About this episode

John McCalla-Leacy shares his extraordinary journey from homelessness to becoming a global executive, discussing themes of resilience and reinvention.

John McCalla-Leacy is a former KPMG global executive, coach, speaker, former international canoeist, martial arts champion and one of the most extraordinary origin stories ever told on this podcast.In this episode of Origin Story, John sits down with David McIntosh Jr for a deeply inspiring and almost unbelievable conversation abouzt homelessness, resilience, reinvention, race, social mobility, financial freedom, grief, leadership, faith in people, and what it really means to build a life that no one could have predicted.From growing up in South London as the son of Jamaican parents from the Windrush generation, to experiencing homelessness, competing internationally as a canoeist, working in fashion for Benetton, living across Italy, China, Hong Kong and Thailand, becoming a martial arts champion, joining KPMG, rising to become one of their top-performing partners in Asia and later Global Head of ESG, John’s story genuinely sounds impossible.But the most unbelievable part? A grant from The Prince’s Trust changed the direction of his life and years later, Queen Elizabeth II personally heard his story, passed it on to King Charles, and John ended up having dinner with the…

People in this episode

Host: David McIntosh Jr

Guest: John McCalla-Leacy

Topics covered

• adversity
• resilience
• reinvention
• leadership
• social mobility
• financial freedom
• identity

Keywords

• homelessness
• resilience
• KPMG
• leadership
• financial freedom
• social mobility
• martial arts
• adversity
• identity
• The Prince’s Trust

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: KPMG, The Prince’s Trust

Places: South London, Italy, China, Hong Kong, Thailand

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