Leading From Purpose Podcast

Andy Hawkins, C-3PO (Chief People, Planet, and Purpose Officer) at Business On Purpose and B Leader for B Corp, transformed from corporate IT sales to a community builder across three continents. After moving to South Africa for a gap year that became six years, he tackled community challenges like reducing murder rates through football programs. Now back in the UK, Andy coaches businesses through...

Harry Brouwer is the former CEO of Unilever Food Solutions, where he led a global team through transformative moments, including the turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Harry reflects on his journey of bringing purpose to leadership, both inside and outside the corporate world. He shares his transition from managing corporate "kingdoms" to embracing personal freedom in his next chapter,...

Anthoula Kostantinidi is Head of Commercial Productivity at dormakaba, a global leader in security technology. Tune in as Anthoula unpacks her journey toward discovering her personal purpose and how it empowers her to lead boldly in a male-dominated industry. Anthoula recounts the transformative experience of developing her purpose statement, “to make the boys wonder what just happened”, and how i...

When a life-altering diagnosis shakes everything, how does a leader stay true to their mission? Former Silicon Couloir CEO Gary Trauner joins Nick Craig to share how his health crisis tested his resilience and deepened his sense of purpose. In this candid conversation, he unpacks hard-earned lessons on clarity, perseverance, and impact, proving that true leadership is forged in adversity. In this...

Steve Bewick is the Chief Commercial Officer for dormakaba, a global leader in safety and security solutions. With a purpose defined as “Cool head, caring heart, wild places,” Steve shares his personal journey of discovering and living his purpose both in business and life. In this episode, host Nick Craig and Steve discuss how purpose-driven leadership shapes team culture, creates psychological s...

What if business could be the driving force for real change? Andy Last isn’t just talking about it – he’s making it happen. He has advised senior leadership in organizations including Unilever, Mondelez, Bayer and the Lego Group and led that consultancy to become a founding UK B Corp. From launching Global Handwashing Day to shaping the UN’s International Day of Play, his work has changed lives on...

Charlie Malouf and Manny Rodrigues lead Broad River Retail, a company with 33 stores across the Carolinas and Georgia. In this episode, host Nick Craig dives into their incredible journey – from near bankruptcy to a thriving business. Charlie (CEO) and Manny (President and COO) share how their personal purposes – Charlie’s “Play the game and rise to the occasion” and Manny’s “Illuminate the path o...

Steve Miles is the former Chief Marketing Officer for Dove at Unilever. Steve’s purpose is to create beauty and brilliance in brands and people. Steve reflects on his 29-year journey at Unilever, his integral role in leading Dove and furthering its Campaign For Real Beauty, and the challenges he faced in revitalizing the brand. He shares how blending analytical and creative skills helped him achie...

Nick Craig sits down with Loren Shuster, Chief People Officer for the LEGO Group, where they focus on the pivotal role of wellbeing & applying your purpose yourself. Loren underscores the importance of setting boundaries, investing in meaningful relationships, and ensuring personal nourishment… even in the face of high-pressure roles.   In this episode, we discuss: ●       The ‘Oxygen Mask’ pr...

Loren Shuster is the Chief People Officer for the LEGO Group. Loren and I have been on quite a journey together, and in this episode, we'll explore his path from Chief Commercial Officer to Chief People Officer. We'll discuss toy industry challenges, especially post-COVID, and how aligning individual purpose with the LEGO Group's mission has created immense value and driven success....

In today’s episode, we'll dive deep into the incredible journey of Tran Tue Tri, a distinguished guest from Vietnam, who's shifting the narrative around purpose and impact on a national scale. Nick and Tri explore her evolution from a childhood in post-war Vietnam to becoming a senior executive at global giants like Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Now, Tri is channelling her passion a...

Today we are joined by two extraordinary purpose-driven leaders, Sibon Schouten and Xander Meijer. Based in Amsterdam, Sibon is the founder of Markd Global, a company dedicated to helping global leaders and their businesses grow and scale to make a societal impact. Xander, a former corporate executive found his true calling by reconnecting people to nature through good food. This led him to co-fou...

In this episode we are joined by Claire Thwaites and Ed Lewin from the LEGO Group. We explore how their Government & Public Affairs team navigated the challenges of maintaining purpose and identity within a global team, culminating in the creation of the groundbreaking International Day of Play. Join us as we unravel the inspiring story of collaboration, resilience, and the power of purpose in...

Carlos Rey is an expert who has spent 15 years pioneering the integration of purpose into the corporate world. Carlos introduces us to his acclaimed three-question approach, providing insights into how organizations can align their culture and values with their employee's sense of purpose. Refining the art of measuring purpose, Carlos and his team have identified the need for a multifaceted a...

Nick Craig sits down with Paul Cobban, who served as the Chief Transformation Officer at DBS Bank in Singapore for over a decade. Paul shares a vivid account of his first day at DBS and the challenges they faced, such as long wait times, low customer satisfaction scores, and underperforming financial metrics. They discuss the evolution of a purpose-driven approach that propelled DBS to become the...

Jonathan Donner, the former Chief Learning Officer at Unilever, shares insights and experiences from his transformative work with Nick in instilling purpose and authenticity within the senior leadership at Unilever. Across his career, Jonathan has successfully led large global teams and has been cited as one of the top professionals in his field; recognized for innovations and accomplishments in l...

On this episode of Leading from Purpose Podcast, Nick is joined by best-selling author of Deep Purpose , Ranjay Gulati. A Harvard Business School professor whose pursuit was to strategize how to unlock growth for companies in good times and in bad until he discovered that the ultimate unlock of performance in a business on all dimensions is purpose. Ranjay has studied the likes of Facebook, Best B...

<em>Snuggle in, turn up the volume and get ready for an energizing yet realistic view from the head of Talent and Development at one of the pioneers in the organizational purpose space – The LEGO Group.  On this episode, Zahed Kamathia, joins Nick to chat about individual purpose, a company purpose and how a business uses purpose as a lever to create a company culture employees feel connecte...

“When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy.  It’s very simple” -Paul Coelho  In 2021, the LEGO Group delivered record-breaking business results with revenue jumping +27% to 55.3 billion DKK and operating profit going up +32% to 17.0 billion DKK. Fueled by their mission to “ Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow ” the LEGO Group has mastered taking the long v...

“The reality is that the only way change comes is when you lead by example.” -Anne Wojcicki With over 200 years of proud heritage and rich tradition, the United States Army is one of the largest, most sophisticated organizations in the world today.  The 1.1 million person Army Force, comprised of Active Duty, the National Guard and Reserve Forces, is approximately 16% women and 30% racial minoriti...

In 2020, the most popular retailer in Australia, Bunnings, announced operating revenue increased by 13.9%, to over $14 billion. How does the company continue to see growth and remain on top? By doubling down on its commitment to being a purpose-driven organization.  On this episode, Michael Schneider, the CEO, stops by to talk about leaning in on Purpose to lead an organization through economic un...

Join Nick Craig as he sits down with Sandra Schoonhoven, Head of Sustainability at ING to discuss the power of Purpose and how “serving elephant for dinner” helps her adapt to the ever-changing world of sustainability. During their conversation, Sandra shares how Purpose has impacted her as a leader and how it has provided new and deeper insights into her own life experiences, especially in her mo...

Every so often, you meet someone who really makes an impact on everyone around them, and causes you take a step back and consider what you’re doing to help others and make the world a better place. This episode of the “Leading From Purpose” podcast may cause you to do just that.  In this episode, Nick Craig sits down with Tswelo Kodisang, the Group Chief People Officer at Discovery Limited. Tswelo...

As we close out a year that has been filled with unexpected and unprecedented challenges, I am chatting with Geoff McDonald, thought leader on dealing with mental health in the business world.  Geoff, a ‘Mental Health Campaigner’, shares his personal experience with mental health  and how it unveiled his Purpose. Geoff works with companies to incorporate mental health as a strategic priority. Afte...

“At a point, [purpose] occasionally becomes – do I feel comfortable looking myself in the mirror ?” Nine months ago, Italy, particularly Milan, was labeled the new epicenter of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The world was watching the dramatic impact the spread was having on the society, people, business and economy at large. In the midst, Alessio Miranda, newly appointed Country Manger and CEO of ING Ban...