In this episode of Aon at the Top, I sit down with Yvonne Wassenaar, accomplished board director and former CEO, to explore her remarkable journey from Accenture partner to leading technology companies through transformation. We dive into the three distinct phases of her career, the personal tragedy that reshaped her life at 36, and the critical leadership lessons she learned about vulnerability, honesty, and making calculated risks. Yvonne shares candidly about how executive coaching evolved into therapy, helping her become a more grounded leader who now guides some of tech's most prominent companies.

Timestamps:

3:22 - The three phases of career growth: being pulled up, pushed out, and embracing risk

4:36 - You get promoted because you make people above you successful

8:03 - Being pushed to get startup experience before 50

9:51 - The ski jump analogy

12:33 - Resilience is fighting through hard times for something that matters

19:23 - None of us really know what we're capable of until the time calls upon us

25:02 - During uncertainty, we make the hardest decisions

27:43 - Leading through chaos

30:05 - The rise of independent directors in private companies

32:02 - The difference between being an operator vs. a strategic advisor on boards

40:41 - Separate your emotion from someone's intentionality to get further in life

43:00 - Making hard CEO decisions: when to break teams out to innovate faster

58:22 - The power of many small decisions

Connect with Yvonne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonnewassenaar/

About Yvonne Wassenaar: Yvonne Wassenaar is an accomplished CEO-level executive and board director known for her extensive experience in scaling and transforming technology companies. Her career spans diverse environments from startups to Fortune 500 corporations, with a focus on helping leaders navigate digital transformation and global expansion. Yvonne currently serves on the boards of Arista Networks, Forrester Research, JFrog, Rubrik, Braze, Infoblox, and Alation, as well as the Easton Technology Management Center at UCLA. She also serves as a senior advisor to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Connect with Nicole: Stay connected with Nicole Ward for more insights on leadership, sales excellence, and executive success strategies.

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoleward111/

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