The Samana Podcast with Anant Vijay

Our guest today is Taz Chaponda. In our conversation, we talk about what it means to build a career around impact, rather than prestige. Taz reflects on leaving Washington after seeing a job ad on a trip home, the leadership mistakes he made running a young institution, and why the most meaningful work of his career may still be ahead of him in public office. We also explore why capital is not flo...

Our guest today is Pauline Brown. She’s spent her career at the intersection of business, brand, and human judgment - starting at Bain, and going on to leadership roles at Estée Lauder, Avon, The Carlyle Group, and later as Chair of LVMH North America. Today, she focuses on something most people overlook: the part of judgment that goes beyond data - taste, meaning, and emotional resonance - throug...

Our guest today is Lewis Bollard. He’s spent his career at the intersection of power and purpose - moving from Harvard to Bain, to Yale Law, and ultimately into his current role as Managing Director at Open Philanthropy, where he deploys capital to solve a largely overlooked global issue: factory farming. The real story goes beyond his resume - it revolves around the internal tension he learned to...

Our guest today is Dick Boyce. ​He began at Bain & Company, rose to Partner, moved into operating leadership at PepsiCo, became CEO of J.Crew, and ultimately founded and led TPG’s Operating Group - the team that drove performance across a 100+ company portfolio at the top private equity firm. He later chaired brands like Burger King and Del Monte Foods, serves on the Board of Allbirds, and rec...

Our guest today is Cedric Cornelis, a global leader whose career has carried him from Europe to Asia, Australia, and the US - not by chasing comfort, but by following curiosity. An engineer by training with an MBA from Kellogg, Cedric began in consulting at Bain & Company before taking on senior strategy and operating roles at DHL and across a wide set of industries. Today, he serves as Chief...

Our guest today is Chris Tsakalakis. He's led some of the internet’s most recognizable platforms as CEO: StubHub, Vivino, and Kiva, after his stint in consulting at Bain. But his path to the top wasn’t a straight line, and it wasn’t always smooth. The son of Greek immigrants, he spent his early years working for his father, learning the rhythms of labor before the language of business. He made his...

Welcome to Samana - where we unpack the titles, the exits, and what comes after traditional success with the world's most successful people. We speak with trailblazers who’ve built and sold unicorns, are tackling humanitarian challenges, and are pushing the frontier of tech. People who’ve achieved what most only chase - and then asked, “Is this it?”" Samana is named after people in ancient times w...