Deep Purpose
Deep Purpose is a series of captivating conversations with Harvard Business School Professor Ranjay Gulati and top global CEOs about how courageous leaders unlock potential, proving that vast performance gains–and vital social benefits–are the payoffs when firms get purpose right.
Episodes
December 4, 2023 • 32 mins
Harsh Shah and his firm’s co-founders faced a once-in-a-lifetime quandary: should they sell the incredibly successful e-commerce venture they worked so hard to build to a big conglomerate? Reflecting on the circumstances surrounding their acquisition offer, Shah outlines the values that guided their ultimate choice.
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November 27, 2023 • 38 mins
James Mwangi made a courageous decision to leave a comfortable, big-city banking job to rescue Equity Building Society, a local financial institution on which Kenyan farmers and villagers depended. Under his leadership, the struggling firm transformed into a multi-national conglomerate (Equity Group Holdings) that now serves millions of customers across six African countries. Mwangi explains how he found the fortitude to fight for ...
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November 20, 2023 • 40 mins
To pilot Alaska Airlines, CEO Ben Minicucci draws on his Italian immigrant roots and Canadian military training, which was put to the test during a tricky operation near the North Pole. Having first gained a reputation at the company as “the numbers guy,” Minicucci discusses how he has been evolving into a leader who cares deeply about Alaska Airline’s employees, customers, and the communities it serves.
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November 13, 2023 • 23 mins
As the Chief Financial & Growth Officer of the Levi Strauss & Co. clothing brand, Harmit Singh makes tough decisions by sticking to a clear set of values that are well-aligned with the company’s larger purpose. He is inspired, in part, by Levi Strauss himself, who started selling his now-iconic jeans during the California Gold Rush and committed some of his first profits to a local orphanage. With this inspiration in mind, Singh re...
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November 6, 2023 • 36 mins
The global food supply chain is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental challenges. Many companies avoid these issues or make token efforts to reduce their impact on the planet. But as CEO of the Swiss-based technology giant Bühler Group, Stefan Scheiber is mapping a courageous plan to combat food waste and climate change. He describes how he challenges his own company, its customers, and himself to...
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October 30, 2023 • 35 mins
Great business leaders are problem solvers. That’s what sparked Susan Tynan (Harvard Business School MBA 2003) to found Framebridge, a custom framing company. When Tynan couldn’t find a reasonably priced place to frame her beloved posters, she launched a business, which took off after years of hard work – and hard decisions. Tynan reflects on her learning journey, discussing how she managed the risks of entrepreneurship while aimin...
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October 23, 2023 • 31 mins
John Chen was hired to save an iconic smartphone company that ran out of juice. BlackBerry had gone from being a corporate world must-have to a global has-been. Chen says the key to turning Blackberry around was being prepared to make hard calls, even in midst of uncertainty. He says that, in business, the journey can be more important than the destination.
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October 16, 2023 • 40 mins
Paul Polman is the legendary former CEO of Unilever and a global leader in combating climate change and promoting corporate responsibility. Reflecting on his career during and after Unilever, Polman explains how a company can achieve robust financial performance while playing an active role in solving the most pressing challenges facing society today.
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October 9, 2023 • 3 mins
Harvard Business School Professor Ranjay Gulati is back with a new season of Deep Purpose. This time he’s exploring the qualities it takes to become a courageous leader, joined by a new lineup of top global executives. He’ll sit down to discuss each guest’s personal story and how it led them to make bold business decisions. The show shares key insights that illustrate why courageous leadership isn’t born from the absence of fear, b...
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May 23, 2023 • 37 mins
In this bonus Deep Purpose release, we are sharing an episode of the HBS podcast Climate Rising with host Professor Mike Toffel. In this episode, Daniel Pacthod, Senior Partner and global co-leader of McKinsey Sustainability, shares how the company works with its clients to address climate risk and find opportunities through its pillars of net-zero strategy, green business building, decarbonization transformation, net-zero financia...
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December 19, 2022 • 26 mins
The core purpose of The Mahindra Group is to help people “rise.” Company leader Anand Mahindra says the “rise” philosophy guides how this sprawling enterprise makes money, motivates employees, and strives for a better world. Mahindra describes how “rise” is a beacon for the group’s 250,000 employees and makes life better for people across the globe.
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December 12, 2022 • 34 mins
Like many winning businesses, DBS (formerly known as The Development Bank of Singapore) is obsessed with the customer experience. CEO Piyush Gupta says DBS’ mission to be the best bank in the world pays huge dividends for employees, investors, and communities. He tells Professor Gulati that effective leadership in the digital age requires collaboration and trust. Gupta says performance and purpose go hand in hand, helping build com...
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December 5, 2022 • 42 mins
David Vélez is a founder of the world’s biggest digital bank: Nubank in Brazil. Vélez tells Professor Ranjay Gulati that he started his remarkable business career as a boy – and with an unusual investment. Vélez describes how having a deep purpose helped his team defy the critics and build Nubank from scratch. Nubank’s core mission led it to outperform the competition. And deep purpose is prompting Vélez, a multi-billionaire, to gi...
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November 28, 2022 • 40 mins
Temasek Holdings is an investment firm owned by the Government of Singapore with a diverse, global portfolio. It owns energy companies and a major airline. It’s also committed to a green future, which generates unique challenges for the firm. CEO Dilhan Pillay says the Temasek’s ongoing “purpose journey” helps it meet those challenges, delivering real financial performance while navigating the tricky tides of current events.
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November 21, 2022 • 34 mins
In South Africa, CEO Sim Tshabalala of Standard Bank Group worked his way up from the country’s largest Black township to lead one of Africa’s largest financial institutions. It might seem like an improbable trajectory: from the “dusty streets of Soweto” to the executive suite of a highly influential business. In this episode, Tshabalala explains how hewing to a deep purpose guides his bank to do the right thing for shareholders an...
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November 14, 2022 • 31 mins
Arcos Dorados (Golden Arches in English) is the world’s largest independent McDonald’s franchisee. It has restaurants across Latin America and the Caribbean. Founder Woods Staton says purpose is a work in progress for his company. But having core principles helped Arcos Dorados keep the doors open – with minimal layoffs – during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this candid conversation, Staton describes his lifelong mission to prove that ...
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November 7, 2022 • 37 mins
Mumzworld is the largest online baby store in the Middle East. It was created by Mona Ataya, one of the most influential businesswomen in the region. Ataya is driven to empower women, motivate employees and benefit all of the company’s stakeholders. In this conversation, Ataya recounts the challenges of creating a women-led company in a socially conservative environment. She explains the critical importance of finding talent that a...
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October 31, 2022 • 49 mins
A near-death experience led Mudassir Sheikha and his business partner to a deep sense of purpose in creating the rideshare company Careem. They wanted to make an impact – and did so big-time. Sheikha says that purpose is Careem’s “superpower,” bringing energy, focus and exceptional financial success to the company. Doing business with a clear, core purpose helped Careem become a rare startup “unicorn” in the region.
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October 24, 2022 • 47 mins
As the CEO of Walgreens-Boots Alliance, Roz Brewer leads a large and diverse company in a challenging business sector that is critical to the well-being of society: health care. Having a Deep Purpose is essential, she says, because profits come from doing the right thing. In this candid conversation, Brewer reveals how her own family’s health concerns informed her leadership. She also describes the unique challenges she faces as a ...
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October 24, 2022 • 41 mins
Alan Jope of Unilever leads a company with a historical commitment to doing good. This massive company sells more than 400 brands. It started back in 1885 with a bar of beauty soap. Jope says navigating with a deep purpose makes his company stronger and more profitable. The approach has not been without controversy. But Jope says it’s the both the right and smart thing to do.
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