Skydeck
The Harvard Business School alumni podcast, featuring conversations with HBS alumni about their careers, insights, and experiences.
Episodes
How a Crash Set an Alaskan Bush Pilot on a New Course
In the early 1980s, Art Warbelow barely survived a plane crash in the Alaska wilderness. It forced a reckoning that ultimately led him to HBS.
The Businesswoman Who Secretly Ran a Gelatin Empire
Author Rachel Greenfield (MBA 1981) on Rose Knox, who quietly took over Knox Gelatin in 1908 after her husband died and grew it into an iconic American brand
Love, Money, and the Modern Prenup
Libby Leffler (MBA 2017), founder of First, on why couples are
talking more openly about finances before saying “I do”
My Favorite Professor
Alumni on the teachers that changed their trajectories
Compass Points
The recipients of the 2026 Alumni Achievement Award on the advice that’s directed their careers—and lives
Yes, And: How Improv Can Make You a Better Leader
Debra Schifrin (MBA 2007) harnesses the hard skills of playful performance
Courage Can Save Us
Marine veteran Rye Barcott (MBA/MPA 2009) on what it will take for America to last another 250 years
Rewriting the Script: Reese Witherspoon's Entrepreneurial Leap to Impact
Presenting an episode of The Founder Mindset with Reza Satchu, a new show from HBS
The Moments That Made Me
Recipients of the 2026 Alumni Achievement Award
on the people and experiences that defined them
The Power of Oversharing
Professor Leslie John on the ROI of TMI
How Spycraft Helped Create Switzerland’s Luxury Watch Market
Aaron Stark (MBA 2017) uncovers the unlikely lessons from an industrial espionage event of historic proportions
Lessons from Major League Baseball's Game-Changing Innovations
In this episode from 2023, Chris Marinak (MBA 2008), then the Chief Operations and Strategy Officer at Major League Baseball, discusses building and nurturing an organizational culture of innovation—and what his experience at MLB can teach any business leader.
How AI is Shaping the Future of Journalism
Axios COO Allison Murphy (MBA 2014) on how AI is influencing their strategy—and upending the industry’s business model
Making Community College a ‘Bold First Choice’
At One Million Degrees, CEO Aarti Dhupelia (MBA 2005) is supercharging the experience of thousands of students
Why We’re Going Dry
Entrepreneur Pat Dooling (MBA 2010) on the cultural movement fueling the non-alcoholic market
Best of 2025
Recommendations from the year in media from HBS alumni, students, faculty, and staff
Can Tech Solve Health Care’s Workforce Crisis?
Ascend Learning CEO Lissy Hu (MD/MBA 2014) on how AI can help address a generational challenge
Leadership Lessons from the “Lone Survivor” Mission
Former Army helicopter pilot Matthew Brady (MBA 2016) discusses his battlefield experience—and how it shaped his approach to business
Taylor Swift, CEO
Author Sinead O'Sullivan (MBA 2017) on what every leader can learn from the pop star’s billion-dollar strategy
My First Job
Alumni on their early experiences with the working world
Strength in Suffering
Author and physician John Travers (MBA 2002) on the bedside lessons in human resilience
Crafting Your Life
Professor Leslie Perlow on how to find more joy in your life by being more intentional with your time
Back to the Future
Scott Anthony (MBA 2001) on how historical examples of disruptive innovation can help us hunt for the next big thing
Play with Purpose
Commanders’ owner and 26North founder Josh Harris (MBA 1990) on why anchoring leadership in personal passion and civic responsibility is a winning strategy
The Vinyl Revival
Caren Kelleher (MBA 2010) on why records are reclaiming their
place in a world of streaming
Slice of Life
What fighter pilot-turned-pizza perfectionist Bill Crawford (MBA 2006) can teach entrepreneurs about the power of passion
If I Knew Then
With the advantage of hindsight, this year’s recipients of the Alumni Achievement Award offer some words of wisdom and key takeaways from their HBS experience
Challenge Accepted
Recipients of the 2025 Alumni Achievement Award describe a time when life put them to the test—and what came out of it
The Working Parent Revolution
Bright Horizons CEO Stephen Kramer (MBA 1997) on what modern parents really want from their workplace
What We Can Learn From “The Oracle of Wall Street”
Taylor Becker (MBA 2025) shares personal anecdotes and life lessons from his collaboration with the late finance icon Byron Wien (MBA 1956)
Joy to the World
How Justin Pasquariello (MBA 2010), CEO of East Boston Social Centers, is making joy a priority in his community—and what his work can teach every organization
How to Judge Your Next Job
Michael Horn (MBA 2006) and Associate Professor Ethan Bernstein—coauthors of the new book Job Moves: 9 Steps for Making Progress in Your Career—on how to make sure your next career move is the right one
Tracking Modern Air Travel’s Takeoff
Former Continental Airlines CEO Frank Lorenzo (MBA 1963) recounts the radical ideas and relentless negotiations that transformed the airline industry
The Musts of 2024
Alumni recommendations from the year in media
Solving the Underemployment Crisis
More than half of college grads are underemployed. In this excerpt from Managing the Future of Work, Stephen Moret (MBA 2011) discusses the root causes of this trend—and what policymakers and the private sector can do to address it.
Negotiating Peace in Canada's Largest Rainforest
How Wally Eamer (MBA 1979) helped end a bitter, decades-long conflict between loggers, environmentalists, government officials, and First Nations
How the Insurance Industry Can Weather the Storms
Liberty Mutual CEO Tim Sweeney (MBA 1991) on what it will really take to adapt to the realities of climate change
My Worst Job
Alumni share life-altering lessons from the labor force
The Making of a Streaming Sensation
Author and producer Jeff Norton (MBA 2003) on how his show Geek Girl became a Netflix hit—and what it tells us about success in the streaming era
Basket Chase
Baskits president and CEO Robin Kovitz (MBA 2007) on the tactics and the trials of her “acquisition entrepreneurship” journey
Quantum Leap
John Levy (MBA 1979) thinks his startup can make quantum computing an accessible superpower for business—and he is racing tech’s biggest names to make a long-promised future a reality
Reddit’s Rise
COO Jen Wong (MBA 2004) on how she grew revenues without compromising community
Surviving the Iditarod
Adventurer Sunny Stroeer (MBA 2011) is always hunting for her limit. Would she find it while skiing 1,000 miles through the Alaskan wilderness?
How To Have Effective Conversations
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Charles Duhigg (MBA 2003) on the rules of real talk
On the Job
Recipients of the 2024 Alumni Achievement Award share takeaways from early experiences in the working world
Origin Stories
Recipients of the 2024 Alumni Achievement Award reflect on how their early life shaped them—personally and professionally
Mission Control
Space entrepreneur Peter Platzer (MBA 2002) on the process of finding your purpose
In Harmony
Born in Korea, Michael Kim (MBA 1990) spent his formative years in the US. As his novel ‘Offerings’ heads for the big screen, Asia’s “godfather of private equity” reflects on time, legacy, duty, and the unexpected connections between fiction and finance.
Combat-Tested Cancer Coaching
Cancer will impact nearly one in two people in their lifetime. Kathy Giusti (MBA 1985) has battled it twice—and has lessons for anyone in the fight.
The Values and Virtues of a Quick Fix
Author Anne Morriss (MBA 2004) on how companies can tackle complex issues with essential speed
The Musts of 2023
Alumni recommendations from the year in media
So You Want to Join a Startup
Entrepreneur and author Gus Bessalel (MBA 1988) on how to look before you leap
Love and Money
Insights from the dating world with professional matchmaker Rachel Greenwald (MBA 1993)
Soldier On
Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones, a Marine Corps veteran, on managing through a school shooting crisis—and what it takes to turnaround a city
Skydeck Voices: The Most Important Person I Met at HBS
Alumni reflect on the like-minded cofounders, life-changing professors, and lifelong partners they met on campus.
Helping Consumers Decarbonize their Purchases
In this excerpt from the HBS podcast Climate Rising, Sanchali Pal (MBA 2018) discusses the business plan behind her sustainable spending app.
Striving for Imperfection
In a new book, Charles Conn (MBA 1990) offers problem-solving mindsets for uncertain times
Skydeck Live: Lessons from Major League Baseball’s Game-Changing Innovations
Chris Marinak (MBA 2008), Chief Operations and Strategy Officer at Major League Baseball, on building and nurturing an organizational culture of innovation—and what his experience at MLB can teach any business leader. (Recorded live at Spring Reunions.)
Balancing Acts
Recipients of the 2023 Alumni Achievement Award offer their take on the tricky topic of managing personal and professional responsibilities
Fail Better
Recipients of the 2023 Alumni Achievement Award describe when things didn’t go according to plan—and how those painful experiences were ultimately a good thing
Step Change
From the Bulletin: When she came back to Egypt five years ago, investor Amal Enan (MBA 2014) embraced the chaos—and found a path to impact her country’s future
How Can We Solve the Teacher Shortage Crisis?
In this excerpt from HBS's Managing the Future of Work podcast, Mallory Dwinal-Palisch (MBA 2015) offers a lesson plan for the American education system
Clearing the Air - Episode 3: Carbon’s Second Act
This is the third and final episode of Clearing the Air, our mini-series on carbon capture. In this episode, we look at some of the potential uses for captured carbon—including a startup employing nature’s C02 recycling model—and the necessity of sweeping, speedy scaling.
Clearing the Air - Episode 2: Grand Ambitions in the Great Plains
This is the second episode of our Skydeck mini-series on carbon capture. In the first episode, we explored the scope of the problem—and the potential size of the business opportunity at this moment.
In this episode we’re headed to the Carbon Capture Inc.'s headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles, where the company's first prototype was built. And to Southwest Wyoming where the company is planning t
Clearing the Air: Episode 1 - Can We Really Engineer a Climate Fix?
This is the first episode of "Clearing the Air", a three-part series focused on the business of carbon capture, a technology that could help address the climate change crisis by removing excess carbon dioxide right out of the atmosphere. The promise of this approach has launched a raft of companies that not only capture but also store and even reuse the carbon—creating an industry that has attract
Forged in Fire
HBS Executive Fellow Bill George and Chad Foster (PLDA 21, 2016), an author and motivational speaker, on the transformational power of crucibles
Singing to the Corn
From the HBS Alumni Bulletin: Taylor Keen’s Sacred Seed project shows how a Native American approach to agriculture can protect the planet’s soil—one garden at a time.
If I Were You
Alumni offer their advice to current HBS students
Your Family, Your Work, Your Way
Daisy Dowling (MBA 2002) helps working parents hit the reset button, post-COVID—and offers practical advice for moving forward on an even keel at home and in the office
Skydeck Live: Stage Not Age
Susan Wilner Golden (PMD 59, 1990) on the promise of the new longevity economy
Wired to be Inspired
Professor Ranjay Gulati on the messy but transformational pursuit of purpose
Bidding Up
2022 Alumni Achievement Award recipient Bob Wilson (MBA 1961, DBA 1963) on his journey from Depression-era Nebraska to a 2020 Nobel Prize
Leading to Salvation
2022 Alumni Achievement Award recipient Bob Ryan (MBA 1970) had just stepped off his last board when he was called on for a different sort of service: revitalizing the oldest African American-owned business in north Minneapolis.
Onboarding
2022 Alumni Achievement Award recipient Tosh Barron (MBA 1972) describes her experience as a pioneering woman in the board room, the elements of effective corporate governance, and what to look for when seeking a board role
Lesson Plans
Sal Khan’s ambition for Khan Academy: Empower billions of learners and provide a safety net for education systems around the world
Clean Slate
In the first of a weekly series of Skydeck episodes honoring recipients of the 2022 Alumni Achievement Award, finance veteran Naina Lal Kidwai (MBA 1982) talks about her second act as chairman and founder of the India Sanitation Coalition, an organization coordinating business, government, and nonprofit efforts to improve India’s water quality and health outcomes.
Home Grown
Naveen Tewari, founder of InMobi and now Glance, is at the forefront of a growing trend of global consumer technology companies created in Asia—not just powered by it
Well Said
Anada Lakra’s startup helps non-native speakers master the art of the English language
Making Peace with Anger
How Walker & Dunlop CEO Willy Walker’s experience with anger management therapy transformed his life and career
Higher Returns
Parsec Ventures CEO Richard Steel (OPM 45, 2014) has had a wide range of professional experiences, including everything from running both private and public companies to serving on nonprofit boards to advising the White House Business Council. Which means that he has spent a lot of time speaking with leaders in both business and government about the factors that are driving their organizations’ st
