4-Quarter Lives Avivah Wittenberg-Cox

In the latest episode of 4-Quarter Lives Podcast, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with former private equity partner Graham Heddle about the opportunities to use AI as a tool for personal reinvention.  They discuss Graham's own journey of career transition and how he harnessed the power of AI, particularly ChatGPT, for personal growth and exploration. Graham shares his insights on using AI as a co-intelligence tool, facilitating deep self-reflection, and finding new purpose after leaving a long-term career. 
Graham now divides his time between the charity and commercial sectors. He is Senior Advisor to recruitment firm ZRG, Chair of the Trustees at the charity Goods for Good, an ambassador at Brave Starts and Strategic Application Consultant at The Fore amongst other interests. While creating this diverse portfolio, he has been investigating AI and exploring its productive applications in both business and personal life.  
Following 10 years in banking with Barclays, working in the UK, Germany and France, Graham Heddle spent 23 years as a partner at Primary Capital, a private equity firm based in London. Graham was both chair and non-executive director on several of the firm’s investments and a member of the investment committee. Graham’s first love was modern languages and after A Levels in French and German, he went on to complete his first joint honours degree in German and Spanish, with Portuguese and Dutch, at Nottingham University, then spent a year living and working in Brazil and Venezuela. He also has an MBA from INSEAD and enjoys giving guest lectures on the ups and downs of private equity investment and his current favourite subject: “how not to choose a career”. 
Some Useful Links:  
* ZRG Partners website 
* Goods for Good website  
* Brave Starts website 
* The Fore website 
* A Brief Guide to AI and How To Use It (with Appendices on Prompting) 






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In this episode of 4-Quarter Lives, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with Anne Thevenet-Abitbol of French food giant, Danone.  Anne shares her insights on ageing, digital communication and the necessity of generational collaboration in today's workplace. She talks about the philosophy behind ageing without becoming 'old' and how personal and professional growth doesn't stop at any age. They discuss how she navigates the challenges of constant digital interaction and maintains authenticity and relatability in her communications. And Anne describes her journey from focusing on gender balance to advocating for generational balance, promoting a workplace where all ages are valued. 
After 12 years in the advertising industry, in 1998 Anne Thevenet-Abitbol was recruited as Foresight and New Concepts Director of Danone by Franck Riboud, president of Danone, to work alongside him on any subject likely to move the Group forward. She is often presented as an “ideas agitator”. In this atypical role, she suggests ideas, initiates and leads projects or areas of development. She intervenes on various marketing, social or societal subjects. She is an internal creative resource for all teams seeking an alternative perspective on their subjects and she also develops her own projects. Since 2010 she has designed and led the multi-company EVE Program to help women progress in organizations. Following this in 2012 she launched the OCTAVE Program, also inter-company, which aims to get generations to work better together and better integrate the impact of new technologies. And, more recently, she launched Nold – Never Old - a media platform and brand aiming to talk to an invisible generation of people who feel they are “too old to be young, but too young to be old”, and to change perception on ageing. 
Some useful links: 
* Website for the Octave intergenerational program 
* Nold Never Old website (French) 
* Nold Never Old Instagram 
* Nold Never Old Facebook 
* Website for The EVE program 


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In the latest episode of 4-Quarter Lives Podcast, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox delves into the fascinating world of longitudinal studies with George Ploubidis, Professor of Population Health and Statistics at University College London. George offers invaluable insights into how these studies shape our understanding of health, economic circumstances, employment, family life and wellbeing across the life course. They discuss how large-scale, population-based surveys like the 1958 and 1970 British birth cohort studies provide crucial life course data across generations, informing social policies and public health interventions. George reveals surprising findings such as the deteriorating health of Generation X compared to baby boomers, despite overall improvements in living standards.  He argues that making longitudinal data freely available to researchers worldwide, reveals the huge value of open access for scientific advancement and policy development. 
George Ploubidis is Professor of Population Health and Statistics at the UCL Social Research Institute and Director of the 1958 National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study at the Centre for Longitudinal Studies. He joined the Centre for Longitudinal Studies in 2014 as the Centre’s Chief Statistician, and in 2016 became CLS’s inaugural Director of Research. Prior to joining UCL George held posts at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Cambridge. His research interests relate to socioeconomic and demographic determinants of health over the life course and the mechanisms that underlie generational differences in health, well-being and mortality. His methodological work in longitudinal surveys focuses on applications for handling missing data, causal inference and measurement errors. 
Some Useful Links: 
* George’s UCL website 
* Recent keynote: The future of ageing: A cross generational life course perspective  
* Centre for Longitudinal Studies website (for all info CLS related). 
* CLS Data Access page (with information on how to access CLS data). 
* UK Data Service (where the data can be downloaded from). 
* Forbes Article by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox: The Battle Over Gen Z Minds, Sad, Bad or Mad? 


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In this episode of "4 Quarter Lives," Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with Tim Parr, CEO of Caddis, to explore his multifaceted journey from a serial entrepreneur in the action sports industry to revolutionizing how we perceive ageing through his innovative eyewear company focused on the Q3 demographic. Tim shares his insights on midlife reinvention, the importance of authenticity in marketing, and why embracing ageing can be your next great adventure. He talks about his own transitions, the significance of tone and understanding your audience in brand communication, and the potential of the longevity economy. 
Tim has both founded new companies and worked with some of the most respected brands in the apparel and sporting goods industries, including Patagonia, L.L.Bean, Filson, Kono and others. After founding cycling brand Swobo he developed his ideas and expertise in brand building. He became GM of Patagonia’s WaterGirl surf business, then established his own brand strategy business to help others build relevant customer brand experience. He brought this expertise to the founding of Caddis, a lifestyle brand specifically addressing the needs of people over 40.  And alongside this he has toured his Bluegrass band across the western USA.  He is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara. 
Useful Links 
* Caddis website 


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Chip Conley is on a midlife mission. After disrupting the hospitality industry twice, first as the founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, the second-largest operator of boutique hotels in the U.S., and then as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, leading a worldwide revolution in travel, Conley co-founded MEA (Modern Elder Academy) in January 2018 in Baja California, Mexico. Inspired by his experience of intergenerational mentoring as a ‘modern elder’ at Airbnb, where his guidance was instrumental to the company’s extraordinary transformation from fast-growing start-up to the world’s most valuable hospitality brand, MEA is the world's first ‘midlife wisdom school’ and has a campus opening on a 2,600-acre regenerative horse ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico in early 2024. Dedicated to reframing the concept of ageing, MEA supports students to navigate midlife with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility. A New York Times bestselling author, Conley's 7th book "Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age" is about rebranding midlife to help people understand the upside of this often-misunderstood life stage. In 2023 he gave a TED talk on the “midlife chrysalis." 

Some Useful Links: 
* Website: Chip Conley 
* Book: Learning to Love Midlife – or at Amazon 
* Website: Modern Elder Academy 
* Chip Copley’s Daily Blog: Wisdom Well 
* Blue Zones Retreat at MEA 


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In this episode of 4 Quarter Lives we tackle the complexities of longevity, ageing populations, and the evolving business landscape that accompanies these global shifts. While longevity science progresses at a breakneck pace, societal norms and economic structures lag behind, posing significant challenges. Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with demographic strategist Bradley Schuman. Together they take a deep dive into how businesses that leverage age diversity can outpace the competition and why addressing the unique challenges women face in midlife could be a game-changer for innovative companies. They also explore the critical skills that will define success in the future workforce, highlighting the importance of curiosity, creativity, and compassion.  
Bradley Schurman is Founder and CEO of Human Change – a global strategic research and advisory firm helping public and private organizations understand the challenges and harness the opportunities of demographic change, with a focus on population ageing. Human Change works to ensure that these subjects are considered across organizational strategies from human resources, marketing and communication, public policies, and product and service design. Schurman is also the author of “The Super Age: Decoding Our Demographic Destiny”, which examines how this shift is driving social and economic change around the world. Prior to launching his company and authoring the book, Schurman was Co-Founder and Managing Partner of EconomyFour, where he led business development in Asia and Europe. He also served at AARP – the world’s largest organization dedicated to improving the lives of older people – where he was Director of Global Partnerships and Engagements.  
Some Useful Links: 
* Website - Human Change 
* Book: The Super Age: Decoding out Demographic Destiny 
* Newsletter: newrulesmedia.substack.com 


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