Gen X Legends

Ryota Tanozaki didn’t pivot because of burnout—he pivoted to avoid a trap. While managing a turnaround project in rural Japan, he saw the writing on the wall: stay too long, and his world would shrink. Instead, he chose to bet on himself. He went global, earned an MBA from Chicago Booth, built a career across Facebook and Tabist (backed by Softbank Japan), and led a hospitality startup through one of the toughest periods in travel history. But his secret wasn’t speed—it was clarity. 

In this episode, Ryota shares how to spot when your career path is narrowing, why perseverance matters more than perfection, and how real reinvention often starts with one question: what if I don’t want this to be it?

>>The Moment He Almost Settled
“I started thinking—what if my career ends in this rural city?”

While leading a department store turnaround in a quiet town, Ryota realized he might be stuck in a shrinking path. That moment of clarity sparked his move to go global—and never look back.

>>Escape the Trap, Rebuild the Map
“Challenge more. Risk more. Grow more.”

Ryota didn’t just dream of a bigger life—he designed it. Earning an MBA at Chicago Booth gave him global exposure and the networks to shift from domestic roles to international leadership.

>>Reinvention Isn’t Always Loud
“Sometimes the biggest moves start with a quiet discomfort.”

Ryota shares how he shifted from consulting to corporate roles—not in panic, but through steady recalibration and awareness of his evolving goals.

>>Leading Through Crisis Without Losing Yourself
“Three months in, COVID hit. We had to rebuild everything.”

As CEO of Tabist, Ryota didn’t just navigate crisis—he rewrote the company’s mission, strategy, and structure. All while staying grounded in purpose.

>>Mission Over Compensation
“When they visit those hotels, they see the mission in action.”

Ryota explains how he keeps his team motivated without big paychecks—by giving them something bigger than money: a mission they believe in.

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Connect with Ryota Tanozaki

Katie Curry doesn’t just manage a multigenerational workforce—she raises one. As a Gen X leader, she draws from both parenting and management to offer real tools for leading Gen Z with clarity, empathy, and pace. Katie doesn’t romanticize change—she makes it strategic. From book recs to career advice to community wisdom, this episode is a field guide for anyone navigating a multigenerational workplace—and still trying to grow on their own terms.

>>Gen Z Doesn’t Want Hierarchy—They Want Honesty
“We need to pick up the pace—and tell the truth.”

Katie breaks down what Gen Z really wants at work: clarity, fairness, and feedback that isn’t sugarcoated. She shares how leaders must shift—fast—or get left behind.

>>The Parenting Playbook That Works at Work
“I don’t lead with answers. I lead with questions.”

As a mom and a manager, Katie shares the same core strategy: focus, simplicity, humility, and curiosity. No, you don’t have to have all the answers. Yes, you still have to listen.

>>Advice for the Anxious Overachiever
“Find your superpower. Build the skill. Then learn how to pivot.”

Katie offers Gen Z three rules for thriving in chaos: develop what makes you valuable, build a true community, and treat change as a skill—not a flinch.

>>The Real Power of Community
“Community isn’t a contact list. It’s people who remember you 20 years later.”

Katie and Vince reflect on what lasting community really means—and how Gen X mastered long-haul relationships before the age of “likes.”

>>The Art of Learning Without Losing Yourself
“I consume books, podcasts, summaries—but reflection is where it all clicks.”

Katie shares her three pillars of learning: exposure, synthesis, and solitude. She explains why quiet time is not indulgent—it’s essential.

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Connect with Katie Curry

Katie Curry didn’t just study risk—she lived it. From communist Bulgaria to Wall Street, from rating credit to leading creatives, this Gen X leader has turned reinvention into an art form. In this episode, she shares how to build mental toughness, reframe failure, and lead with both power and humility—without ever chasing a playbook.

For Gen Xers who know how to change ambitiously, this is reinvention with purpose, not panic.

>>From Bulgaria to the Big Apple
“On that bus in Manhattan, I said—I want to work here one day.”

Katie’s first reinvention wasn’t a job—it was a total life shift. Growing up in a small town under communism, she shares how dreaming big and thinking globally reshaped her trajectory.

>>Credit, Creativity, and Everything in Between
“I’ve led analysts, operators, and creatives. You can’t lead them the same way.”

Katie breaks down how she adapted her leadership style across radically different teams—from rating derivatives to managing editors—and what each one taught her about people and power.

>>Risk Isn’t a Concept—It’s a Practice
“Some of my biggest breakthroughs came from the biggest pivots.”

With a career built around risk—from Citi to S&P to insurance tech—Katie reveals how she balances data and gut instinct, logic and psychology, and why you should never expect certainty before you leap.

>>Fail Fast, Learn Hard
“If you’ve never failed, you’re playing too safe.”

Katie redefines success through her personal KPIs: energy, impact, relationships, and learning. And she makes a strong case for post-traumatic growth—yes, even at work.

>>Leadership with Presence and Punch
“During COVID, my kids watched me lead from our kitchen table. That was my real resume.”

Whether she’s coaching a Gen Z team or raising one at home, Katie leads with clarity, care, and curiosity—and she’s not afraid to be both the strategist and the student.

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Connect with Katie Curry

Forget hot takes and hustle porn—Josh Geballe has built a career on real outcomes, not optics. As a former IBM exec, startup CEO, crisis-tested public leader, and now head of Yale Ventures, he’s navigated every kind of system—and rewired more than a few. In this episode, Josh breaks down what it takes to lead without ego, make career moves without a roadmap, and support innovation without turning it into performance. 

For Gen Xers designing careers that are built, not branded, this is substance over soundbites in its purest form.

>>Career Strategy ≠ Life Strategy
“I never chased titles. I chased impact—and the challenge that came with it.”

From IBM to a 16-person startup, Josh explains why logic alone doesn’t drive bold moves—and how gut instinct often knows best.

>>Public Sector, Private Resolve
“Nothing in my tech career prepared me for a global pandemic—but it helped me lead through one.”

As Connecticut’s COO, Josh didn’t just manage state operations—he ran its COVID response. He reflects on balancing fear, facts, and forward motion in an impossible time.

>>Yale Ventures: Innovation Without the Ego
“PhDs know how to explain ideas to journals. I help them pitch to the real world.”

Now leading Yale Ventures, Josh shares how he mentors faculty and students to translate research into startups—and how real innovation starts with learning to listen.

>>Startup Lessons That Actually Scale
“Startups taught me how to stretch every dollar. Government taught me how to stretch every second.”

Josh draws on lessons from his software CEO days to modernize systems at scale—without turning leadership into theater.

>>Advice for the Impatient Ambitious
“Your first job? Work for someone you want to become.”

Josh offers Gen X-flavored guidance to early-career MBAs: skip the shiny job titles and find mentors who challenge how you think, not just what you do.

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Connect with Josh Geballe

From Moscow diplomacy to a U.S. energy startup backed by BlackRock, Irina Filippova has never followed the script—and she’s not about to start now. In this episode, the COO, climate entrepreneur, and former change leadership advisor shares why courage is leadership, why linear careers are a myth, and why integrity is the only metric that matters.

>>Built for Change—Literally
“I’ve never inherited a job. Every role, I created from scratch.”

Irina walks us through her journey from UN think tanks to BP’s rebrand to leading energy transition from the ground up—each step a reinvention by design.

>>Courage ≠ Chaos
“Leadership is courage. And courage means staying in integrity.”

Forget the bravado. Irina breaks down why real courage isn’t about reckless risk-taking—it’s about showing up, following through, and walking away when the values don’t align.

>>The Myth of the Unicorn
“We glorify unicorns—and then wonder why leaders burn out.”

Irina calls out the toxic myths in startup culture and shares a grounded vision for building businesses that last longer than a product cycle.

>>Change Starts Inside
“I thought I needed to change the world. Turns out, I needed to change myself first.”

Before she could consult CEOs, Irina had to rewire her own beliefs—thanks to deep inner work at the Jung Institute in Zurich. This is change leadership with a soul.

>>Electrifying a New Industry
“We provide the electric fuel. You focus on logistics. Simple.”

Now COO of Electrata, Irina explains her company’s mission to make clean energy logistics seamless for fleets—so the energy transition doesn’t get stuck in jargon or infrastructure nightmares.

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Connect with Irina Filippova

This episode dives into Bond, the new book by Greg Morley—former global DEI head at Moët Hennessy and veteran HR leader at Disney and Hasbro. Vince and Greg unpack the emotional undercurrent of modern work—how a broken culture can push people into burnout and how small moments of recognition can pull them back. With global insight and Gen X clarity, Greg shares what real inclusion looks like on the ground, from Asia to Europe to the U.S. If you’re ready to lead with depth, not just diversity metrics, this conversation is your blueprint.

>>When Belonging Breaks
“There’s a crisis of loneliness at work—and it’s costing us more than we know.”

Greg shares why he wrote Bond and how companies miss the mark when they treat inclusion as a buzzword instead of a survival strategy.

>>From Burnout to Breakthrough
“Once that sense of belonging disappeared, I spiraled into burnout—and then depression.”

Vince opens up about his own career-breaking experience with mental illness, triggering a candid dialogue about what happens when work becomes unsafe, and how fragile even top performers can be without support.

>>Inclusion Starts With the Conductor
“Inclusion isn’t HR’s job—it’s everyone’s job. Especially leaders.”

Greg introduces the five “keys” from his book, including why leadership visibility, emotional presence, and shared stories are more powerful than any KPI.

>>The Myth of a Global Template
“You can’t cut and paste DEI from New York to Hong Kong.”

Drawing from his years across Asia, the U.S., and Europe, Greg explains why inclusive cultures must start with listening, not imposing—especially in diverse regions like Asia where family and collective identity take center stage.

>>Beyond the Culture Wars
“Most people want to feel seen. That’s not woke—it’s human.”

Greg offers a grounded perspective on how to lead through today’s politicized climate without losing sight of what DEI is really about: creating space for people to contribute, grow, and thrive.

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Connect with Greg Morley

Greg Morley didn’t follow a career path—he carved one. From call centers to the C-suite at Disney, Hasbro, and Moët Hennessy, Greg’s journey is classic Gen X: no shortcuts, no buzzwords, just deep reinvention and human-first leadership. Now, as the author of Bond, he’s showing how inclusion can actually work—without losing your mind or your values.

>>From Complaint Calls to Corporate Change
“80% of the calls were complaints. That’s how I learned to listen—fast.”

Greg started in the trenches and never forgot what real work feels like. That early frontline experience now shapes how he has led global people strategies with heart and head.

>>Gen X Leaders Don’t Wait for Playbooks—They Write Them
“I didn’t plan to be in HR. I planned to understand people.”

Whether designing HR strategy at Hasbro or rewriting DEI systems at Moët Hennessy, Greg leads with insight, not instruction manuals. 

>>Diversity Without the Optics
“Rewiring beats rebranding—every time.”

Greg breaks down how he rebuilt DEI from the inside out, ditching the optics for honest structures, tough conversations, and measurable change.

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Connect with Greg Morley