

Meet The Leader
World Economic Forum
In these one-on-one conversations, host Linda Lacina interviews the world's top leaders, change-makers and experts on the solutions they're building to tackle the world's biggest challenges, the habits they can't work without, and their lessons learned, all from the World Economic Forum
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 25, 2023 • 40min
Smartphones - and companies - designed for the future: Fairphone's Bas van Abel
What if the next time your smartphone broke, you could fix it yourself? The repairable, sustainable smartphone maker Fairphone does just that all while helping to wean consumers off the quest for the thinnest, latest gadget -- a cycle that simply adds tons of valuable materials to landfill annually. Founder Bas van Abel joins Meet the Leader for a frank talk about what's really involved in making a smartphone, his journey from designer to device CEO, and the tough moments he faced in the startup's early days to stay on track with the startup's sustainable mission. He'll also share why he founded two startups tackling circularity (Fairphone and food waste startup De Clique) and what's needed for true system change. He'll also explain what excites him about social enterprise and how entrepreneurs with big ideas for sustainability can tackle multiple challenges at once, from working conditions to resource protection, helping to reshape entire sectors and practices in the process. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 19, 2023 • 33min
Davos 2023: A conversation with Palantir's Alex Karp
Alex Karp, Founder of Palantir Technologies, discusses the company's work with governments, his non-traditional background, and living in New Hampshire. They also touch on Palantir's origins, controversies, and future direction, as well as the importance of security clearances. The CEO shares their perspective on share price, company performance, and regulatory requirements, while discussing societally relevant products, hiring practices, and technology capabilities.

Jan 16, 2023 • 24min
Davos 2023: Ingka Group's Jesper Brodin: The talent crisis you're not talking enough about
More than 100 million displaced people struggle to find new work after fleeing war and chaos. To help refugees and asylum seekers find a true fresh start, Ingka Group (the chief owner and operator of IKEA retail) designed the Skills for Employment Initiative. With its 3-6 months of training in language and other critical job skills, displaced people can find meaningtul work at IKEA or other companies and get a true fresh start. In this episode, Ingka Group CEO Jesper Brodin shared the lessons he has learned from this initiative and how, if scaled, programs like this one could play an important role in everything from tackling labor shortages to strengthening economies. He also shared how programs like this one can reveal key hiring blindspots, ensuring leaders re-examine current hiring approaches to be more inclusive, less slow, and even less biased towards a certain types of profiles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 15, 2023 • 18min
AM23 Preview: IFC's Makhtar Diop on tackling multiple crises simultaneously
Ahead of the 2023 Annual Meeting, Makhtar Diop, the Managing Director and Executive Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), shares a special funding initiative designed to confront the food crisis, one that can also help address other issues including financial resilience for farmers and more sustainable practices for the climate. Success requires new forms of collaboration and drives home one of the key themes of this year's global conference in Davos, 'Cooperation in a fragmented world.' Diop also shares what gives him hope, what keeps him up at night, and what he hopes leaders will prioritise at this year's conference in Davos. These resources can help you learn more about the topics in this episode: IFC: The IFC is the private sector arm of the World Bank, and describes itself as 'the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. Learn more here: Global Food Security Platform: this IFC initiative is tackling the overlapping crises simultaneously including the food crisis, financial resilience and climate change. Learn more here. OCP: The world's largest producer of phosphate-based fertilizers is a Strategic Partner at the World Economic Forum and announced a plan in October to dedicate 4 million tonnes of fertilizers to strengthen food security in Africa. Learn more here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 6, 2023 • 46min
Hire better in 2023: Insights from Generation CEO Mona Mourshed
Hiring has never been easy, but economic shifts, global crises and explosive demand for new tech skills has made finding talent harder. Mourshed discusses the models and mindsets her global non-profit uses to train and place adult learners and candidates that might be overlooked around the globe ensuring businesses can tap into and develop new pipelines of talent. She also shares how remote work can tackle job deserts, why buzzwords like quiet quitting provide an incomplete picture of labor challenges and helps leaders identify the hiring blind spots that might be holding their organizations back. Story: Meet the Leader: 4 mindset shifts for better hiring in 2023 Transcript: Hire better in 2023: Lessons from Generation CEO Mona Mourshed Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 21, 2022 • 29min
17 books that inspired and informed leaders in 2022
What's inspired, informed, delighted and impressed the top leaders in business and civil society? In this second annual book recommendation episode, learn the top books recommended by CEOs, economists, government leaders and more in 2022. You'll be reminded of the staying power of definitive business books ('Made to Stick', 'Grit'), discover what new books tech leaders can't put down ( 'A Thousand Brains'), which books can help you better understand the economy ('21st Century Monetary Policy').and what classic children's books can teach you about leadership. In this episode: Bas von Abel, Founder, Fairphone; Justin Bibb, Mayor, Cleveland; James Chen, Philanthropist and Founder, Clearly; Chano Fernandez, Former Co-CEO Workday; Andrea Fuder, Chief Purchasing Officer, Volvo Group; Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Building Council; Jane Gilbert, Chief Heat Officer, Miami-Dade County; Justin Hotard, EVP & GM, High Performance Computing & Artificial Intelligence, Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Barbara Humpton, President and CEO of Siemens Corporation; Leif Johansson Non-Executive, Chair of the Board; AstraZeneca; Stephanie Linnartz, President, Marriott International; Alex Liu, Managing Partner and Chairman, Kearney; Tjada Mckenna, CEO, Mercy Corps; Tolullah Oni, Epidemiologist; Kahea Pacheco, Co Executive Director, Women's Earth Alliance; Shez Partovi, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer, Philips; Nela Richardson, Chief Economist, ADP; Pete Stavros, Founder, Ownership Works; Kristian Teleki, Director, Friends of Ocean Action. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 9, 2022 • 24min
How tech will shape our future: Metaverse, quantum sensing and more
Technologies are reshaping everything from how we work and relate to one another, to how we deliver healthcare, pursue an education, and manufacture goods. In interviews recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos, the Global Technology Governance Retreat in June in San Francisco, and even the Urban Transformation Summit in Detroit his fall, leaders share how quantum sensing, the metaverse or data and a range of other tech will drive new shifts. They'll also share how these changes will put new demands on leaders and how they can navigate those changes best. Featured in this episode: Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab; C.P. Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra; Jack Hidary, CEO, SandboxAQ; Justin Hotard, Executive Vice President and General Manager at Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens Corporation; George Oliver, CEO, Johnson Controls; Igor Tulchinsky, Founder, Chairman and CEO of WorldQuant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 11, 2022 • 29min
COP27: 7 leaders on innovating for climate change
In this special compilation episode timed to the COP 27 Climate Summit in Egypt, CEOs and government leaders share surprising and innovative approaches to scaling climate action. Featured in this episode: Rania Al-Mashat, the Egyptian minister for international cooperation; Patrick Decker, CEO, Xylem; George Oliver, CEO and chairman of Johnson Controls; Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens Corporation; Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, CEO, Mercy Corps; Mohammad Jafaar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kuwaiti Danish Dairy Company; Eric Rondolat, CEO, Signify. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 4, 2022 • 12min
6 books top climate leaders want you to read
As the UN Climate Summit COP27 begins this month, here are 6 books - from 'Braiding Sweetgrass' to 'Speed and Scale' that have shaped, inspired and informed top climate leaders. In this episode: Al Gore, former US Vice President and founder of the Climate Reality Project; Activist Jane Goodall, Ezgi Barcenas, AB InBev's Chief Sustainability Officer; Kristian Teleki, executive director, Friends of Ocean Action; Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council; Jane Gilbert, the Chief Heat Officer of Florida's Miami-Dade County; Kahea Pacheco, the co-executive director of the Women's Earth Alliance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 28, 2022 • 16min
COP27: 7 leaders on what's needed now for climate action
Ahead of the COP27 global climate summit, this special compilation episode collects interview excerpts from a range of leaders in government, business, and civil society about what leaders must put first for climate action. Leaders share a range of commitments they'd like to see move forward as well as insights on priorities that are often overlooked, including the role women play in climate change solutions, how ocean action can reduce emissions, the importance of scalable innovation and more. Includes interviews with: Rania Al-Mashat, Egypt's Minister for International Cooperation; Kristian Teleki, Director, Friends of Ocean Action; Kahea Pacheco, co-director, Women's Earth Alliance; Ezgi Barcenas, Chief Sustainability Officer, Anheuser-Busch In-Bev; Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens USA; Jane Gilbert, Chief Heat Officer, Miami-Dade County, Florida; Frans van Houten, former Philips CEO. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


