy in the new digital civilization.

Today, we hear from Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist of Canva and a venture capitalist whose investments are known for turning everything into gold. He is also a New York Times bestselling author and the host of his own podcast, Remarkable People. Guy explains the importance of learning how to handle rejection, the difference between sales and evangelism, and why you should never ask others to do so...

Inspired Execution host Chet Kapoor recaps Season 3, focusing on themes and key takeaways from each episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alana Mayo is the President of Orion Pictures, a division of MGM that's dedicated to underrepresented voices and authentic storytelling in film. For as long as she can remember, Alana has always loved engaging with narrative storytelling. Even as a child, she came up with plays based on the American Girl dolls for her friends to perform. Now, Alana has overseen award-winning films like The Big Sho...

Dilip Venkatachari, CIO at U.S. Bank, is a technology executive, entrepreneur, and board member. He has a diverse set of experiences, from starting two companies of his own to leading at large enterprises like Goldman Sachs and McKinsey. In this episode, Dilip shares how focusing on people and purpose has helped him navigate many different roles, how the meaning of customer-centricity evolves as a...

Jim Baum is a technology executive with over thirty years of experience. From starting his first business called Mr. Tree to “growing up” at Parametric Technology to taking Netezza through IPO, Jim is a master at executing thoughtfully with speed. Today he shares the steps to building a successful team, the biggest mistake companies make with regards to execution, why the best leaders are "uncoach...

Aashima Gupta is the Director of Healthcare Solutions at Google Cloud. She started out as a programmer in the finance industry and later found her calling in healthcare at Kaiser Permanente. Today, Aashima shares how Google Cloud is helping providers meet their patients with the right information at the right time, the importance of taking an outside-in approach when you're building products, how...

Joining the podcast today is Abhay Parasnis, CTO and CPO at Adobe. The common thread throughout his impressive career is a deep passion for technology, products, and building new things. Abhay shares why career journeys are not a straight line, how Adobe is helping enable self-expression for all, three lessons learned from becoming a cloud company, and the exciting future of AI. See omnystudio.com...

For the first time ever on IEP, we are featuring two guests in one episode! Anand Deshpande is the Founder, Chairman, & Managing Director of Persistent Systems, a 30+ year organization focused on ​digital engineering and enterprise modernization. He also runs a nonprofit that helps entrepreneurs find success. Sandeep Kalra is Persistent’s CEO & Executive Director and has grown the company impressi...

Alex Hood, CPO of Asana, has been intrigued by consumer behavior since starting his career in the stock market. He shares how this interest led him to adopt human-centered design as a product-building methodology and how he leans on it at Asana for scale. Alex also discusses why disruption is freeing, how he stays productive, the key ingredients needed to change user behavior, how clarity drives i...

Chet Kapoor kicks off the newest season of Inspired Execution with an introduction to his Inspired Leadership Principles, which will help guide the conversations with our awesome guests. Follow along with Season 3 and use the insights from each episode to build your own playbook for success. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another season of Inspired Execution is in the books! After 11 phenomenal conversations, DataStax Chairman and CEO Chet Kapoor wraps up season two with the top takeaways and lessons learned. This episode highlights the greatest moments from: Cisco, Wells Fargo, DBS Group, PayPal, Macquarie Group, Goldman Sachs, iHeartMedia, Wiley, Verizon, and Microsoft. Stay tuned for season three! See omnystudio...

Charlotte Yarkoni, COO of Cloud and AI at Microsoft, started her career as an engineer and grew to a variety of leadership roles at companies like AT&T, VMware and EMC. Today, she shares how she's facilitating the customer journey across multiple products at Microsoft, the role diversity and inclusion play in creating thriving communities, and what horseback riding has taught her about leadership....

Jeetu Patel, SVP and General Manager of Cisco's Security and Collaboration Division, walks us through building and delivering a multi-product platform. He also discusses how to stay energized throughout the week, his vision for the future of work, and the power of compounding value. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.