Susette Hsiung + The Making of a Remarkable Leader Leadership, Curiosity, and the Courage to Do Things Your Own Way
There are careers defined by achievement. And then there are careers that become legacies.
For more than four decades, Susette Hsiung built one of the most remarkable careers in modern entertainment.
She began in the defining early years of MTV, helped launch the comedy channel that would become Comedy Central, moved to Singapore at just 30 years old to help launch MTV Asia and two 24-hour networks, and ultimately spent nearly three decades at Disney, rising to Executive Vice President of Network Production Management and Operations for Disney Channels Worldwide.
Along the way, Susette and her teams oversaw thousands of hours of programming and more than 100 Disney Channel Original Movies, with work spanning many of the shows and franchises generations of families grew up with - including Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Descendants, Zombies, Phineas and Ferb, Kim Possible, Raven's Home, The Proud Family, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and many more.
But this episode isn't really about the credits.
It's about what Susette learned while earning them.
Again and again, she stepped into opportunities before she had a roadmap for exactly how they would unfold. She took on new industries, new formats, new countries and increasingly bigger responsibilities - driven not by certainty, but by curiosity, a willingness to learn, and the confidence to keep moving toward the next challenge.
And then, as she rose to the highest levels of the business, something equally important happened: Susette turned what she had learned into an investment in other people.
She became known not only for what she accomplished, but for how she led - building exceptional teams, developing talent, creating opportunities, mentoring emerging executives and helping people see possibilities in themselves that they may not yet have seen.
I know that personally.
I am incredibly fortunate to call Susette one of my own mentors. Her guidance has influenced my career and the way I think about leadership, opportunity, growth and what it means to bring people with you along the way.
That is what makes this conversation such a gift.
Whether you are just beginning your career, stepping into leadership, wondering whether it is time to take a risk, navigating an industry in transition, or thinking about what you want the next chapter of your life to look like, Susette offers the perspective of someone who has been through all of it - and is willing to share the experiences and lessons that she has learned.
We talk about the courage to take on something you have never done before. How to keep investing in yourself throughout a long career. Why curiosity can be more useful than having all the answers. How great teams are built. What meaningful mentorship looks like. How leadership evolves as responsibility grows. And why success ultimately has to be defined by something deeper than a title.
Now retired from Disney, Susette is turning her attention toward family, herself, and the work that matters most to her - including a deep commitment to Autism in Entertainment, an organization helping people on the autism spectrum explore their creative passions, build community, develop their skills and pursue careers in entertainment.
Learn more at AutisminEntertainment.org/Ambition.
There is decades' worth of wisdom in this conversation, but perhaps the most powerful lesson is also the simplest:
You can build an extraordinary career without following someone else's blueprint.
You can remain curious. Keep learning. Take the opportunity. Build the team. Invest in people. Change direction when you need to.
And you can do it your own way.
In This Episode
A conversation about leadership, ambition, mentorship, risk, curiosity, reinvention, building exceptional teams, investing in yourself, navigating change, and creating a career - and ultimately a life that reflects what matters most to you.
About The Ambition Code
The Ambition Code is a podcast about ambition, identity, reinvention and the choices that shape a life - through intimate conversations with people who have built extraordinary careers and lives on their own terms.
✨Your Life Is Waiting For You.✨
Credits
Created, Hosted & Executive Produced by: Julie Kellman Reading
Produced by: Love + Daydreams
Music: @MobyGratis
✨A Love + Daydreams Production✨
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