21st Century Industrialists ERT

We kick off Season 2 with Jean-Paul Agon, long-standing Member of ERT and French business leader synonymous with one of France’s best known worldwide consumer brands: L’Oréal.

We talk about beginnings, perceptions of beauty, crises, corporate strategy and the challenge of succeeding a legend. 

Episode 9 – Show Notes
21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production by Tessa Torrekens at Uitgesproken and Stijn Vandeputte.  Audio Recording by Samar Grewal.  Editing & mixing by Benjamin Hertoghs at House of Media.  Music by Tom Soetaert.  Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche at Uitsgesproken.

Belgian industrialist Thomas Leysen tells us about his upbringing and early interest in business, media and environmental issues. As the chairman of businesses in a range of different sectors, we also hear about the strategic decisions that informed Union Miniere’s transformation into Umicore, the expansion of Mediahuis into a significant player in the European news media sector and his experience overseeing the board of the Dutch multinational Royal DSM. He also shares his views on the European project and his golden rule for managing his time.

Episode 8 – Show Notes
21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production by Laure Balcaen and Tessa  Torrekens at Uitgesproken. Mixing & Editing by Benjamin Hertoghs at House of Media.  Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche at Uitsgesproken.

Paulo Azevedo tells us about growing up in Portugal and England and the various stages of his ascent to the role of Chairman of the Portuguese conglomerate, Sonae Group.
 
We talk about what drives his belief in people and why reskilling and lifelong learning matter so much to him. He also explains how he researches new interests every few years, his fascination with biodiversity and reveals what he is planning to learn next.

Episode 7 – Show Notes
21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Benjamin Hertoghs at House of Media.  Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche and Andy Furniere at Uitgesproken.

Alessandro Profumo talks about his teenage passion for basketball, his early start in banking, his time in consulting and more recent move into aviation and security, as the CEO of the Italian company, Leonardo.
 
 We also discuss the pressure on aviation in a time of green transition and nascent post-COVID recovery; the promising opportunities presented by the era of big data; his view on intensifying security threats and why leaders need people with soft skills.

Episode 6 – Show Notes
21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Tom Giles at House of Media. The Sound Recordist in Rome was Nicolo Temperini.  Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche and Andy Furniere at Uitgesproken.

Nancy McKinstry talks about her childhood in rural Connecticut, her path from consulting into the world of publishing and the strategy she put in place at the 185 year old company Wolters Kluwers to transform it into the leading information services company it is today.

She also shares her thoughts on the importance of resilience, lifelong learning and why she has become an advocate of quotas to advance diversity in the workplace.

Episode 5 – Show Notes
21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Tom Giles at House of Media. The Sound Recordist in the US was Jeb Enoch.  Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche and Andy Furniere at Uitgesproken.

We sat down with Stefan Oschmann, former-Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of the global biopharma company Merck Group, before he moved to the new role of Chair of the Board & Independent Director at UCB.

In wide-ranging conversation on his last day at Merck Group, he talks about what attracted him to work in science, why the public and private sectors need to build more trust and the opportunities that linked open data presents for solving some of societies biggest problems. He also talks about his work on global health problems with Bill Gates, the value of curiosity and much more.

Episode 4 – Show Notes
21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production, Mixing & Editing by Stijn Vandeputte, Laure Balcaen and Tom Giles at House of Media. The Sound Recordist in Darmstadt was Johannes Schmitt. Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche and Andy Furniere at Uitgesproken.