ERT's podcast series about change, leadership & life.

21st Century Industrialists

As the high-level forum bringing together the CEOs & Chairs of Europe’s best known industrial & technology companies, the European Round Table for Industry brings you a series of one-to-one interviews with business leaders, dealing with some of the key challenges of our time: energy transition, digital transformation, reskilling & upskilling and more. We talk about ERT Members about their background & education, the factors that influenced key moments in their careers and their assessment of the changes happening right now.

Podcasts

Season 3

Final - Enrico Letta 2000px 4

July 18, 2024

In April of this year, former Italian Prime Minister and current President of the Jacques Delors Institute, Enrico Letta released his much awaited report “Much more than a Market”. It was the result of nearly a year’s work – involving over 400 meetings with stakeholders across Europe – and received […]

Final - Leo Birnbaum 2000px 4

June 3, 2024

Leonhard Birnbaum grew up in the industrial town of Ludwigshafen, Germany surrounded by industry. Later, after studying chemical engineering at university, he started his career in consulting, gradually gravitating towards the energy sector, first at RWE, then at E.ON. As the CEO of E.ON Group since 2021, he is leading […]

Final - Benoit Potier 2000px 1
Benoit Potier
Season 3

April 18, 2024

In the first episode of Season 3, we talk with Benoit Potier, Chairman of Air Liquide about his early life and how his career path progressed all the way to the role of Chairman & CEO (2006 to 2022).  We also discuss the challenge and opportunity of energy transition and […]

Season 2

Leif Johansson
Leif Johansson
Season 2

May 19, 2023

Leif Johansson initially wanted to be a rock guitarist. That ambition morphed into a desire to become a professor of physics. But somewhere along the way, he was drawn into business and found an endless avenue for his curiosity. He excelled at business too, taking on his first leadership role […]

podcast v2

March 16, 2023

As ERT prepares to launch a new publication about innovation, we thought it could be interesting to do an episode where we discuss that very subject. So, we brought together a leader of one of Europe’s most significant industrial companies – Dr Martin Brudermüller, CEO of BASF SE (and Chair […]

Final - Hilde Merete Aasheim 2000px 3

December 15, 2022

We talk with Hilde Aasheim Merete, the President and CEO of Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian aluminium and energy company, with operations worldwide. She talks about how her first summer job in a bakery put her on the path to working in business, the career moves that followed – at some […]

Final - Ola Källenius Mercedez-Benz 2000px 5
Ola Källenius
Season 2

November 20, 2022

What it’s like to be the person tasked with leading the transformation of the oldest, most recognised car company in the world? In this episode, we talk with Ola Källenius about the path of his career at Mercedes-Benz Group, culminating in his appointment to the top job in 2019 – […]

Final - Jonathan Symonds GSK 2000px 2
Jonathan Symonds
Season 2

October 14, 2022

In the latest episode of our podcast, we talk with Sir Jonathan Symonds, the Chairman of GSK. A maven of the bridge between life sciences and finance, he spoke with us about his upbringing in the UK, his first career track in accountancy & consulting, the cultural lessons he learned […]

J-P Agon
Jean-Paul Agon
Season 2

May 18, 2022

We kick off Season 2 with Jean-Paul Agon, long-standing Member of ERT and French business leader synonymous with one of France’s best known worldwide consumer brands: L’Oréal. We talk about beginnings, perceptions of beauty, crises, corporate strategy, the challenge of succeeding a legend and much more.

Season 1

Thomas Leysen
Thomas Leysen
Season 1

January 12, 2022

Belgium’s foremost industrialist tells us about his upbringing and early interest in business, media and environmental issues. As the chairman of businesses in a range of different sectors, we also hear about the strategic decisions that informed Union Miniere’s transformation into Umicore, the expansion of Mediahuis into a significant player […]

Paulo Azevedo
Paulo Azevedo
Season 1

November 12, 2021

The Chairman of Sonae Group tells us about growing up in Portugal and England and the various stages of his ascent to the top of the Portuguese conglomerate. We talk about what drives his belief in people and why reskilling and lifelong learning matter so much to him, in the […]

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August 26, 2021

One of Italy’s best known business leaders talks with us about his teenage passion for basketball, his early start in banking, his time in consulting and more recent move into aviation and security, as the CEO of the Italian company, Leonardo. We also discuss the pressure on aviation in a […]

Nancy McKinstry
Nancy McKinstry
Season 1

July 12, 2021

The CEO of WoltersKluwer talks about her childhood in rural Connecticut, her path from consulting into the world of publishing and the strategy she put in place at the 185 year old company to transform it into the leading information services company it is today.

Stefan Oschmann
Stefan Oschmann
Season 1

June 5, 2021

We were fortunate enough to talk with Stefan Oschmann on his very last day as Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of the global biopharma company Merck Group, before he moved to the new role of Chair of the Board & Independent Director at UCB. In wide-ranging conversation, he […]

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Tony Smurfit
Season 1

April 15, 2021

The CEO of SmurfitKappa Group talks about his interest in business from an early age and what it was like growing up in a family synonymous with enterprise. He shares his insights on leadership during challenging times, what innovation looks like in the packaging business and why inflation is the […]

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Dr. Ilham Kadri
Season 1

March 6, 2021

The President & CEO of Solvay talks about her humble upbringing in Casablanca, her professional start in industry, some of the roles she took on earlier in her career and what she learned about overcoming barriers. She also tells us about her approach to transforming the 158 year old Belgian […]

C-H Svanberg 2_LR

February 5, 2021

In a very open conversation, the Chair of ERT and Chairman of AB Volvo talks about his peripatetic upbringing in Sweden and shares lessons he learned from his experiences at the helm of companies in many industrial sectors, including Assa Abloy, Ericsson, BP and his current roles.