Paulo Azevedo tells us about growing up in Portugal and England and the various stages of his ascent to the role of Chairman of the Portuguese conglomerate, Sonae Group.
 
We talk about what drives his belief in people and why reskilling and lifelong learning matter so much to him. He also explains how he researches new interests every few years, his fascination with biodiversity and reveals what he is planning to learn next.

Episode 7 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Benjamin Hertoghs at House of Media.  Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche and Andy Furniere at Uitgesproken.

© ERT

Alessandro Profumo talks about his teenage passion for basketball, his early start in banking, his time in consulting and more recent move into aviation and security, as the CEO of the Italian company, Leonardo.
 
 We also discuss the pressure on aviation in a time of green transition and nascent post-COVID recovery; the promising opportunities presented by the era of big data; his view on intensifying security threats and why leaders need people with soft skills.

Episode 6 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Tom Giles at House of Media. The Sound Recordist in Rome was Nicolo Temperini.  Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche and Andy Furniere at Uitgesproken.

© ERT

Nancy McKinstry talks about her childhood in rural Connecticut, her path from consulting into the world of publishing and the strategy she put in place at the 185 year old company Wolters Kluwers to transform it into the leading information services company it is today.

She also shares her thoughts on the importance of resilience, lifelong learning and why she has become an advocate of quotas to advance diversity in the workplace.

Episode 5 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Tom Giles at House of Media. The Sound Recordist in the US was Jeb Enoch.  Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche and Andy Furniere at Uitgesproken.

© ERT

We sat down with Stefan Oschmann, former-Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of the global biopharma company Merck Group, before he moved to the new role of Chair of the Board & Independent Director at UCB.

In wide-ranging conversation on his last day at Merck Group, he talks about what attracted him to work in science, why the public and private sectors need to build more trust and the opportunities that linked open data presents for solving some of societies biggest problems. He also talks about his work on global health problems with Bill Gates, the value of curiosity and much more.

Episode 4 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Tom Giles at House of Media. The Sound Recordist in Darmstadt was Johannes Schmitt. Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche and Andy Furniere at Uitgesproken.

© ERT

Tony Smurfit talks about his interest in business from an early age and what it was like growing up in a family synonymous with enterprise. He shares his insights on leadership during challenging times, what innovation looks like in the packaging business and why inflation is next disruption coming over the horizon.

Episode 3 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Tom Giles at House of Media. The Sound Recordist in Dublin was Alan Kelly. Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche and Andy Furniere at Uitgesproken.

© ERT

Ilham Kadri talks about her humble upbringing in Casablanca, her professional start in industry, some of the roles she took on earlier in her career and what she learned. She also tells us about her approach to transforming the 158 year old Belgian industrial company, Solvay and shares her thoughts on how inclusion & diversity can gain more scale.

Episode 2 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and hosted by Robert O'Meara.
This episode was recorded by Mathieu Savenay at Sonhouse. Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Tom Giles at House of Media. Music by Tom Soetaert.  Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche and Andy Furniere at Uitgesproken.

© ERT

In a very open conversation, Carl-Henric Svanberg talks about his upbringing in Sweden and shares lessons he learned from his experiences at the helm of companies in many industrial sectors, including Assa Abloy, Ericsson, BP and his current role at Volvo Group.

Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and hosted by Robert O'Meara.
Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Tom Giles at House of Media.  The Sound Recordist in Stockholm was Per Nordmark.  Music by Tom Soetaert.   Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche at Uitgesproken and Tom van Haute at House of Media.

© ERT

What to expect from 21st Century Industrialists. 

© ERT