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Executive Decisions with Steve Sedgwick: Daily Summaries Delivered
by CNBC
‘Executive Decisions’ is a CNBC podcast offering a rare window into the minds of top decision-makers. Hosted by seasoned financial journalist Steve Sedgwick, each episode explores the pivotal choices that shape the careers and legacies of influential business leaders and policymakers. Through candid conversations about risk, doubt and conviction, the series reminds us that even the most powerful face uncertainty and trade-offs.
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- 1 weeks ago39 min
Success Isn’t the Finish Line: DSM-Firmenich CEO Dimitri de Vreeze
After more than three decades at science-based firm DSM, Dimitri de Vreeze faced what he calls the hardest decision of his career: selling the materials business where he had grown up professionally. In this episode of “Executive Decisions,” the DSM-Firmenich CEO reflects on why the decision made strategic sense, even as it felt deeply personal, and how it shaped his view that success is not a finish line. De Vreeze discusses joining DSM with plans to stay only a few years, the family values and rebellious streak that shaped his leadership, and why he believes leaders should keep challenging what is already working. He also discusses ending a half-billion-dollar biofuels project, serving as co-CEO, leading the merger that created DSM-Firmenich and why treating assumptions as facts can be one of the biggest risks in decision-making. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- 3 weeks ago35 min
Say Yes Before You're Ready: Capital Group CEO Mike Gitlin
Mike Gitlin never set out with a master plan to become CEO. Instead, his career has been shaped by a series of decisions to embrace opportunities that pushed him outside his comfort zone. In this episode of Executive Decisions, the Capital Group CEO reflects on the family values that shaped his leadership, from lively dinner-table debates to mock trials with his father that taught him to think critically, listen carefully and communicate with confidence. Gitlin discusses his early fascination with financial markets, why he chose to study history instead of finance and the lessons he learned after being thrown into overnight trading in Asia with little experience and no roadmap. He also explains why he left T. Rowe Price - where he thought he would spend the rest of his career - to join Capital Group, helping transform one of the world's largest asset managers from the inside. Along the way, Gitlin shares how moving his family around the world influenced his biggest decisions, why he believes feedback is one of leadership's greatest gifts and why EQ will become even more valuable than IQ in the age of AI.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- Jun 23, 202630 min
Choose Impact Over Ambition: Novonesis CEO Ester Baiget
After 25 years at Dow, Ester Baiget left a business she loved to take on the top job at Novozymes — now Novonesis. It was not a move driven by ego, or a lifelong plan to become CEO. Baiget says she did not need the title. What drew her in was purpose, potential and a belief that she could help the company make a bigger impact through biology. In this episode of “Executive Decisions,” the Novonesis CEO reflects on the family values that shaped her, the teacher who nudged her toward chemical engineering and the mother who pushed her to attend the interview that began her 25-year career at Dow. Baiget discusses why curiosity has guided her more than career planning, how she learned not to take setbacks out of proportion and why the CEO role is less lonely than many assume when you build the right team. She also explains the strategic shift that led Novozymes to see itself not as an enzyme company, but as a biosolutions company — a decision that helped make the merger with Danish biotech company Chr. Hansen possible. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- Jun 9, 202635 min
Leave Without a Plan: BNY CEO Robin Vince
After 26 years at Goldman Sachs, Robin Vince made a decision few senior Wall Street executives would make: he walked away without another job lined up. At 48, he chose to take what he called a “gap year,” turning down an immediate approach from BNY so he could step back and think carefully about what he wanted from the next phase of his life and career. In this episode of Executive Decisions, the BNY CEO explains why stepping away became essential, and how that pause helped him decide he was not finished building. He reflects on the pressure, uncertainty and self-doubt that shaped his career, from arriving in France as a child unable to speak the language to navigating the intensity of Goldman Sachs in the 1990s. Vince also looks back on the global financial crisis, including the weekend of Lehman Brothers’ collapse, and the lessons he took from moments of extreme pressure. He then discusses the transformation of BNY under his leadership, why consistency matters in building institutions and how he balances running one of America’s oldest banks with family life and personal wellbeing. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- May 26, 202629 min
Be Willing to Stand Alone: Euronext CEO Stéphane Boujnah
Stéphane Boujnah, the CEO of Euronext, reflects on a pivotal decision to block a major merger, the origins of his conviction and the emotional weight of leading against the consensus. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- May 12, 202637 min
Don’t Stop Trying Things: Reed CEO James Reed
James Reed reflects on the decision that defined his career — taking the risk of joining the family business. The Reed CEO discusses failure, purpose and why standing still is the worst decision of all. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- Apr 28, 202632 min
Stop Trying to Fit In: Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein
At the start of his career, Lloyd Blankfein made a decision that would define the way he led — stop trying to fit in. In this episode of Executive Decisions, the former Goldman Sachs CEO reflects on growing up in public housing in Brooklyn, arriving at Harvard as an outsider and learning that authenticity was more powerful than performance. He explains how that mindset shaped his rise through one of the most competitive firms on Wall Street. From handling criticism and changing his management style to leading Goldman Sachs through crisis, Blankfein explains why the most effective leaders know who they are — and when they need to change.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- Apr 14, 202639 min
If It’s Not Right, Leave: Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc
At one of the highest points in her career, Amanda Blanc made a decision most executives would avoid — she walked away. In this episode of Executive Decisions, the Aviva CEO reflects on leaving a senior role with no safety net, the judgment required to know when something isn’t right and how that instinct shaped the decisions she’s made since. From leading Aviva through a major turnaround to publicly calling out sexism at the top of the industry, Blanc explains how decisive action — not consensus — defines leadership under pressure. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
About Executive Decisions with Steve Sedgwick
‘Executive Decisions’ is a CNBC podcast offering a rare window into the minds of top decision-makers. Hosted by seasoned financial journalist Steve Sedgwick, each episode explores the pivotal choices that shape the careers and legacies of influential business leaders and policymakers. Through candid conversations about risk, doubt and conviction, the series reminds us that even the most powerful face uncertainty and trade-offs.
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