Modern Career

In this episode, Mary connects with Ian Ziskin, president of EXec EXcel Group – A human capital coaching and consulting firm he founded following a highly successful 28 year career as a corporate business executive. Mary and Ian discuss the latest thinking on the future of work,  the secret sauce for leading transformational change, characteristics and practices of great leaders, and tips for navigating a successful career.

Ian is a board advisor, coach, consultant, teacher, speaker and author. His global leadership experience includes serving as Chief Human Resources Officer and other senior leadership roles with three fortune 100 corporations – Northrop Grumman, Qwest communications, and TRW.

Ian has written four books; his most recent The Secret Sauce for Leading Transformational Change. Ian is the current and past board member of multiple boards and executive committees including chairman of the USC Marshall School of Business Corporate Advisory Board, Vice Chairman HR Policy Association, Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell University, Personnel Roundtable, and Human Resources People and strategy. Ian has a Masters of Industrial and Labor Relations degree from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in management from Binghamton University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of human resources.

Resources:

* The Secret Sauce for Leading Transformational Change

* Black Holes and White Spaces: Reimagining the Future of Work and HR with the CHREATE Project

* Three: The Human Resources Emerging Executive

* WillBe: 13 Reasons WillBe’s are Luckier than WannaBe’s

In this episode, Mary connects with Dr. Judi Kosterman, Co-Founder of the Brain Health Leadership Foundation whose mission is to promote science education and treatment leveraging breakthrough innovations in brain health and wellness. Mary and Judi discuss how brain health is a critical piece of our overall health and underlies our ability to communicate, make decisions, problem solve and live a productive life. Because the brain controls so much of our daily function, it is said to be the single most valuable organ in the human body.  They explore how Judi navigated her own career path as well as how brain health can directly impact your life and your own career journey.

Throughout her career Dr. Kosterman contributed to significant education and policy change that has impacted mental health, substance use disorders and brain health across government, business and the medical world. Earlier in her career as a high school principal, she directly witnessed the problem of kids and drugs and the barrier to learning it created which catalyzed her commitment and determination to find solutions.  

Since then she has held leadership positions at the state and national levels with three executive positions in Washington, D.C. More recently, Dr. Kosterman co-founded the brain health leadership foundation to promote breakthroughs in brain health and overall Wellness. Dr. Kosterman received a BS in Education from Washington State University, an MS in Counseling Psychology from Whitworth College and a Doctor of Education from Seattle University.

In this episode, Mary connects with Pat Wadors, Chief People Officer of UKG.  Mary and Pat discuss how the challenges we all have can lead to new strengths, the importance of never letting people define you, and Pat’s version of the Goldilocks principle as it relates to navigating your career and so much more.

Pat oversees the critical HR functions for UKG that bring the employee experience to life. Her personal mission is to ensure that all employees around the world are better people for having worked there.  Known for transformational and strategic HR leadership, Pat believes that organizations thrive when they have a blend of people with differing backgrounds and ways of thinking, and who feel they belong as a contributor to the company’s success. 

As a multiple recipient of the National Diversity Council’s Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology, Pat is a frequent speaker on human capital management, diversity, equity and inclusion, and has served on the board of several prominent technology companies. Prior to UKG, Pat served as Chief People Officer of Procore Technologies, and has held multiple leadership roles at ServiceNow, LinkedIn, Plantronics, Inc., and Yahoo!

In this episode, Mary connects with Jon Younger. Jon is the author of Forbes’ #Freelancerevolution blog and is a prolific and well-respected writer about the freelance economy. Mary and Jon discuss the freelance future- how the freelance economy will impact the world of work and careers, the evolving landscape of work available to freelancers and why many new startups and platforms are tapping into this booming market and much more.

Jon’s 2016 book Agile Talent written with Norm Smallwood was among the first to describe the impact of the freelance economy on careers and organizations. 

In 2018 Jon created the Agile Talent Collaborative as a space for collaborative research and best practice sharing in the freelance economy. In 2021 he led the Global Survey on Freelancing co-sponsored by the University of Toronto and 77 freelance platforms in 30 countries.  In 2022 he became an expert in residence at Open-Assembly.com.  

He was previously a partner with Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood of The RBL Group.  He sits on several freelance startup advisory boards, advises a number of large corporations, and is an occasional early stage investor. 

Resources mentioned in the episode: 

* Agile Talent: How to Source and Manage Outside Expert by Jon Younger and Norm Smallwood

* HR from the Outside In: Six Competencies for the Future of Human Resources by Jon Younger, Mike Ulrich, Wayne Brockbank and Dave Ulrich

* HR Transformation: Building Human Resources from the Outside In by Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Justin Allen, Wayne Brockbank and Mark Nyman

* The Freelance Revolution blog by Jon Younger

In this episode, Mary connects with Mark Green, a Chief People Officer based in San Francisco with 30 years of global HR experience in Technology.  He is currently CPO at Nextiva, a high growth private SaaS company providing communications and customer management solutions. Mary and Mark discuss the larger forces that play a role in the trajectory of your career path, why character traits are just as important as what you deliver, insight into successfully living and working cross-culturally and much more. 

Mark previously held CHRO roles at Kodak and UTStarcom, where he was part of their leadership teams driving turn-around and transformation. Other experience includes HR leadership roles at Applied Materials, Verisign and Nortel Networks, based in the US, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore.  

He holds a Master’s degree in human resources and industrial relations from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Engineering with honors in electrical and electronic engineering from Leeds University in the UK. 

In this episode, Mary connects with Chip Conley. Chip is a New York Times best-selling author and hospitality executive who renewed himself in midlife by collaborating with the Millennial co-founders of Airbnb to create the world’s largest global hospitality brand. Throughout the episode, Mary and Chip discuss Chips’ experience as Airbnb’s ‘Modern Elder’, the transformational cure to midlife malaise, how to be an effective and accepted leader regardless of your age and much more.

Chip joined the tiny tech start-up Airbnb nearly a decade ago after a successful career as a boutique hotel company founder and CEO. He was twice the age of the average Airbnb employee which earned him the title “Airbnb’s Modern Elder,” who was as curious as he was wise. As the internal mentor to the young Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, Chip got to see the value of intergenerational collaboration in a company that has now grown to be the most valuable hospitality company in the world.

His bestselling book “Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder” is a testament to rethinking the value of having 5 generations in the workplace and why more companies are doing their best to encourage their older workers to stay in the workplace longer. Chip founded a Modern Elder Academy that has more than 2,000 alum.

Chip is a recipient of hospitality’s highest honor, the Pioneer Award, and was named the Most Innovative CEO in the San Francisco Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times. Chip holds a BA and MBA from Stanford University, and an honorary doctorate in psychology from Saybrook University. He serves on the board of the Encore.org, and the advisory board for the Stanford Center for Longevity.

Resources mentioned in the episode: 

* JdV by Hyatt* Deloitte.com* Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck* Emotional Equations by Chip Conley* Modern Elder Academy*

In this episode, Mary connects with George S. Davis who recently retired from Intel where he served as CFO. George oversaw Intel’s global finance, M & A and information technology organizations.

Prior to Intel, George was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Qualcomm, a global provider of wireless technologies, where he led the finance, information technology, and investor relations.

Before that, George was the Chief Financial Officer of Applied Materials leading Finance, IT and Public Affairs.  Earlier in his career, George served for 19 years with the Atlantic Richfield Company in a number of finance and other corporate positions.  He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, CA and was a member of the Wall Street Journal CFO Council, the West Coast CFO Roundtable, and a member of the USA Chapter of The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project CFO Leadership Network. 

He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Claremont McKenna College and his MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Resources mentioned in the episode: 

* The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

In this episode, Mary connects with Jorge Aisa Dreyfus. Jorge heads Talent, Capability and Culture at Sage, in what he sees as a fantastic opportunity to support their exciting transformation into a great Digital Network company.

Jorge started his career at Citibank with the Asset Management Business, and Global Banking and Corporate Centers in London and New York where he discovered his passion for Learning & Development.  Jorge then led Learning and Development for Europe Middle East and Africa for Honeywell and then Learning, Talent, Resourcing and Organizational Development for HSBC.  Jorge also led the Talent Function for the global Health and Care company Bupa.

Jorge has degrees in Psychology and Business followed by a Master’s in human resources from The London School of Economics in the UK.  

Originally from Spain, Jorge has worked and lived in Spain, France, the US and for the last 19 years the UK. Jorge lives in London with his wife Michelle and their two sons David and Daniel and their dog Charlie.

In this episode, Mary connects with Everett Harper, a CEO, entrepreneur, strategist and author of the new book, Move to the Edge, Declare it Center, which offers a pragmatic take on solving complex problems and making decisions through uncertainty and offers leaders a new framework for success in an increasingly uncertain, and unpredictable world. Everett is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Truss, a human-centered software development company, recently named as an Inc 5000 fastest-growing private company. He is a rare combination of a Black entrepreneur with Silicon Valley pedigree, a proven record for solving complex problems with social impact, and the foresight to build a company that’s been remote-first since 2011, salary-transparent since 2017, anticipating the importance of hybrid work and diversity, equity and inclusion by a decade.   

Everett has a history of firsts, among them: first in his family to go to college and participated in the first NCAA National Championship for Duke University — in any sport. In his career, he’s leveraged those firsts to help millions of others, from helping fix healthcare.gov at Truss to fighting poverty worldwide as a Board Member of CARE. 

Everett’s distinctive voice and unique history makes him a sought-after speaker on DEI, leadership during uncertainty, remote/hybrid work, and social entrepreneurship. He has been featured at conferences such as Dent, Tugboat, TechStars and Velocity, podcasts like the Commonwealth Club and AfroTech, and writing for Forbes, Thrive Global, and TechCrunch. Move to the Edge, Declare it Center is his first book, to be published by Wiley in March 2022. 

Everett has worked for Bain & Co, has an MBA from Stanford, is a Duke Scholar from Duke University, with a BS in Biomedical & Electrical Engineering.

Everett grew up a small-town kid in New York’s Hudson Valley. He currently lives in Oakland, CA, making limoncello when life hands him lemons.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

* Move to the Edge, Declare it Center by Everett Harper* Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder Chip Conley

In our Chief People Officer Perspective series, Mary sits down with CPOs from around the world to uncover insider knowledge about navigating a modern career. The next guest in the series is InaMarie Johnson, former Chief People and Diversity Officer of Zendesk where she led the people strategy for the award winning customer service software company founded in Copenhagen and currently Headquartered in San Francisco.  InaMarie was also the CPO for Plantronics and UTi Worldwide and prior was an HR leader at Honeywell and Clorox. 

In this episode, Mary and InaMarie discuss the importance of making connections outside of both your company and industry, how to navigate your career well in our new context, why you need to focus on what you want and not what other people think you should want, why personal growth is everything and much more. 

InaMarie earned her BA in Social Sciences from The University of California at Berkeley and her MA in Organizational Development and Management from John F. Kennedy University. InaMarie is very active in her community.  She serves as an advisory board member for the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership at Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, where she is also a guest faculty. She is an advisory board member for several non-profits and has also recently been appointed to the Board of Kelly Services, a leading management consulting firm for over 75 years connecting top talent with companies in need of skills for today and tomorrow. 

Resources mentioned in the episode:

* Sheryl Sandberg: “Careers Aren’t Ladders, They’re Jungle Gyms”