ELEVATE Podcast

EY Parthenon Leader, Jeff Wray, in conversation with Elevation Barn founder and CEO, Will Travis, explores the increasing complexity of the business environment and its impact on business models. He discusses the role of generative AI in driving innovation and the challenges and opportunities it presents. The conversation also touches on the importance of ecosystem partnerships and the need for companies to adapt and evolve their business models to stay competitive. The episode concludes with a discussion on how the EY organization is addressing the rapid changes brought about by generative AI and the importance of training and upskilling their workforce.

Errol Gardner, EY Global Vice Chair of Consulting, discusses the characteristics organizations need to thrive in an increasingly complex and disruptive environment. He emphasizes the importance of embracing change and technology and highlights the role of leaders in driving transformation. Errol also explores the challenges of remote work and the need for leaders to adapt their behavior and mindset to support their teams. He provides guidance on how leaders can navigate tech adoption and avoid common pitfalls. Overall, Gardner emphasizes the importance of teamwork, diversity of thought, and long-term thinking in achieving success.

In this episode, Anne Mullen, Chief Creative Strategy Officer of Meow Wolf, discusses the immersive art and storytelling experiences created by the company. Meow Wolf offers large-scale, permanent installations that invite participants to explore and interact with unique and transcendent worlds. The experiences are characterized by their mind-bending art, captivating storytelling, and interactivity. Anne emphasizes the importance of embracing new technologies and diverse artistic talents to create transformative experiences. She also highlights the need for businesses to challenge the status quo and create experiences that empower individuals and ignite their creativity. Meow Wolf aims to open portals of possibility and inspire people to see the world differently.

This illuminating conversation between EY Global Accounts Committee Assurance Lead Jeanne Boillet and Elevate Host, Will Travis, explores the complex and interconnected challenges faced by businesses in today's rapidly changing world. It emphasizes the need for leaders to rethink assumptions, challenge established practices, and adapt to the pace of change. The discussion covers the impact of disruptive trends, the importance of addressing emerging risks – including privacy, transparency, and discrimination -- and the role of AI in organizations. It also delves into the decline of trust and the need to rebuild it through transparency and communication. The conversation concludes with a focus on climate risks and the opportunities for businesses to generate long-term value while addressing sustainability.

In this episode, Hal Gregersen, senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, former executive director of the MIT Leadership Center, and ranked as one of the world's 50 most influential management thinkers by Thinkers 50, discusses the importance of rethinking assumptions and approaches in a complex and rapidly changing world. In this interview with ELEVATION BARN founder and CEO, Will Travis, Hal emphasizes the need for leaders to have long-term intent and to embrace exponential technologies. He also highlights the significance of truth-seeking mechanisms and the ability to see deeply and think deeply. Gregersen encourages leaders to ask better questions, challenge the status quo, and engage in collaborative problem-solving. He emphasizes the importance of navigating uncertainty and embracing the unexpected. Overall, the episode emphasizes the need for leaders to rethink their mindset and strategies to navigate the challenges of the future.

The electric vehicle revolution is driving a radical shift in our world around automated driving, decarbonization, smart cities, batteries, and commodities. But how safe is it? Will it clean up the earth? Is the consumer ready for such radical changes to their automobiles and cities? Harry Krkalo offers unique insights into these questions as the founder of Gly Capital, a fund that invests in the electric vehicle supply chain. With over 25 years of investment experience, Harry leads an asset manager co-sponsored by the Geely Group (which owns Volvo, Daimler, Lotus, London Black Cabs, and Proton) and the SK Group. Please join Adam Worthington in an exciting conversation with Harry Krkalo about green mobility. You won't want to miss this opportunity!

The emergence of sustainable destinations is changing the way we view tourism by considering the world around us. No longer can guests or hoteliers expect to relax within recreation bubbles, knowing that the foundations of their experience are deteriorating the world upon which it stands. Our planet can no longer sustain it. With decades of experience in the Indonesian tourism and property development sectors, Sean Nino has made it his life’s mission to ensure that property development within Bali continuously restores nature. As the founder of Mantra, Nino passionately designs environmental systems and methods that challenge the existing norms and behaviors surrounding property development within Asia. Join Katherine Huskinson in conversation with Sean Nino to explore his endeavor to ensure tourist establishments support life on our planet. We will discuss how this is possible and how sustainable destinations can be adopted worldwide.

When Jack sat facing 25 Indigenous kids in Redfern, Australia, he knew that launching AIME would become a legacy coursing through his veins and touching the hearts of millions around the world. He was only 19 years old. Since then, AIME has transformed the lives of thousands upon thousands of Indigenous Australian children through the power of the Mentoring Experience, and this is just the beginning. Please join Elevation Barn alumni, TV Producer, Director Faye Welborn, in conversation with AIME founders Jack Manning Bancroft, Jacqueline Twillie, Rhian Miller, Shyaka Farid Lwanyaaga, and Vhutali Nelwamondo, as we delve into how this Imagi-nation Factory is unlocking the internal narrative of marginalized kids around the world.

Chris Stephenson understands the importance of playing the long game. He is not only an ultra-marathon athlete, but also a culture brand builder, father, and CEO of the magical Madre Mezcal. Please join the fabulous Liz Walaszczyk, CCO & Founder of The Culture Report, along with our Elevation Barn community, as we explore the life and lessons from Chris’ incredible journey. From propelling culture-leading brands like MTV, Pepe Jeans, Interscope Records, House of Blues, Ministry of Sound, SFX, Absolut, Budweiser, and Corona, to embracing fatherhood, running ultra-

Newspaper headlines in 2020 and 2021 were justifiably dominated by COVID-19, but buried among them were some incredibly uplifting stories of achievement in science, medicine, sustainability, and human equality. London’s "Greenspace" documented many of them. Please join CEO Adrian Caddy in conversation with EB Young Leader Amelia Travis as we explore the undeniably important role positivity and altruism played in surviving the last 18 months. 21 Silver Linings... for them, for us, for our wellbeing.

"Deep Rising" is a story documented by the award-winning filmmaker Matthieu Rytz. Narrated by actor Jason Momoa, the film premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was released globally in the fall of that year. Join us on this "World Oceans Day" as we discuss the highly controversial proposal to mine metals from the deep seafloor, deemed essential for the electric battery revolution. It posed a planetary threat that jeopardized the largest and richest biome on our planet.

This episode invites you to embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and connection with Conscious Communication Facilitator, Ivana Sahami. Join us to discover the profound impact Conscious Communication can have on your relationships, personal growth, and holistic well-being, and learn how you can shape your communication style to more effectively and positively influence others.

Bahamas-based marine biologist Austin Gallagher of 'Beneath The Waves' has made a scientific breakthrough by harnessing and expanding the power of seagrass, with the help of tiger sharks and cutting-edge technologies, to measure one of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Now valued at $300 million per year for the next 50 years in carbon sequestration, this revolutionary tracking and fueling of nature's ecosystems is a game-changer for conservation impact and proof that man and nature united can triumph for the greater good. Join us in a conversation with Austin as we discuss the path ahead for sustainable change and discover how you can participate in this movement from where you sit.

We invite you to join our special guest, Olympian, entrepreneur, coach, author, and extraordinary EB alumna, Lisa Carmen Wang, for a podcast that will reveal how to celebrate your feminine power and overcome the multiple obstacles and challenges that women face in life and business every single day. As the host of the “Bad Bitch Empire,” Lisa will share insights on shattering glass ceilings, building sustainable empires, the tricks of entrepreneurship, igniting success into your everyday life, and her lifelong mission to help women build unapologetic worth and wealth.

Delivering market-based approaches that create positive outcomes at scale—for conservation, for economies, and for people—is a dream NGOs worldwide aspire to achieve. Terratai, Asia’s first venture builder for nature, has cracked the code. Protecting nature and building resilient communities while delivering economic outcomes to address and reverse the systemic challenges of the food system that drive ecosystem and biodiversity loss. Join author, CEO, and devoted nature conservationist Matt Leggett as we discuss insights from successes in the world’s remote tropical regions and their implications for international climate policy.

In 2017, Candice Mama was honored with the Human Beacon of Dignity Award in New York (Columbia University), presented by Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Evelin Lindner, for her significant contribution to forgiveness and reconciliation. Understanding that love and hate cannot coexist in the same space, Candice's story encompasses the forgiveness of Eugene de Kock, a former South African Police colonel, torturer, and assassin, who operated under the apartheid government. De Kock, nicknamed 'Prime Evil,' was sentenced to 212 years in prison on 89 charges, including the murder of Candice's father, Glenack Masilo Mama. Join us as we delve into her journey, the power of forgiveness, and the introspection required to close chapters and embrace new beginnings.

With more than 150 patents under his belt, including the Segway, portable energy and water purification devices, and even a prosthetic arm for a maimed soldier, Dean Kamen is respected as one of the most innovative creators of our time. Revolutionizing attitudes toward a better quality of life for all, his team at DEKA Research and Development has brought portable dialysis machines, a vascular stent, and the iBOT, a motorized wheelchair that climbs stairs, to fruition. Yet, this hasn’t been enough for the college dropout. A huge believer in education, he established "FIRST" (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a nonprofit uniting 191 countries to inspire teenagers to pursue careers in science. Join us as we discuss the power of youth, turning dreams into action, and how Dean's passion to ignite the creator in all of us can elevate our planetary solutions for the greater good.

Today, millions of children are growing up confined within what is intended to be 'temporary' accommodation as they flee their homes for safe refuge. Since the start of the Syrian War in 2010, approximately 3.5 million refugee children have lived their childhood and early adulthood within the confines of camps, a life with an average camp tenure of 17 years! A lack of education, forced labor, unsafe living conditions, child marriage, and rape are the daily reality, so documentarians Marco Bollinger and Jodie Livingston have united to shine a spotlight on a story of hope. Join Will Travis in conversation with these awarded filmmakers as we explore the lives of five girls, telling their stories of escape from war and the dreams of a brighter future. www.safezonefilm.com

It is an immense, soul-wrecking, humorous, and sobering tale from a disappearing world that brings us to a place in time that will never be documented again. Join us in conversation to discover Audun Amundsen’s mind-blowing 15-year life with Shaman and medicine man Aman Paksa, a life living at the brink of existence, celebrating life at its best and often at its most heartbreaking.

Moses Tembe was born and bred in the townships of Lamontville and Umlazi in Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal and from humble roots has risen to be one of South Africa’s leading lights in the country's transformation. Please join us live from South Africa as we discuss with Moses how he’s embracing his incredible business success, understanding of the political environment, and deep-rooted empathy to transform a nation through the power of community, women leadership, and a new wave of youth empowerment.