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Transformer CEOs

Transformer CEOs

De : Erik Schmidt
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 If you're a CEO, Chairman or investor this is a destination podcast for you. At some time, all companies get out of step with their consumers, fall behind the competition or lose their top talent – or all three. The financial fallout can be severe. The Transformer CEO podcast meets global leaders who have taken on the brief to transform their company from ugly duckling to swan. Or maybe they have started something new which has transformed a sector or started a new one. Either way, it explores their corporate and personal journey, their leadership values, their challenges and successes along with their mis-steps and learnings. It inspires those about to start, re-assures those already underway and offers a benchmark for those who feel they have concluded. If you want to know what it takes to succeed in tough environments, you'll not want to miss Transformer CEOs Economie Management Management et direction
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  • The Engineering Mindset of a CEO: MC Gasco-Buisson's Journey to CEO of Unilever Prestige

    The Engineering Mindset of a CEO: MC Gasco-Buisson's Journey to CEO of Unilever Prestige
    Mar 5 2026
    This week, I'm excited to introduce you to MC Gasco Busson, CEO of Unilever Prestige. Things that really stood out to me are her incredible engineering mindset and systemic thinking that she brings to everything that she does. She describes the set of paradoxes that all transformer CEOs face, and she confirms that for any transformation to be successful, the people and organisation in your company needs to be 100% match fit. In addition to transformer CEOs, I run my own successful advisory and consulting company, working with CEOs, Chairman and investors to deliver successful business transformations. I hope you enjoy what you're going to see and hear from MC. I certainly find her energy inspiring. KEY TAKEAWAYS Transformational CEOs don’t run steady state; they actively seek inflection points - turnarounds, accelerations, and realignments. Leaders who start with brutal diagnosis and re‑anchoring avoid wasting years on expedient fixes that don’t move market share. When teams share a meaningful “why” for the change e.g. getting a beloved brand’s “mojo” back - they endure pain, setbacks, and ambiguity in ways that pure incentives never unlock. BEST MOMENTS “There is a difference between modulating your style and changing who you are.” "Every transformation is more about people than about anything else." "I think transformational CEOs have to be masters of paradox." ABOUT THE GUEST Mary Carmen (MC) Gasco-Buisson is a global transformational leader with over 25 years of experience building iconic consumer brands across six countries. As CEO of Unilever Prestige, she steers a €1.6bn portfolio of high-growth beauty brands, including skincare, haircare, and cosmetics. Prior to Unilever, MC was CMO and EVP at Pandora, where she orchestrated the brand’s evolution into a culturally resonant jewellery house, driving double-digit growth and record share price performance. With a 20-year foundation at P&G across ventures and innovation, MC is a specialist in blending engineering discipline with creative "magic" to scale global businesses. PODCAST DESCRIPTION If you're a CEO, Chairman or investor this is a destination podcast for you. At some time, all companies get out of step with their consumers, fall behind the competition, or lose their top talent – or all three. The financial fallout can be severe. The Transformer CEO podcast meets global leaders who have taken on the brief to transform their company from ugly duckling to swan. It explores their corporate and personal journey, their leadership values, their challenges, and successes along with their mis-steps and learnings. It inspires those about to start, re-assures those already underway and offers a benchmark for those who feel they have concluded. If you want to know what it takes to succeed in tough environments, you'll not want to miss Transformer CEOs. HOST BIO Erik is described by CEO and Chairmen as "exceptional", "undoubtedly one of the top global HR leaders" and "a strong strategic thinker and amazing change leader". After 35 years working with some of the most successful companies on the planet including Diageo, GE, LEGO, HSBC, and Pandora, he focuses in the podcast on sharing the unique character of corporate leaders who take on some of the biggest challenges and win. This is also a critical topic in his consulting work where he partners with CEO’s, Chairmen and Investors as Founder & Managing Director of Erik Schmidt Consulting & Advisory (erikschmidt.co.uk) to help companies achieve out-performance. https://www.erikschmidt.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-erik/ This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    1 h et 28 min
  • The Art and Science of CEO Leadership: Chris de Bruin on Transformation

    The Art and Science of CEO Leadership: Chris de Bruin on Transformation
    Feb 26 2026
    This week I am joined by Chris de Bruin, CEO at Acenda, the large Australian life business. Chris is a serial CEO, having transformed a number of businesses. He's very much a strategic thinker and problem solver. Among his key messages is the fact that deep thoughtfulness is required by all CEOs to judge timing, what to change, what not to change, how to develop as a master of influence and successfully manage multiple stakeholders. If you think it's about control, forget it. Get the right talent on the bus and the wrong people off the bus. Decide quickly, don't wait. Then implement your plan fully and do so always with dignity. KEY TAKEAWAYS The CEO is a "final assembler" of vision, not the holder of hierarchical power. Treating the role as a craft of influence rather than a title of control enables the CEO to take successfully take everyone on a shared journey of transformation. CEOs must establish a brutal honesty about the numbers, or they will map a journey from a starting point that doesn't exist. Acting quickly on weak leadership or toxic personalities provides the economic resources needed for 'empathetic exits,' ensuring that those who leave are treated with the care they deserve while the remaining team focuses on the road ahead" BEST MOMENTS "If you think it's about control, forget it." "Decide quickly, don't wait. Then implement planfully and always with dignity." "Using digital as a disruption vector is not a strategy, it's just one part." ABOUT THE GUEST Chris J de Bruin is a global transformational leader with over 25 years of experience at the intersection of financial services and technology. As Group CEO of Acenda, he leads a premier life insurance and retirement platform uniting the heritage of MLC Life Insurance and Resolution Life Australasia. Prior to this, Chris was Chief Executive of Consumer & Business Banking at Westpac, where he spearheaded the group’s multi-billion-dollar digital transformation. His career spans leadership roles at Standard Chartered, where he co-founded Africa’s first digital bank. He guided development of industry leading solutions at Zafin and Deem Finance and a former McKinsey Associate Principal. He is a specialist in driving "step-change" economics through radical digitization and customer-centric innovation. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisjdebruin PODCAST DESCRIPTION If you're a CEO, Chairman or investor this is a destination podcast for you. At some time, all companies get out of step with their consumers, fall behind the competition, or lose their top talent – or all three. The financial fallout can be severe. The Transformer CEO podcast meets global leaders who have taken on the brief to transform their company from ugly duckling to swan. It explores their corporate and personal journey, their leadership values, their challenges, and successes along with their mis-steps and learnings. It inspires those about to start, re-assures those already underway and offers a benchmark for those who feel they have concluded. If you want to know what it takes to succeed in tough environments, you'll not want to miss Transformer CEOs. HOST BIO Erik is described by CEO and Chairmen as "exceptional", "undoubtedly one of the top global HR leaders" and "a strong strategic thinker and amazing change leader". After 35 years working with some of the most successful companies on the planet including Diageo, GE, LEGO, HSBC, and Pandora, he focuses in the podcast on sharing the unique character of corporate leaders who take on some of the biggest challenges and win. This is also a critical topic in his consulting work where he partners with CEO’s, Chairmen and Investors as Founder & Managing Director of Erik Schmidt Consulting & Advisory (erikschmidt.co.uk) to help companies achieve out-performance. https://www.erikschmidt.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-erik/
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    1 h et 37 min
  • Forbes '30 Under 30' CEO Dominik Kovacs Discusses AI Giant Colossyan

    Forbes '30 Under 30' CEO Dominik Kovacs Discusses AI Giant Colossyan
    Feb 19 2026
    DESCRIPTION This week, it is great to be joined by Dominic Kovacs, CEO of Colossyan. He stands out as the youngest CEO on my podcast, and yet, in a few short years, he has transformed himself, his business and the learning sector using tech and AI. Dominik is humble about his learning. Yet he has achieved much his transformation maxes on internal locus of control, using culture to drive sustainable growth and a mathematical approach to problem solving. KEY TAKEAWAYS Technical founders who take the CEO role out of responsibility, not ego, can become exceptional leaders when they treat CEO as a craft to be learned, not a title to be worn. Deep-tech companies must flip the script from “build first, validate later” to continuous customer validation, or they will ship beautiful products that nobody truly needs. Continuing to develop a product that the market and regulators aren’t ready for is folly. Cultures that worship speed and ignore quality eventually pay in lost customers and credibility. Transformer CEOs, treat customers as long‑term partners. They protect their experience over short‑term speed or vanity releases – is what turns painful product mistakes into deeper trust, better design, and stronger, more sustainable growth. When you reward teams for quality, provide ownership and develop a “don’t hurt the customer” culture you turn values from posters on the wall into products and experiences clients truly trust. A strong team and culture will move mountains through setbacks and hypergrowth. The next generation of CEOs will win by embedding AI into workflows, not as shiny tools but as invisible “cog wheels” that keep knowledge fresh and training effortless at scale. BEST MOMENTS “You've founded and been the CEO for two companies, and yet you haven't hit your 30th birthday yet.” ‘I took on the role for basically doing everything I can to create like a stronger position for all of us who are already part of the business.’ “Transformation is never linear. There's always hiccups, potholes or cliff edges." ABOUT THE GUEST https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominikkovacs https://www.colossyan.com PODCAST DESCRIPTION If you're a CEO, Chairman or investor this is a destination podcast for you. At some time, all companies get out of step with their consumers, fall behind the competition, or lose their top talent – or all three. The financial fallout can be severe. The Transformer CEO podcast meets global leaders who have taken on the brief to transform their company from ugly duckling to swan. It explores their corporate and personal journey, their leadership values, their challenges, and successes along with their mis-steps and learnings. It inspires those about to start, re-assures those already underway and offers a benchmark for those who feel they have concluded. If you want to know what it takes to succeed in tough environments, you'll not want to miss Transformer CEOs. HOST BIO Erik is described by CEO and Chairmen as "exceptional", "undoubtedly one of the top global HR leaders" and "a strong strategic thinker and amazing change leader". After 35 years working with some of the most successful companies on the planet including Diageo, GE, LEGO, HSBC, and Pandora, he focuses in the podcast on sharing the unique character of corporate leaders who take on some of the biggest challenges and win. This is also a critical topic in his consulting work where he partners with CEO’s, Chairmen and Investors as Founder & Managing Director of Erik Schmidt Consulting & Advisory (erikschmidt.co.uk) to help companies achieve out-performance. https://www.erikschmidt.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-erik/ This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    1 h et 9 min
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