Podcast

Be The Change You Want to See

Simon Bray is a change agent and innovator who has worked with global brands to help them evolve.  He also just happens to be a part of the group that Jaime climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with.  They discuss their passion around leadership and the change that leaders need to be prepared to lead as well as their lessons from the mountain and what they learned about themselves and the world around them.

Simon is an expert in leadership, culture and organizational development, who understands what it really takes to unlock innovation, collaboration and engagement. He has worked in over 20 countries and has lived in the UK, Brazil, the US, and Singapore.

Simon’s background is management consultancy. After gaining a degree in Psychology, he began his career with Accenture where he specialized in organization development and talent strategy, before moving to a boutique change management consultancy called 7days.

He was then with the innovation consultancy ?What If! from 2005 to 2014, leading teams in London, New York and São Paulo. He held multiple leadership roles while at ?What If!, including US Client Development Leader, Americas Transformation Practice Leader and Brazil Business Leader. He then spent 2 years as a Partner at The Rise Group, where his work focused on helping organizations define and activate their ideal culture, and 3 years as a Principal at Vega Factor where his work involved helping organizations use the science of total motivation to become higher performing.
What If! was acquired by Accenture in 2019, and in 2020 Simon returned to co-lead the? What If! Singapore office, manage the integration of ?What If! into Accenture in Asia, and set up Accenture’s Leadership & Culture practice in AAPAC.
He is now back in New York, helping grow Kates Kesler (another Accenture acquisition) by developing new organization designs and operating models for clients across the world.

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Shift Your Perspective

Jaime Taets, CEO, Visionary, and Founder of Keystone Group International talks about her summit to Mt. Kilimanjaro and her lessons learned along the way. Jaime talks about shifting your perspective and putting yourself in situations that make you think differently. In this raw, and authentic podcast, Jaime shares some of her vulnerabilities and experiences from her trip and how she is incorporating them into her personal and professional life. How fear can be a catalyst to move you forward instead of holding you back. Are you courageous in the face of fear? Listen now!

Also be sure to check out Jaime’s blog series, Lessons from the Mountain.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimetaets/

Blog

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Create The Space For People To Learn

Andy Risvold is the owner and founder of Forgotten Star Brewing. He is a serial entrepreneur and shares his leadership lessons and how he focuses on the new leaders to ensure they have the space and support to learn as they transition to leading others. So many organizations and leaders don’t take the time to train and mentor leaders in their organization to build the skills they need to be successful leaders and managers.

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Sit In Your Mistakes

Alyza Bohbot James, Owner and CEO

Alakef Coffee Roasters and City Girl Coffee

As owner and CEO of Alakef Coffee Roasters, Alyza leads the specialty coffee roasting company that her family founded in 1990 in Duluth, Minnesota.  Alakef Coffee Roasters today provides responsibly sourced and produced coffee to grocery stores, co-ops, coffee shops, Universities, and restaurants throughout the Midwest, and online to retailers and consumers.

Shortly after taking over company reins in 2014, she launched an entirely new brand, City Girl Coffee, in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, featuring USDA Organic Certified blends. She is keeping Alakef’s longstanding support of the coffee industry alive – with a special focus on women. City Girl Coffee empowers women by sourcing as many beans as possible from women coffee farmers throughout the world. A portion of every sale goes to organizations that work to provide these women access to funding, education, resources, and more.  In January of 2021, Alyza launched The City Girl Empower Hour, an inspiring new podcast serving up grounded advice and whole bean wisdom on how listeners can succeed in both their personal and professional lives.

Alyza takes an active role in the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and its Women in Leadership program. She is a member of the Minnesota Leadership class of 2017, and currently sits on the Minnesota Chamber’s Board of Directors. She was recognized by the Minneapolis Business Journal as a recipient of its 2017 40 under 40 award, and by Minnesota Business Magazine as one its Women Who Lead. Awarded the Future Forward award from the WBDC for her business acumen, marketing savvy and entrepreneurial spirit. Most recently, she was awarded the Wavemaker award by Team MN Women for making waves in her community, profession, and for her demonstration of outstanding achievement, entrepreneurial spirit and initiative through leadership within her profession and community.

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How Can I Be Useful?

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