Leaders and Legends in Government

Bogomil Balkansky, partner at Sequoia, joins Leaders and Legends to talk about leadership and the keys to building a successful technology startup. Balkansky joined Sequoia as a partner in 2020 and was previously vice president of Cloud Recruiting Solutions at Google and a senior vice president at VMware.Balkansky describes his leadership style as "very approachable but fearless". He believes that great leaders are "great listeners. They listen to their team members' ideas, concerns, and feedback, and act on them."Finally Balkansky said “I’m a very intuitive person. If I try to be overly rational and put all the pros and cons in a spreadsheet, I get myself into trouble. But if I follow my gut, I rarely make mistakes.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Leaders and Legends host Aileen Black interviews Dr. David A. Bray, distinguished fellow and co-chair of the Alfred Lee Loomis Innovation Council at the non-partisan Henry L. Stimson Center.Bray is also a distinguished fellow with the Business Executives for National Security and a CEO and transformation leader for different “under the radar” tech and data ventures. He is principal at LeadDoAdapt Ventures and has served in a variety of leadership roles in turbulent environments, including bioterrorism preparedness and response from 2000-05.Bray has also led efforts to improve the organizational adaptability of the U.S. Department of Defense, and worked on countering disinformation from 2017-2020 – including personally surviving a disinformation attack that occurred in 2018.He has received both the Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award and the National Intelligence Exceptional Achievement Medal. Business Insider named him one of the top “24 Americans under the age of 40 who are changing the world”, and The World Economic Forum has named him a Young Global Leader.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sarah Hess, west coast director of the Silicon Valley Defense Group, and an investor/operator at Lux Capital joins host Aileen Black on this week's Leaders and Legends. Throughout Hess' career she has focused on national security and leveraging innovative technologies. In her work, she has helped the US and its allies secure democracy through innovation. Previously, Hess served as deputy lead to launch the NATO Innovation Fund, a venture capital fund modeled off of In-Q-TelDuring the interview, Hess said the best leaders for new innovative startups are persistent and ” will run through walls towards a pursuit”. When talking about cultures and leadership styles, Hess said those who lead with empathy make their teams more effective. Early in her career at the CIA, she said empathetic leadership made it easier for her team to accomplish its mission and goals.Hess also offered some advice for the next generation of leaders saying “don’t be afraid to try something new", because new challenges will help you grow. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Former Google executive Milo Medin joins host Aileen Black on this week's Leaders and Legends.Medin has been part of the Internet development community for almost 40 years. He recently left Google where he was the vice president of access services. During his time there, he worked on a number of projects to improve access to the Internet, building both fiber and wireless networks, and in shaping spectrum policy and products. Medin holds several patents in the field of network access technology, and sat on the FCC’s Technical Advisory Committee, and Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee. From 2016 to 2022, he served on the Defense Innovation Board, which is chartered to provide recommendations to the Secretary of Defense to drive more innovation and agility in how the department achieves its mission.During the program, Medin encourages leaders to cross train their teams, because he says it "encourages your organization to learn and grow."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Leaders and Legends, host Aileen Black interviews Eric Traupe, a former public sector executive with 30+ years of combined experience in the CIA and the US Marine Corps.Traupe is the former assistant director of the CIA for the Near East and served on the front lines of U.S. counterterrorism efforts for more than 20 years. He remains a trusted advisor to our nation’s highest-ranking leaders, having advised CIA directors, presidents, cabinet and military officials, and members of Congress.Traupe also participated in momentous White House strategic, policy, and resource decisions, and has tackled the full range of U.S. national security issues.His leadership, acumen, and unmatched ability to cultivate enduring relationships between the U.S. and its foreign partners continues to be heralded in intelligence circles.During the interview, Traupe says he tries to build trust with members of his team by empowering them to make tough decisions.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

US Navy Rear Admiral Julius S. Caesar (Ret.) joins host Aileen Black on this week’s Leaders and Legends.Admiral Caesar is a career Surface Warfare Officer who has had a distinguished career in the military and industry.He is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI Fellow in Foreign Politics, International Relations, and the National Interest. He has also served as a chief operating officer, sector vice president, senior vice president and general manager in public and privately held technology firms.Caesar a trustee at the Naval War College Foundation and Strategic Advisor, Academy Securities, and was recently awarded the Distinguished Graduate Award from the US Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation. There are only 110 USNA Distinguished Graduates out of 69,000 living graduates.During the interview Caesar talked about his leadership style, saying he strives everyday to give back and take care of the individuals around him.“At the end of the day it is about faith, family and friends. This will give you the resiliency you need to be successful in life”.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Austin Yerks, president and founder of AJY III Government Strategies, joins host Aileen Black on this week's Leaders and Legends to discuss leadership and how to solve difficult client challenges.AJY III is a business focused on supporting strategic alliances between commercial firms and agencies of the federal government.Prior to forming his own company, Yerks was president of CSC's North American Public Sector (NPS) Defense and Intelligence Group. He has been a senior executive in the federal marketplace for over 40 years, and is known for his technology vision.On this week's show, Yerks discusses the importance of trying and failing as leaders make their way up the corporate ladder.He says "Failure is ok. Just figure out what is not working and fix it. "Yerks also encourages the next generation of leaders to look at everyday as a learning experience. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.