Next Wave Leadership Podcast

Laura Fravel is a keynote speaker, communications coach, and storytelling expert. She spent over 16 years as a story producer at National Geographic, having developed and produced over 100 stories. Across her career, she worked with executives from Adidas, helped train the Warner Bros. Discovery global leadership team, and regularly spoke for Forbes Business Council. Laura works with leaders to ho...

Rory Sutherland is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy and co-founded a behavioral science practice within the agency. Ogilvy is a British advertising and consulting agency that has worked with industry titans, including Dove, Samsung, BP, and IBM.  Before founding Ogilvy Change, Rory was a copywriter and creative director at Ogilvy for over 20 years, having joined as a graduate trainee in 1988. He is the...

Benji Baer is the Chief Marketing Officer at CBRE, a global leader in commercial real estate services. She is a senior executive with extensive experience in brand strategy, strategic marketing, and business planning. Benji's previous positions have spanned  J.P. Morgan, Legg Mason, and AllianceBernstein. Over her long career, she has become a globally-recognized marketing innovator focused on dri...

Kristin Engvig is the Founder and CEO of WIN (Women's International Networking), a global leadership initiative for women and men who want to lead authentically by embracing feminine values. She is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, and worldwide authority on feminine leadership. Kristin is also a Board Member at Global Citizen Forum Network, a Board Member at UNISMO, and an Advisory Board Member a...

Sylvia Rohde-Liebenau is the former Managerial Advisor of Leadership Development and Coaching at the European Investment Bank, where she advanced leaders for almost 18 years. Sylvia also served as a Senior Consultant for Ramboll Management and a Program Manager for the European Commission. Over the last 25 years, Sylvia has amassed experience as a leadership development expert and senior professio...

Graham Barkus is the Founder and the Managing Director of The Human Factor, a management consulting firm designed to help people and businesses through major changes. The Human Factor helps clients address transformation, improve relationships, and enhance performance.  In addition to his business, Graham is a Non-Executive Director of Peak Pacific Group and a Partner at Transformation Worldwide....

Marco Aurelio is the Executive Advisor for SandboxAQ, an enterprise SaaS company that seeks to solve some of society's most challenging problems. With more than 30 years of information management experience, Marco is a recognized figure among businesses and a trusted consultant. He worked in executive roles at Amazon Web Services, Delphix, Oracle, and SAP, to name a few. He specializes in system d...

As a successful serial entrepreneur, Edward Woodford has become an expert in leadership and fintech. He is the CEO and Co-founder of Zero Hash, a company that integrates crypto products and services into ecommerce platforms. He previously co-founded Seed CX and How App and worked with several other businesses as a research analyst. Edward's education includes a master's degree in finance from MIT...

Michael Landers is the Founder and President of Culture Crossing Inc., a company that offers strategic consulting for the global marketplace. His workshops and speaking events have drawn over 100,000 people worldwide. As a specialist in multicultural environments, he has consulted for organizations such as The Oxford Group and ALC Education Inc. Michael authored the bestselling book Culture Crossi...

Dr. Heidi K. Gardner is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and the Faculty Chair of the school's Accelerated Leadership Program. She is also the Co-founder of Gardner & Co., a respected research and advisory firm. Additionally, she is a recognized thought leader and a highly acclaimed keynote speaker. Previously, Dr. Gardner was a professor at Harvard Business School and continues to tea...

Robyn Bolton is the Founder and Chief Navigator of MileZero, a consultancy that helps companies fuel innovation in their culture and products. As an expert in product strategy and innovation, she has worked with Nike, Nestlé, The Cable Center, Medtronic, Ariadne Labs, and Alexion, among many other leading names. Robyn's prior experience includes nearly a decade at Innosight, as Brand Manager at Pr...

Amanda Setili is the President of Setili & Associates, LLC, a company working with leading brands such as Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot, UPS, and Walmart. Before starting her own business, she consulted for McKinsey & Company and was the Chief Operating Officer for Asia Connect. Amanda is the author of  The Agility Advantage  and  Fearless Growth  and has become a renowned speaker for...

Mark Levy is a keynote speaker, advisor, author, and the Owner of Levy Innovation, a positioning and branding firm that helps organizations and thought leaders differentiate themselves from the crowd. Over the last 20-plus years, his notable clients include Simon Sinek, a head of a division of two White House administrations, a head of the strategy unit for Harvard Business School, and a speaker t...

Kate Terry is the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Surround Insurance, which reinvents age-old insurance products to serve new customers. With 18 years in the insurance industry, she is a respected figure in the insurance space and works as a member of the board of directors for Skyward Specialty Insurance. Kate has also held leadership positions at Liberty Mutual and Progressive. She has...

Rachel Cossar is the CEO and Co-founder of Virtual Sapiens, a machine learning SaaS platform that helps client-facing professionals develop and amplify their communication skills and presence in a virtual world. As a former professional ballet dancer and gymnast with unparalleled expertise in nonverbal communication and live performance, Rachel has a knack for translating unique skills into relata...

Rachel Cossar is the CEO and Co-founder of Virtual Sapiens, a machine learning SaaS platform that helps client-facing professionals develop and amplify their communication skills and presence in a virtual world. As a former professional ballet dancer and gymnast with unparalleled expertise in nonverbal communication and live performance, Rachel has a knack for translating unique skills into relata...

Wei-Li Chong is the Founder and Managing Partner of Culture Playbook Partners (CCP), a company that helps organizations make their culture a tangible lever that drives business performance. He spent almost 30 years successfully leading human capital and culture transformations, driving business performance in billion-dollar-plus organizations.  Before CPP, Wei-Li was the SVP of Human Resources at...

Coco Brown is an entrepreneur, board member, and the Founder and CEO of The Athena Alliance. The Athena Alliance is a digital ecosystem and platform designed around community, education, and opportunity for the top women in business. Coco has been actively leading Silicon Valley-based professional services and tech companies since 1997.  Before founding Athena in 2016, Coco was the President, COO,...

Dov Pollack is an executive coach and development consultant who has helped brands such as Charles Schwab, Slack, and Amazon. Through his executive coaching consultancy, Next Wave Leadership, he works one-on-one with leaders to find their presence and better tell their stories. He is a Founding Partner of Riverene and has previously worked with Future State Inc. and Hill Physicians Medical Group....

Shiva Dustdar is the Director, Head, and Dean of the European Investment Bank, the European Union's investment bank and one of the largest international lenders in the world. Shiva has worked there for almost 20 years and has held positions in the risk management, lending directorate, and advisory services departments.  Before her work at European Investment Bank, Shiva served as the Director of H...

Eric Severson is the Executive Vice President and Chief People & Belonging Officer at Neiman Marcus Group (NMG), a chain of luxury department stores based in the United States. NMG has been a pioneer of luxury fashion items, superior service, and elegant retail experiences for more than 100 years.  Eric is the Director of the Board of Directors for HR People + Strategy, as well as the Director of...

Amy Kraft is the Senior Director of Development and Children's Programming at Pinna and a seasoned content strategist. In her position, she leads the production of more than 60 podcasts and dozens of audiobooks.  Amy co-founded Monkey Bar Collective, which designed and produced over 75 games for clients such as Scholastic, Barnes & Noble, Sesame Workshop, and Sylvan Learning. She has over two deca...

Suzi Sosa is a serial social entrepreneur with experience in leadership, corporate programming, and financial services. She is the Co-founder and CEO of Verb Inc., a leadership development platform for businesses to leverage the potential of their employees. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of the Dell Social Innovation Competition and was a contributing editor for Inc. magazine. ...

Andy Bass is the Founder and Managing Director of BassClusker Consulting, where he works with senior executives to increase their growth and productivity. He's advised leaders in more than 30 industries across 12 countries. As a strategist, Andy has counseled executives at large organizations such as Deutsche Bank, L'Oreal, and Aon and many mid-sized businesses and trade associations. Andy has als...

Sarah Gaeta is a recognized leader in the technology space and an accomplished executive. She is the CEO of Conversion Logix, a digital marketing and technology partner that has been ranked on the Inc. 5000 list. She has held leadership positions at companies, including Adobe, Motorola, Nuance Communications, and TiVo. Additionally, Sarah serves as a consultant for other business executives to str...