How do you lead with humanity in the face of uncertainty? You ask for what you need. From door-to-door sales in Texas to leading national teams in the luxury skincare space, Alessia Todde’s leadership journey is one of grit, transformation, and heart. But behind her impressive résumé lies a deeper story—one of learning from management mistakes (lik…

From playing collegiate soccer on a scholarship to leading global teams at Google, Juan Vallejo’s journey is defined by grit, heart, and an unshakeable commitment to his values. But behind the polished résumé lies a story of resilience—from rebuilding his life after losing a job and visa sponsorship, to facing major knee surgery and recovery with o…

Life can change in an instant. One moment you're planning a future, and the next, you're navigating a whirlwind of life-altering events. Raman Khanna, VP at IPG media brands, shares his powerful and deeply personal story of facing a cancer diagnosis while his wife was pregnant with their second child and his mother was passing away. From the shock …

People talk about work addiction like it's a badge of honor. Like grinding yourself into the ground somehow makes you worthy of success. Leadership coach Nicky Brown shares her powerful journey from corporate success to self-discovery, revealing how she broke free from work addiction and redefined achievement on her own terms. From her early influe…

Can you remember a moment in your career that changed everything? Nancy Hall, CEO of Mindshare North America, shares her remarkable journey—from faxing her first job application to becoming one of the most respected leaders in digital marketing and advertising. She opens up about the challenges of being a female leader in a male-dominated industry,…

When you want something, sometimes it requires taking a leap. What are you leaping to next? From small-town India to the executive boardroom, Nandeeta Seth shares her journey of resilience, risk-taking, and redefining success. She opens up about moving to the U.S. with nothing but ambition (and a mountain of student debt), the challenges of leaders…

Who are the toughest negotiators in your world? From navigating high-stakes decisions at Google and Facebook to advocating for her neuroatypical child, Alexis Hochleutner shares candid lessons on trust, resilience, and why four-year-olds might just be the toughest negotiators of all. Tune in for a refreshingly real take on leadership, advocacy, and…

Who's your closest partner? What makes that partnership work? Dive into the dynamic partnership between Sandra Muoio and Ryan Blum, two advertising leaders whose decade-long collaboration has weathered high-stakes challenges, heated debates, and plenty of laughter. From a fateful conversation on a stuck Chicago L train to transforming major client …

You’re the CEO of your own narrative. So, what’s your next chapter? Kay Munday, a communications coach, NLP practitioner, and creative business leader at Google shares her journey from being a self-proclaimed “terrible communicator” to becoming a sought-after expert in helping people and brands own their narratives. Through her personal story of tr…

How do you do it all and ENJOY THE RIDE?! Max Traylor, a fourth-generation entrepreneur and independent consultant, shares his journey of redefining success. From the pressures of running a marketing agency to discovering a business model that puts personal life first, Max reflects on the lessons he’s learned about work-life balance, mental health,…

Trust and collaboration. Every team needs it, but how do you create it? Alexia Palau started a new role on March 20, 2020 just as things began unravelling for COVID. Alexia shares how the next few years challenged her with building trust and collaboration in her multi-national team. Applying lessons learned from startups and past roles, Alexia shar…

How often do you say no? It may be getting in your way. Dustin Riechmann is a serial entrepreneur, and since he's always juggling multiple businesses, he's had to learn the importance of letting things go. A 6-month deadline to make a profitable side business became the opportunity to give notice and pursue his passions. Dustin shares tricks of the…

Companies are not families, but the people we work with can be lifelong friends. Mailine Swildens helps the largest companies in the world reimagine their digital marketing. Mailine shares how she learned that companies are not families without becoming disillusioned or pessimistic by their profit-driven nature. Mailine thinks that when leadership …

The best way to grow is to get uncomfortable. From Taiwan to tech, Annica Lin's journey is a testament to the power of a growth mindset. In this inspiring episode, Annica reveals her secrets for overcoming challenges, building resilience, and achieving her goals. As the head of growth for Nagish, Annica interweaves her passion for challenge with he…

Discover how to balance a demanding career with personal passions. Giorgio Suighi, a successful entrepreneur and corporate leader at Mindshare, shares his strategies for making time for what you love. From leveraging AI to cultivating personal discipline, Giorgio's insights offer practical tips for achieving a fulfilling work-life balance. Tune in …

Tired of L&D initiatives (your own or your team's) falling flat? Join us as we chat with Pete Fullard, Founder & CEO of Upskill People, a company that has thrived in the learning space for nearly 30 years. Discover why measuring outcomes and building actionable plans are the keys to successful L&D. Pete shares his personal journey to becoming a CEO…

What does it take to lead with purpose? In this episode of 99 Humans, EJ Kim, Co-Founder & CEO of NNABI, shares her inspiring journey from corporate life to bootstrapping a wellness startup laser-focused on perimenopause. Guided by her passion and purpose, EJ is forging her own path with what she calls a “portfolio career.” Her drive to change how …

When life changes in an instant, how do you build resilience to see the positive? Cristina Nuti is a marketing executive at Dell, an IronMan finisher, Paralympic Triathlete, and a Marathoner. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of thirty-six, Cristina shares her inspiring journey to building a rich life, which includes being on…

"Climb the ladder!" How do you foster the courage and self-awareness to get what you want out of your career, instead of what's obviously next? Jing Suk has held leadership roles in huge multinational corporations and smaller companies, most recently CEO at Skyrocket Studios. Jing shares stories about overcoming career inertia with deliberate steps…

How do you foster creativity at the core of yourself and your company? Valerio Cometti is Founder and Creative Director at Valerio Cometti+V12 Design, the home of Deep Design Thinking. Product design is such a creativity-forward business, and yet as founder of the studio Valerio shares how he has built a mix of skills (and people!) who make the com…

Why are you a people manager, and how do you react when the going gets tough? Ted Fernandez is the Global Head of Product Marketing at TikTok, with an illustrious career across Tech Companies in the social, video, and education space. Ted shares a specific time when the perception of his team's work was not what he wanted it to be, and how he navig…

You probably know that less than 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. What's going on? Why isn't this changing despite it being a known inequity? Jennifer McCollum is a trailblazing leader, currently CEO at Catalyst Inc, she is making her life's work emulating authentic, human leadership while raising awareness and lifting women up through the leader…

What could one new habit do for you? Morris has a knack for building new habits... waking up early (4am!), going to the gym, months fasting from alcohol and social media, studying leadership, and more! Morris uses discipline to design a dream life filled with family, friends, and career while staying humble enough to talk openly about lessons he's …

What's the secret to expressing your personal genius? Tom Burke has coached TED speakers, C-suite execs, authors, Broadway singers and Hollywood actors for over 20 years as speech-language pathologist and voice coach. His job is to help people tap their passions, quirks, and sense of humor to find their voice, the raw ingredient for gorgeous langua…

Service is selfless, but what's the most important ingredient in any meal? Pasquale Martinelli is the Founder and Executive Chef at Alloro New York Private Dining, brining authentic Italian experiences to his clients. It takes less than ten seconds to feel Pasquale's passion, an incredibly attractive leadership quality, amplified by his love for se…

AI! It's everywhere, but how do you position yourself to take advantage of career opportunities? Enrico Santus has worked on, or advised for, AI work at companies like Bloomberg, Bayer, Hospitals, and the Women's Brain Project. So to say that his career is "having a moment" is an understatement. Enrico shares his story from a small Italian town to …

Do you give trust up, down, and sideways in your organization? What about to yourself? Kathrin Holzfurtner has been a Director of Talent Acquisition for companies like iDeals and Microsoft, making a career out of her ability to find, hire, and support high performance teams by leading them herself. Every high performance team wants to drive impact …

What's the last decision you made to drive your own career? Nils Vinje is the Founder of Leadership MBA, which helps people get promoted faster, save time, and build stronger teams. Before Nils could help others he first had to help himself, and that's the story he shares in this episode. From StengthsFiner to being the CEO of your own career, Nils…

Ever been laid off? Led a team through layoffs? This episode reveals the raw emotions and tough decisions behind those moments and how to make them less devastating. Natasha Davidson, currently CMO at Group GTI, has an incredible background of executive leadership positions. Among amazing career highlights, Natasha shares an incredibly challenging …

What motivates you? Alfonso De Gaetano has succeeded in leadership positions at Consulting firms, at Google, and as a Founder of CRURATED. He credits this success to learning along the way... how to work hard; how to lead; and how to create. Alfonso shares how he creates a vision for where his life (and company) are going -- not necessarily how to …

After learning that she hated law, Julie Saxon started her illustrious career as a temp Secretary at an Ad Agency. Since then, she's been the CRO at The Weather Company, VP at Verizon, and most recently followed her own advice to be Head of Consumer Sales at X where she is working with a mentor and people she loves. What you see is what you get, a …

Covid + School Districts = Complexity. How does human leadership help? Harold S. Henry, Jr. is the Chief of Schools at Baltimore Curriculum Project and spent six years as a principal in Baltimore City Public Schools. He's experienced the brunt of misperceptions about what leadership in school districts, and shares a powerful story of leadership thr…

What do you really want? You won't get it if you don't spend time prioritizing your authentic goals. Paola thrives in difficult environments -- from influencing the Italian economy as one of few women in the space, to executive leadership in Big Tech. How? Resilience - having and focusing on the bigger picture, the bigger goal. Paola shares how hum…

You've heard of a non-profit, but what about a Zero Funds organization? Enter Neel Ghose, the kind of "human leader" who takes the challenge of leading in the philanthropic world to a new level. Neel created Robin Hood Army, a Zero Funds organization connecting what would be "food waste" to those in need, a fully volunteer led effort that has grown…

What is leadership without language? What about leadership in language? Milena Koralczyk is founder and CEO of the language school, "L'Ecole Parisienne de Langues," a premiere language school based in Paris teaching French to executives and ex-patriots seeking to find their place in French culture. Milena shares why language is important but also w…

What would it take to reinvent yourself? What things would you need to lose in order to gain? Craig Siegel spent thirteen years as a gladiator in the wrong arena, pouring his energy and time into Wall Street before finally cutting the cord and becoming an entrepreneur. It was then that his passion for reinvention caught fire , he founded Cultivate …

Do you cringe thinking about name tags and awkward conversations at “networking” events? Kurt Schmidt, Author and President of The Foundry, one of Inc Magazine’s fastest growing companies, shares how walking in ill prepared for one of his employee’s performance reviews sent him on a journey to sharpen his leadership toolset. Hear how he practices c…

Ever heard that GenZ doesn't want to work? Celine Chai busts that myth, sharing the story behind her co-founding of NightyEight and becoming a GenZ entrepreneur. Hear how Celine struggled through challenge to now embrace the mantra, "You can't plan life." Celine exemplifies human leadership as she works hard to lead a successful business without lo…

"We hire women, don't we. We hired you!" How would you respond in the moment? Diana Agu is a strategist, business leader and entrepreneur who studied Law & Criminology in the United Kingdom but climbed the corporate ladder working in Project & Business management. From Morgan Stanley to Capgemini to CEO of her own startup, Diana has proven herself …

"When I went on mental health leave..." Can you imagine saying that? Newton Cheng is the Director of Health and Performance at Google, and he said those words when he mustered the courage to prioritize himself. So long as mental health conversations are stigmatized, it's hard for leaders to do right for themselves, their family, and their teams. Ne…

Back-to-back meetings, pregnant, and contractions in the office. Ashley Patel shares a harrowing story when the demands of entrepreneurship collided with the birth of her child, highlighting the importance of making intentional choices with your life and career. Co-Founder of CurbWaste, Ashley is building a company on the forefront of waste managem…

Happy 50th episode! On this special edition, Nadia and Jeff reflect on their 99 Humans journey: what we've learned from the incredible guests and from the journey of creating the show. How does a coaching background help and hurt being a podcast host? How do you create a podcast with no prior experience? How do you get the podcast out into the worl…

Leadership isn't life and death, right? Pierre Monice is President of MacNeal Hospital, and shares how important it is to listen to experts, in this case medical professionals working in the hospital, when making decisions. He sees his core role as a relationship builder, where everyone is a stakeholder. In the operations realm, Pierre has seen maj…

Being on a non-profit board is often thought of as a late-stage move, once you've mastered your career, arranged your life, and can finally give back. But what if it could be used to accelerate your career and life? Ann Piccirillo is an accomplished and data-driven People Operations and Strategy Leader, acting as Senior VP of People Strategy & Oper…

Career Abundance. Money Abundance. Financial Freedom. Adam Coelho manifested his dream job at Google as a Senior Data Transformation Lead, but this is only the tip of the iceberg as he also hosts the Mindful FIRE Podcast, a podcast all about achieving Financial Freedom. Adam shares how his journey towards financial freedom intersects with career hi…

"Work culture" is critical, but how do you change it? Giulia Redavid has 15 years of experience leading companies across different roles in innovative Supply Chains. At Luxottica she reorganized an entire office and supply chain from California to Milan. The most challenging part? Navigating the change in culture. From moving, changing roles, reorg…

The moment you become a leader people stop giving you feedback. Joris Merks-Benjaminsen knows, because he was a Google leader in EMEA for almost thirteen years before he wrote "Managing without power" and leaving to help managers become leaders. The difference is knowing how to harness strengths, not just force results. How do you overcome the echo…

Have you ever heard a real couple share how they navigate two successful careers while juggling parenthood, their relationship, and all the trimmings of a messy, beautiful partnership? Brittan Bright and Michael King are both successful. Entrepreneur. Intrapreneur. Author. Founder. All these words bedazzle their individual resumes. But how does tha…

Sure, failing is learning, but what if it was also a measure of success. Ben Jankowski is starting his own practice after succeeding in countless global leadership roles at Mastercard, Omnicom, MPG, and more. Ben opens up about what sparked the move to do his own thing, what he anticipated, and what surprised him. Be helpful. Don't give it away for…

A leader is wronged; how do you navigate with strength and grace? S Renee Smith is a trailblazing leader, most recently overseeing Amazon’s Leadership and Executive development programs, while championing the Coach approach and literally writing the book on Self-Esteem (Self Esteem for Dummies!). Along the way she learned to manage her both herself…