Your Second Curve

Arnd Halbach
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Your Second Curve is for senior executives who have left a corporate career and are working out what comes next. Each episode is a conversation with someone who has made the move into independent consulting, fractional leadership or advisory work. They talk about the real decisions, the identity shift and what they’d do differently. Drawing on the second curve idea, the show is about using your judgment and experience as the foundation for the next chapter, not starting over.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    One Foot in the Old World: João Pontes on Going All In on Independence

    "Trying something is different to deciding that this is your path" João Pontes decided to join ERA Group in under an hour, at a franchise fair in New York. It took him a couple more years to stop keeping one foot in the corporate world. After a corporate career in operations at fast moving consumer goods companies including PepsiCo and Mondelez, João moved into independent consulting in 2014 and went on to become a senior partner and area developer with ERA Group in Portugal. In this episode of Your Second Curve, Dr. Arnd Halbach, author of Your Second Curve, talks with João about what drove the decision, what the early years of independence were really like, and the moment he stopped treating it as an experiment. They also cover winning a first client without a commercial background, growing from working alone to a team of six, how AI is changing consulting work, and what he would tell anyone standing at the same window of opportunity.

  2. Oct 30

    Life Without the Big Logo: Paola Cavallero on Building a Portfolio Career

    When you leave a big corporate name behind, you have to go back to what you can actually do for a client. Paola Cavallero spent more than 30 years in international corporate roles at companies including Microsoft, Nokia, Coca-Cola, Gillette and Johnson & Johnson, leading teams across sales, marketing, operations and general management. Then she stepped away from that structure to begin her own second curve as an independent partner with ERA Group. In this episode of Your Second Curve, Dr. Arnd Halbach, author of Your Second Curve, talks with Paola about what drove the decision, how her work now spans consulting, board positions and mentoring, and what she learned about building a pipeline from scratch without the big brand behind her. They also cover investing in training, using AI as a one-person business, and why a success fee model suits the way she works. She also has three pieces of advice for anyone considering the move.

  3. Oct 23

    The Network Behind the Practice: Jeff Reynolds on Working with Other Specialists

    Going independent doesn't have to mean going it alone. Jeff Reynolds spent more than 30 years in executive leadership across privately held and publicly traded companies before starting his consulting business in 2018. Eight years on, he works closely with C-suite leaders to improve performance, optimise costs and strengthen enterprise value. In this episode of Your Second Curve, Dr. Arnd Halbach, author of Your Second Curve, talks with Jeff about the move from leading large organisations to working on his own, why having your spouse on board matters, how he handled the first weeks and months in a home office, and how he found his first clients and grew them into a portfolio. They also cover how he built a network of specialists to work with on client projects and why that keeps the energy up, how he thinks about retirement and legacy, and his advice for anyone thinking about leaving corporate to start their own business.

  4. Oct 16

    19 Years Independent: Pellegrino Riccardi on Leaving Corporate

    What does it really take to leave a corporate career and go independent? Pellegrino Riccardi, award winning TEDx speaker and cross-cultural expert, did it in 2007 with no business plan and a family to support. Nineteen years later, the phone is still ringing. In the first episode of Your Second Curve, Dr. Arnd Halbach, author of Your Second Curve, talks with Pellegrino about the scary first years of self employment, why he never started a company and still works alone as a sole trader, and how he built a speaking business on word of mouth. They also cover how AI is changing work, what people leaving senior corporate roles need to relearn, and his advice for anyone in their late 40s or 50s thinking about starting their own business or a second career.

  5. Oct 13

    He Left Corporate With No Business Plan: Pellegrino Riccardi on HIS Second Curve

    He Left Corporate With No Business Plan. 19 Years Later the Phone Still Hasn’t Stopped Ringing Arnd Halbach sits down with Pellegrino Riccardi, an award-winning TEDx speaker and cross-cultural expert who has spent close to four decades studying what makes people and organisations tick. In 2007, Pellegrino left a corporate career with no business plan and built a successful independent business around himself. He talks about the fear of the first year, why he never started a company, how he measures growth in ideas and quality rather than money, and why humans still have the edge in the age of AI. He closes with the advice he’d give anyone in their 40s or 50s thinking about making the leap. Stay tuned for the full episode

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About

Your Second Curve is for senior executives who have left a corporate career and are working out what comes next. Each episode is a conversation with someone who has made the move into independent consulting, fractional leadership or advisory work. They talk about the real decisions, the identity shift and what they’d do differently. Drawing on the second curve idea, the show is about using your judgment and experience as the foundation for the next chapter, not starting over.

Information

  • Creator
    Arnd Halbach
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Arnd Halbach
  • Show Website
    Your Second Curve