NewsBite

15 Minutes with the Boss

Listen now

Latest Episode

Anthony Seibold

Matt Comyn has a super skill, just ask Anthony Seibold

Manly Sea Eagles head coach Anthony Seibold has forged a close relationship with the Commonwealth Bank CEO. It is a friendship where they learn from each other’s worlds.

Jane Lu

How Jane Lu turned a failed start-up into a $100m fashion success

The Showpo founder swore off fashion after quitting her job to focus on a business that failed. She soon realised she had learnt too much from the failure to walk away.

February

Don’t use a busy job as an excuse to drop everything else: Mark Scott

USyd vice chancellor talks about the importance of good relationships, the mistakes made in the uni’s handling of Jewish students, and general career advice.

Scott Hartley features on this week’s episode of 15 minutes with the Boss podcast.

This CEO was made redundant at 49. Now he runs a $3b company

When Scott Hartley was let go from NAB in his late 40s it came as a shock. But he used the experience to forge a different career path.

January

The brave career move that helped propel Matt Comyn to the top of CBA

The CEO of Australia’s biggest bank reveals pivotal moments in his career – and how much sleep he likes to get.

December 2024

Why Gurner gave up alcohol – and what he learnt

The property developer and wellness entrepreneur has rarely had a drink for 18 months. He doesn’t like what he sees from people who are imbibing.

Australian Museum chief executive Kim McKay.

Why this CEO reckons networking is ‘BS’

For Australian Museum boss Kim McKay, work and life are about having meaningful conversations. Social media chit-chat doesn’t cut it.

Advertisement

Staff got a nine-day fortnight, but still waste time on one thing

Grant Thornton CEO Greg Keith doesn’t like to see staff, who work a nine-day fortnight, wasting time waiting for everyone to get their coffee before they go back to the office.

November 2024

Why being good at your job isn’t enough to get a promotion

Brighter Super CEO Kate Farrar reveals the secrets to getting a promotion, what she does at 4am and what she learnt from failing at an investment bank. 

Cicada boss Sally Ann Williams.

A top CEO reveals what you shouldn’t do in a job interview

Cicada Innovations chief Sally-Ann Williams discusses tips when trying to advance your career, and the thing she does every morning to make better decisions.

Paul Scurrah.

The mantra that keeps this CEO ahead of the game

Former Virgin CEO Paul Scurrah reveals how he avoids distractions, what he has learnt from the collapse of two airlines and why he doesn’t eat until midday.

Why retail was the Bunnings MD’s third career choice, and why he stayed

Michael Schneider found doing the thing he was passionate about helped make his career much more worthwhile than seeing it as a job with a fortnightly pay.

October 2024

Kyle Faulconer

What this CEO learnt from losing $30m

Kyle Faulconer, the CEO of PepsiCo in ANZ, discovered the value of rapid prototyping and minimum viable products after a failed launch cost his client $30m.

Zip Co chief executive Cynthia Scott says a simple reframing exercise helped her overcome her fear of the word ‘no’ and become the CEO of Barclays in Australia and New Zealand.

The simple ‘reframe’ that helped this leader become a big bank CEO

Zip Co CEO Cynthia Scott nominates a simple reframing exercise that taught her not to fear the word ‘no’ as the best career advice she ever received.

South Africa’s first fully representative democratic elections in 1994 were a pivotal moment in Biopak CEO Gary Smith’s career.

Why Nelson Mandela’s election was a turning point for this CEO

A contract to provide the computers for South Africa’s first all-race democratic elections in 1994 was a pivotal moment in the career of BioPak CEO Gary Smith.

Richard Evans

This CEO gave up drinking 10 years ago, and never looked back

Why Australian Chamber Orchestra boss Richard Evans swapped alcohol for walking and a cup of tea.

Why we should all learn to be OK with embarrassment

If we let fear of failing and ego get in the way, we will stop trying and stop moving forward, says this high-profile education leader.

Advertisement

September 2024

Former David Jones boss on the ideal time to quit as CEO

Paul Zahra, the former chief executive of David Jones, says, as a general rule, there is a minimum and maximum amount of time the leader should be in the role.

What this CEO learnt from Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar

Culture Amp chief Didier Elzinga met the Atlassian duo at an awards function years ago, and got an insight into scalable business models.

How this former accountant became a top music exec

Sean Warner, the CEO of Universal Music in Australia, thought he wanted to be an accountant, until he realised he didn’t.

Vicki Doyle has recently stopped drinking coffee and alcohol.

How a tragic car accident upended this CEO’s life

Rest Superannuation’s Vicki Doyle worked at insurer Suncorp for more than nine years. Three weeks into her first general manager role, she got a phone call.

August 2024

How this former McKinsey consultant finds jobs she loves

Allegra Spender’s route to becoming an independent MP was a roundabout one and taught her about the power of putting yourself forward and following your passions.

HOW TO LISTEN (APPLE DEVICE)

  1. Open the ‘Podcasts’ app on your iOS device. If you don’t have it on your device you will need to download it from the App Store.
  2. Open the search page by tapping on the magnifying glass button in the bottom right corner. This will open up the search box.
  3. Search the name of the podcast you want to find (e.g. The Sure Thing) and tap the search button on the keyboard. You will then be shown a grid of search results.
  4. Tap on the podcast you want from the search results and this will take you to the homepage with a list of available episodes.
  5. Choose an episode to play by tapping on it or subscribe to the podcast to have it appear in your library and automatically download the latest episodes.

For more information refer to Apple support.

HOW TO LISTEN (ANDROID DEVICE)

  1. Download and install the Google Podcasts app from the Google Play Store.
  2. Open the ‘Google Podcasts’ app and use the search box to search the name of the podcast you want to find (e.g. The Sure Thing).
  3. Tap on the podcast you want from the search results and this will take you to the homepage with a list of available episodes.
  4. Choose an episode to play by tapping on it or subscribe to the podcast to have it appear at the top of the app. A new section of the app will then notify you of new podcast episodes when you are subscribed.

For more information refer to Google support.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/podcast/15-minutes-with-the-boss