The CEO Advantage Podcast

Paul Edginton
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Business
  • Weekly

The CEO Advantage Podcast brings you into candid conversations with top CEOs, founders, and industry experts, exploring the strategies, insights, and lessons that drive success. From leadership tactics to navigating challenges, each episode offers valuable takeaways for entrepreneurs and executives alike. Gain an edge with actionable advice and inspiring stories from the people shaping the future of business. Tune in to elevate your perspective and fuel your own journey to success.

  1. Oct 27

    Grant Kelley: The Tyranny of Success

    What changes when you finally reach the top? In part two of his conversation with Grant Kelley, Paul explores a challenge that receives far less attention than achieving success, how to sustain it. Drawing on Grant’s experience with the Adelaide 36ers and his broader business career, the conversation examines what it takes to transform an organisation, rebuild trust and continue making difficult decisions when the pressure shifts from getting to the top to staying there. Grant shares the lessons behind the 36ers’ evolution, from recognising the importance of corporate partnerships and sponsorships to building stronger leadership structures, developing new audiences and creating international exposure. The discussion then moves deeper into leadership. How do successful organisations avoid complacency? How should leaders challenge their own winning formula before someone else disrupts it? And how do CEOs manage competing ideas, cognitive dissonance and the tension required to make good decisions? Paul and Grant also explore the danger of false alignment, when a leadership team appears united but the underlying differences have never truly been resolved. This episode covers: • Why the strategy that gets an organisation to the top may not keep it there• The "tyranny of success" and the dangers of complacency• Why leaders should disrupt themselves before the market does• Building ownership and accountability within management teams• Cognitive dissonance and the value of competing perspectives• Holding productive tension inside a leadership team• The difference between genuine alignment and false alignment• Rebuilding trust with customers, partners and stakeholders• Leadership lessons from the transformation of the Adelaide 36ers For CEOs and senior leaders, this conversation is a reminder that success does not remove the need for change. In many cases, it makes the need for disciplined, deliberate leadership even greater. Subscribe to The CEO Advantage Podcast for more conversations on leadership, strategy and building high-performing organisations.

  2. Oct 7

    Dena Vassallo: Leading with Kindness and Clarity

    Host Paul Edginton is joined by Dena Vassallo, CEO and Founder of SOCIETY, for a conversation about leadership, business and what it means to be both kind and clear. Dena reflects on her career across New York, Chicago and Australia, the experiences that led her to found SOCIETY, and the leadership principles that have shaped the way she works with clients, colleagues and teams. The conversation explores how kindness can sit alongside high standards, direct communication and difficult conversations, rather than becoming a way to avoid them. Dena discusses the importance of curiosity, critical thinking and being comfortable with uncertainty, particularly as artificial intelligence and automation change the way people communicate and work. Dena also shares her approach to recruitment and developing people, why leaders need to accept that talented people may eventually move on, and the role mentoring has continued to play throughout her career. Throughout the episode, Paul and Dena return to the value of generosity, authenticity and creating space to think rather than treating constant busyness as a measure of success. In this episode: • Balancing kindness and clarity while maintaining high standards • Building a career across New York, Chicago and Australia before founding SOCIETY • Hiring for curiosity, alignment and the ability to think through uncertainty • Leading difficult conversations without confusing kindness with avoiding conflict • Using mentoring, generosity and time to support the growth of others and continue learning as a leader This episode is for leaders, founders and aspiring executives who want practical perspectives on building strong teams, communicating clearly and developing a leadership style that combines ambition, curiosity, generosity and high expectations.We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit ⁠www.ceoadvantage.com.au⁠.For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram. Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

  3. Sep 10

    Erma Ranieri: Creating Opportunity Through Public Service

    In this episode of The CEO Advantage Podcast, host Paul Edginton speaks with Erma Ranieri, South Australia's Commissioner for Public Sector Employment. Drawing on more than four decades in public service, Erma reflects on her journey from a teenage job in a local delicatessen to overseeing workforce standards and employment frameworks across South Australia's largest employer. The conversation explores leadership, public sector stewardship, workforce culture, and the importance of creating pathways and opportunities for people throughout their careers.Erma shares how her experience as the daughter of migrant parents shaped her views on work, opportunity, and leadership. She discusses the creation of South Australia's first administrative traineeship program, her commitment to improving pathways for young people, people with disability, and Aboriginal employees, and the role mentors played throughout her career. The discussion also examines workplace flexibility, employee motivation, psychosocial wellbeing, public sector innovation, and the practical opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence. Erma provides examples from initiatives including Change@SA and ninety day innovation projects designed to improve systems, encourage new thinking, and create better outcomes for both employees and the community.In this episode:• Building a leadership career from a school leaver role in government• Creating traineeship pathways that open opportunities for diverse communities• Understanding what motivates employees in a changing workforce• Using workplace flexibility and trust to improve engagement and performance• Encouraging innovation while balancing risk, accountability, and public service responsibilitiesThis episode is for leaders, managers, public sector professionals, and anyone interested in building workplaces where people can thrive, contribute, and adapt to change.We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit ⁠www.ceoadvantage.com.au⁠.For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram.Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

  4. Aug 27

    Grant Kelley: Building Value Through Business, Sport and Community

    Paul Edginton is joined by Grant Kelley, owner of the Adelaide 36ers, for a conversation about his career, his return to South Australia after 30 years overseas, and the principles that have shaped his approach to business, investment, sport and community. Grant reflects on his early career, international experience and the decision to come home, as well as the opportunities he sees for South Australia as the state develops greater confidence in its own strengths.The conversation explores Grant’s approach to creating value, from private equity and investment to his involvement with the Adelaide 36ers and the role sporting clubs can play in strengthening community. Paul and Grant also discuss South Australia’s entrepreneurial culture, the importance of civility and kindness in leadership, and how competitiveness can coexist with dignity and strong values. Grant shares his perspective on winning and losing well, developing resilience in young people, and the role mentors can play throughout a professional career.In this episode:• Returning to South Australia after 30 years overseas and applying international experience at home• Building value through investment, business and long term thinking• Growing the Adelaide 36ers while strengthening connection with members and community• Exploring kindness, dignity and healthy competition as leadership principles• Finding mentors and learning through both giving and receiving adviceThis episode is for business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and anyone interested in how commercial experience, community involvement and personal values can shape effective leadership.We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit ⁠www.ceoadvantage.com.au⁠.For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram.Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

  5. Jun 3

    Jason Di Iulio: Leadership, Risk and Reinventing Business Through Change

    Paul Edginton sits down with Jason Di Iulio, Managing Director of Finance Mutual Australia and 1835 Property, for a wide ranging conversation about leadership, business growth, finance, property development and navigating uncertainty. Jason reflects on his journey from working as a trolley boy at Coles and studying commerce at university, through to banking at ANZ, building Finance Mutual Australia from scratch, and later expanding into large scale property development. The episode explores how clear thinking, strong culture and long term decision making helped Jason lead through periods of rapid growth, the Global Financial Crisis, and major industry change. Jason shares practical insights into building sustainable businesses, avoiding reactive decision making, and creating environments where staff feel empowered to contribute ideas. He explains how his businesses operate with minimal hierarchy, how innovation is encouraged across all levels of the organisation, and why slowing down to think clearly during periods of pressure can be a competitive advantage. The discussion also covers commercial property lending, advisory boards, the shift into direct property development, the importance of learning from larger markets interstate and overseas, and the risks of organisations becoming trapped by bureaucracy and inertia. In this episode: • Building a finance business from the ground up after leaving corporate banking • Navigating the Global Financial Crisis through structured decision making • Creating workplace cultures that encourage innovation and long term staff retention • Learning from larger interstate and international markets before entering new sectors • Balancing technology, AI and human relationships in modern business This episode is for business owners, executives, entrepreneurs and leaders who want practical insights into building resilient organisations, leading through uncertainty and creating cultures where people and ideas thrive. We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit ⁠www.ceoadvantage.com.au⁠. For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram. Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

  6. May 20

    Colin Falconer: Advantage Thinking and Reimagining Systems

    In this episode of The CEO Advantage Podcast, Paul Edginton speaks with educator, speaker and author Colin Falconer about the origins of Advantage Thinking, Open Talent, and the deeper impact language and systems have on human potential. Drawing from his own childhood experience of being labelled as a student with learning difficulties, Colin reflects on how belief, environment, and opportunity shaped his life and ultimately led him to challenge deficit based thinking across education, government, charities, and leadership. The conversation explores how organisations become trapped in problem solving models and why Colin believes leaders must shift toward solution creation, trust, and strength based approaches. Paul and Colin unpack the Seven Tests of Advantage Thinking, the influence of Aristotle on modern leadership thinking, and the dangers of institutional inertia, transactional cultures, and systems that unintentionally reinforce disadvantage. They also discuss youth employment, public service systems, burnout in the charity sector, and the role language plays in shaping both identity and organisational culture. In this episode: • The origins of Advantage Thinking and how Colin Falconer developed the framework • Why deficit based systems often reinforce the very problems they are trying to solve • The Seven Tests of Advantage Thinking and how they apply to leadership and culture • Reframing problem solving into solution creation and imagining what good looks like • The role of language, belief, trust, and systems in shaping human potential This episode is for leaders, educators, policy makers, charity professionals, and anyone interested in building healthier systems, stronger cultures, and more human centred approaches to leadership and organisational change. We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit ⁠www.ceoadvantage.com.au⁠. For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram. Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

  7. May 6

    Alf Ianniello: Leading with Founders and ASX Shareholders

    In this episode of The CEO Advantage Podcast, host Paul Edginton sits down with Alf Ianniello, Managing Director and CEO of Codan Limited, to explore his progression from engineering into global business. Alf reflects on starting out in electronics engineering, working internationally in manufacturing, and how those early experiences shaped his approach to decision making, discipline, and growth. The conversation follows Alf’s career through British Aerospace and Schefenacker Vision Systems, into a fourteen year tenure at the Detmold Group, before moving into an ASX listed environment at Codan. He explains how global exposure, working across cultures, and managing manufacturing operations at scale informed his approach to acquisitions, executive development, and navigating uncertainty, including the impact of geopolitical events on business performance. In this episode: • Transitioning from engineering into commercial and executive roles • Scaling manufacturing businesses across global markets • Making decisions under uncertainty and external pressure • Managing growth through acquisitions and international expansion • Shifting from operational execution to governance and oversight This episode is for leaders, founders, and executives who want a grounded understanding of how to grow businesses, manage complexity, and operate effectively in global markets. We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit ⁠www.ceoadvantage.com.au⁠. For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram. Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

  8. Apr 22

    Tim Silvers: Leading Culture and Performance in Elite Sport

    In this episode of The CEO Advantage Podcast, host Paul Edginton speaks with Tim Silvers, CEO of the Adelaide Crows, about leadership inside one of Australia’s most visible sporting organisations. Tim reflects on his journey through the sports industry, from early jobs and a childhood shaped by constant change, to leading major AFL clubs and building culture in high pressure environments. The conversation explores how resilience, connection, and honest leadership shape long term success. Tim shares practical insight into managing performance in elite sport, where feedback is constant and standards are reviewed every week. He discusses bringing young players and their families into a club environment, balancing on field and off field expectations, handling difficult decisions such as delistings and restructures, and why trust must be built through clear communication. He also explains how organisations can create belonging, identify rising talent, and stay aligned during periods of major change, including the challenges that followed Covid. In this episode: • Building resilience through change, uncertainty, and early life experiences• Creating belonging for young talent entering high pressure environments• Leading honest conversations about performance and accountability• Rebuilding trust and culture after disruption and organisational change• Managing difficult decisions while maintaining respect and clarity This episode is for leaders, executives, coaches, and team builders who want practical insight into culture, performance, and leading people through pressure and change. We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit www.ceoadvantage.com.au For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram. Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

See All (45)

About

The CEO Advantage Podcast brings you into candid conversations with top CEOs, founders, and industry experts, exploring the strategies, insights, and lessons that drive success. From leadership tactics to navigating challenges, each episode offers valuable takeaways for entrepreneurs and executives alike. Gain an edge with actionable advice and inspiring stories from the people shaping the future of business. Tune in to elevate your perspective and fuel your own journey to success.

Information

  • Creator
    Paul Edginton
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Paul Edginton
  • Show Website
    The CEO Advantage Podcast

You Might Also Like