Irina Cozma is an organizational psychologist and executive coach who has spent her career at the intersection of talent, fit, and workplace design. After a long path through academia, consulting, and senior roles at large organizations like Salesforce and Wells Fargo, she built her own practice focused on helping individuals and organizations create better alignment between people and the work they do.

In our conversation, we talked about how early experiences shape our relationship with work, why so many people end up in roles that don’t fit them, and what both employees and employers can do to create better outcomes. We also explored practical ways to think about hiring, autonomy, feedback, and the day-to-day conditions that make work either energizing or draining.

Contact Dino at: [email protected]

Websites:

al4ep.com

irinacozma.com

Additional Guest Links:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/irinacozma

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Stephanie Chung is a C-suite leader and board member with decades of experience in aviation and the first Black person in U.S. history to run a private aviation company. Stephanie really paid her dues to get there: she started her career quite literally on the tarmac, parking airplanes and loading luggage at Boston Logan Airport, then went on to leadership in aviation sales, to president of JetSuite X and Chief Growth Officer and brand ambassador of a publicly traded aviation company.

In our conversation we explored how growing up as the daughter of an Air Force Master Sergeant shaped her leadership philosophy—instilling a deep commitment to excellence, accountability, and completing the mission. Stephanie also shared how her background in sales influenced the way she leads organizations, why leaders must learn to balance sales, operations, and finance, and how looking for opportunities in “unlikely places” can transform a career.

Finally, we talked about her book Ally Leadership How To Lead People Who Are Not Like You. She emphasized the importance of building trust as a leader, creating psychological safety in teams, and why leadership doesn’t need to be complicated if you simply do what you say you will do.

Contact Dino at: [email protected]

Websites:

al4ep.com

stephaniechung.com

Additional Guest Links:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/TheStephanieChung

Instagram: @TheStephanieChung

Fecebook: facebook.com/TheStephanieChung

YouTube: @TheStephanieChung

TikTok: @thestephaniechung

Substack: @yourallyinleadership

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram : @al4edp

Podcast Twitter: @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

"Michael Stausholm is the CEO and founder of Sprout World, the first plantable pencil. He started his career in shipping, spent over a decade working across Asia in the garment industry, and along the way developed a deep perspective on leadership, culture, and responsibility in business. Eventually, that journey led him to build Sprout World, a company built around a simple idea: what if the products we use every day didn’t become waste, but something new instead?

In our conversation, we talk about what he learned early in his career managing teams in very different cultural environments, how that shaped his approach to leadership, and why he believes in giving people freedom while still providing clear direction. We also get into the practical side of building a purpose-driven business, from making decisions about production to balancing commercial success with doing things the right way."

Contact Dino at: [email protected]

Websites:

al4ep.com

sproutworld.com

Additional Guest Links:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michaelstausholm/

Corporate Links

Linktree: linktr.ee/sproutworld

TikTok: @sproutworldofficial

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/sprout-europe

Instagram: @sproutworldofficial

Facebook: facebook.com/sproutworldofficial

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Today's guest is Carlo Giannone, a graduate student and teaching assistant at the Harvard Kennedy School, researcher in geopolitics and economics, and founder of the podcast Finanza, Pizza e Mandolino.

Carlo shares how growing up in Sicily shaped his early interest in economic inequality and public service, and how that led him to study economics at Bocconi, the London School of Economics, and Harvard. He reflects on the role of economics and policy in addressing structural challenges and creating opportunity.

The conversation explores Carlo’s leadership experiences across student organizations, alumni networks, and international initiatives. He discusses the importance of representing diverse perspectives, building trust in institutions, and ensuring that leadership remains grounded in the needs of the people it serves.

Dino and Carlo also examine practical aspects of leadership development, including balancing high standards with psychological safety, leading in voluntary environments, and maintaining authenticity while making decisions. Carlo shares lessons from his time in consulting and student leadership roles, highlighting listening, emotional intelligence, and creating environments where people can contribute at their best.

Finally, Carlo outlines his motivation to pursue a path that combines private sector experience with a long-term commitment to public service, with a focus on contributing to better policy and governance.

Contact Dino at: [email protected]

Websites:

al4ep.com

Additional Guest Links:

Finanza Pizza e Mandolino Podcast

On Spotify

On Apple Podcasts

Instagram: @finanzapizzamandolino

Youtube: youtube.com/@FinanzaPizzaMandolino/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carlogiannone

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Celeste Warren spent 28 years at Merck, where she rose to become Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Since retiring from Merck, she founded Celeste Warren Consulting, where she continues to advise organizations on leadership, culture, and inclusion. Together with her two children, she also co-founded Destination STEM, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Celeste has been widely recognized for her work in diversity and inclusion, and she is the author of a new book titled The Truth About Equity: What It Really Is, What It Isn’t, and Why Everybody Wins When They Get It Right.

In our conversation, Celeste shares the personal story that first shaped her perspective on equity and leadership, growing up as the daughter of the first Black teacher, principal, and superintendent in his school district. We also explore her unexpected path into human resources, the lessons she learned about leadership early in her career, and why servant leadership and situational leadership are so critical for building successful teams.

Finally, we spend time breaking down what diversity, equity, and inclusion actually mean in practice, why the concepts are often misunderstood, and how leaders can approach them in a thoughtful and practical way inside their organizations.

Contact Dino at: [email protected]

Websites:

CRWDiversity.com

al4ep.com

Additional Guest Links:

Contact at:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/celestewarrenllc

Instagram: @crwdiversity

YouTube: youtube.com/@celestewarren-equity

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Truth About Equity Book on Amazon: mybook.to/TruthAboutEquity

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Today's guest is Miles Spencer is currently CEO and a founder of Reflekta.ai, a Soul Tech company that bridges generations through fully interactive digital legacies. A multi-exit entrepreneur, investor, and storyteller, he is the author of the Amazon bestseller A Line in the Sand, Founder of Kayak for a Cause and former co-host of PBS’s MoneyHunt. Miles has spent his career at the intersection of media, technology, and adventure and human-centered narrative. With Reflekta, he is pioneering a new way for families to preserve voice, memory, and values… turning stories into dynamic, spontaneous connections that endure across lifetimes.

Contact Dino at: [email protected]

Websites:

reflekta.ai

al4ep.com

Additional Guest Links:

Talk to one of Reflekta's reflections

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/milesspencer

Instagram:

Twitter:

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Matei Zatreanu is the CEO and founder of System2, a data science firm that helps institutional investors make better decision. His family immigrated from Romania, but for the first few years, his parents had to leave him and his brother temporarily behind as they settled themselves in their new country.

In our conversation, we explored how early hardship, like growing up separated by your parents, builds a “figure it out” mentality, why storytelling is one of the most underrated leadership skills, and how something as simple as sharing a meal can become the foundation of culture and trust inside an organization.

We went deep into the meaning of profit, the tradeoffs entrepreneurs face when considering outside capital, and the importance of understanding your own motivations before chasing growth, money, or status.

Contact Dino at: [email protected]

Websites:

sstm2.com

al4ep.com

Additional Guest Links:

Podcast: on Spotify

On YouTube: youtube.com/@system2pod

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matei-zatreanu/

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Eric Stone is the CEO and founder of Clear Path Ventures and the author of Jumpstart Your Workplace Culture.

Eric started as a management trainee at Enterprise Rent-A-Car and spent more than 25 years rising through the ranks to become a senior executive in one of the company’s top-performing regions. Along the way, he led large teams across retail and administrative environments, built high-performance cultures, and developed leaders who went on to succeed at every level of the organization.

In this episode, we talk about:

1. What you learn from building a career inside one organization for decades
2. How to hire and develop great salespeople
3. Why belief is the foundation of effective selling
4. How to build “culture carriers” inside your organization
5. The sequencing of communication during major change

Contact Dino at: [email protected]

Websites:

clearpathventures.com

al4ep.com

Additional Guest Links:

Website ericdstone.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eric-stone-clear-path

Facebook Profile

Intagram: @clearpathventures_

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ericdstone1

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Today's guest is Lily Zheng, a strategist and consultant who has spent the last decade working with organizations of every size — from small nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies — helping them build workplaces that actually work for everyone. In a field often clouded by ideology, misinformation, and polarization, Lily brings something refreshingly different: data, systems thinking, and practical results.

They were a guest on the podcast before, so today we just focus on their new book, Fixing Fairness: Four Tenets to Transform Diversity Backlash Into Progress for All , Lily argues that the conversation around DEI has gone off track — not because fairness doesn’t matter, but because we’ve failed to communicate and implement it effectively. Instead of slogans or superficial programs, they offer FAIR - a framework built around measurable outcomes, systems change, coalition-building, and true win-win solutions.

In this conversation, we explore:

1. Why being “pro-diversity” isn’t the same as creating fair systems
2. The surprising data gap between support for diversity and belief in DEI programs
3. What actually works — and what has failed — over 60 years of workplace reform
4. How leaders can build coalitions across difference
5. And why fairness may be the language that can move us forward

Contact Dino at: [email protected]

Websites:

lilyzheng.co

al4ep.com

Additional Guest Links:

Lily on AL4EP

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lilyzheng308

Instagram: @lilyzheng308

Lily on Substack

Books:

Fixing Fairness

Reconstructing DEI

DEI Deconstructed

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

This is part 2 of our conversation with Thiago Da Costa, serial entrepreneur and founder and CEO of a Datagrid AI, a company that creates agent and connectors to help companies work more efficiently.

In part one we explored Thiago’s journey as a serial founder, and what it takes to scale companies from zero to meaningful revenue.

In this second part, we go deeper into what truly separates great CEOs from dangerous ones. We talk about transparency, capital discipline, customer obsession, and the growing risk of the celebrity CEO—leaders who master distribution and attention before they build real products. Tiago shares candid perspectives on motivation, resilience, and why founders who aren’t deeply anchored to the problem they’re solving will eventually burn out.

We also shift into a broader discussion on AI—why this moment is fundamentally different from past technology waves, where real opportunities still exist, and why so many AI startups are destined to fail.

Contact Dino at: [email protected]

Websites:

al4ep.com

datagrid.ai

Additional Guest Links:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thiagocosta2

Corporate LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/datagrid-ai/

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com