{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Leading Awake","title":"How 3 Senior Leaders Keep Trust While Making Unpopular Calls | S01E05","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3373,"description":"Three senior executives get honest about what it costs to do the right thing when jobs, trust, and results are all on the line. The CEO of Sappi Southern Africa, the Chief Brand Activation Officer at Smollan, and the Group CFO of iOCO drop the mask on the decisions that tested their integrity, and what staying true actually cost them.\nIt's easy to talk about values when things are calm. The real test comes when the right decision affects people's jobs, when the board wants answers now, and when every piece of advice says do something. This is the conversation that doesn't usually happen in public. Three leaders running forestry, global retail activation, and a JSE-listed technology turnaround get into selling a loss-making sawmill for the sake of its people, the tough calls behind a first profit in four years, and why trust is built months before you ever make the hard decision.\nGuests:\nGraeme Wild is the CEO of Sappi Southern Africa, one of the country's largest forestry and paper companies. He stepped into the role after three consecutive record years, with the pressure to put his stamp on it starting immediately.\nMike Smollan is the Chief Brand Activation Officer at Smollan, a global brand agency employing tens of thousands of people. He's helped grow a multi-generational family business into a global retail powerhouse while protecting the people-centred culture at its heart.\nAshona Kooblall is the Group CFO of iOCO, formerly the EOH Group. She stepped in with revenue in the JSE's top quartile and profitability at the bottom, made the tough calls in her first three months, and delivered the company's first solid profit in four years.\nThey explain:\n◼ Why choosing between right and right is the hardest call a leader makes\n◼ The five words that decided the sale of a sawmill in rural South Africa\n◼ What it took to deliver iOCO's first solid profit in four years (and why it was never about proving herself)\n◼ How taking everything personally becomes a strength, once...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/13nLVsuQ0Vl1itKT5YpaJz3aZECFgDrhw5rexTxRzEI/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80Yjdk/NTRiZWViMzhkZGZh/NGUxY2E5ZDk1ODBk/MTlhYy5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}