About this episode
The episode reflects on insights from the 2025 Provocateurs series, discussing various innovative topics and leadership under pressure.
Steve Goldbach, Geoff Tuff, and Kulleni Gebreyes of Deloitte join Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove of Thinkers50 to reflect on their highlights and insights from the 2025 Provocateurs series. Featuring in-depth conversations with leaders and innovators, the 2025 Provocateurs explored pressing topics from sustainability and space exploration to digital health, public policy, and food systems innovation. Throughout the series, compelling stories emerged that illustrate the power of systems thinking, reframing narratives, and leadership under pressure. We heard about seaweed and rum in Barbados: a circular economy success story combining waste products to create fuel. We learned how modulating electrical motors reframes sustainability as efficiency, delivering rapid returns on investment. And we listened as astronaut Eileen Collins described the extreme pressure of an aborted rocket launch, exemplifying agility and preparation as the essence of leadership. The 2025 Provocateurs guests included: · Weslynne Ashton, sustainable systems scientist at the Illinois Institute of Technology · Katie McGinty, VP and Chief Sustainability Officer at Johnson Controls · Rajendra Pratap Gupta…
People in this episode
Hosts: Stuart Crainer, Des Dearlove, Steve Goldbach
Guests: Eileen Collins, Weslynne Ashton, Katie McGinty, Rajendra Pratap Gupta, Karthik Ramanna, Selassie Atadika, Anke Hampel
Topics covered
- sustainability
- space exploration
- digital health
- public policy
- food systems innovation
- systems thinking
- leadership
Keywords
- circular economy
- agility
- preparation
- efficiency
- investment
Mentioned in this episode
Products: seaweed, rum, electrical motors
Books & works: Provocateurs, The Creativity Leap
Places: Barbados, New York
More episodes of Thinkers50 Podcast
- The Provocateurs Episode 43 | André Hoffmann: Profit Alone is No Measure of Success · April 16, 2026 · 38 min
- The Provocateurs Episode 42 | Cécile Béliot: Business Without Sustainability Has No Future · March 18, 2026 · 44 min
- The Provocateurs Episode 41 | Frances Frei: Why Speed Doesn’t Have to Break Things · February 5, 2026 · 30 min
- The Provocateurs Episode 40 | Dan Pink: Why Leaders Keep Getting Motivation Wrong (and How to Fix It) · January 15, 2026 · 35 min
- The Provocateurs Episode 38 | Natalie Nixon: Why Creativity is a Strategic Skill · December 4, 2025 · 36 min
- The Provocateurs Episode 37 Anke Hampel: Recorded Live at Climate Week New York · October 31, 2025 · 56 min
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