Sandy on Talent - Insights and Strategies for Leadership Excellence and Talent Optimization
Think about the worst job you've ever had. What made it so? How did you feel about yourself and your abilities while you were stuck in that awful position? Welcome to Sandy on Talent, where we discuss the unfortunate reality of good talent going to waste and uncover how business leaders can unlock hidden potential in themselves and others to achieve personal and organizational growth. Join Sandy and his renowned guests for insightful and honest discussions on executive leadership, talent optimization, and entrepreneurial success. Now think of the best job you've ever had. It felt entirely different, didn't it? Our mission is to help everyone find fulfillment, dignity, and success in their jobs. We call that magical union "click" —the moment talent perfectly aligns with their role, connecting abilities and superpowers to tangible value, and everyone wins. Whether you're a CEO, business executive, ambitious employee, or an entrepreneur, our insights are tailored to provide actionable strategies for harnessing potential and driving organizational success. Host Sandy Ogg brings over three decades of experience as a CEO advisor, talent expert, and entrepreneur. He founded CEO.works and has served as an operating partner at Blackstone Group and as CHRO of Unilever. Throughout his career, Sandy has collaborated with top global business leaders, gaining insights into the consistent practices that drive value for stakeholders. He leverages this knowledge to develop talent-focused tools to help leaders and organizations thrive in today's economic environment. On our podcast, Sandy and his guests will tackle one of the top issues highlighted in every CEO annual survey: the persistent shortage of talent where it's needed most. Through thought-provoking conversations, they will address burning questions like "How do we hire the best people?" "Is the organization talented enough?" "Is the hierarchy dying or already dead?" And, "Why do transformations fail?" If you're ready to transform your approach to leadership and talent, join us for Sandy on Talent, where we ignite the spark that propels individuals and organizations toward excellence.
Episodes
Why do highly talented leaders sometimes struggle to succeed? Sandy and executive coach and Duke professor Sanyin Siang explore how fit — not talent alone — shapes fulfillment and performance. Sanyin shares three defining moments: immigrating from Taiwan at seven, losing her academic scholarship, and stepping beyond her comfort zone into leadership work that revealed her strength as a connector.
Jean Salata, chairman of EQT Asia, shares his extraordinary journey in the world of private equity, offering invaluable insights into his career and personal philosophy. From transforming Baring Private Equity Asia into an independent powerhouse and merging it with EQT to becoming a titan in the financial world with a heart for philanthropy, Jean's story is one of vision and impact. Through our conversation, his family...
Stuck between a "good enough" job and the work you're actually meant to do? We sit down with longtime player, coach, and Mystic Schooners owner and GM Dennis Long to unpack how he found his click and built a life around the game he loves. We follow his journey from UConn scholar-athlete to pro baseball, then through procurement and banking, and finally into full-time coaching and entrepreneurship.
Dennis s...
Step into the world of international education with Andrew Fitzmaurice, the dynamic CEO of Nord Anglia Education, whose strategic vision has taken the organization from four schools to an impressive global network of 89 institutions. Andrew shares his unique insights into how his varied career experiences have shaped his approach to leadership, emphasizing the importance of balancing commercial success with the well-be...
What does it take to find work that truly fits? Sandy sits down with friend and defense technology leader Sean Plankey to explore the persistence, self-awareness, and purposeful decision-making behind a meaningful career.
Sandy and Sean discuss why finishing what you start, betting on yourself, and seeking work with a clear mission can shape a career. Sean shares candid lessons from a poorly structured sta...
Listeners get something special here! We're sharing a conversation Sandy had as a guest on the Buying Sandlot podcast, and they were kind enough to let us bring it to you because the discussion is so rich and informative.
In this episode, Sandy shares how he plans to build 30 youth baseball "super clubs" across the country by partnering with local leaders rather than buying them out. He breaks down ...
Finding work that truly "clicks" is at the heart of this conversation with Sameer Ahuja, President of GameChanger and Senior Vice President at Dick's Sporting Goods. We explore how his father's refugee story, relentless work ethic, and quiet sacrifices shaped Sameer's drive to build organizations where people are treated with dignity and respect.
We walk through his path from consulting and banking to seri...
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Mark C. Thompson, founding CEO and chairman of the Chief Executive Alliance, to explore how growing up amid the space race and tech booms shaped his obsession with pace, reinvention, and value creation. He shares stories from working alongside Charles Schwab, witnessing the birth of online trading, and brushing up against legends like Steve Jobs and Richard Branson.
We...
From working in sales for his family's gumball machine venture as a teenager, to advising CHROs at Fortune 500 companies, JP Elliott's career is anything but linear. Sandy and JP unpack how early lessons from an entrepreneurial father and counselor mother created a powerful blend of commercial acumen and empathy, and how the mantra "one gumball at a time" became JP's lifelong playbook for perseverance.
Great careers rarely follow a straight line, and Drew Weatherford's journey proves it. Drew is a rare blend of scholar-athlete and builder: former Florida State quarterback, co-founder and partner at Weatherford Capital with over $1.2B AUM, and board member across a range of sports, tech, and services companies.
We walk through how Drew's foundation was formed long before private equity and boa...
Some careers follow a plan. Guy Schory's followed people. In this episode, Sandy sits down with Guy Schory, board director and former public company executive, to explore what it actually takes to build a career at the edge of technology, purpose, and calculated risk.
Guy spent a decade at eBay and PayPal under CEO John Donahoe, then crossed into sports media and entertainment as President of Digital Busin...
Some careers follow a straight line. Shefali Salwan's crossed five countries, three industries, and thirty years of hard lessons before it all clicked. Sandy sits down with Salwan, founder of FulcrumQ and a globally respected executive coach and HR innovator, to dig into the science of talent to value and what it actually takes to build a career that connects your skills to outcomes that matter.
Salwan dra...
Projects aren't just how work gets done. According to Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, they're how the future gets built. In this episode, Sandy sits down with the world's leading authority on project management, a Thinkers 50 honoree, six-time author, and the originator of the project economy concept, to talk about why most organizations are running too many projects, finishing too few, and paying a steep price for it.
Jan Zijderveld has run businesses on five continents, fixing broken ones, growing strong ones, and inheriting everything in between. In Part 2 of this conversation, he picks up where the strategic playbook left off: leading leaders across Southeast Asia and Europe, then walking away from 30 years at Unilever to take the top job at a company most people had written off.
That company was Avon. Share price at...
In part one of this two-part episode of Sandy on Talent, Sandy sits down with Jan Zijderveld, a rare breed of truly global executive who built an extraordinary career spanning eight countries across three continents. From brand manager in New Zealand to President of Unilever Europe — a $14 billion business across 34 countries — Jan shares the leadership lessons, hard-won instincts, and pattern recognition t...
What does it take to lead at the highest levels — in war, in business, and beyond? In this episode, Sandy sits down with Shlomo Yanai, a man who has done exactly that. From commanding forces in the Yom Kippur War to transforming Teva Pharmaceuticals into an $18 billion global powerhouse, Shlomo's journey is unlike anything you've heard before.
Born to Holocaust survivors, Shlomo brings a rare depth o...
What if you could transform a personal setback into an extraordinary career in collegiate sports? Tracy Smith, the head baseball coach at the University of Michigan, did just that. From his modest beginnings in Kentland, Indiana, to climbing the ranks in university baseball coaching, Tracy's story is one of resilience and strategic thinking. Listen as he shares how a life-changing car accident redirected his path, allo...
In this episode, Sandy sits down with Lord David Puttnam—Academy Award–winning producer of Chariots of Fire, The Killing Fields, and The Mission—to explore what it truly takes to build a life of meaning, impact, and excellence. From being born during the Blitz to reshaping British film, education policy, and environmental legislation, Lord Puttnam reveals the through-line that connects his remarkable ...
In this episode of Sandy on Talent, Sandy sits down with Sam Miller, founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer of Proteus Motion, to explore what it really takes to turn a powerful idea into a meaningful, world-changing business. Sam shares his journey from growing up around a half-finished invention in his basement to building a company that is redefining how human strength and power are measured across sports,...
In this episode of Sandy on Talent, Sandy is joined by Matt LaPorta — former Major League Baseball player, Olympic bronze medalist, and partner at True Up Capital Advisors — for a candid conversation on what it takes to sustain high performance through success, setbacks, and major career transitions. Together, they explore the difference between confidence and arrogance, why talent alone isn't enough, and h...
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