Responsible Leaders - Healthy Cultures

Tobias Sturesson sits down with Dr. Donna Hicks, Harvard conflict resolution expert and creator of the Dignity Model, who spent three decades mediating the world's most painful conflicts alongside Archbishop Desmond Tutu. This conversation reframes dignity as the missing link in healthy culture. You'll learn why dignity isn't the same as respect, how the brain processes a dignity viola...

Dr. Teemu Reiman shares insights from 25 years studying safety culture in nuclear power, healthcare, and defense. He contrasts how two Japanese nuclear plants hit by the same 2011 tsunami had vastly different outcomes based on their organizational cultures. This conversation reveals why safety is fundamentally a leadership and cultural challenge, not just a technical one. You'll discover pract...

Columbia Business School Professor Paul Ingram joins Tobias Sturesson to explore why values matter for leaders and how to transform them from vague concepts into practical leadership tools that drive better decision-making and authentic leadership. Drawing from research with over 10,000 senior leaders, Paul reveals the striking gap between knowing values matter and actually using them effectively....

Tobias Sturesson sits down with Mwana Lugogo – veteran Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at global pharmaceutical company Takeda – to explore the hidden gap between knowing the right thing to do and actually being able to do it. This first episode of the Responsible Leaders - Healthy Cultures marks a pivotal shift from responsibility and ethics as a compliance exercise to ethics as a leadership...

Why do so many organizations struggle with cultural dysfunction despite having strong values statements and well-intentioned leaders? Tobias Sturesson and Andreas Almlöf reveal the launch of a movement designed to bridge the gap between leadership intentions and everyday actions.  This episode marks a pivotal transition from knowing what good culture looks like to actively practicing the habits th...

Caterina Bulgarella joins Tobias Sturesson and Andreas Almlöf to unpack the big lessons from 2025 and what’s ahead for companies navigating rapid change. Together, they dive into how organisations can cut through performative culture work, truly prioritise human dignity, and harness technology – especially AI – without losing sight of what really matters.  In this episode, we explore: (01:43) Open...

Stephen Nguyen-Duc is Chief Compliance Officer at GE Healthcare and a veteran leader who has built ethics and compliance programs for global healthcare powerhouses like Eli Lilly, AbbVie, and Medday. Across more than two decades, Stephen has seen compliance evolve from a box-ticking exercise to a deeply human journey. In this episode, he joins host Tobias Sturesson to break down why organizational...

Tobias Sturesson and Andreas Almlöf dive deep into the crucial role that values play in shaping organizations and leadership. Values are far more than just words on a wall; they’re the principles that guide tough decisions, even when those choices come with real costs or discomfort. You’ll also hear personal stories about valuing honesty in leadership, wrestling with failures, and fostering enviro...

Caterina Bulgarella is a renowned social scientist with over 20 years of experience in organizational culture transformation and assessment. As a leading expert in culture measurement and a co-creator of the widely used Two Factor Model of Ethical Culture, Caterina brings powerful insights into the deeper layers behind workplace data. In this episode, host Tobias Sturesson dives into the pitfalls...

Tobias Sturesson kicks off a new season of Leading Transformation Change with co-host Andreas Almlöf. Building on insights from his work with global leaders and his acclaimed book You Can Culture , Tobias unpacks the game-changing role of repairing trust inside organizations. Tune in to hear practical strategies for leaders navigating crises, high-pressure environments and everyday cultural tensio...

What does it really mean to build AI responsibly, at Google scale? In this episode, we sit down with Jen Gennai, the person Google turned to when it needed to build ethical AI from the ground up. Jen founded Google’s Responsible Innovation team and has spent her career at the intersection of trust, safety, and emerging tech. From advising world leaders on AI governance to navigating internal pushb...

What does it take to build a culture that not only survives but thrives across global teams? In this episode of Leading Transformational Change, host Tobias Sturesson sits down with Alicia DeFreitas, Global Head of People & Culture at BDO, to explore the key elements that make an organization’s culture truly flourish: respect, growth, and purpose. They dive into the challenges of aligning thes...

Bob Langert, former VP of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability at McDonald's, and Jay Barney, author of ‘The Secret of Culture Change’, join Tobias Sturesson to explore the nuanced journey of leading transformational change within an organisation. Drawing from decades of experience, Bob shares how McDonald's navigated criticism to embrace a proactive approach to social respon...

Bruno Roche, former Chief Economist and Managing Director at Mars Corporation, is now leading efforts at ONEsociety, a foundation and consultancy aiming to drive systemic change in the impact economy. Bruno shares his expertise on navigating today's geopolitical landscape, technological advancements like AI, and the ethical frameworks that underpin sustainable societal progress. Discover how b...

Today we hear from Ann Tenbrunsel, the David E. Gallo Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Notre Dame, and Lenny Wong, a retired research professor at the US Army War College. Explore how positive illusions about our ethicality lead to overlooked blind spots and understand the importance of embracing vulnerability for fostering trust and learning within corporate cultures. This episod...

As we celebrate our 100th episode, we've invited Richard Bistrong, CEO of Front-Line Anti-Bribery and Klaus Moosmayer, Chief Ethics, Risk and Compliance Officer at Novartis, to dive into the essential role of humility in leadership. Together with host Tobias Sturesson, they explore how acknowledging imperfections, owning mistakes, and repairing trust can lead to significant positive shifts in orga...

In this episode, our host, Tobias Sturesson, reads the introduction of his book You Can Culture, which delves into his personal experience of becoming complicit in a toxic culture. We hope it offers you a compelling and insightful introduction to the concept of the four transformative leadership habits the book explores. You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, P...

In this special episode of Leading Transformational Change, we dive deep into the essential habit of ‘Getting Humble’ from my book, ‘You Can Culture’. I am joined by Andreas Almlöf from Heart Management to explore why humility in leadership is crucial for fostering a thriving, ethical culture in organisations. Listen in to hear an excerpt from the book, as well as practical advice on embracing vul...

Richard Bistrong is a former VP of sales for a global multinational who faced legal challenges due to FCPA violations. Richard has transformed his career, becoming an advocate for compliance and ethics, and helping organizations navigate the tricky waters of corporate integrity. Richard delves into the complex interplay between corporate success pressures and ethical compliance, sharing candid ins...

Mary Shirley is a lawyer with 20 years of ethics and compliance experience, which includes implementing, evaluating and monitoring compliance programs for multinational corporations. Tune in as she discusses the critical role of ethical leadership, her stand against bribery and values-driven decision-making. We’ll also delve into innovative initiatives that encourage ethical behaviour and the sign...

In our last episode, we kicked off our digital book launch series with a conversation featuring Alison Taylor, Rob Chesnut, and Ellen Hunt. Today, we have another exciting panel lined up… this time with some of Europe’s leading voices on culture and ethics. Our discussion will focus on common pitfalls and transformative strategies in shaping corporate culture. Tune in as we are joined by Guido Pal...

Today we have an exceptional panel to delve deep into the heart of ethical culture and organizational transformation. We begin first with Andreas Almlöf interviewing Tobias Sturesson about his newest book ‘You Can Culture’. Our panel guests include Ellen Hunt, a leader in the ethics and compliance space, Alison Taylor, former Executive Director of Ethical Systems and a Clinical Associate Professor...

This episode sheds light on the often-overlooked intricacies of team ethical culture, examining the impact of leadership, shared values, and systemic influences on ethical behaviour. Our guest today is Guillem Casoliva, a Corporate Communication and Reputation Management Specialist, who is currently working with Booking.com on the development of the Compliance & Ethics Programme. In this episo...

Barbara Kellermani is a renowned expert in the fields of leadership and followership, having dedicated her lifelong work to the study and authoring of numerous books on these subjects. She is a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. She was the Founding Executive Director of the Center, and a member of the Kennedy School faculty for over twenty years. In this episode,...

Jason Lesandrini is the Assistant Vice President for Ethics, Advance Care Planning and Spiritual Health at Wellstar Health System in Georgia, where he leads the strategy and implementation of ethics initiatives. He holds faculty appointments at Mercer University and South College. Jason is a widely recognized expert in outcomes metrics for ethics programs and served as an ethics expert to numerous...