The Aligned Leader: Recent Episodes
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The Aligned Leader is an interview series that features some of Switzerland’s most cutting-edge technology Entrepreneurs and Executives. The purpose of the podcast is to inspire next generation entrepreneurs to build world-changing ventures and establish Switzerland as a global digital innovation hub.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader Show, I interview Benjamin Talin, founder of More Than Digital, on his journey as a serial entrepreneur.
Ben shares how he looks at everything he builds as a collaborative effort and how he involves co-contributors in his projects. He also shares how he makes sure that financial contributors and partners are in alignment with the bigger vision of his ventures and the purpose behind them.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader Show, I interview Florian Kemmerich, Managing Partner at Bamboo Capital Partners, on the power of impact investing.
Florian shares his unconventional journey of entrepreneurship that led him to become a major force in the impact investing world. He talks about the difference between impact investing and philanthropy and why he decided to focus on emerging markets.
Florian dives further into the leverage that impact investing creates in today’s economy and society and why we are just at the beginning of this massive movement.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Sandra-Stella Triebl, Founder of Swiss Ladies Drive, on her journey as an entrepreneur to building one of the most popular business magazines for women in Switzerland.
Sandra-Stella shares the struggles she had to overcome along the way and how her upbringing has enabled her to embrace entrepreneurship with all of its risks.
She dives into her worldview and explains why we should look at the world, especially in business, more as a playground than anything else.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Kevin Kuhn, Managing Partner at Jaywalker Digital, on his journey of building the company and how he manages his energy to be most productive every day.
Kevin shares how they onboard new talent effectively, how they cope with exponential growth and what gets him most excited about running a software company every day.
This and much more in our interview with Kevin.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Viktor Calabrò, co-founder and CEO of Coople, on his journey of revolutionizing the staffing industry.
Viktor shares why it’s essential that the staffing process is organized around people’s lifestyle instead of the other way around.
Tune in to learn how Viktor created the world’s first on demand market place for flexible staffing solutions that’s disrupting an entire industry.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader Show, I interview Max Lyadvinsky, co-founder and CEO of Bloomio, on his journey of building Acronis from scratch into a multinational corporation and what the future of crowdfunding holds.
Why is crowdfunding such an interesting field to play in?
What’s the state of venture capital and crowdfunding today and where are we heading in the coming years?
This and much more in our interview with Max.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Tobias Häckermann, co-founder and CEO of SHERPANY, on his journey as CEO of Switzerland’s fastest growing startup.
What does it take to transform our meeting culture in business towards more productivity?
Why does every company need a strong sales DNA next to their product DNA?
How do you find and develop the best sales people that align with your culture?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Ursula Soritsch-Renier, CIO at Sulzer, on how she’s leading such a large organization and why people always need to come first.
What does “It’s all about the people” mean in a business context in terms of performance and results?
What’s the “bottom line” of diversity in business and why is it crucial to look at diversity beyond the male and female perspective?
What does it mean to lead authentically and empower others in an organization to perform at their highest?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview David Bruno, also known as SuperDave, who headed up the Innovation Lab at UBS.
How can giant corporations work effectively with startups without getting lost in translation issues of cultures?
What is Switzerland doing brilliantly in entrepreneurship and where do we need to improve?
What are the key principles that make or break innovation pursuits at large corporations?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Mathias Wegmüller, Founder at Qumram, on how they were able to successfully sell the company to a large US firm, only 6.5 years after they started it.
What were the key ingredients that laid the success path to the exit?
Why does not all Silicon Valley wisdom apply in Switzerland?
How did Qumram secure large investments by placing their software development center in a strategic location?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Thomas Meyer, Managing Director Accenture Switzerland & Accenture Digital DACH, on how he’s leading a 3000+ people organization by empowering every talent to release their highest potential.
What’s required to lead such a large organization without having to micro-manage people and limit their potential?
What keeps somebody like Thomas at an organization for over 30 years of his career?
What’s the impact of having a strong, deeply grounded purpose, that you pursue every day of your life in business?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Nik Brambring, CEO of zattoo on how he led the company from being a startup to becoming an 120 employee company all the way through a major crisis.
We also dive into what the future of digital TV holds and what we can expect in the coming years in terms of innovation.
In this episode, I interview Gina Domanig, Managing Partner at Emerald Technology Ventures, on her journey of building a venture capital firm in Switzerland and the future of industrial technology.
What makes a startup team truly investable?
What are the digital trends in industrial technology?
Why is Switzerland not a Startup Nation (yet)?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Cristina Riesen, Founder at We Are Play Lab, on the way education is changing outside of the classroom.
How do our surroundings need to change in a world where children spend most of their time outside the classroom?
How can we design already existing places into truly engaging learning environments for our children?
What does it take to empower children with the skills, attitudes and knowledge they need to thrive in the future.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Dalith Steiger, co-founder at SwissCognitive and CEO at Swiss IT Leadership Forum, on why Switzerland is not a Startup Nation (yet).
Why is it essential that Switzerland is being established a globally recognized startup hub as well as a global AI hub?
What does Switzerland need to take a pole position in the global race for AI?
What needs to change in Switzerland’s education system so we educate leaders of tomorrow?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Matthias Aebi, Founder & CTO at dizmo, on how the interaction between humans and technology is dramatically changing.
We talk about why today, everything can be a digital surface, not only screens.
We discuss why it’s essential that we make the interaction between humans and technology more fluid and natural.
In this interview of The Aligned Leader, I interview John Wegman, Managing Director Switzerland at Iron Mountain, on his lessons learned in leadership for the 21st century.
How do you run a 100+ people organization in a way people feel guided and supported but not micro-managed?
How do you deliver consistent business growth in a world of uncertainty and information overload?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Thomas Winter, Chief Digital Officer Global Partner Organizations at Cisco, on fostering an open culture of collaboration, sharing challenges and asking for help.
How do today’s great leaders align and lead different groups of stakeholders under a common vision?
What’s the essence of fostering a culture where people want to collaborate and openly share their challenges?
What are the biggest challenges when transforming business models at a large organization?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Dan Kuschell, Husband, Father and Serial Entrepreneur, on the things we may not want to automate or pass on to a machine in the digital age.
How important is true human-to-human connection in the digital age?
Why do we feel more disconnected than ever in a world of total connectedness?
Dan also shares three key questions that ground him every day in understanding what’s most important and what to focus on.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Guido Greber, co-founder and CTO of LIVE Technologies, on his journey as a Swiss in China and how to build and lead an outsourced team in the digital age.
What outsourcing practices truly work in today’s world?
How do you treat an outsourced team to ensure maximum performance?
Do you go to other continents or stay in Europe?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Simon Erdmann, Chief Digital Officer at Cognizant Schweiz, on using digital to make business more “sexy”.
How can digitalization transform boring processes into exciting work?
How will the collaboration between humans and machines change in the coming years?
What’s the impact on how we work and what we work on, when machines become more intelligent?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Daniel Gradenegger, Co-founder of Muume and AnnaNow, on the digital transformation in retail and how delivery is becoming instant.
We expect an answer to a written letter within days, to an email within hours and to text messages within minutes. Why should we have to wait for goods to arrive for days or even hours?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Gerd Leonhard, Author, Futurist and CEO of The Futures Agency, on his take on Technology vs. Humanity.
Are humans simply a very intelligent version of machines or are we fundamentally different?
How do governments and policy makers need to adjust to a more global governance model in the digital age?
How do we make sure AI and other emerging technologies are not exploited and used for evil purposes?
In this episode, I interview John Hucker, President of the Swiss Finance and Technology Association and Elliot Capital.
We talk about how the movement of FinTech is affecting the banking industry in Switzerland globally as well as what role the giant banks may play in the future.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Kolja Rafferty, Practice Lead Strategy at Leverage Experts and CEO at Visionarity, on management practices and M&A in the digital age.
What needs to change from a management perspective to make organizations fit for the digital age?
How does people’s mindset and a company’s culture need to adjust to the new economy?
What’s going wrong when large corporations buy startups and then the innovation simply dies?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Joerg Meyer, Head of Alliance Management & International Business Development at ComputerAid, on the shift in mindset about global collaboration in the digital age.
How can companies shift from a competition mindset to a collaboration mindset?
What are some cutting-edge strategies for expanding an organization globally without having to buy up market share?
How can organizations become global leaders without having to control markets and building large corporate structures?
In this episode, I interview André Wolke, co-founder of Validity Labs, about the global impact of blockchain on business and society.
What is blockchain really? How does it work and what are the implications on our business world in the coming years?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Marc Maret, co-founder and CEO at Infocentric, on the dramatic change companies are going through to adapt their employment models to the digital age.
What happens when suddenly the best talent can no longer be bought for a traditional salary or when the best talent are freelancers and work as entrepreneurs?
How do you adjust to these changes when standardized and systematized no longer works in a world of customization and individuality?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Pascal Mathis, Partner at Wingman, on his journey of building GetYourGuide, one of the most successful digital Swiss startups.
We also dive into what Switzerland needs to advance entrepreneurship and what the digital disruption in the travel industry looks like.
In this episode, I interview Daniel Bjärne, founder and CEO of SchoolApply, on the digital transformation in education and how universities are adjusting to the changes.
Are we going to all learn remotely in the future or do we still need physical classrooms?
How is globalization affecting how we study and learn?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Igor Ivanov, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Gamaya, on the impact of the digital transformation in agriculture.
We dive into how Gamaya went on to choose a highly specific niche market for their industrialization and why they have chosen Brazil when they’re based in Switzerland.
We also talk about what technology will do in the coming years for the agriculture sector.
In this episode, I interview Fabian Felix Weber, Managing Director at CareerTeam on the digital transformation in recruitment.
Do we still need recruitment companies or will they become obsolete?
Can machines do the matching or do we still need that human gut feeling?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader interview series, I talked to Marius Dahler, Chief Information Officer of La Prairie Group.
Marius shared his story that got him to become CIO of a multinational corporation and on how Virtual Reality may or may not disrupt e-commerce in the near future.
Having more than 20 years of experience in all fields of IT, Marius has a solid understanding of different businesses and industries. Having first touch with professional computers as a child in the early 80´s he started his career by designing, building and selling computer networks.
In the mid-90´s - the "dotcom" times - he was assigned to build and operate major German websites and e-commerce platforms. Since then he was restructuring and running IT departments with close touch to the business. Delivering manyfold IT and business projects in different industries such as broadcasting, digital media, manufacturing, consumer and luxury goods he learned to successfully lead large, diverse teams across continents.
On top of that he always enjoyed being in charge of topics outside the IT scope such as being the group´s risk manager, managing the business setup of a newly created eCommerce business or taking care of real estate.
While counting himself as a strategical and analytical mind he still enjoys being hands-on, be it in IT or on his classic cars.
In this episode, I interview David Shriner-Cahn, CEO of Tend Strategic Partners and Host of the Podcast Smashing the Plateau.
David has interviewed over 300 guests, including Ric Edelman, Gretchen Rubin, Cliff Ravenscraft, and Gary Vaynerchuk. With the perspective that prosperity can be created when we have the right mindset and tools to share our gifts with the world, Smashing the Plateau offers a wealth of personal experiences about achieving business breakthroughs.
In addition to his own show, David has been a featured guest on many podcasts, and as President of TEND Strategic Partners, David works with business leaders who need to get unstuck from a mid-career plateau where they may be in danger of losing the spark that has helped them succeed.
I had the chance to interview one of the most cutting-edge leaders in Artificial Intelligence, Pascal Kaufmann, the founder of Starmind International.
He shared how he went from building one of the first Cyborgs to running a pioneering company in AI that pursues the mission of cracking the brain code.
Pascal Kaufmann is a neuroscientist-turned-entrepreneur and founder of Starmind. Having received his Master’s Degree in Neuroscience and Economics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich and Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (USA), Pascal is obsessed with robots, cyborgs, artificial intelligence and brain research, pushing the frontiers of science and technology. His research work at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, USA was the initial driver for his future career. At Starmind, Pascal has received various awards and is regularly invited as a speaker at national and international events. His vision and theories of future collaboration, where cutting-edge technology meets experts, attracts international attention.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Thomas van Halewyck, Founding Partner at Bundl, on what corporations can do to more effectively work with startups & entrepreneurs.
How do you identify the entrepreneurs within an organization?
Why innovation from the inside out is more effective than from the outside on.
This and more is what we explored in the conversation with Thomas.
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Jens Berndt, CTO at Homegate, on the digital transformation that’s happening in how people find their new homes.
How will Artificial Intelligence and leveraging big data change how people search for new homes online?
Will we get to a place where our new home actually finds us before we even look for one?
In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Rouven Leuener, Group Head of Digital Products at Neue Zürcher Zeitung, on the digital transformation in print media.
Will there be any print media in the near future or will everything be digital?
How does a 200+ year old company innovate into the future?
This and more in the interview with Rouven Leuener.
Dov Bar-Gera, co-founder and CEO of YooMee Africa, a Pan-Africa 4G wireless broadband mobile Internet operator with Headquarters in Switzerland.
Dov has co-founded, built and successfully exited numerous start-ups in the field of telecommunications, internet and technology prior to YooMee Africa.
Dov holds an MBA from INSEAD and an engineering degree in land-surveying. Dov is married to Anat and together they have 3 children and live in Switzerland. Dov and Anat were chosen as one of the Leading Entrepreneurs of INSEAD.
In the interview, we talked about getting a company off the ground in a new market with a completely different culture and how one exponential partnership generated thousands of new customers for YooMee early on.
Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music
In this episode, I interview one of the most cutting-edge leaders in Artificial Intelligence, Pascal Kaufmann, the founder of Starmind International.
He shares how he went from building one of the first Cyborgs to running a pioneering company in AI that pursues the mission of cracking the brain code.
Pascal Kaufmann is a neuroscientist-turned-entrepreneur and founder of Starmind.
Having received his Master’s Degree in Neuroscience and Economics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich and Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (USA), Pascal is obsessed with robots, cyborgs, artificial intelligence and brain research, pushing the frontiers of science and technology. His research work at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, USA was the initial driver for his future career.
At Starmind, Pascal has received various awards and is regularly invited as a speaker at national and international events. His vision and theories of future collaboration, where cutting-edge technology meets experts, attracts international attention.
Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music