Claim OwnershipThe Evolved Leadership Podcast
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At the Evolved Leadership Podcast, we talk to successful business owners and executives who make the world a better place. David McDermott is the host of the Evolved Leadership podcast. David’s inspiration for the podcast came from a life-changing experience during his involvement in a youth leadership charity in his early twenties that challenged ambitious young leaders to not only achieve personal success as leaders in the world, but to also lead their organisations to give back to humanity in a meaningful way. After that experience David spent two decades coaching and consulting to a wide range of organisations in both the private and social sectors, where it became quickly obvious to him that his most satisfying coaching engagements occurred when he worked with leaders who had a meaningful purpose and mission that they were focused on in the organisations they led. The Evolved Leadership approach combines David's experience of what it takes to lead a successful enterprise, with his deep belief that the definition of a truly effective leader in today's world must include making the world a better place in a meaningful and practical way, at scale. David is also the CEO of Evolved Strategy, a business and executive coaching firm dedicated to empowering leaders to run successful organisations and to demonstrate an Evolved Leadership approach to their work in the world. This includes coaching development work that helps leaders to think strategically, develop a meaningful organisational purpose, and lead high-performing teams. The Evolved Leadership podcast is part of the Evolved Leadership Project, a research study of 100 interviews with successful business owners and executives who contribute positively to the uplift of the planet both as individuals and through the organisations they lead. The study aims to show that leaders and organisations who focus on contribution as well as profit, achieve much more satisfying outcomes for everyone they interact with, both internally and externally. Check out our podcast episodes and enjoy this storehouse of leadership wisdom from successful business owners and executives who are showing the world what it takes live as an Evolved Leader. To browse our wide range of articles and resources, as well as other podcast episodes, go to: https://www.evolvedstrategy.com.au
45 Episodes
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My guest in this episode is Zach Whale. Zach is GM of Policy at Grain Growers, a key representative body for all grain growing farmers in Australia. Highlights of our conversation include how a great suggestion from Zach's mum led to his passion for grain growing, riffing with Banjo Patterson, the impact of Trump's tariffs on global trade, the serious issue of international food security, and how the Russia-Ukraine war affects global grains trading. Enjoy the conversation. To fin...
My guest in this episode is Michael Engeman. Michael is an experienced business executive and entrepreneur, and is the CEO of the Ainslie Group of companies, one of Australia's most respected bullion and crypto dealers. Founded in 1974, Ainslie has grown into one of Australia’s largest and most trusted bullion dealers, later expanding into digital assets. As the country’s only Over-The-Counter (OTC) crypto dealer, Ainslie also launched The Gold & Silver Standard (AUS and AGS) digit...
My guest in this episode is Karen Dare. Karen is the CEO of Communify, a not-for-profit dedicated to meeting a range of needs in the community, including child safety, housing, mental health, family support, emergency relief and refugee support. Karen has over 30 years of experience working within the community sector, and has been with Communify since 1994. She has seen the organisation grow from a small neighbourhood centre with limited resources to the thriving multi-service hub that...
My guest in this episode is Tim Humphries. Tim is the CEO of Homestyle Aged Care, a Tier 1 aged care provider. Tim was previously the CEO of Provider Assist, a large, aged care consulting service. He has extensive business experience holding previous C-suite roles within finance and IT. Tim is the former Chairman of the board of directors for the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer. He previously worked on the board of Prestige In-home Care, and the School Cou...
My guest in this episode is Troy Warfield. Troy is the CEO of The Social Gaming Group, a gastro-gaming venue business, where he has led the company’s rapid global expansion. He is also the Chair of Surf Lakes, a global surf park business. Troy's prior roles include President of Topgolf International, Executive Director of the Board at British Airways as well as BA's Brands & Customer Experience Director, and Chief Commercial Officer of Avis Budget Group where he led the international fr...
My guest in this episode is Tom Larter. Tom is a seasoned business executive and the CEO of WithYouWithMe, one of the Asia Pacific’s fastest growing tech companies. WithYouWithMe solves workforce challenges and make a positive social impact through creating career pathways for diverse communities, including veterans, military families, neurodivergent individuals and indigenous groups. Tom is also an active member of several industry organisations, including the Tech ...
My guest in this episode is Tim Dwyer. Tim is the founder and Managing Director of Tolemy, a brand-led growth agency educating entrepreneurs and business owners on how to design, build and activate a business strategy based on a foundation of core assets aligned with purpose. Tim has worked with private industry for over 25 years, supporting thousands of businesses to grow and scale. He believe that by helping business leaders shift mindsets, businesses and industries can s...
My guest in this episode is John Shegerian. John is the serial social entrepreneur responsible for co-founding Homeboy Industries, FinancialAid.com, Engage and many other impactful organizations. He currently serves as co-founder, Chairman and CEO of ERI, the largest recycler of electronic waste in the US. Highlights of our conversation include hearing John describe starting his work life washing floors at the age of 10 at the dry cleaners, appreciating that all his bosses were mentors...
My guest in this episode is Paul Hodgson. Paul is currently Chair of Queensland Manufacturing Institute Ltd, and the recent CEO of the Scaling Green Hydrogen Cooperative Research Centre, where he secured 97 partners and $163m of cash and in-kind contributions for a Round 24 funding submission. He is an Industry Commentator for the Ai Group Podcast “What on Earth”; and a Founding Member and Honorary Fellow of the Global Intrapreneurs Institute. Highlights of our conve...
I'm delighted to have worked with some incredible clients this year, including Grain Growers Limited, Surf Lakes, Deloitte and QLD Health. This has enabled us to provide strategy and leadership development support to our pro-bono clients Sea Shepherd Australia and Opportunity International Australia. It has also been a powerful year of fascinating conversations on the Evolved Leadership Podcast. To complete 2023, check out our final episode of the year as Episode 35, where I speak about...
My guest in this episode is Chris Eldridge, CEO and co-founder of technology services business 4impact. 4impact serves customers across the eastern seaboard of Australia, in New Zealand and in Papua New Guinea, and employs people in four countries. Chris believes in giving back to the community that has supported him, and is proud to support organisations like Opportunity Australia who provide micro-finance loans to entrepreneurs throughout Asia, and the charity Communify ...
My guest in this episode is Athena Chintis. Athena is the Group Head of People & Culture at Cliftons Event Solutions, a leading business events provider, which employs a highly flexible workforce across 4 countries and 11 workplaces. Cliftons was recognised as one of AFR/BOSS’s Best Places to Work in 2023. Athena is a Sydney-based Human Resources leader, bringing over 20 years of experience across multiple fast-paced industries, varying scales of businesses and at different stages ...
My guest in this episode is Karl Schwantes. Karl is the owner of Xennox Diamonds, a 47-year-old second-generation family business. He is also the Founder of the The Reputation Builder program, which focuses on showing business owners how to craft remarkable client experiences that generate great Google reviews. Karl is a Customer Experience Expert and an international award-winning author, a Telstra business award finalist and winner of the My Business Awards 2020 for the Best Custome...
In this episode I share four real leadership stories of clients I’ve worked with, that highlight four important areas you need to give attention to in order to have greater impact in your leadership role. Episode highlights include a healthy response to “micromanaging” feedback, balancing leadership styles in a rapidly growing business, a telco executive who paced himself really well, and the example of Richard Branson’s radical risk profile. Enjoy the conversation. To book a leadership...
My guest in this episode is John Foong. John has experience working for some of the largest companies in the world, including Google and Uber, where he oversaw record revenue growth (e.g., boosting Google Cloud's channel revenue into the billions as global lead). Growing up in Australia, he graduated with an MBA and Masters in Education from Stanford and then spent 17 years working in the UK, US, and Africa. In 2014, he became one of the youngest Directors globally at Google. ...
With the referendum coming up later in 2023 to vote on altering the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, it was my great pleasure to speak to Professor Peter Radoll recently on the Evolved Leadership Podcast. Peter is a proud descendant of the Anaiwan people of northern New South Wales and is the inaugural Deputy Vice Chancellor Indigenous, Equity & Inclusion at Victoria University. He is a leading...
My guest in this episode is Michelle Mandl. Michelle is currently the GM of Customer, Communications, Marketing and Engagement at TOMRA Cleanaway, Australia’s leading total waste management, industrial and environmental services company. Michelle is an experienced waste, resource recovery, and sustainability executive with 20+ years of industry expertise. She focuses on stakeholder engagement programs that deliver scalable behaviour change. Michelle is known for creating an empowered ...
My guest in this episode is Broden Johnson. Broden is the Founder and Chief Banana Replenisher at Yakk, one of Australia's fastest growing digital marketing agencies. Broden made his first million at 21, and lost his first million at 22. He has started many businesses and was a finalist in the Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards. Once a Beekeeper and Underwear Cold Caller, he has grown Yakk to currently more than 25 team members. Broden is also the Founder of 850 Espresso, a coffee co...
My guest in this episode is Muneesh Wadhwa. Muneesh is a Commercial Director at 6 Degrees Media, a business that hosts world-class events, executive roundtables and conferences that bridge the divide, bringing global innovation rock stars together with local tech legends and unsung heroes. Muneesh is also the Founder of Humanity In Business, an organisation focused on improving employee engagement, fostering innovation and building inclusive leadership capability by facilitating collaboration...
My guest in this episode is Marcus Marchant. Marcus is the CEO of Vistaprint for Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Vistaprint empowers more than 16 million small business owners around the globe to professionally promote their business with quality printed and digital marketing products. Vistaprint is part of the NASDAQ-listed Cimpress Group. Some of the highlights of our conversation include setting banking executives aggressive "complaints targets" as a way to increase customer satisf...
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