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In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by  Eric McNulty,  a lifelong student of confidence and Associate Director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard. With concrete examples and practical tips, they discuss: how to spot the overconfident entrepreneur, why it is essential to cultivate the right balance of confidence and humility,  where to find confidence, and how to maintain it in times of turbulence.

As an author, researcher, and entrepreneur himself, Eric provides not only unique insights but the confidence checklist for entrepreneurs and observes that a confident entrepreneur will wait for the investors that her start-up deserves.

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Eric McNulty is Associate Director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard. His work centers on leading in high stakes, high pressure situations. He is the principal author of case studies on the Boston Marathon bombing response, super storm Sandy, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He is the co-author of the book, You’re It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When it Matters Most and others. He is a contributing editor at strategy+business and has written many times for Harvard Business Review. Previously, he worked at Harvard Business Publishing (HBP). He was an intrapreneur at HBP and has worked with several startups.

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In this episode our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Stefania di Bartolomeo, Founder and CEO of Physis Investment. As a female founder in a male-dominated industry, Stefania joins us to discuss what it takes to be a woman in fintech, and how she grew her business from a passion to a fund that has inspired many. 

As an impact investing platform, Physis is committed to leveraging data to track, measure, and promote sustainable investment. Stefania shares the motives that lead her to build the fund, and what she hopes to see in the future of sustainable fintech. With the business world moving toward a more socially conscious future, this episode is a must for any entrepreneur hoping to bring their mission to life.

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Stefania founded Physis with the vision to bring greater transparency to the financial industry and empower investors to measure and track the impact of their investments. As CEO, Stefania has developed Physis from an idea to a comprehensive data-hub platform. She is a skilled portfolio manager with extensive global experience. She was the youngest impact investing fund manager in Europe and has published two e-books on sustainable finance. Stefania is a university lecturer and board member.

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In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Sridevi Raghavan, an  entrepreneur from India who developed her business concept, a revolutionary idea in India at the time,  for a business plan contest at HBS.  They discuss her entrepreneurial journey from HBS student to building the real thing in India, and selling it to allow it to grow globally.

Sridevi paved her own path as a trailblazer in India’s childcare industry and successfully made the transition from an entrepreneur to a global manager. Tune in to hear this inspiring businesswoman detail how she overcame cultural and societal hurdles to build the business of her dreams, one that would allow Indian mothers to pursue a career.

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Sridevi  Raghavan is today Senior Vice President – Education, Quality & Sustainability at Babilou Family, a global French company that is among the largest daycare and early education networks in the world. Babilou Family serves over 50,000 children across 12 countries.  An entrepreneur, Sridevi joined the company in 2018, when they acquired her own daycare chain in India and she became Country Manager of India operations. In 2020, Sridevi took on her current headquarters role, thus moving to Paris from India with her family. 

Building a daycare chain in India, a revolutionary idea at the time, was Sridevi’s business plan proposal at HBS. After completing her MBA, Sridevi Raghavan returned to India with that plan, to start the country’s first corporate onsite daycares in 2008. She grew the operation through several rounds of funding, until the sale in 2018.  A trained Bharatanatyam dancer, Sridevi has performed in India and abroad.

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What are boards and why are they a powerful tool for successful businesses? Mark Hamill joins host Philip Guarino to look at best practices for startups, post-pandemic board trends, and the skills required for top performing boards. Together they discuss the keys to landing board positions, the benefits of virtual board meetings, and the increased demand for board diversity. Whether you are a seasoned board member, looking for your first board spot, or an entrepreneur on the hunt for advisors, this episode is not to be missed!

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Mark has 20 years experience in Global Executive Search, having built an EMEA Search firm which he sold to Private Equity in 2017. He has since then launched The Naked Headhunter which focuses on Succession Search and Executive Transition and the Virtual Advisory Board, a global talent pool of “Board Advisory” global executives who can help CEOs and Owners with any insight they might need on the above topics across all worldwide markets.

While also chairing Ackermann International, the largest European Executive Search firm in Latin America, Mark has dedicated the last 3 years since his exit to identifying and understanding the pain and lifecycle of executive career transition. He has created tools (Visibility Quotient) and know-how, and now he helps navigate Executives through this period.

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In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Mark Chussil, Founder of Advanced Competitive Strategies Inc., and business wargaming expert. They discuss  the worrisome fact that the vast majority of entrepreneurs still execute on untested strategies, only to discover that the market did not react as predicted.  Mark then shares some of his most impactful experiences with companies across a range of industries who now identify major strategic  blindspots through testing and simulation.  

So how can testing your strategy add billions to your bottom line? And how can you find blindspots in your plan before your competitors do? Mark Chussil recommends that you combine humans and computers and make strategy your business’s super power. And he even invites you to try out his pricing tournament simulation game.

Listen and find out how.

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Mark Chussil is Founder of Advanced Competitive Strategies, Inc. A pioneer in business war gaming and computer-based strategy simulation, Mark has helped companies add billions to their bottom lines. He has written/co-written three books, chapters for others, and numerous articles for Harvard Business Review and other publications. His current work on strategy tournaments combines humans and computers to simulate strategy options when it helps most: before committing real money and real careers. His favorite story is when his simulations showed him how wrong he was. Mark has an MBA from Harvard and a BA from Yale.

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As a business grows, the opportunities - and challenges - are many. Finances, consistent product delivery, leadership and team-building, and pursuing a strategy while remaining nimble are just a few of the many things leaders must keep an eye on. To discuss some of these challenges and best practices for ensuring success during times of growth is Elizabeth Coleon, Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer at Qonto.

In this episode, host Philip Guarino sits down with Elizabeth Coleon to break down what it takes to bring a company to the international stage. They discuss all things scaling from how to balance central and local operations, to how to manage constant change and integration. Tune in to learn how to successfully grow your next venture.

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Elizabeth Coleon is the Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer at Qonto. She is responsible for leading the Growth team at Qonto composed of 70 talents driving Brand & Communications, Acquisition & Revenue Growth, Sales, Growth Engineering and International (Italy, Spain & Germany).

Elizabeth holds degrees from Georgetown University, Sciences Po Paris and Harvard Business School. She began her career at Goldman Sachs in mergers & acquisitions advisory and then spent 10 years at the investment firm, Paul Capital Partners, ultimately serving as a Managing Director.

Prior to Qonto, Elizabeth was at PayPal for five years, where she most recently served as Director, Global Consumer Growth.

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In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Shirley Liu, Global Vice-President  at L’Oreal who is passionate about mentoring and psychology. Together, they discuss how building trusting relationships in business is facilitated by mentoring and being mentored and potentially curating a set of mentors. Shirley shares some of her most impactful experiences as a mentor, and the tools she uses to be an effective leader,  teammate, and global citizen.

So why do mentors live longer? And how can you ensure that you are operating at the best version of yourself? Listen and find out how.

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Shirley Liu is a Global Vice President at L'Oréal. She’s a member of the British Psychological Society and trains at King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN). She advocates the astounding cause-and-effect of psychology and leadership in team environments; to find out more please see her TEDx talk “Why psychology (and neuroscience) will make you a better leader.”

Shirley is an alumna of Harvard Business School GMP 2017. She serves as the co-president of Harvard Women France, board of ANHW France and a mentor of Harvard Kennedy School Women in Defense, Diplomacy and Development (W3D).

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Stress, anxiety, and uncertainty have all become part of daily life. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we find ways around these negative obstacles. In this episode, Professor Daniela Pittman, positive psychology expert, joins our host, Philip Guarino, to discuss some of the attitudes, practices, and habits we can all adopt to increase our well-being and overall happiness.

Professor Pittman details her five healthiest habits, the psychological tools that helped her through COVID, and her tips for living in the moment. She also opens up about the struggles that lead her to rely on psychology, and how crises can often highlight the best in people.

This crash course on happiness and well-being is sure to leave you with the tools and secrets you never knew you needed. So what does it really take to form new habits and protect your well-being in the face of uncertainty? Listen and find out.

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Professor Daniela Pittman is a University Associate Professor at IE University in Madrid. Daniela specializes in training executives and students  in Leadership Techniques, Team Building and Well-being at Work. Since 2013 she has been an associate professor at IE University imparting courses and seminars to Law, Business, Communication and Psychology students on positive leadership, effective communication and interpersonal skills and  public speaking as well as a pioneer program in Spain, “Happiness in Yourself and in the Workplace”. Daniela has a Master's Degree in Psychology from Harvard and received her undergraduate degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.

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In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Diane Primo, CEO of Purpose Brands and Co-Founder of the Primo Center, a not for profit. Together, they take a deep dive into the critical importance of building a business ensuring that a business is built with purpose, the lessons Diane has learned in applying the fundamentals of business analysis to solving homelessness, and how entrepreneurs can help accelerate the cultural transition sparked by the killing of George Floyd. 

Branding with purpose is essential  in today’s social climate. Diane Primo shares the keys to aligning your business with your values, and how to turn a positive social impact into a positive financial one. She also details her experience as Co-Founder of the Primo Center, taking on the challenge of homelessness and working to create a business model that targets root causes rather than short-term solutions. 

How can we as entrepreneurs channel these lessons and create businesses that allow us to live our purpose? Listen and find out.

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Diane Primo is CEO of Purpose Brand Agency, an award-winning, Chicago-based public relations, branding and digital marketing firm. She is the only African American female CEO of a purpose-driven communications agency. Diane was recognized by Ragan Communications’ 2020 Top Women in Communications Trailblazer Award. Diane’s personal public service record reflects her personal commitments to eradicating homelessness.  She is a recipient of the Hassenfeld Family Humanitarian Award and was a presenter at the G8 UK Deauville Partnership Summit.  She is currently co-chairman of the nationally recognized Primo Center. Diane Primo is a Harvard MBA.

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In this episode, Professor David Ricketts joins host Philip Guarino to pull back the curtain on the Smart City movement. Now an Innovation Fellow at Harvard, David Ricketts has provided research and insights for the most innovative cities in the world.

David examines the cities at the forefront of the movement, describes the importance of innovating across an entire organization and shares how to make the leap from digitizing to true innovation.

Tune in to go behind the scenes on some of David’s favorite projects, and hear what it takes for a city to stay one step ahead, and best serve its citizens.

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Dr. David S. Ricketts is an award-winning innovator and global thought leader in the theory and practice of innovation. He has helped boost creative thinking and bring cutting-edge ideas to reality in top companies such as Mastercard, Disney, and General Motors. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he is an Innovation Fellow researching how organizations transform ideas into innovation. His breakthrough research and innovations have been featured in worldwide news outlets such as Popular Science, Smithsonian, NBC, CBS, and Fox News. His teaching and insights leverage his over 20 years of corporate R&D and academic research. Dr. Ricketts helps organizations drive success through innovation with his dynamic keynotes, executive consulting, and innovation masterclasses.