Executive Decisions with Steve Sedgwick

Lord John Browne was one of Britain's most influential business leaders, transforming BP through a series of major acquisitions and publicly challenging the oil industry's approach to climate change. But throughout his career, Browne concealed his sexuality, influenced in part by lessons from his mother, who survived Auschwitz. In 2007, he resigned as BP CEO following a legal battle over a newspaper's plans to publish details of his private life. During those proceedings, his initial witness statement contained an untrue account of how he had met a former partner, which he subsequently corrected. In the latest episode of Executive Decisions, Browne tells CNBC's Steve Sedgwick how the experience shaped his understanding of honesty, fear and the importance of questioning assumptions. He also reflects on his landmark 1997 Stanford speech on climate change, the decisions behind BP's expansion, and his experiences doing business in Russia.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kunal Kapoor faced a choice early in his career: accept a higher-paid job in banking or join a little-known investment research firm called Morningstar.  Despite encouragement from those closest to him to take the more secure option, Kapoor trusted his instincts and chose Morningstar. Nearly three decades later, he's still there — having risen through the ranks to become CEO.  In the latest episode of Executive Decisions, Kapoor tells CNBC's Steve Sedgwick why he believes it's important to find opportunities for personal growth, how his approach to leadership has evolved and what he learned from hiring mistakes earlier in his career. He also discusses Morningstar's expansion into private markets, the challenges of leading through technological change and why AI is forcing businesses to rethink how they operate.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tarang Amin wasn't looking to run a cosmetics company when the opportunity to invest in e.l.f. Beauty came his way. He thought the category was crowded, fragmented and lacked differentiation. But Amin followed a rule that had served him throughout his career: “It never hurts to have a conversation.” That conversation changed his mind. After looking more closely at e.l.f., Amin saw a digitally native brand with a strong value proposition, an unusually close relationship with its consumers and exceptional performance at retail. He decided to invest his own family's money and become CEO. In this episode of Executive Decisions, Amin tells Steve Sedgwick how his family's immigrant experience and motel business shaped him, why curiosity remains central to his leadership style and how listening to e.l.f.'s community drives the company's product innovation. He also explains why he believes diverse teams are a competitive advantage — and the leadership philosophy behind his approach: “When people are looking at opportunities, I'm looking at strengths.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ron O’Hanley was on track for a successful career at McKinsey when Mellon Bank offered him the chance to leave consulting and run a business. He initially turned it down — only to reconsider the decision three months later.In this episode of Executive Decisions, the State Street CEO tells Steve Sedgwick why changing his mind turned out to be “the best thing I ever did” and shaped a career lesson he still shares with others: opportunities can be engineered, but their timing often cannot.O’Hanley also discusses the curiosity that has guided his career, navigating the global financial crisis, leaving Fidelity without another job lined up and why an unexpected move to State Street eventually led to the biggest role of his career.He also reflects on mistakes, leadership, responsibility and why even the most experienced CEOs should never believe they have everything figured out.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bill Winters planned to become a diplomat. Instead, a job at J.P. Morgan led him into banking and eventually to a pivotal early-career decision: move into the emerging derivatives business despite knowing little about it.In this episode of Executive Decisions, the Standard Chartered Group CEO tells Steve Sedgwick why that experience helped shape a career philosophy he still shares with younger colleagues: when rare opportunities arise, sometimes you should “take the reckless path.” For Winters, that doesn't mean being careless; it means being prepared to choose the less conventional route when it offers more to learn.Winters also reflects on his 26 years at J.P. Morgan, the lessons of the global financial crisis and what it was like to be fired by Jamie Dimon. He explains why he subsequently ignored advice not to join the UK's Independent Commission on Banking and why, six years after leaving J.P. Morgan, he returned to mainstream banking to become CEO of a troubled Standard Chartered.He also discusses the decisions behind Standard Chartered's turnaround, mistakes he made along the way, leadership, AI and why he believes ambition can sometimes become a curse.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.