Zero to CEO Kaushik Praveen Kumar

Today on the Zero to CEO podcast, we have Colin Mansbridge. Now Colin is currently the CEO of The Crusaders, A New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch. The Crusaders are the most successful team in the Super Rugby competition's history. Colin Career didn’t quite start off as you might think, from almost dropping out of university, through to working in many different countries around the world from coaching rugby through to finance. Colin’s career isn’t a linear one.

We often forget that CEO’s are just humans and I think Colins story is very much a story that we can all relate to. So, without further ado, here’s Colins, zero to CEO story.


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaushik-praveen-kumar/message

So today on the Zero to CEO podcast, we have Michelle Sharp. Now Michelle is currently the CEO of UNICEF Aotearoa, an arm of the United Nations that works to protect the rights of children in over a 190 countries.

Michelles Career didn’t quite start off as you might think. From starting a Garfield drawing club in Mexico City as a teenager. Rising through the ranks at Vodafone UK, after University. Michelle then went on to become a Founding Director at Timico. One of UK’s fastest growing B2B Telecommunication provider. It was also a company that went from start-up to 26 million pounds in revenue in just five years.

Michelle then moved to New Zealand with her family. Started her career all over again with Kilmarnock, Vodafone and now taking the reigns at UNICEF Aotearoa. This is a story you don’t want to miss. So, without further ado, here’s Michelle Sharps, Zero to CEO story.


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaushik-praveen-kumar/message

On this episode of the Zero to CEO podcast, we have David Downs. David is currently the CEO of NZ Story, an organisation responsible for branding New Zealand to the world. Now, Believe it or not, Davids Career didn’t quite start off as you might think, David started off doing a few years on a TV Show called away laughing, before setting up the Classic on Aucklands Queen Street, a Comedy club that’s still active to this day. David then moved to Ireland with his young family for a year before coming back to New Zealand and embarking on a long and successful career with Microsoft. David was then diagnosed with Cancer, fought it successfully and then went on to become CEO of NZ Story.

Don't Humour the Tumour | David Downs | TEDxTauranga: https://youtu.be/0iRkcjcM6lM
Reflections of a Genetically Modified Optimist | David Downs | TEDxAuckland: https://youtu.be/r2Wv_wwFH1I

A Mild Touch of Cancer Book: https://www.mildtouch.nz/order/book


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaushik-praveen-kumar/message

So here’s the thing, a few years go, I started a business. It wasn’t my first business but it was the first to fail. and Reflecting on it now, there were a few obvious signs that it was heading in the wrong direction. Beimg young, and somewhat naive, I failed to pick these cues up. Which got me thinking, how do CEO’s, executives and leaders know if something is going in the right or wrong direction . Do they have a special instinct, a sixth sense or a special tool that I’m maybe missing?

And I kept pondering this which sparked which innate curiosity in my mind about how high performance people work? This curiosity obviously got the better of me and I fell into this rhythm of constantly trying to find what that special thing is. Over the years, I’ve spoken personally with hundreds of high performing individuals and the insights I’ve gained from them are incredible. Both in business and in life.

I remember speaking to a good friend of mine, Michael Philpott and he said something that piqued my interest which was, its time to change things up. That sentence, that phrase was the catalyst, the spark that ignited the Zero to CEO podcast.

In these episodes, we look at how high performance people get to where they are, the choices they’ve made and their journey from beginning to now. Being a CEO is often looked at as a very coverted position, it seems like, it’s the pinnacle of ones career. But how we get there. That part always seems to be shrouded in mystery.

Zero to CEO gives you an insight into the lives of executives, by people who have been there and done it themselves. It gives you an insight into the lives of some of the countries top leaders, how they've climbed the ranks and how they became influential and effective CEO’s.

We start right from the beginning. Looking at how one was as a child and their journeys since. For those of you that know me personally, this podcast doesn’t have anything to do with my businesses, with Dark Matter, Dark Spaces or Dark Ventures, itds purely for me to learn and for those that want to, join in on our conversations.

It’s purely for the insights, the pearls of wisdom and the journey of how one goes from Zero to becoming a renowned CEO.

See you in the upcoming episodes.


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kaushik-praveen-kumar/message