Growing up in a small community in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, Sarah Friar saw first hand what it means for neighbors to be at war with one another. But she also saw the transformative power of neighbors helping neighbors. She’s brought this experience to her role as CEO of Nextdoor, the social network platform centered around local communities. In this episode of Leadership Next, she and Ellen McGirt take a deep dive into two topics. First, the racism that exists in our neighborhoods ...
Jul 21, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Bill McDermott’s been leading companies for many years – he spent 10 years as CEO of SAP, and in the fall of 2019, he took over as CEO at ServiceNow. But his approach to leadership is anything but old school. “The pendulum has really swung more towards a leader being absolutely in service to the employees and absolutely finding new ways to inspire them, new ways to innovate, new ways to bring out the best in them,” he tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt on this week’s Leadership Next. McDermott c...
Jul 14, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 20
When the coronavirus pandemic hit and its economic implications became clear, Leadership Next wondered if CEOs would quietly shelve the idea of stakeholder capitalism and focus on their bottom lines. But for food giant Danone, the crisis has instead accelerated its commitment to people and the planet. It’s on the path to becoming a certified B Corporation, meaning it will be held to strict standards for social and environmental impact. Company CEO Emmanuel Faber now wants to hit that goal of bec...
Jul 07, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 19
What happens to a travel company in the midst of a global lockdown? “It felt like it took 12 years (..) to build this business, and we lost most of it in four to five weeks,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt in this week’s Leadership Next. Chesky goes on to describe the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic as “harrowing and nerve racking,” complete with large layoffs and a push to refocus the business. He outlines in detail how he made tough decisions during this time, ...
Jun 30, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Paul Polman is the former CEO of Unilever. And Leadership Next host Alan Murray says he was the first CEO of a major company to truly embrace and promote stakeholder capitalism. Early in his tenure he pointed out that capitalism, as we practice it today, isn’t working – and he demanded that business take responsibility for its impact on society. Today’s episode explores how Polman did that at his own company, the pushback he faced, and how he’s tackling the issue with his new company, Imagine. A...
Jun 23, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 17
The CEO of General Motors, Mary Barra, is a fixture on Fortune’s list of the Most Powerful Women in business. When the coronavirus hit, GM was the first major American automaker to put idle assembly lines to work producing ventilators. She sprang into action again following the killing of George Floyd and the swelling protests supporting Black Lives Matter, committing the company to internal improvements on diversity and vowing to use the power of GM to drive global change. All of that gave her ...
Jun 16, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 16
After George Floyd was killed, the CEO of Cisco put out a strong statement. Chuck Robbins called the incident horrific, maddening, truly abhorrent. On this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt ask “why?” How did this national conversation on race become a business issue for Cisco? And the questions don’t stop there. They want to know – among other things - what exactly Robbins plans to do, and how he develops trust among his employees on this topic. Ellen also speaks with Dr....
Jun 09, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Vas Narasimhan is the CEO of Swiss drug giant Novartis. With a medical degree from Harvard, and a public policy degree from the Kennedy School of Government, he has unique and specialized insight into the COVID-19 pandemic. On this episode of Leadership Next, Narasimhan speaks with Fortune editor-in-chief Clifton Leaf. The two dive into a detailed discussion about the challenges in developing and manufacturing a vaccine. They also discuss the fragilities in our healthcare system, preparing for t...
Jun 02, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Cathy Engelbert is used to breaking the mold. As commissioner of the WNBA, she just hosted professional sports’ first-ever virtual draft. Under her watch, WNBA players will – for the first time – receive fully-paid maternity leave and have a shot at significantly higher salaries. Before coming in to lead the women’s basketball league, she was the first woman CEO of Deloitte, and the first woman to head one of the country’s large professional services companies. On this episode of Leadership Next...
May 26, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 13
The coronavirus has pharmaceutical and biotech companies racing to find a vaccine. Moderna is the first company to test its vaccine in people and, this week, Moderna announced those early tests appear to be a success. On this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray speaks with the co-founder and chairman of Moderna, Noubar Afeyan. Moderna is a portfolio company in Afeyan’s biotech incubator, Flagship Pioneering. He founded Flagship in 2000 with the goal of financing companies that use innovative...
May 19, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 12
On the newest episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray is joined by the CEO of Mastercard, Ajay Banga. The two discuss how the global pandemic has impacted Mastercard’s business – surprisingly, it’s not all bad news. Talk then turns to economic recovery – what it may look like, and when it’s coming. Banga believes the crisis will likely speed the adoption of digital technologies. And while this can be a great equalizer, it can also deepen divisions. Banga has a passion for financial inclusion – u...
May 12, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff believes business can improve the state of the world. And as the world has grappled with the realities of the coronavirus, he’s used both company and personal resources to attempt to do just that. But now he says we are preparing to enter the second phase of this pandemic: returning to work. In this episode of “Leadership Next,” Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt ask Benioff what that return looks like. They discuss his challenge to companies to retain employees for at leas...
May 05, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 10
During World War II, American industry mobilized to support the military - reconfiguring assembly lines to produce things like airplane engines and tanks. Seventy-five years later, the world finds itself in a different type of war: the battle against COVID-19. And once again, business is responding to calls for help. On today’s Leadership Next, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt speak with two CEOs whose companies have pivoted to fight the pandemic. KR Sridhar is founder and CEO of Bloom Energy, a cle...
Apr 28, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Eileen Fisher has been putting purpose at the center of her company since 1984. The entrepreneur started her women’s clothing line with $350 in her pocket and the desire to help women feel great about getting dressed. Although it’s more expensive to do so, Eileen is focused on using environmentally sound raw materials, and ensuring good working conditions for those creating her products. She’s observed a growing number of companies following suit. She tells Leadership Next's Alan Murray, “I thin...
Apr 21, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Retraining workers for jobs in the digital economy has been a focus of IBM’s Ginni Rometty for a long time. Now, with coronavirus driving unemployment sky high, the need for reskilling is even more urgent. On this episode of Leadership Next, Rometty – who recently transitioned from CEO to Executive Chairman of IBM – tells Alan Murray why corporations, not the government, are best positioned to make this happen. The two also discuss the Business Roundtable. The group represents nearly 200 compani...
Apr 14, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 7
How well are companies responding to the coronavirus crisis? That’s what today’s Leadership Next guest wants to find out. Martin Whittaker runs JUST Capital, a non-profit which attempts to measure if companies are doing well by ALL stakeholders – employees, customers, communities and shareholders. Since COVID-19 has gripped our attention, and the economy, Whittaker’s group has been measuring how major corporations are responding to the pandemic. He highlights some specific companies he believes ...
Apr 07, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Can business rise to meet the challenges presented by COVID-19? Can supply chains provide the medical equipment doctors and patients need? When will we have adequate coronavirus tests? And ultimately, how close are we to finding a vaccine for the disease? Those are the questions Alan Murray is asking on this week's Leadership Next. Today’s guests are two CEOs working overtime to provide the answers. Up first, Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnosn and Johnson. His company has just announced it will begin t...
Mar 31, 2020•33 min•Season 1Ep. 5
When the NBA announced it was indefinitely suspending its season, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made a quick decision: he would continue to pay all of the hourly employees who worked in his arena. How did he do it? And why? That’s what Alan Murray asks in this episode of Leadership Next. Cuban is also an investor in over 150 small businesses, so he’s been closely following government plans to assist these smaller companies. He shares his take on the coronavirus relief legislation, the advice...
Mar 26, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Business, when it’s at its best, can solve very big problems. And today Leadership Next is talking about a very big problem - COVID-19. George Yancopoulos is the President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. His company announced this week it has developed a promising drug to fight coronavirus, and will begin human trials by early summer. Yancopoulos details the innovative approach Regeneron used to create the drug - an approach that led to an effective therapy for Ebola. He also explains...
Mar 20, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Starbucks recently announced plans to cut carbon emissions, waste, and water usage. But, as CEO Kevin Johnson tells Alan Murray in the newest episode of Leadership Next, he's not 100 percent sure how the company will meet those goals. Enter Andrew Wanliss-Orlebar, VP Strategy at Futerra, who advises companies on their sustainability policies. He lays out some of the challenges that Starbucks and other companies face in their quests to protect the planet. Also in the episode: find out just how mu...
Mar 17, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella firmly believes that his company must do more than make money - it has a social purpose too. And failing to fulfill that purpose may put capitalism itself in danger. It's an idea that's been most recently popularized by author Colin Mayer. In the inaugural episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray speaks to both Nadella and Mayer, exploring the role business must play in the 21st century. Also featured, insight from Fortune's Andrew Nusca, who profiled Nadella for the m...
Mar 17, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Mar 06, 2020•2 min
