You probably know that less than 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. What's going on? Why isn't this changing despite it being a known inequity? Jennifer McCollum is a trailblazing leader, currently CEO at Catalyst Inc, she is making her life's work emulating authentic, human leadership while raising awareness and lifting women up through the leader…

What could one new habit do for you? Morris has a knack for building new habits... waking up early (4am!), going to the gym, months fasting from alcohol and social media, studying leadership, and more! Morris uses discipline to design a dream life filled with family, friends, and career while staying humble enough to talk openly about lessons he's …

What's the secret to expressing your personal genius? Tom Burke has coached TED speakers, C-suite execs, authors, Broadway singers and Hollywood actors for over 20 years as speech-language pathologist and voice coach. His job is to help people tap their passions, quirks, and sense of humor to find their voice, the raw ingredient for gorgeous langua…

Service is selfless, but what's the most important ingredient in any meal? Pasquale Martinelli is the Founder and Executive Chef at Alloro New York Private Dining, brining authentic Italian experiences to his clients. It takes less than ten seconds to feel Pasquale's passion, an incredibly attractive leadership quality, amplified by his love for se…

AI! It's everywhere, but how do you position yourself to take advantage of career opportunities? Enrico Santus has worked on, or advised for, AI work at companies like Bloomberg, Bayer, Hospitals, and the Women's Brain Project. So to say that his career is "having a moment" is an understatement. Enrico shares his story from a small Italian town to …

Do you give trust up, down, and sideways in your organization? What about to yourself? Kathrin Holzfurtner has been a Director of Talent Acquisition for companies like iDeals and Microsoft, making a career out of her ability to find, hire, and support high performance teams by leading them herself. Every high performance team wants to drive impact …

What's the last decision you made to drive your own career? Nils Vinje is the Founder of Leadership MBA, which helps people get promoted faster, save time, and build stronger teams. Before Nils could help others he first had to help himself, and that's the story he shares in this episode. From StengthsFiner to being the CEO of your own career, Nils…

Ever been laid off? Led a team through layoffs? This episode reveals the raw emotions and tough decisions behind those moments and how to make them less devastating. Natasha Davidson, currently CMO at Group GTI, has an incredible background of executive leadership positions. Among amazing career highlights, Natasha shares an incredibly challenging …

What motivates you? Alfonso De Gaetano has succeeded in leadership positions at Consulting firms, at Google, and as a Founder of CRURATED. He credits this success to learning along the way... how to work hard; how to lead; and how to create. Alfonso shares how he creates a vision for where his life (and company) are going -- not necessarily how to …

After learning that she hated law, Julie Saxon started her illustrious career as a temp Secretary at an Ad Agency. Since then, she's been the CRO at The Weather Company, VP at Verizon, and most recently followed her own advice to be Head of Consumer Sales at X where she is working with a mentor and people she loves. What you see is what you get, a …

Covid + School Districts = Complexity. How does human leadership help? Harold S. Henry, Jr. is the Chief of Schools at Baltimore Curriculum Project and spent six years as a principal in Baltimore City Public Schools. He's experienced the brunt of misperceptions about what leadership in school districts, and shares a powerful story of leadership thr…

What do you really want? You won't get it if you don't spend time prioritizing your authentic goals. Paola thrives in difficult environments -- from influencing the Italian economy as one of few women in the space, to executive leadership in Big Tech. How? Resilience - having and focusing on the bigger picture, the bigger goal. Paola shares how hum…

You've heard of a non-profit, but what about a Zero Funds organization? Enter Neel Ghose, the kind of "human leader" who takes the challenge of leading in the philanthropic world to a new level. Neel created Robin Hood Army, a Zero Funds organization connecting what would be "food waste" to those in need, a fully volunteer led effort that has grown…

What is leadership without language? What about leadership in language? Milena Koralczyk is founder and CEO of the language school, "L'Ecole Parisienne de Langues," a premiere language school based in Paris teaching French to executives and ex-patriots seeking to find their place in French culture. Milena shares why language is important but also w…

What would it take to reinvent yourself? What things would you need to lose in order to gain? Craig Siegel spent thirteen years as a gladiator in the wrong arena, pouring his energy and time into Wall Street before finally cutting the cord and becoming an entrepreneur. It was then that his passion for reinvention caught fire , he founded Cultivate …

Do you cringe thinking about name tags and awkward conversations at “networking” events? Kurt Schmidt, Author and President of The Foundry, one of Inc Magazine’s fastest growing companies, shares how walking in ill prepared for one of his employee’s performance reviews sent him on a journey to sharpen his leadership toolset. Hear how he practices c…

Ever heard that GenZ doesn't want to work? Celine Chai busts that myth, sharing the story behind her co-founding of NightyEight and becoming a GenZ entrepreneur. Hear how Celine struggled through challenge to now embrace the mantra, "You can't plan life." Celine exemplifies human leadership as she works hard to lead a successful business without lo…

"We hire women, don't we. We hired you!" How would you respond in the moment? Diana Agu is a strategist, business leader and entrepreneur who studied Law & Criminology in the United Kingdom but climbed the corporate ladder working in Project & Business management. From Morgan Stanley to Capgemini to CEO of her own startup, Diana has proven herself …

"When I went on mental health leave..." Can you imagine saying that? Newton Cheng is the Director of Health and Performance at Google, and he said those words when he mustered the courage to prioritize himself. So long as mental health conversations are stigmatized, it's hard for leaders to do right for themselves, their family, and their teams. Ne…

Back-to-back meetings, pregnant, and contractions in the office. Ashley Patel shares a harrowing story when the demands of entrepreneurship collided with the birth of her child, highlighting the importance of making intentional choices with your life and career. Co-Founder of CurbWaste, Ashley is building a company on the forefront of waste managem…

Happy 50th episode! On this special edition, Nadia and Jeff reflect on their 99 Humans journey: what we've learned from the incredible guests and from the journey of creating the show. How does a coaching background help and hurt being a podcast host? How do you create a podcast with no prior experience? How do you get the podcast out into the worl…

Leadership isn't life and death, right? Pierre Monice is President of MacNeal Hospital, and shares how important it is to listen to experts, in this case medical professionals working in the hospital, when making decisions. He sees his core role as a relationship builder, where everyone is a stakeholder. In the operations realm, Pierre has seen maj…

Being on a non-profit board is often thought of as a late-stage move, once you've mastered your career, arranged your life, and can finally give back. But what if it could be used to accelerate your career and life? Ann Piccirillo is an accomplished and data-driven People Operations and Strategy Leader, acting as Senior VP of People Strategy & Oper…

Career Abundance. Money Abundance. Financial Freedom. Adam Coelho manifested his dream job at Google as a Senior Data Transformation Lead, but this is only the tip of the iceberg as he also hosts the Mindful FIRE Podcast, a podcast all about achieving Financial Freedom. Adam shares how his journey towards financial freedom intersects with career hi…

"Work culture" is critical, but how do you change it? Giulia Redavid has 15 years of experience leading companies across different roles in innovative Supply Chains. At Luxottica she reorganized an entire office and supply chain from California to Milan. The most challenging part? Navigating the change in culture. From moving, changing roles, reorg…

The moment you become a leader people stop giving you feedback. Joris Merks-Benjaminsen knows, because he was a Google leader in EMEA for almost thirteen years before he wrote "Managing without power" and leaving to help managers become leaders. The difference is knowing how to harness strengths, not just force results. How do you overcome the echo…

Have you ever heard a real couple share how they navigate two successful careers while juggling parenthood, their relationship, and all the trimmings of a messy, beautiful partnership? Brittan Bright and Michael King are both successful. Entrepreneur. Intrapreneur. Author. Founder. All these words bedazzle their individual resumes. But how does tha…

Sure, failing is learning, but what if it was also a measure of success. Ben Jankowski is starting his own practice after succeeding in countless global leadership roles at Mastercard, Omnicom, MPG, and more. Ben opens up about what sparked the move to do his own thing, what he anticipated, and what surprised him. Be helpful. Don't give it away for…

A leader is wronged; how do you navigate with strength and grace? S Renee Smith is a trailblazing leader, most recently overseeing Amazon’s Leadership and Executive development programs, while championing the Coach approach and literally writing the book on Self-Esteem (Self Esteem for Dummies!). Along the way she learned to manage her both herself…

How do you align the expectations of success between Founders before there's any success? Paolo Privitera has founded six companies, raising over $300M across startups and funds, engaging with a wide range of employees, partners, buyers, customers, and more. Paolo shares tips for navigating those early moments between passionate cofounders -- the b…

Grit rewires your thinking to know that things will always get better. Madona Wambua leveraged her expertise as a Google Developer Expert to founding, and now serve as CTO of, Jibu Labs product development. Madona is a trailblazer in a male dominated field, and shares how her first dream of aeronautics evolved into a curiosity for technology that b…

Listening. David Tutera wishes we did it more, and says its helped him snag and delight clients like Elton John, Vanessa Williams, Shania Twain, The White House, Lil'Kim and Barbara Walters. David Tutera is a globally-lauded wedding & entertaining expert, a television personality, fashion designer, entrepreneur, author, husband, father, and so much…

You won't find a perfect job, but you can find a better one. Alan Stein shares his journey of leadership across some of the biggest companies in the world (Google, Facebook, AmEx, and more) in a no holds bar discussion about the ups and downs of corporate life. Alan keeps it real (even sharing his paystub publicly!), as a means to shock people into…

We are told, be quiet, don't cause any issues, never lift your hand in meetings, just do the work, and the work will speak for itself. That's a lie. Eugina Jordan is an executive who has built her career from a secretary to chief marketing officer in telecom, where women represent only 12 percent of the C-suite. Eugina shares how she learned to nav…

"My door is always open." It's what leaders say. But what happens when someone walks through to share feedback? Marco De Carli, Ceo & Co-Founder of DINN!, shares how leading from his core values creates helpful predictability for the team. "Failure doesn't exist; Learn from success; Feedback is a gift." These are a few examples of Marco's values as…

What helps women thrive at a company like Google? Elise Birkhofer is the global head of women's community programs at Google, helping women thrive at the company. With a community and responsibility that spans more than 36,000 women, Elise shares the ups and downs of conquering personal hardships and big company dynamics to do amazing work. Hear ho…

How does your identity impact your leadership? What if it was something you were proud of but unsure how others would react if they knew? Jewel Love, founder of Black Executive Men, is on a mission to help black men make 7-figures. Jewel shares how proud he is to lead a mission-driven organization, but also how hard it was for him to reveal his mix…

Leaders get kicked in the teeth. It comes with the territory. What makes the difference is what happens the next morning. JiYoung Kim, President at GroupM Nexus, found passion and success in hard work and good ideas. As an immigrant, these were her secret weapons, and she shares how that competitive nature drove her to find opportunities where they…

Even if you doubt where you fit into the picture, as a leader, you have a very significant role to play. Lean into the doubt, because your vulnerability is an opportunity to reach more people. Dave Haskins, an Astrologer and Coach, shares his journey discovering the importance of human leadership across his career at Siemens, Coca-Cola, and launchi…

Perfection is a secret weapon for execution, and a saboteur for leadership. Cathy Lanzalaco, owner of Inspire Careers, has evolved from Nursing to HR to Career Coaching. Along that journey she has been intentionally designing her own inspiring career and does the same for her client today. A key ingredient: avoiding perfection and prioritizing pers…

Is stress really the enemy? What if instead of seeking to reduce it, we trained to handle it? Dr. Amir Rashidian shares how his story of building a successful chiropractic practice is the same as building his capacity for stress. From moving the practice in twenty-four hours to keeping up with patient volume without the necessary staff, Dr. Rashidi…

Community cannot be understated. It's the space that supports the choice to do hard things rather than quit. Nyamekye Wilson, founder and CEO of Black Sisters in STEM, shares the revolution she is building the largest database of black women tech talent now touching 30+ country and 9,000+ women. And yet with all this success, Nyamekye shares her jo…

Leaders are unsure of the answers, but they make decisions anyway. Paolo Pironi, Advertising Executive turned Coach/Consultant, shares times when he was uncertain about the right path forward. He sees clarity as a decision, rather than a destination. And to him, the difference comes from a leader's ability to convey both clarity and honesty. Being …

Nobody is going to hand you anything; you have to be driving in every aspect of your life. Find mentors, learn from people who've done things you want to do, but you drive your destiny. While Wall Street may not have a reputation for kind, gentleness it's a hell of a place to learn from and meet talented people. Rashelle Salimi shares her journey o…

What is the secret to success for a founder who's gone from 1 to 1300+ employees? Founding a company is hard; so hard that the small percentage of success stories usually involve new leadership taking over. Jama is a rare breed: he's grown his company to 13 countries, with 20 offices and 1300+ people. How does he do it? He says it's about the peopl…

You don't get if you don't ask. You can do anything, but you can't do it alone. Jaime Bronstein Olson was named the #1 relationship coach, she hosts a talk show, and she just published a book. Hear how her incredible success was built on a mountain of no's, diving deep into the story of becoming (manifesting!) a published author. Leave the office a…

Do you know when you're not excited? Do you know what lights you up? Sebastien Hernoux, Chief Data and Technology Officer at OMD Ad Agency, stays in touch with how he feels about his day-to-day work as a compass for when and where to learn new things. Without development, things stagnate and work becomes boring, but how does that connect to the imp…

Are high performance cultures synonymous with one type of leadership? If not, then how does leading with empathy contribute to the bottom line? Kerri Jacobs founded "Leading with Empathy" to showcase the strengths of what some consider a "nice to have." Kerri shares how she went from feeling like a fraud to recognizing what made her role models so …

Your second life begins when you realize you only live once. Ed Essey shares his incredible journey of cultivating the right kind of impatience through a gut wrenching battle with cancer and an empowering career as an entrepreneur turned leader of entrepreneurs as the Director of Business Value at Microsoft Garage. Ed's story deals with contentment…

When you find yourself at the edge of the cliff, take a big breath and jump. Arriving to the US for a new job as CEO to find an empty office ... ghosted by the predecessor who was supposed to help with the transition, and left with a team wondering what's going on.. And then Filippo got to work. From psych safety to risk taking, Filippo's incredibl…