Leaders Unscripted

If you're a female or minority leader, this episode is your beacon of empowerment.  Michelle Tran, Head of Strategic Partnerships SVP at Vestwell and Co-Founder of NYC FinTech Woman—a thriving 10,000+ member organisation, is a passionate advocate for diversity in leadership.  Join us as we discuss the challenges faced at the intersections of being female and a person of colour. Michelle highl...

In the dynamic landscape of global leadership, the significance of Diversity and Inclusion strategies cannot be overstated.  This is such an important episode for all leaders - from D&I strategies to the power of listening and alignment, this episode is filled with indispensable value.  Sheree Atcheson is a multi-award winning diversity and inclusion executive, Group Vice President of Diversit...

Becoming the first of anything puts you on a precipice, makes you a pioneer, and brings the best out of budding leaders-to-be… that’s where Dan Storms stepped up. Dan has been the first executive hire at several startups, pushing him to develop small businesses FAST, and he’s now a driving force as VP of Product & Engineering at The Rounds. It’s a pleasure to hear from Dan as he shares first s...

The COO role is utterly unique, demanding multidisciplinary mastery. It begs expertise where you may have none, to become a cross-functional manager, and Edwina Johnson’s tenure at Alloy had seen her thrive in achieving exactly that Edwina, now thriving as GM of MoneyGram Online International, joins us for this episode of Leaders Unscripted, as we dive into the art of building, leading and growing...

Anything in business can be distilled down to a set of decisions, and a great system makes choosing the right one for your team infinitely better. Griffin’s decision making method has seen an overhaul in ways which they carve their path forward, and as VP of Engineering, James Trunk has been at the forefront of this vital process. James joins us on Leaders Unscripted to take us through the values...

In a business as huge and culturally diverse as Netflix, it’s imperative that you value all of those voices in your team. Culture is a living organism, and curating that culture at Netflix is firmly within Shweta Saraf’s sights, in her role as Director of Platform Networking. She’s worked within companies like Cisco, Digital Ocean and Equinix, and shares with us on the Leaders Unscripted podcast j...

When you think ‘pinnacle of journalism’, you think New York Times.  He’s been a startup Founder and large enterprise leader, embarking on a notable transition between the two and embracing the modernized culture of a centuries-old organization. We catch up with David as he talks about the tension between the leader you want to be vs the company’s style, what it means to do the right thing, and how...

Backing a budding leader is always easier when you’ve already been a successful one… Once a Founder & CEO, now investing in technical founders as Partner at ‘boldstart ventures’, Ellen Chisa’s enlightening story covers a seldom spoken topic - transitioning out of leadership. Her perspective is a fascinating one; join us on Leaders Unscripted to discover how the CEO role has shaped Ellen’s wise...

When Namrata Sarmah became a CPO, the job role didn’t really exist the way that it does today. Two CPO roles later, and she’s using her power to transform product teams. INTO University Partnerships marked a vital role in her journey, getting comfortable with the unteachable nature of the CPO position. She’s also the Founder of Women in Product UK.  She joins us on Leaders Unscripted to uncover ho...

We’re more aware of burnout than ever before, but are we looking out for leaders as much as our teams? As GitHub’s Anjuan Simmons can attest, burnout is an equal opportunity force, which affects teams, managers, VPs and CEOs alike. His advice on spotting and dealing with burnout within yourself and your team is absolutely inspired, and makes for an incredibly powerful episode of Leaders Unscripted...

Leaders are humans too, and Etsy’s culture has given Jenn Clevenger the opportunity to lead through remarkable adversity. In her 8 year tenure, she’s become VP of Engineering, tackled a pandemic, and stayed her course while her house burned down. It’s the staggering story of a remarkable leader and a resilient human, one which we delve into on episode 26 of the Leaders Unscripted podcast. This epi...

The most organic path to becoming a leader is to follow your values, with no aspirations of leadership. At least that was my experience, as I found my way into a COO role. What I seldom share on Leaders Unscripted is the path I paved to get there. In this episode the tables are turned on me, as Extrology podcast host Lee Cooper steps in to interview me on my own journey, uncovering my formative ex...

When your identity is so strongly focused around leadership, anything that challenges your identity can be a world-altering experience. Pleo’s Meri Williams has been through the reinvention of her leadership style after her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome diagnosis, cementing her role as a self-empathetic CTO. Meri joins me on Leaders Unscripted to discuss the balance of her CTO role with her diagnosis, an...

There are few challenges like leading a varied range of software engineers, and few places more prestigious than Google at which to do so… 18 years strong into her tenure at Google, Madleina Scheidegger is a Software Engineering Manager whose lessons on leading software teams is absolutely golden. From staying flexible and balancing internal vs external stakeholders, to building partnerships and s...

Being the first people leader in a business is a uniquely privileged position, brimming with untapped potential. That’s why Christie Williams has seized those opportunities, culminating in her current role as Softdocs’ VP of Employee Success. With such an intriguing job title, it’s hard not to see how Christie’s multidisciplinary experience feeds into her insightful approach to people leadership -...

Management has the power to both embolden us, or burn us out. It’s a very real danger, and we’re all more aware of it thanks to growing awareness of mental wellbeing, but Vimeo’s Vaidehi Joshi knows first hand how to overcome leader burnout. Vaidehi joins Suzan for this week’s Leaders Unscripted, taking us through the battle against perfectionism, managing a team alongside your mental health, and...

What’s a CEO without a playbook to follow, and how do they communicate their plan with their team? Mindaugas Petrutis, who was suddenly thrust into the CEO role at Coho, leads with a transparency and honesty which he was never able to exhibit in his previous roles. Sharing the areas of focus that any new CEO should prioritise, Mindaugas details his bold and brilliant leadership style in this week’...

Awareness of disability in business leaders is far from normalized, which makes the mission of John Samuel and Ablr absolutely paramount. A visually impaired CEO who’s gained the confidence to be open about his disability, John is creating opportunities for greater equity and inclusion in business. His impactful story and charming optimism made for a rousing conversation in the latest episode of L...

The only certainty in business is uncertainty; the only constant is change. As leaders, we’re tasked with the impossible in navigating that change and to bring our teams with us.  While in her role at Blackboard, Ashley Hunsberger held several Director roles throughout her 17 year tenure, and has found some fantastic ways to guide your team through the choppy waters of change. Ashley joins me on L...

When the world throws challenges at you from both your business and personal lives, it can be hard to overcome them all. For leaders, this dilemma scales up immensely - first-time Founder Kirk Fernandes has learned the tools first hand that help to manage the unmanageable. With three family members sick in the same year, and his business Merit in relative infancy, Kirk’s story is an unmissable tal...

Think upon how often Founders refer to their businesses as ‘their baby’ - could you imagine balancing that with an actual child of your own? Between Co-Founding Cable and parenting two children, Natasha Vernier’s first CEO experience is about as intense as you could ask for. With a noble mission to create global impact in anti-financial crime, we hear from Natasha about leaders as ‘stress absorber...

The world has been working remotely for three years - Kainar Kamalov has been doing so for more than eight. All the challenges that we’ve faced, he’s already grappled with, and having held leadership roles in a remote-first, scaling startup, Pipe, he brings his expertise to such a challenging business environment. Since recording this episode of Leaders Unscripted, Kainar has taken yet another ste...

When it comes to broad roles, they don’t come more varied than that of a COO. Some of the most invaluable skills to help COOs navigate any challenge come from working with people, a transition that Jessica Zwaan has made look effortless. Currently COO at Whereby, she uncovers the deepest aspects of such a fluid leadership role, your culture as a subscription product, and leading a team through hug...

The Director role is uniquely sandwiched, with expectations and emotions from both sides - it’s a huge shift, but one in which Sonal Mehta has made herself comfortable. As Director of Engineering at Mailchimp, having worked through the ranks throughout her career, she’s perfectly placed to weigh in on the unique nature of the role. Sonal shares her wonderful perspective with me on Leaders Unscript...

When caring for a parent becomes basically a full time job, embracing humanity as a leader becomes absolutely essential, for both the leader and the team around them. Engineering Director at Spotify, Nivia Henry, leads her team through innovation of the highest level, but with a mother in care she’s elegantly balancing these two worlds. Join us on Leaders Unscripted as we share how you can manage...