The Pivot Factory Podcast

On this episode, Michael Leadbetter speaks with Chris Paton, former Lieutenant Colonel in the British Royal Marines. Chris is the Managing Director of Quirk Solutions, a management consultancy which specializes in business resilience and execution success.

U.S. Army General Robert B. Brown has dedicated his life to public service. The decorated commander of U.S. Army Pacific, headquartered at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, speaks with Michael Leadbetter about what it takes to be a contemporary leader and ways in which the Army promotes innovation. Additionally, Brown discusses the ever-growing cyber threat and what impresses him about the millennial generation.

Don’t look now, but we’re on the cusp of another NFL season. To commemorate this American pseudo-holiday, we invited NFL insider and former front office executive Michael Lombardi on the podcast. Host Michael Leadbetter and Lombardi examine the sport’s evolution throughout the last three decades, and the disruptive forces the NFL must confront.

In the season finale of The Pivot Factory Podcast, creator and host Michael Leadbetter explains what’s happening on the ground with regards to digital innovation.

For the general public, mom-and-pop business owners, and occasional investor, it’s important to understand Wall Street lingo, considering the financial sector’s impact on the broader economy. In this episode, host Michael Leadbetter speaks with Reuben Advani, the financial expert and author who literally wrote the book on how to translate Wall Street speak.

In this special bonus episode of The Pivot Factory Podcast, Michael Leadbetter speaks with Tony Saldanha, who recently retired after 27 years with Procter & Gamble. The two discuss Saldanha's first book, “Why Digital Transformations Fail,” which you can order now.

Fifty years ago, the average tenure of a Fortune 500 company before they were delisted or acquired was 75 years. Today, the average timeframe is down to 15 years. Host Michael Leadbetter speaks to Mach49 Managing Partner Jason Yotopulous about the path toward innovation and some of the challenges facing companies across all industries

Losses from cyber attacks are projected to top $2 trillion in the next three years. It’s people like Roy Zur who are trying to stop these breaches before they do significant financial damage. Zur is CEO of a cyber education firm that trains future cyber professionals in addressing these malicious threats. Zur speaks to host Michael Leadbetter about this ever-expanding global menace and what’s being done to thwart bad actors.

Few people challenge corporate leaders to innovate like Pascal Finette. Finette, the co-founder of radical Ventures and co-chair for entrepreneurship & open innovation at Singularity University, talks to host Michael Leadbetter about three topics near and dear to him: digitization, decentralized innovation and cryptocurrency. Among the takeaways: the world is moving on an “exponential curve” and it’s on corporate leaders to adopt new technologies and adapt.

Well before the internet became the ubiquitous tool we all now rely on, Brad Templeton earned the distinction of creating the first web-based business. Templeton is an entrepreneur, civil rights advocate, and just recently served as a consultant on the Google team building autonomous vehicles. Templeton joins host Michael Leadbetter to discuss his past exploits, 21st-century automobiles, and much more.

We spend a great deal of time talking about innovation on this podcast so we were gobsmacked at the chance of interviewing the man responsible for merging the worlds of textile and tech. Kamal Somaia, CEO of Simba Global, spearheads the firm’s cutting-edge Fibersmart technology, and he talks all about his pursuits with host Michael Leadbetter.

Despite the billions of dollars that’s poured into construction annually, the industry has stubbornly remained stuck in its ways. But that could be changing. Guest Mike Halsall has managed public and private projects across Europe, and played a role in the remarkable construction of a tunnel linking the United Kingdom with France. He talks to host Michael Leadbetter about his hopes for the construction industry and how emerging technologies can prove to be a gamechanger for the industry.

How does a 180-year-old Fortune 500 company remain relevant? Host Michael Leadbetter poses that question to Tony Saldanha, a 27-year veteran of Procter & Gamble, who heads Next Generation Shared Services for P&G’s Global Business Services. Michael and Tony talk innovation, Bezos, and advances in tech. 

Our guest for the premiere episode of The Pivot Factory Podcast literally wrote the book on how to become an exponential organization. Salim Ismail and host Michael Leadbetter take listeners into the world of innovation and how advances in technology are being used as a springboard to elevate businesses to new and unexpected heights.