Steward Leadership: Maximum Purpose, Maximum Profit

Rajeev Peshawaria sits down with Shin Lin Kok, CEO of Susten, to explore how her humble beginnings became the foundation for a business built on doing more with less. Shin Lin shares how her personal journey, having grown up in modest circumstances, informed both Susten's mission and her appetite for innovation. She recalls noticing a persistent gap between energy consumption and cooling perfo...

Sandra Liz Hon, Executive Director of H2 Energy, knows “a single blackout can cost lives,” especially in the healthcare sector. Her team at H2 Energy has created an in-situ process that uses solar and extracts hydrogen from rainwater, removing the need for diesel and costly fuel transport, for core community industries. It’s already price-competitive, has a 10–15 year lifespan, and doesn't pas...

Pooja Jaiswal, COO of Last Mile Care, sits down with Rajeev to discuss bridging the massive healthcare access gap for underserved populations in India. Their two-time Steward Leadership 25 award-winning project Kavach, meaning shield, deploys “physigital units” that combine on-ground infrastructure with digital health IDs to provide health screenings and doctor consultations in industrial areas. U...

From being the first woman in her community to attend university to shaping global trade policy, Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Former Executive Director, APEC Secretariat, Singapore; Director, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, shares her remarkable journey and insights on leadership, economic integration, and the future of ASEAN. She discusses ASEAN’s unique position and approa...

Dasho Karma Tshiteem, Member of the Core Working Group for the Gelephu Mindfulness City, joins Rajeev to explore a different side of leadership - one that treats happiness and meaning as fundamental. He shares why happiness isn’t about contentment, but about living with meaning and fulfilling the many roles we hold in life with purpose. Despite a storied public-facing career leading civil and gove...

Bhargav Sri Prakash, Founder & CEO of FriendsLearn, joins Rajeev a year after their first podcast together to share how his ambitious “digital vaccines” could redefine global health and disease prevention.    Built on 12 years of scientific research and international collaboration, Bhargav’s team, together with Carnegie Mellon University, has developed a patented neuro-cognitive training techn...

Edward Booty, Founder of reach52, sits down with Rajeev to discuss healthcare access for the 52% of the world left behind by traditional systems.  Drawing on his experience and knowledge from a career working with consulting firms and pharmaceuticals, Ed designed a model that delivers essential medicines and education to rural and last mile communities, maximising both purpose and profit. reach52...

Benjamin Towell, Executive Director of OCBC’s Wholesale Banking Sustainability Office, helps shape the bank’s net‑zero roadmap for the built environment, drives innovative finance solutions for customers with a special focus on SMEs, and contributes to global efforts like CRREM and the World Green Building Council to ensure credible 1.5 °C aligned pathways. Benjamin explains OCBC’s SL25-award winn...

Steve Willis and Jan Lee, authors of Fairhaven: A Novel of Climate Optimism, imagine a hopeful climate future. Drawing on their backgrounds in engineering, sustainability and journalism, they chose to use fiction as a force for good, crafting a novel that inspired and galvanised its readers to take charge of the future. By researching real innovations like rigs‑to‑reef and Arctic refreezing as wel...

Dr. Shuchin Bajaj, Founder Director of Ujala Cygnus, shares the powerful mission behind his healthcare network: to ensure that no one is denied quality medical care due to financial, geographic, or social barriers. At Ujala Cygnus Kashmir, turning away a patient for financial reasons is a fireable offense, a testament to the organisation’s unwavering commitment to healthcare equity. Dr. Bajaj dive...

Eugenia Koh, Global Head of Sustainable Finance, Wealth and Retail Banking at Standard Chartered, discusses the bank's strategic initiatives to empower women entrepreneurs and drive inclusive economic growth, including the SC WIN program, which has provided $300 million in financing to women-led SMEs and aims to reach $1 billion by 2028. Eugenia also delves into the Women in Entrepreneurship progr...

Mariam Omar, Group Head of Corporate Communications at Brandix, delves into the company's remarkable journey from a textile trading firm to a global leader in sustainable apparel manufacturing. Joining Brandix in 2020, Mariam brings a unique perspective, blending her background in mechanical engineering and social enterprise with a passion for innovation and social impact. She guided the compa...

What's the secret to lasting 150 years in business? In this inspiring episode, Rajeev Peshawaria sits down with Dr. Harald Link, Chairman of B.Grimm, to uncover the formula behind the company’s remarkable journey. From its humble beginnings bringing European medicines to Thailand, B.Grimm has reinvented and evolved into a powerhouse across energy, real estate, and pharmaceuticals—without ever...

Why would an investment banker leave Wall Street to join a renewable energy company? For Filipa Ricciardi, Executive Director at EDP Renewables APAC, the answer lies in purpose. In this third episode of our Maximum Purpose, Maximum Profit podcast, Rajeev Peshawaria sits down with Filipa Ricciardi, Executive Director of EDP Renewables APAC, to explore how businesses can lead the clean energy transi...

Dr Stephen Cave, Director of the Institute for Technology and Humanity at Cambridge University sits down with Rajeev to discuss the intersection of technology, ethics and leadership. Exposing the dual nature of AI, Dr Stephen emphasises both its opportunities and challenges, sharing how we can best leverage the technology for the greater good. Through a discussion of the ethical implications of AI...

Rajeev Peshawaria, CEO of Stewardship Asia Centre, and Neil Humphreys, author and journalist, kick off the first episode of Stewardship Asia Centre's new series Steward Leadership: Maximum Purpose, Maximum Profit. Inspired by his book Sustainable Sustainability , Rajeev shares thought-provoking ideas on how to balance profitability with social and environmental responsibility. Rajeev and Neil...