Steward Leadership: Maximum Purpose, Maximum Profit

Dr. Glenn Dale, Founder, Managing Director & CTO of Verterra Ecological Engineering, manages the vegetation, soil, and landscapes that are inextricably linked to our livelihoods.

From studying forestry, biochemistry, genetics and biotechnology, to founding Verterra, Glenn shares his deep passion for nature and how his designed systems take inspiration from natural processes.

Roughly 50% of arable land globally is used for grazing and roughly 50% of that is degraded.

Rajeev and Glenn dive into DROVER (Dynamic Reference for Optimising Value and Erosion Reduction), the SL25 award winning project, where satellite imagery and smarter grazing methods increase ground cover, improve pasture productivity, and reduce the sediment that destroys the Great Barrier Reef. But despite strong impact, Glenn stresses it is just “a drop in the ocean.”

Tune in for an inspiring episode about how engineering and ecology can work together to reimagine our landscapes and safeguard ecosystems.

Rajeev Peshawaria sits down with Shin Lin Kok, CEO of Susten, to explore how her humble beginnings became the foundation for a business built on doing more with less.

Shin Lin shares how her personal journey, having grown up in modest circumstances, informed both Susten's mission and her appetite for innovation. She recalls noticing a persistent gap between energy consumption and cooling performance — and how closing that gap became the company's purpose: delivering cooling solutions that cut carbon footprint without ever asking users to sacrifice comfort.

A conversation about turning constraint into ingenuity, and proving that efficiency and impact can scale together.

Sandra Liz Hon, Executive Director of H2 Energy, knows “a single blackout can cost lives,” especially in the healthcare sector. Her team at H2 Energy has created an in-situ process that uses solar and extracts hydrogen from rainwater, removing the need for diesel and costly fuel transport, for core community industries. It’s already price-competitive, has a 10–15 year lifespan, and doesn't pass costs to consumers. Starting with healthcare clinics, Sandra shares how this model will expand to other industries too, which are vital to the livelihoods of rural communities.

She discusses working with stakeholders - governments, financiers, and community businesses - to champion decentralized energy. Despite policy gaps around renewables and difficulties in financing these projects, H2 Energy is preserving and playing a long term game. With strong belief in the scalability and long-term affordability over traditional diesel sources, this exciting project meets both climate and social impact goals.

Join us to learn more about building decentralised services for social good - it is a must-listen for anyone passionate about energy, innovation and remote industries.

Pooja Jaiswal, COO of Last Mile Care, sits down with Rajeev to discuss bridging the massive healthcare access gap for underserved populations in India. Their two-time Steward Leadership 25 award-winning project Kavach, meaning shield, deploys “physigital units” that combine on-ground infrastructure with digital health IDs to provide health screenings and doctor consultations in industrial areas.

Unwilling to grow dependent on grants and subsidies, Pooja focused on building financially sustainable and scalable B2B and B2B2C models. By working directly with organisations to offer bundled health services as well as government systems to ensure health data integration, Last Mile Care ensures a win-win-win solution for employers, workers and society.

Despite difficulties working in rural regions, convincing doctors to join non-urban markets and building patient trust, through a firm leadership philosophy of patience and persistence, Pooja shares how their centres have reached profitability and their ambitious plans for future expansion.

Join us for an inspiring case study on the healthcare sector, identifying gaps in current infrastructure and, most importantly, building for sustainable and scalable impact.

From being the first woman in her community to attend university to shaping global trade policy, Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Former Executive Director, APEC Secretariat, Singapore; Director, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, shares her remarkable journey and insights on leadership, economic integration, and the future of ASEAN.

She discusses ASEAN’s unique position and approach to trade, sharing why the future is full of possibilities.

Rajeev and Dr Rebecca debate some of the most pressing issues of the day, including the rise of AI and the competitiveness of global trade.

With a strong belief in evidence-based policy, collaboration, and flexibility, Dr Rebecca advocates for more inclusive far-reaching partnerships, flexible mindsets in a shifting global world order and how governments can better empower SMEs.

Join us for a dynamic conversation on rising above labels, leading with integrity, and building a brighter, united future.

Dasho Karma Tshiteem, Member of the Core Working Group for the Gelephu Mindfulness City, joins Rajeev to explore a different side of leadership - one that treats happiness and meaning as fundamental. He shares why happiness isn’t about contentment, but about living with meaning and fulfilling the many roles we hold in life with purpose.

Despite a storied public-facing career leading civil and government institutions, Dasho Karma emphasizes that great leadership begins with the self. Drawing on the wisdom of His Majesty the King, he shares three core tenets: being a good human being, taking meaningful action, and committing to a lifelong journey of service.

Rajeev and Dasho Karma also discuss Bhutan’s focus on happiness versus progress, global leadership in sustainability, the vision of the Gelephu Mindfulness City, and the importance of building an economy that empowers and engages its youth.

Join us for an inspiring example of state stewardship, mastery of the self and the powerful reminder that we shouldn’t wait for change - we should take the leap ourselves and create a purposeful future.

Bhargav Sri Prakash, Founder & CEO of FriendsLearn, joins Rajeev a year after their first podcast together to share how his ambitious “digital vaccines” could redefine global health and disease prevention. 

Built on 12 years of scientific research and international collaboration, Bhargav’s team, together with Carnegie Mellon University, has developed a patented neuro-cognitive training technology that activates the body’s natural immune system through non-invasive digital interventions.

Rajeev and Bhargav dive into how AI, when built and deployed responsibly, can be a force for good - amplifying health outcomes rather than exploiting vulnerabilities. 

At the heart of FriendsLearn’s mission is a belief that purpose and profit not only can coexist, but can accelerate one another. Tune in to learn how digital vaccines, responsible AI, and purpose-led entrepreneurship can shape a healthier, more resilient world.

Edward Booty, Founder of reach52, sits down with Rajeev to discuss healthcare access for the 52% of the world left behind by traditional systems. 

Drawing on his experience and knowledge from a career working with consulting firms and pharmaceuticals, Ed designed a model that delivers essential medicines and education to rural and last mile communities, maximising both purpose and profit. reach52 demonstrates how equitable healthcare can be delivered at scale in markets often overlooked by conventional systems. 

By combining tech-enabled solutions, health-worker training, public campaigns, and affordable medicine distribution across India, Africa, and Southeast Asia, reach52 has created a sustainable loop where social impact drives commercial viability.  Rajeev and Ed also explore how purpose-driven business can further close gaps in universal health coverage, the challenges and opportunities of expanding to other regions and how innovation must be used for good. 

Tune in to learn more about inclusive healthcare, social impact, and building sustainable models for change.

Benjamin Towell, Executive Director of OCBC’s Wholesale Banking Sustainability Office, helps shape the bank’s net‑zero roadmap for the built environment, drives innovative finance solutions for customers with a special focus on SMEs, and contributes to global efforts like CRREM and the World Green Building Council to ensure credible 1.5 °C aligned pathways.

Benjamin explains OCBC’s SL25-award winning SME Energy Efficiency Assessment (SMEEA) tool: what it is, how it works, and why it was developed. We explore why OCBC has expanded SMEEA across markets and how the tool's flexibility accounts for differing climates, regulations and market norms. Success stories with SMEEA helps fuel OCBC’s sustainable financing practice and serves as a model for financial institutions.

Sharing his perspective and advice for other financial professionals and SMEs, Benjamin also digs into what motivated him, as an architect, to join a financial services institution and mobilise capital for good.

Tune in to learn about how financial innovation and cross‑sector expertise at OCBC are bringing SMEs into the heart of the net‑zero transition.

Steve Willis and Jan Lee, authors of Fairhaven: A Novel of Climate Optimism, imagine a hopeful climate future. Drawing on their backgrounds in engineering, sustainability and journalism, they chose to use fiction as a force for good, crafting a novel that inspired and galvanised its readers to take charge of the future.

By researching real innovations like rigs‑to‑reef and Arctic refreezing as well as how traditional energy sectors might become part of the solution, they leverage human innovation to demonstrate the possibilities. Fairhaven shows what individual agency looks like in the midst of systemic challenges.

Rajeev, Steve and Jan explore how storytelling can deepen emotional connection to climate issues, what makes scaling climate solutions hard in practice, and whether readers are being stirred to action. Tune in to learn more about storytelling, motivation and inspiring action.