251 Colby Loucks - Passion, Leadership & Wildlife

According to a number of sources, the average business professional spends just under five years with an employer before they move on to another organization. Colby Loucks has been with the same employer his entire career. For 29 years, he’s worked for the World Wildlife Fund. He started as a college intern, now he’s Vice President and Deputy for Wildlife. The World Wildlife Fund works to build a world where people and nature thrive, and Loucks has been all over the world working on a variety of interesting projects to reach that goal. He visited William & Mary as a guest of the Institute for Integrative Conservation. Afterwards, he joined us to discuss leadership, the benefits of loving your work, and staying with one employer for the long term. Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

It’s a special edition of Leadership & Business. With today’s episode, we’re celebrating two milestones: our 10th year anniversary, and our 250th episode. We couldn’t let that go by without sharing something special so we invited two CEOs to join us on the podcast today. AnnaMaria DeSalva just concluded her tenure as Chairman at Burson - the global strategic communication firm. Before that, she served as CEO of Hill & Knowlton. Dan Draper is the CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices - the world’s leading index provider. DeSalva and Draper sat down with us to discuss leadership, their styles and approaches to leadership, and what lies ahead for the leaders of today and tomorrow. Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

From Dog Street to Wall Street. It’s an annual event co-hosted by the Boehly Center for Excellence in Finance at the William & Mary School of Business and partner organizations on campus. The event introduces students to William & Mary alumni and industry guests who lead sessions and panels on finance, investment and corporate banking, private equity, alternative investments, hedge funds and more. This year’s keynote speaker was Austin Camporin, a William & Mary graduate and Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Special Situations at Magnetar Capital. After interacting with students, he joined us to talk about his investment philosophy, the current market, and approaches that lead to success. Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

Data centers, artificial intelligence, and manufacturing facilities require power to operate. And demand for power is growing considerably. Some wonder if the US will have the power necessary to fill its needs in the future. While the demand is causing increased and new competition in the energy space, one organization has been solving complex energy problems since 1990. LS Power is part investment firm and part power company. Darpan Kapadia is its chief operating officer. Kapadia visited William & Mary to speak to students at the annual convocation ceremony. Before that, he met with MBA students, then sat down with us to discuss renewable energy, the growing need for power, and what policymakers and others are doing to ensure future needs are met. Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

Improvisation. You probably know it as comedy and communication on the fly. It often consists of short scenes or sketches beginning with an idea from the audience. Many of your favorite comedians and entertainers have considerable improv training. As modern improv comedy grew, business professionals took note - realizing improv training could greatly help in terms of communication, success, and teamwork. When the new MBA students and the William & Mary School of Business arrived a couple weeks ago, they were given improv training by Brad McMurran, who among other things owns Push Comedy Theater in Norfolk, Virginia. Just minutes after training the new MBA students, McMurran sat down with us to discuss improv, how it builds rapport, and helps people become more comfortable when conversing with others.  Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

With each day, more companies and organizations are hiring people who think – and approach problems – differently. Neurodiversity refers to the variation in which human brains function. A range of conditions fall under the neurodiverse umbrella; from autism to Tourette Syndrome, to others. The conditions affects the way people communicate, interact, and process information. Eleanor Loiacono is a professor at the William & Mary School of Business. Her research efforts focus on neurodiversity. She joins us on the podcast today to discuss neurodiversity, the hurdles neurodivergent applicants and employees face, and what companies and managers are doing to hire and retain neurodivergent employees.  Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

Bill Rosenthal is not a typical leader, and Midnight Oil is not a typical creative agency. Rosenthal is President of Midnight Oil, an agency located in Los Angeles. Its clients include Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and other streaming services and studios. Rosenthal and his team design and build highly creative and unique displays, billboards, and other media that grab peoples attention and get them talking. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Business at William & Mary, and later his MBA at the University of Southern California. He’s worked at some top organizations including Goodwill, Deloitte, and Disney. He joins us on the podcast to discuss working and leading in a creative organization.  Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

It’s a subsidiary of one of the largest machinery manufacturers in Japan: Sumitomo Machinery Corporation of America. Jim Solomon is its CEO. Solomon overseas the company’s locations in North, Central, and South America while staying in close contact with corporate headquarters in Japan. It’s an interesting leadership role in that Solomon finds himself interacting with different cultures regularly. Before becoming CEO, he came up through the finance function and says today he has a particular interest in Human Resources. He joins us to discuss leadership in a global organization, balancing different cultures, and the importance of investing in your employees.  Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

When you think of corporate or organizational crises, the list of examples is never ending: the BP oil spill, the Tylenol tampering incident, the Wells Fargo account fraud scandal, the Equifax data breach, and countless others. A crisis can threaten a number of important elements, including your ability to operate, your relationships with stakeholders, the ability to pursue your strategy, and your reputation. Tim Lloyd is Managing Partner at Social Simulator, he works with companies and organizations across the world helping them train and prepare for a crisis. He was recently at the William & Mary School of Business helping executive MBA students as they work through a crisis simulation. Before that, he joined us to talk about crisis management, the role of social media in a crisis, and why every organization needs to be prepared. Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

Since it was founded sixteen years ago, the Hilb Group - a successful middle market insurance broker - has embraced a high growth strategy. And in just over a decade and a half, the organization has acquired almost two hundred small agencies and brokers across the country. While focused on the growth, Hilb’s leaders also work to maintain the health of the organization, customer satisfaction, and financial discipline. Jason Angus is the Hilb Group’s Chief Operating Officer. He joins us today to discuss the insurance sector, leading a fast growing organization, and the elements of effective leadership; including communication, patience, and passion.  Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.