The So What from BCG

What makes a leadership team truly high performing, and why does it matter for the entire organization? Judith Wallenstein, CEO Advisory Global Lead of BCG, and Khadija Ben Hammada, Chief People Officer of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, explore this topic and more. They share how CEOs can build executive teams grounded in trust, purpose, and psychological safety. When the top team clicks, the whole company moves faster and with more clarity.
Learn more: https://lnk.to/so-what-general-show32
Learn More:
Judith Wallenstein, Managing Director & Senior Partner, Global Lead, CEO Advisory
https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/judith-wallenstein
Khadija Ben Hammada, Member of the Executive Board and Chief People Officer for Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
https://www.emdgroup.com/en/company/management/executive-board/khadija-ben-hammada.html
Subscribe to BCG’s YouTube channel: https://goo.gl/hsFsVT
Visit us at https://www.bcg.com
Chapters
(00:00) Intro
(00:17) How do you build a high-performing leadership team?
(01:36) What makes a team work?
(02:12) What does a high-performing team feel like?
(03:45) How much of team success depends on the CEO’s behavior and decisions?
(05:55) When hiring, what are you looking for — what’s the secret sauce?
(08:47) What should the CEO–Chief People Officer relationship look like?
(09:50) What did you learn as chief of staff that you apply on an executive team?
(11:42) How do team members to elevate collective performance?
(13:01) How should leadership adapt in an era of uncertainty?
(16:35) How do you keep a team successful when key people move on?
(19:27) What's steps should leaders take now to create a top-performing team?
(21:03) Outro

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

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The global energy transition is growing in complexity with shifting economics, soaring electricity demand, and competing national priorities. Maurice Berns and Asheesh Sastry from BCG’s Center for Energy Impact lay out how leaders can keep up by focusing on the economics, creating strategies for individual markets, and staying ahead of policy shifts.
Learn More:
Maurice Berns, Chair, BCG Center for Energy Impact https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/maurice-berns
Asheesh Sastry, Managing Director & Senior Partner https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/asheesh-sastry
The Energy Transition’s Next Chapter https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/global-energy-landscape-next-chapter
BCG Center for Energy Impact https://www.bcg.com/industries/energy/center-for-energy-impact/default
About the Energy Transition https://www.bcg.com/industries/energy/energy-transition

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Join several BCG senior partners as they share their insights from their time on the ground at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. BCG invites you to an exclusive look at the forces shaping the CEO agenda in 2026.
BCG’s Judith Wallenstein, Aparna Bharadwaj, and Vlad Lukic discuss what they learned from their personal conversations with CEOs and global leaders at Davos. They share practical guidance for organizations preparing for the year ahead in AI, geopolitics, and other areas.
Chapters

Learn more:
BCG at Davos, https://www.bcg.com/about/partner-ecosystem/world-economic-forum/davos
BCG’s CEO Agenda, https://www.bcg.com/executives/ceo-agenda
Judith Wallenstein, Global Leader, CEO Advisory https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/judith-wallenstein
Aparna Bharadwaj, Global Leader, Global Advantage Practice https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/aparna-bharadwaj
Vlad Lukic, Global Leader, Tech and Digital Advantage https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/vladimir-lukic

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

CEOs must pursue growth transformation with the same rigor that they bring when they tackle costs. Tuukka Seppä, BCG’s global chair of transformation, explains why CEOs need bold targets, smart incentives, and relentless follow-through to scale effectively. He unpacks the common misconceptions that hold companies back, the impact of a chief transformation officer, and why this is the moment to shift from reacting to rebuilding.
Listen on podcast platforms: https://lnk.to/so-what-general-show12
Learn More:
Tuukka Seppa: https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/tuukka-seppa
BCG’s Latest Thinking on Business Transformation: https://www.bcg.com/capabilities/business-transformation/insights
CEO’s Guide to Growth in 2026 article: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/the-ceos-guide-to-growth-seizing-opportunity
BCG at Davos 2026: https://www.bcg.com/about/partner-ecosystem/world-economic-forum/davos





Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:28–00:55 What’s Your “So What” on Growth?
00:55–01:50 If Growth Is a Strategic Choice, What Does It Take to Succeed?
01:50–03:16 Why Do Some Companies Grow During Extreme Volatility?
03:16–04:13 What Does Structured Growth Leadership Look Like in Practice?
04:13–05:12 Can Too Much Discipline Limit Growth in a Volatile World?
05:12–06:03 How Do You Build Flexibility and Adaptability into Growth?
06:03–07:36 Is It Obvious Where Growth Should Come From? How Do Leaders Decide What Good Growth Is?
07:36–10:20 Why Do Two-Thirds of Companies Miss Growth Targets?
10:20–11:05 What Does “Growing from a Strong Base” Mean?
11:05–12:35 How Do You Measure Growth Without Killing It Too Early?
12:35–13:55 How Important Is a Chief Transformation Officer?
13:55–14:37 What Buffers Matter for Growth — and Why Now?
14:37–16:06 What’s the Typical Timeline for a Growth Transformation?
16:06–17:54 What Unlocks the Shift from Efficiency to Growth?
17:54–19:48 What Role Can AI Play in Accelerating Growth?
19:48–20:41 When Is the Right Time to Start a Growth Program?
20:41–21:33 The ‘Now What’
21:21–21:33 Outro




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Rich Lesser, BCG’s global chair, and Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, reflect on the shocks and surprises that shaped the first half of the decade and what they reveal about the future. They explore the traits leaders need today: building trust, staying geopolitically aware, and adopting AI in a people-centered way.
Learn More:
Rich Lesser: https://on.bcg.com/4lZrWla
Martin Reeves: https://on.bcg.com/4lXaAVX
Winning in the 20s: https://on.bcg.com/4lpe1oo
Winning the ’20s: A Leadership Agenda for the Next Decade: https://on.bcg.com/40iscDs

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp