Careers & Character is about people with fascinating careers, bold ideas and clear values.
Live Last read · last published · next check
Listen now | From working and studying simultaneously from the age of 17, to helping build IKEA Mexico as employee number 51, and now graduating as the class speaker of the IMD MBA Class of 2025, this is the story of Alfonso “Poncho” Martínez.
Listen now (68 mins) | From completing a PhD in pharmacology and toxicology to consulting across industries and ultimately teaching leaders on three continents, this is the story of Katharina Lange, IMD Professor of Leadership, whose work blends strategy, psychology, and character.
Listen now | From building a successful career in investment banking in London and Italy to helping deep-tech founders turn groundbreaking science into world-changing companies, this is the story of Kevin Martelli - investor, advisor, and founder behind Delta Plus Ventures.
Listen now | From leading Unilever’s ice cream brands across Latin America to leading with calm and purpose in the IMD MBA, this is the story of marketer, musician, and father of twin daughters, Rodrigo Sarzosa.
Listen now | From landing in startups accidentally to scaling companies and leading 120+ teams, to now pursuing an MBA at IMD, this is the story of Jens Marczinski.
Listen now | From running track and designing sustainable buildings as an engineer in Canada to pursuing an MBA and pitching a decarbonization venture in Switzerland, this is the story of Somerset Jarvis.
Listen now | This season felt different. In Season One, we mostly spoke with close friends, people who thought and worked in ways familiar to us. Season Two took us further afield… professors, entrepreneurs, classmates from other corners of the world. Conversations stretched from rugby pitches to boardrooms, from Kuwait to Singapore, from AI to empathy.
Listen now | From growing up in the Netherlands as a shy student to becoming one of the world’s leading voices on ecosystems, innovation, and East–West business, this is the story of Professor Mark Greeven.
Listen now | From growing up playing rugby in Wales, to coaching across Europe and Australia, to now leading the German women’s national Sevens team, this is the story of Curtis Bradford.
Listen now | From starting to work at age 12 in Johannesburg, to building and backing insurance ventures in London, and now advising CEOs across Europe, this is the story of Arthur Goldberg.
Listen now | From growing up in the Netherlands and building a global food brand with his brothers, to teaching at INSEAD and mentoring future leaders across continents, this is the story of Cliff Go.
Listen now | From advising at the White House and consulting at McKinsey, to teaching for two decades at McGill and now mentoring students as Dean of the MBA and Professor of Strategy and International Management at IMD Business School, this is the story of Professor
Listen now | From a small village in China to quality management across multiple industries, and now fatherhood and an MBA in Switzerland, this is the story of Fang Yuan.
Listen now | From growing up in Kuwait and studying petroleum engineering in Colorado to managing institutional portfolios and now pursuing an MBA in Switzerland, this is the story of Abdulaziz “Aziz” Akbar.
Listen now | From discovering cricket via a Netflix documentary and playing in her San Francisco backyard to co-founding a nonprofit that’s reshaping women’s sports pathways and now pursuing an MBA in Switzerland, this is the story of Auni Mirabrishami.
Listen now (46 mins) | From exploring his curiosity as a self-described “kid at heart” to earning a PhD and later founding his own startup, this is the story of José Parra Moyano, Professor of Digital Strategy at IMD Business School.
From Idea to Impact: Our First Season of Careers & Character
Listen now (43 mins) | From directing school musicals as an “acting director” to structuring deals and executing strategies in private equity, and ultimately discovering her transferable skills in communication, stage presence, and coaching during her MBA, this is the story of
Listen now | From pursuing handball at a high level to leading teams and board meetings at McKinsey and, ultimately, finding his niche as a family office advisor & investor, this is the story of Kilian Graulich.
Listen now | From being a top-10 German swimmer to winning gold in the Men’s Singles Sculls at the 2024 Olympic Games to embarking on a new journey in business school, this is the story of Oliver Zeidler.
