Real World Leadership

In the crowded life sciences market, a great product isn’t enough—branding is the real differentiator. In this episode, Michael Watras, CEO of Straightline, unpacks why CEOs must be the chief storytellers of their companies. He makes the case for branding as a strategic imperative, weaving together product value, team culture, and sustainability to win over consumers and investors alike.

Visionary leaders can't succeed if they don't bring their teams along for the ride. Change management expert John DiGiambattista talks about the importance of adapting leadership to a VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) environment. For DiGiambattista, success lies in promoting adaptability, shared purpose, and a mindset that views challenges as opportunities for growth.

In this “golden age” of biotech, why is it so hard for so many companies to raise money? According to Nancy Lurker, former CEO of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, it comes down to a shortfall in communications skills. Listen to Nancy's practical advice for entrepreneurs, and hear why she remains optimistic about the future of healthcare innovation.

As the head of a branding firm, Skot Waldron often saw companies commission campaigns which they later discarded because of a shift in strategy. This led him to focus instead on corporate culture—helping leaders create alignment by developing their own personal brand.

For Dr. Jack Drescher, the problems caused by stress hark back to a much earlier period of human evolution, when “fight or flight” were the two basic ways to respond to a threat. The modern executive must adopt a different approach to anxiety—one that includes being willing to share these issues with others.

David King, the former CEO and Chair of LabCorp who now runs the Kingman strategic consulting services, analyzes the purpose and pitfalls of the CEO and Chair dynamic. Comparing the function of a Board Chair to that of a basketball backboard, King says Chairs should allow CEOs to bounce ideas off them. They may reframe or restate ideas, but recalling and dictating solutions is a no-no. The health industry legend advises CEOs to be decisive and be transparent at all times, stressing a lack of transparency is the number one threat to the relationship. Meanwhile, the Chair needs to be transparent, too, providing the CEO with their perspective on key corporate issues. Ideally, there should be no surprises on either side.

The "bad guys" as Jim Pastore, Partner with Debevoise and Plimpton, call them, are getting even badder with the advent of AI. Pastore, shared frightening trends in cyber attacks -- targeting leaders' children among them -- in a recent Vanguard Network GC Forum session.

The average CEO changes jobs every seven years. Each time, she or he must build trust and credibility from scratch. Jay Galeota, President and CEO of Kallyope, shares his experience on leveraging the "secret sauce" in any organization–its people.

The reality of leading remotely presents both challenges and opportunities. Fewer ad hoc connections, but also less travel. To Jay Rosenblum, EVP and Chief Legal Officer of Assurant, building community is critical. In this Vanguard Forum for General Counsels session, he discusses with Cynthia Dow of Russell Reynolds why personally connecting deep into a team can yield benefits in productivity and loyalty.

The "ivory tower" of academia often seems foreign to business leaders. And yet, there are lessons to be learned from the collective governance model employed by institutions of higher learning. Here, Christopher Grobe shares how that model could transfer to private enterprise.