The Journey of the Unexpected CEO with Shirin Behzadi

About this episode

Shirin Behzadi shares her journey from adversity to becoming a successful CEO, emphasizing the importance of personal conviction and resilience in leadership.

Takin’ Care of Lady Business Episode 143 What happens when you stop asking whether the odds are in your favor and start moving forward anyway? Today’s guest built her life and leadership philosophy on that exact move, turning adversity, uncertainty, and other people’s limitations into fuel for power, growth, and scale. In this episode of Taking Care of Lady Business, host Jennifer Justice sits down with Shirin Behzadi , former CEO and bestselling author of The Unexpected CEO , to talk about building a life and career on your own terms, even when the path in front of you looks impossible. Shirin shares her journey from leaving Iran alone at 17, arriving in the United States without money or family support, and working as a gas station cashier while putting herself through school, to eventually leading and scaling a private equity backed company operating across 12,000 cities. Shirin gets candid about what it really means to hold a long term vision, how adversity became one of the most important forces in her life and leadership, and why women have to learn how to hear advice without automatically accepting it. She and JJ also talk about saying no, trusting your own…

People in this episode

Host: Jennifer Justice

Guest: Shirin Behzadi

Topics covered

• leadership
• adversity
• personal growth
• entrepreneurship
• women in business
• career development

Keywords

• CEO
• adversity
• leadership philosophy
• personal growth
• women empowerment
• career journey
• vision
• non-negotiables

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Unexpected CEO

Places: Iran, United States

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