Human with Resources inusual.com

In this episode I speak to Paul Ridlen, president at Knight Piésold USA about how he always knew he wanted to do things differently, the importance of Emotional Intelligence and the "human side" of work even for technical teams, and how they create a culture that keeps people engaged- even through the pandemic.  

In this episode we interview Leslie Johnston, CEO of the Laudes Foundation. Leslie shares a bit about her leadership story, how she pushes herself to move out of her comfort zone in her leadership role and explains how unbridled optimism, balanced by a strong, efficient and grounded team, is key for making change in the philanthropic world.

Jana Henning is the Chief Product Officer at Athleta. An experienced leader in the retail and apparel industry, she has a long tenure with Gap Inc. where she has held leadership positions in merchandising across brands including Athleta, Old Navy and Gap. In her current role, Jana leads Athleta’s merchandising, design and supply chain teams.



Passionate about sustainability, Jana oversaw the product development cycle that enabled Athleta to attain B Corp certification in 2017. She ensures Athleta produces garments that are beautiful, technical and sustainable. An avid runner and outdoor enthusiast, Jana lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children, Philip (5) and Adele (3).

Julie Charlestein is the President and CEO of Premier Dental Products Company which develops, manufactures and distributes innovative dental consumables and devices for the oral health professional worldwide. Proud to be running a family -owned business, Julie is the first woman and the fourth generation to lead the company, which was founded by her great grandfather, Julius Charlestein, in 1913. As Premier’s President and CEO, Julie was voted one of The Top 25 Most Influential Women in Dentistry by Dental Products Report

Stephen Shapiro started his innovation work over 20 years ago while leading a 20,000-person practice at the consulting firm, Accenture. Since then he has written five books, including “Best Practices Are Stupid," which was named the best innovation and creativity book of the year, and his sixth book will be published early 2020. Stephen has presented at conferences in 50 countries and in 2015 he was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame.

Antesa Jensen is an emotional intelligence and human-centric innovation expert who guides leaders and coaches in evoking the genius in themselves and others. She has lead emotional intelligence workshops with TEDxCopenhagen, interactive talks on the impact the unhealed human body has on the planet at international roundtables addressing climate change, and was a finalist with her talk on how knowledge is the opposite of innovation at the Nordic Business Forum Speaker Contest in 2019.