Leading Into The Unknown

As the woman USA Today called, “the power broker of Silicon Valley,” Jana Rich knows a thing or two about how to build diverse and inclusive teams (hint: it continues far beyond recruiting.) Pulling from her experience working with CEOs of today’s most visionary companies, Jana shares her thoughts on strong leadership, how to evaluate leader-organization fit, and her favorite leaders in Silicon Valley to work with. Jana is the founder and CEO of Rich Talent Group, a San Francisco-based...

In the time since a design contest launched his career, Cliff Skeete has risen through the traditionally white male-dominated advertising industry to become an Executive Creative Director at a number of agencies. In this episode, Cliff explains practical ways anyone can develop a personal leadership style rooted in authenticity. He also shares why design matters for all business leaders, and offers tips for teams trying to remain creative despite pressure from deadlines. Cliff started his...

After experiencing the lack of diversity on Wall Street firsthand, Porter Braswell was inspired to create a solution to the problem: Jopwell, a platform that connects Black, Latinx, and Native American talent with career opportunities. In conversation with host Andy Ng, Porter explains what the terms “diversity”, “equity”, and “inclusion” mean to him, and why they are important for organizations at any stage of the business life cycle. Also, he offers advice for diversity champions who may...

“Our intuition is beautiful and can give us tremendous insights, but we also need to recognize that it's misguided." Kelly Peters explains how her “irrational passion” for behavioral economics led her to co-found the first management consulting firm dedicated to bringing scientific thinking into business strategy, and how leaders can make smarter decisions by incorporating behavioral economics into their operations. Kelly Peters is the CEO and Co-Founder of BEworks, which provides scientific...

As a Partner at Upfront Ventures, Kara Nortman focuses on the human element of venture capital. In conversation with host Ben Perreau, Kara explains what she looks for in founders, and how she is helping to increase female representation in the venture capital industry through All Raise, an initiative to accelerate the success of female funders and founders. Kara maintains a portfolio of companies including Qordoba, Parachute, Stem, and Fleetsmith. Before joining Upfront Ventures, Kara...

During Stephen Friedman’s tenure at MTV, social impact drove many business decisions that ended up cementing the network as the cultural home for the millennial generation. In this episode, he explains the first step businesses should take to embrace social action, and how more listening and empathy can inspire breakthroughs for leaders at any level. Stephen, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning creator of social impact campaigns, is the Societal Impact Advisor at SYPartners. Previously,...