Episodes

  • Keys to being a visionary leader

    Keys to being a visionary leader
    Oct 8 2024
    The honorable Dan Goldin joins host Aileen Black on Leaders and Legends. Goldin is an entrepreneurial and scientific visionary, with the distinction of serving as NASA’s longest-tenured Administrator from April 1992-November 2001. He reported to three U.S. Presidents: George H.W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • An interview with former Congressman Jerry McNerney

    An interview with former Congressman Jerry McNerney
    Sep 11 2024
    Former California Congressman Jerry McNerney joins host Aileen Black on this week's Leaders and Legends. McNerney served for 16 years in Congress has an extensive technical knowledge of energy, technology, and environmental policy to position clients for growth opportunities. He is widely regarded as an accomplished leader in Washington and in his home state of California, and has achieved bipartisan successes working with officials in the House, Senate and the White House. Through his experience in the private sector, academia and national laboratories, McNerney has also forged industry relationships in energy, fusion, utilities and technology. Today he is a senior policy advisor at Pillsbury Law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    43 mins
  • Leadership at technology startups

    Leadership at technology startups
    Jul 19 2024
    Bogomil Balkansky, partner at Sequoia, joins Leaders and Legends to talk about leadership and the keys to building a successful technology startup. Balkansky joined Sequoia as a partner in 2020 and was previously vice president of Cloud Recruiting Solutions at Google and a senior vice president at VMware. Balkansky describes his leadership style as "very approachable but fearless". He believes that great leaders are "great listeners. They listen to their team members' ideas, concerns, and feedback, and act on them." Finally Balkansky said “I’m a very intuitive person. If I try to be overly rational and put all the pros and cons in a spreadsheet, I get myself into trouble. But if I follow my gut, I rarely make mistakes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • A conversation with Susan G. Komen CEO Paula Schneider

    A conversation with Susan G. Komen CEO Paula Schneider
    Jul 19 2024
    Paula Schneider, president & CEO of Susan G. Komen joins Aileen Black on Leaders and Legends to talk about leadership and leading an amazing cause. Schneider is responsible for day-to-day operations, strategic direction, and is accountable for the world's largest breast cancer organization. She has led Susan G Komen to be one of the highest regarded charities. According to Charity Navigator, Susan G Komen's score is 95%, earning it a Four-Star rating. More than 80 cents of every dollar spent by Susan G. Komen has gone directly towards research, community-based health programs, education and advocacy programs to support its mission of saving lives and ending breast cancer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • Effective leadership in turbulent environments

    Effective leadership in turbulent environments
    Jun 10 2024
    This week on Leaders and Legends host Aileen Black interviews Dr. David A. Bray, distinguished fellow and co-chair of the Alfred Lee Loomis Innovation Council at the non-partisan Henry L. Stimson Center. Bray is also a distinguished fellow with the Business Executives for National Security and a CEO and transformation leader for different “under the radar” tech and data ventures. He is principal at LeadDoAdapt Ventures and has served in a variety of leadership roles in turbulent environments, including bioterrorism preparedness and response from 2000-05. Bray has also led efforts to improve the organizational adaptability of the U.S. Department of Defense, and worked on countering disinformation from 2017-2020 – including personally surviving a disinformation attack that occurred in 2018. He has received both the Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award and the National Intelligence Exceptional Achievement Medal. Business Insider named him one of the top “24 Americans under the age of 40 who are changing the world”, and The World Economic Forum has named him a Young Global Leader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    51 mins
  • Leadership during rapid growth and change

    Leadership during rapid growth and change
    Mar 5 2024
    This week on Leaders and Legends, Tom Lash, CEO of Vibrint and an Amazon Web Services veteran, joins host Aileen Black to talk about leading technology teams through rapid growth and change. Lash is a recognized leader in the intelligence technology sector with a 30-year career deeply rooted in serving the national security mission. An engineer by training who holds a patent in intelligent database technology, Lash has extensive experience building technology-focused teams that design and deploy innovative intelligence systems. That experience combined with his inclusive, entrepreneurial management style, makes Lash him a dynamic and collaborative leader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • Defense executive explains the benefits of "innovative" leadership

    Defense executive explains the benefits of "innovative" leadership
    Feb 7 2024
    Sarah Hess, west coast director of the Silicon Valley Defense Group, and an investor/operator at Lux Capital joins host Aileen Black on this week's Leaders and Legends. Throughout Hess' career she has focused on national security and leveraging innovative technologies. In her work, she has helped the US and its allies secure democracy through innovation. Previously, Hess served as deputy lead to launch the NATO Innovation Fund, a venture capital fund modeled off of In-Q-Tel During the interview, Hess said the best leaders for new innovative startups are persistent and ” will run through walls towards a pursuit”. When talking about cultures and leadership styles, Hess said those who lead with empathy make their teams more effective. Early in her career at the CIA, she said empathetic leadership made it easier for her team to accomplish its mission and goals. Hess also offered some advice for the next generation of leaders saying “don’t be afraid to try something new", because new challenges will help you grow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    44 mins
  • The benefits of a "circular" leadership style

    The benefits of a "circular" leadership style
    Dec 11 2023
    This week on Leaders and Legends, host Aileen Black intervews Lisa Sanders, director of Science and Technology for Special Operations Forces, Acquisition, Technology & Logistics (SOF AT&L), U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. Sanders has over 35 years of civilian federal service. As SOFAT&L director, she is responsible for all pre-programs of record research and development funded activities. During the show, Sanders decribes herself as a a "circular or 360 style" leader. She says, "I’m all about reading the stakeholders and trying to find out how to achieve our overall objectives. But when it comes to the decision point, I often say I run a democratic dictatorship. I’ll take input from everyone, but I own 51% of the vote." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    47 mins