Erin Gianopoulos and Jeff Addison on Military Leadership as a Pathway for Executive Success

Erin Gianopoulos and Jeff Addison on Military Leadership as a Pathway for Executive Success

June 2, 2025 · 44 min · Season 2 · Episode 5

About this episode

Kavitha discusses military leadership and its impact on executive success with guests Erin Gianopoulos and Jeff Addison.

For the first time on Long Life Learning , Kavitha is joined by two guests . Jeff Addison and Erin Gianopoulos are distinguished , now-retired U.S. military service members whose friendship began as peers in last year's Y GELP cohort. Erin and Jeff join Kavitha in the studio during their Yale SOM reunion weekend to discuss how military leadership prepared them for executive roles in law and entrepreneurship . They explain what it looks like to continually learn and evolve at high levels of leadership, and how the military saying, "If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready" continues to apply to their personal and professional lives. Erin describes how her path from ROTC , to leading Marines in Japan, to earning a law school degree , has led to a burgeoning career in public service. Jeff Addison shares how his years as a F light Command er in the Air Force equipped him with the management skills needed to found a data solutions company whose inspiration emerged out of personal tragedy . He also explains how being a lifelong learner helped him pivot and flourish as CEO of Tech knowvate throughout the pandemic and the emergence of AI . Both guests express the desire to…

People in this episode

Host: Kavitha

Guests: Erin Gianopoulos, Jeff Addison

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. military, Yale SOM, Tech knowvate, ROTC

Places: Japan

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