logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
41m 43s

Daring to Build a More Sustainable World...

Russell Reynolds Associates
About this episode

Sustainability has quickly risen to the top of corporate agendas, as shareholders, investors, employees, policy makers, and other stakeholders demand action. We talk with two passionate leaders – Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google and Sophia Mendelsohn, former Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of ESG at Cognizant – about how they embed sustainability into their organizations’ core business strategy. They’ll share how they’ve mastered the role of “CEO whisperer” to drive top-down change and connect sustainability initiatives to their company’s business, products and supply chain. We’ll talk about why it’s critical to shift our thinking from how to reduce our business impact on climate change to how to reduce climate change's impact on our business. And for those interested in becoming a CSO, Kate and Sophia share their career advice on how to navigate the often-undefined path to the role.  

If you’d like to learn more about Sustainable Leadership, check out Redefiners host Clarke Murphy’s new book, Sustainable Leadership: Lessons of Vision, Courage, and Grit from the CEOs Who Dared to Build a Better World. The book is a complete blueprint for infusing sustainability across business strategy, all while growing your bottom line. Drawing on the stories of 35+ CEOs at world-leading companies, including Adidas, Heineken, Duke Energy, Natura &Co, Maersk, Mahindra Steel, and Salesforce, veteran leadership expert Clarke shows how sustainability action is within reach of every business executive. Perfect for CEOs and boards across industries, Sustainable Leadership is also a can’t miss book for sustainability experts, entrepreneurs, and next-generation leaders looking to make sense of the latest—and most profitable—sustainability strategies. Order your copy here.  

To hear more from other global leaders on sustainability, you might also enjoy these Redefiners episodes: 

Up next
Yesterday
Leadership Lounge: How to Build a Top-Performing C-suite: The Leadership Blueprint for Sustained High Performance
The C-suite is the engine room of organizational success, yet most leaders struggle to build one that truly performs. It's not just about hiring talented individuals—you need the right mix of complementary skills, aligned vision, and chemistry that transforms organizations. In th ... Show More
16m 45s
Sep 24
The Art of the Superhero Turnaround with former Marvel Entertainment CEO Peter Cuneo
Marvel Studios and many of its numerous characters are household names around the world. Their superhero-powered movies earn hundreds of millions and sometimes billions of dollars at the box office, including the #2 top grossing movie of all time – Avengers: Endgame. They’re also ... Show More
29m 47s
Sep 10
Leadership Lounge: Built to Last or Built to Learn: How Leaders Can Develop Resilience
In an era where adaptability trumps consistency, the leaders who survive and thrive are those who've mastered the art of bouncing back stronger. Yet our Global Leadership Monitor reveals that leaders' preparedness to face threats such as uncertain economic growth and geopolitical ... Show More
18m 32s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
Taking Green Mainstream: Consumers & The Future of Sustainable Shopping
In this episode of CMO Moves, three sustainability trailblazers discuss sustainability efforts with Adweek CXO Jenny Rooney in an effort to bring awareness to the Mainstream Green Action Plan.CMO Sustainability Accelerator (CSA) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) created this repo ... Show More
35m 9s
May 2024
How Executives Can Turn CEO Concerns Into Opportunity
As CEOs work to meet the dual challenges of growing the business while responding to evolving markets, they are calling on the executive leaders underneath them for support and innovation. In a keynote originally delivered at Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo, Distinguished VP A ... Show More
30m 34s
Nov 2017
Dow Chemical’s CEO on Running an Environmentally Friendly Multinational
Andrew Liveris, the CEO of Dow Chemical, discusses the 120-year-old company’s ambitious sustainability agenda. He says an environmentally driven business model is good for the earth—and the bottom line. Liveris is one of the CEOs contributing to Harvard Business Review’s Future E ... Show More
16m 21s
Jan 2020
Why Business Leaders Should Solve Problems Beyond Their Companies
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, professor at Harvard Business School, believes the world demands a new kind of business leader. She says so-called “advanced leaders” work inside and outside their companies to tackle big issues such as climate change, public health, and social inequality. S ... Show More
24m 43s
Oct 2023
Vada Manager | Leadership lessons from a career of service
For Vada Manager, everything comes back to relationships. Throughout a career serving on countless Boards of Directors and advising everyone from Nelson Mandela to Nike founder Phil Knight to the New York Yankees’ George Steinbrenner, Manager has accumulated more than 14,000 cont ... Show More
42m 43s
Mar 2023
Leadership in Times of Crisis: Stories of Resilience from the World’s Largest Firms w/ Liz Hoffman
Strategy and Leadership Podcast #214 Are you a CEO or a business leader looking to gain insights on how to lead your organization during uncertain times? Then you won't want to miss this episode of our podcast. We're excited to welcome Liz Hoffman, a business and finance editor a ... Show More
24m 4s
Mar 2018
McKinsey’s Head on Why Corporate Sustainability Efforts Are Falling Short
Dominic Barton, the global managing partner of McKinsey&Company, discusses the firm’s sustainability efforts. He talks about the wake-up call he got about sustainability and how he tries to convince CEOs hesitant to make it part of their business model that doing so will improve ... Show More
17m 34s
Mar 2023
How to Perform Diligence on Sustainability in M&A
Sarah Thuo, Chief Operating Officer of IBM Sustainability Services As the business world shifts towards a more environmentally and socially conscious approach, the significance of sustainability in M&A has become increasingly prominent. In light of this, companies are now conside ... Show More
45m 3s
May 2019
Executive Ambitions
Do you want the corner office someday? Dan and Alison answer your questions with the help of Mike Troiano, a venture capitalist and former executive. They talk through what to do when you’re falling off the executive track, you're moving up but don’t believe in the company's stra ... Show More
33m 52s
Dec 2020
Industries in Transition: A Conversation with Bill Winters: Sustainability and Resilience in the Face of Disruption
Turbulent. Chaotic. Disruptive. There are many ways that we’ll remember 2020, but according to Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, one word captures it best: resilient. Few escaped the socioeconomic turmoil of Covid-19. While some were harder hit, most had ... Show More
21m 31s