A Podcast About Leadership

What do you do when you inherit a declining company with brilliant people, a powerful mission, and a culture that never learned how to compete? And what if the very thing that could save it — human connection at scale — is the same thing the rest of retail has been quietly eliminating for thirty years? Matt Baer is the CEO of Stitch Fix, the AI-powered personal styling service that pairs algorithmic precision with real human stylists to deliver one-to-one retail experiences at scale. He joined Jonathan Kirschner, CEO of AIIR Consulting and host of A Podcast About Leadership, alongside executive coach and author Jamie Ramsden for a candid conversation about leading from the front — and refusing to take shortcuts. The Anatomy of a Turnaround — Baer walks through the three-phase transformation strategy he built at Stitch Fix: rationalize, rebuild, and return to growth — and why getting the sequence right matters more than moving fast. Retail Is a Competitive Sport — On the danger of complacency, Baer explains…

What does it take to lead well when nothing is predictable anymore? According to Amanda Poole, Chief People Officer at Bristol Myers Squibb, and Vincent Garufi, VP of HR Innovation, Strategy and Operations at BMS, the answer isn't having a playbook. It's transparency, authenticity, and knowing how to make room for every voice in the room, even the quiet ones. In this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, AIIR CEO Dr. Jonathan Kirschner sits down with Amanda and Vinnie, two senior HR leaders at Bristol Myers Squibb, a 34,000-person company whose mission is transforming patients' lives through science, to talk about what it really takes to lead through change. Amanda shares the story behind Valuably Quiet, a grassroots initiative that started in BMS's research organization to help introverts and quiet contributors show up and add value on their own terms. She's an introvert herself leading a massive global function, and she talks about how that shaped the way BMS now defines high performance. Vinnie brings…

What separates a great leader from a merely competent one? According to Ken Roberts, President of Atlas Roofing (and a 30 year veteran of Masco Corporation), and executive coach Jamie Ramsden, the answer isn't intelligence, charisma, or having all the answers. It's humility. In this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, host Jonathan Kirschner sits down with Ken Roberts, president of one of North America's leading building materials manufacturers, and CEO coach Jamie Ramsden, author of Let's Go: How Great Leaders Shape the Future, to talk about why humility is the leadership skill most executives overlook, and why it's so often mistaken for weakness. Ken shares the story of the hardest decision of his career: a gut call made during the COVID supply chain crisis with zero hard data behind it. That moment taught him a lesson that's stuck with him ever since. If you're the smartest person in the room, you probably haven't built a great team. Ken and Jamie get into: Why real humility means staying open to being…

Can real love for your people and the hard decision to let one of them go ever coexist? That's the paradox at the center of this bonus episode of A Podcast About Leadership, where host Jonathan Kirschner, CEO of AIIR Consulting, sits down with his close friend Jamie Ramsden — a former CEO with 25 years of international business experience, executive leadership coach, and author of Let's Go: How Great Leaders Shape the Future. Across a wide-ranging conversation touching life, love, and leadership, the two trade personal stories about the moments that test a leader's identity most: not the strategy decisions, but the human ones. Failure Isn't the Opposite of Success — Jamie explains why the accomplishments people admire most are usually "hatched from failure," and why failure only becomes a gift when it's examined instead of avoided. The Sleepless Night Before the First Firing — Jonathan opens up about the distress of letting go of an employee for the first time, and the surprising clarity that followed once…

Most organizations are running on the wrong fuel — and they don't know it. The tools leaders reach for most instinctively — competition, incentives, fear, measurement — may be the very things quietly killing the culture they're trying to build. Peter Arthur Smith has spent more than five decades studying, practicing, and quietly refining a theory of leadership that cuts against nearly everything business schools teach. A former British Army captain turned organizational consultant, Smith founded Leadership Solutions in Manhattan in 1994 and has advised leaders across nearly ninety countries. In this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, host Jonathan Kirschner, CEO of AIIR Consulting, sits down with Smith to explore the ideas behind his forthcoming book, The Enlightened Leader. Have To vs. Want To — Smith's central argument: most organizations operate on extrinsic pressure (his SIGFAM model — competition, incentives, goals, fear, accountability, measurement), when the highest-performing cultures are built…

What separates the best from everyone else isn't talent — it's what they do with failure. At the Navy's elite TOPGUN school, thirty percent of training flights end in failure by design. The question is never whether you'll fall short. The question is how you respond when you do. In this conversation, host Jonathan Kirschner, CEO of AIIR Consulting, welcomes three veterans of naval aviation to A Podcast About Leadership: Mike "Wizzard" McCabe, a former Top Gun instructor, J. Todd Ross, who served as Top Gun's intelligence officer after nearly four years of flying in the backseat of an F-14, Traci Ross, one of the very first women to deploy on a U.S. aircraft carrier in a combat role. All three are now executive coaches who bring the culture of carrier aviation directly into the boardroom. "We, Not Me" as a Culture Strategy — Top Gun's legendary patch means nothing if you're playing for yourself; Wizzard breaks down why culture always defeats tactics, and how one founding principle has held for five decades.…

What does a brick — one of humanity's oldest building materials — have to teach us about leading through disruption, integration, and change? The answer turns out to be more than you'd expect, and it starts with the paradox at the heart of great leadership: enduring strength combined with the willingness to adapt. Steve Bell is President of Brickworks North America, the US subsidiary of Australia's largest brick manufacturer — a company producing over 300 million bricks a year across eight facilities. His path to the top is anything but conventional: Steve came up through HR, which gives him a rare lens on people, culture, and what it actually takes to build an organization that lasts. He joins Jonathan Kirschner, CEO of AIIR Consulting, on A Podcast About Leadership alongside Jamie Ramsden — former CEO, author of How to Shape a Better Future, and one of AIIR's elite executive coaches — who has coached Steve through the transition from trusted advisor to final decision-maker. Culture Is Never a Finished…

The CHRO role has been quietly transforming — not in the gradual, incremental way of most professional evolution, but in a sharp, compressed shift that has redrawn what it means to lead people inside a major organization. The question is no longer whether HR belongs in the room where strategy gets made. The question is whether HR leaders are ready for what that actually demands. Jonathan Kirschner sits down with three accomplished voices in the field: Maxine Carrington, Chief People Officer at Northwell Health, Bill Strahan, EVP of Human Resources at Comcast, and John Touey, Managing Partner of Trilogy Talent Advisors. The result is one of the most candid and substantive conversations about the CHRO role you're likely to hear. From Functional to Enterprise Leader - The CHRO has moved from managing the competition for talent to sitting alongside the CFO and COO in the highest-stakes business decisions; John Touey explains why this shift has fundamentally changed what boards are asking for. Culture as an…

What does it take to lead in a place where ambition has no ceiling — where building the world's tallest skyscraper is just the beginning, and failure isn't an option? The Gulf Cooperation Council region has achieved what many thought impossible: transforming desert into global economic powerhouses in a single generation. But that kind of velocity creates a unique leadership challenge. Jonathan Kirschner speaks with Wissam Adib, executive coach and leadership advisor based in Dubai, who has spent twenty years at the center of the UAE's transformation. Adib, a veteran of Dubai's government reform programs and now part of AIIR Consulting's executive coaching practice, has watched leaders navigate the tension between massive ambition and the psychological weight of never being allowed to fail. Joy Nissen, AIIR Managing Partner and business psychologist, joins the conversation to explore how leaders in high-stakes environments manage anxiety, contain risk, and build cultures that can sustain relentless growth.…

In this bonus episode of A Podcast About Leadership, AIIR CEO Dr. Jonathan Kirschner sits down with Dr. Michael Platt — professor across three schools at the University of Pennsylvania, founder of the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, and author of The Leader's Brain — to explore the science of social connection and what it means for leadership. From a landmark monkey study on a Puerto Rico island to the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Dr. Platt shares surprising findings about resilience, friendship, and the brain's capacity to adapt under pressure. The conversation spans genetics, grooming, empire-building, and why the most connected employees help companies outperform the S&P 500. If you lead teams, communicate under pressure, or want to understand the hidden biology driving human performance, this episode offers a rare and fascinating look at what is really happening beneath the surface of every great team, every great conversation, and every great leader. To learn more about how AIIR Consulting helps…

What is actually happening in the brain when a team clicks, a leader inspires, or a group of individuals becomes something greater than the sum of its parts? According to one of the world's leading neuroscientists, the answer lies not in strategy decks or personality assessments, but in the biology of human connection — and most leaders are only scratching the surface of what that means. On this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, AIIR Consulting CEO Jonathan Kirschner is joined by Dr. Michael Platt, professor across three schools at the University of Pennsylvania, founder of the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, and author of The Leader's Brain. Drawing on decades of research, from neuroeconomics to brain synchrony and AI, Dr. Platt makes the case that understanding how the brain actually works is one of the most powerful and underutilized tools available to leaders today. The conversation spans the neuroscience of decision-making, the biology behind team chemistry, and why the human brain's unchanging…

What separates good performers from truly elite ones, and why do some teams suddenly turn things around while others stay stuck? According to leaders working at the highest levels of professional sport, the answer is not just talent, technique, or effort. It is mindset, decision-making, recovery, and the often invisible dynamics that shape how people perform under pressure. On this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, AIIR Consulting CEO Dr. Jonathan Kirshner is joined by three world-class performance experts operating at the intersection of sport, psychology, and leadership: Simon Rice, Vice President of Athlete Care for the Philadelphia 76ers; Holly Benner, elite ultramarathoner; and Lindsay Shaw, Director of Sport Psychology for the Cleveland Guardians. Together, they offer a rare, inside look at how elite performance is built, sustained, and recovered when things go off track. Drawing from professional basketball, Major League Baseball, endurance sport, and executive coaching, the conversation explores…

From the outside, an IPO can look like it's all confetti, bell ringing, and a soaring valuations. But, behind the scenes, it’s one of the most intense leadership transitions a company can face. Scrutiny increases overnight. The margin for error shrinks. And the leadership behaviors that fueled early growth can break under the weight of scale. In this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, host Dr. Jonathan Kirchner sits down with two leaders who have seen what it really takes to navigate that shift: Gary Survis (Operating Partner, Insight Partners) and Katherine “Kat” Williamson (VP of Talent Development, Gong). Together, they unpack the realities that rarely make it into the celebratory headlines — from the human toll of “living in transformation,” to the cultural rewiring required when a company goes from building fast to delivering predictably. Gary and Katherine explore how founders and executives must evolve as the organization matures — including the hard truth that what got you here won’t get you…

What does CEO succession look like when it’s planned, values-led, and built for continuity and change at the same time? In this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, host Jonathan Kirschner, founder and CEO of AIIR Consulting, sits down with three leaders who’ve lived the succession story from every angle: Reade Fahs, who led National Vision for more than two decades, guiding the company from a modest optical chain into one of the largest vision care retailers in America — and who recently transitioned out of the role of CEO. Alex Wilkes, National Vision’s new CEO, who joined as president and stepped into the top role with a modernization agenda rooted in customer reality and operational urgency. Jamie Ramsden, senior executive coach, author of Let’s Go, and a former CEO himself, who has coached both leaders and offers a behind-the-scenes view into what makes a succession succeed or fail. Together, they explore the art and science of handing over the baton — including the internal work required of the…

Can love be a serious strategy in today’s high-pressure business environment? In this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, host and AIIR Consulting CEO Dr. Jonathan Kirchner is joined by Bob Chavez, former President and CEO of Hermès Americas, and Jamie Ramsden, author and executive coach to both Jonathan and Bob. Together, they explore a leadership philosophy centered on trust, care for people, and long-term commitment — a deliberate alternative to fear-based leadership and short-term thinking. Drawing on Bob’s extraordinary journey — from his childhood on what he calls “the wrong side of the tracks” in San Antonio to his years at Princeton to stewarding one of the world’s most iconic luxury brands for more than two decades — the conversation reveals how timeless values, emotional courage, and focus can produce enduring performance in even the most competitive industries. This episode is a masterclass in human-centered leadership — and a reminder that the most powerful force in business may still be the…

What does it take to lead when change is no longer episodic but constant and fluid? On this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, AIIR Consulting CEO Dr. Jonathan Kirschner sits down with Dr. Joy Nissen and Ian Wilcox to explore how leaders can stay grounded, resilient, and effective in a world where stability feels increasingly out of reach. Drawing on careers in psychology, organizational science, and global consulting, Joy and Ian unpack why traditional change models no longer fit the moment. Today’s reality demands something different. Leaders must regulate their own energy, create stability for others, and guide organizations through uncertainty without pretending to have all the answers. This conversation is a candid, deeply human look at what leaders are experiencing right now: fatigue, fragmentation, cognitive overload, and the pressure to perform amid ambiguity. More importantly, it offers a path forward. In this episode, we explore: Leading Self in a Fluid World — Why constant change pushes…

What really determines whether a company thrives or unravels under pressure? According to John Touey, one of the country’s most trusted C-suite recruiters, it comes down to a single, often overlooked truth: the CEO, CFO, and CHRO form the power structure that governs the entire enterprise. If that trio isn’t aligned, nothing else works. On this episode, AIIR Consulting CEO Dr. Jonathan Kirschner sits down with John — Managing Partner at Trilogy Talent Advisors and a masterful “C-suite whisperer” — to reveal what he’s seen across thousands of board conversations, CEO transitions, and high-stakes leadership searches. This conversation is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at what truly determines whether leaders succeed, stall, or never see the inside of the C-suite. John breaks down how the CHRO role has transformed more in the past five years than in the previous fifty, how AI is reshaping the talent landscape in real time, and why behavior and culture fit are the ultimate predictors of executive success. In…

What does “human-first” leadership look like inside a company building the future of artificial intelligence? AIIR Consulting CEO Jonathan Kirschner and Joy Nissen sit down with Gideon Rosenberg — Deputy General Counsel and Head of HR for NVIDIA Israel — to explore how empathy and uncompromising standards can (and should) coexist. Gideon offers a rare inside view into NVIDIA’s culture under CEO Jensen Huang, where people are empowered to “do their life’s work” and leadership begins with trust, not titles. In this episode, we explore: Inside NVIDIA’s Leadership DNA: How Jensen Huang’s mantra to “do your life’s work” fuels meaning, empowerment, and ownership — even in a $5 trillion company. Empathy Meets Performance: The art of driving at warp speed without losing humanity — and what truly scales (and breaks) when expectations run high. AI as a Leadership Catalyst: How artificial intelligence is reshaping decision-making, talent development, and the very definition of “leading through others.” A New Playbook…

In this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, Dr. Jonathan Kirschner sits down with Reese Haydon to explore what it takes to lead with agility, curiosity, and care in today’s fast-moving world. Reese's career has included senior talent management roles at some of the biggest companies in the tech industry, including Cisco, Dropbox, and Salesforce, among others. Drawing from his extensive experience, Reese offers a rare, insider’s view into how leadership must evolve across different organizational contexts. He and Jonathan unpack what distinguishes exceptional leaders in high-growth environments, how to balance innovation with structure, and why care may be the defining leadership capability of the AI era. Listeners will learn: Why agility and humility are essential traits for leaders navigating constant change The most common leadership pitfalls in tech — and how to avoid them How to balance experimentation with scale and stability Why curiosity and care remain timeless differentiators, even in the age of…

For decades, executive coaching and psychotherapy have been treated as distinct disciplines — one focused on business performance, the other on unpacking unproductive patterns and personal healing. But, in recent years, the two have been creeping closer together. As they have, it has begged the question, are coaching and therapy really that different? In this thought-provoking episode of A Podcast About Leadership, Dr. Jonathan Kirschner, clinical psychologist and CEO of AIIR Consulting, sits down with two of his fellow psychologists turned executive coaches, Dr. Joy Nissen and Dr. Davida Vogel, to explore how the worlds of clinical psychology and coaching increasingly overlap, how they strengthen one another, and why drawing a line between them actually matters. Discover how coaches with backgrounds in behavioral science use methods from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and other clinical approaches to help leaders clarify values, challenge unhelpful thinking, and…

In pharma, the barrier to progress isn’t usually the science—it’s how well leaders align brilliant, functionally deep experts to move an asset forward together. In this candid conversation, AIIR Consulting CEO Jonathan Kirschner sits down with Ian Wilcox (AIIR Advisory Board member; former Global Head of Life Sciences at HayGroup; executive advisor and investor) and Megan Marshall (Managing Partner, AIIR Consulting) to unpack what it really takes to lead in matrixed cross-functional teams—from early research through clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, medical affairs, and commercial. Drawing on decades in the industry, Jonathan, Megan, and Ian explore why influence (not authority) is the #1 leadership skill in life sciences, why self-awareness is its essential counterpart, and how leaders make the identity shift from subject-matter expert to enterprise leader. Key takeaways: Influence beats authority. In life sciences, the #1 leadership skill is influencing across disciplines; self-awareness is the…

Fifty years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for someone to spend their entire career at a single company, with a clear career path and the resources and training programs to give them the skills they needed to advance along that path. Today, that world has largely disappeared. Organizations hire to meet their needs, employees move on quickly, and the bonds of loyalty have dissolved in both directions. Few people understand this transformation better than Dr. Peter Cappelli. Peter is the bestselling author of Talent on Demand, The New Deal at Work, Our Least Important Asset, In Praise of the Office, and countless other books on talent management and people strategy. He is the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at the Wharton School, Director of its Center for Human Resources, and one of the most influential voices in human resources. In our latest episode of A Podcast About Leadership, Dr. Cappelli joins hosts Dr. Jonathan Kirschner and Dr. Joy Nissen to unpack the evolving relationship between employers and…

In this episode of A Podcast About Leadership, Dr. Jonathan Kirschner, founder and CEO of AIIR Consulting, explores the mindset and skillset leaders need to navigate uncertainty. As volatility and complexity redefine the workplace, Kirschner challenges traditional notions of resilience and offers a modern, science-backed approach to navigating ambiguity with confidence. Drawing on AIIR’s proven leadership framework, he shares practical tools for self-regulation, emotional agility, and strategic decision-making under pressure. From managing high-performing teams in turbulent times to turning disruption into opportunity, this conversation equips leaders with the insight to stay grounded, adaptive, and impactful—no matter what lies ahead. Whether you're a senior executive, HR leader, or talent development professional, this episode offers timely, actionable guidance for leading through uncertainty with clarity and purpose.