Chief Influencer®

Maria Ghazal, President and CEO of the Healthcare Leadership Council, has spent her career at the intersection of business, healthcare, and public policy, building consensus among leaders who don't always agree. At HLC, she brings together CEOs and C-suite leaders from hospitals, health plans, pharma, medical devices, and technology to find common ground on healthcare's biggest challenges. Before that, she led the Business Roundtable's work on its landmark Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, convincing 181 of America's most powerful CEOs to individually sign a document redefining the role of business in society.

In this conversation with Anthony, Maria reveals how influence is built through intentional design: narrowing HLC priorities to three strategic buckets instead of 27, keeping membership deliberately small to foster trust, mapping the hidden currents of influence in Washington, and creating convenings where leaders don't just listen but roll up their sleeves and commit to action. Her career offers a clear lesson: influence isn't about having the biggest platform or the longest list of priorities. It's about earning trust through process, building relationships before you need them, and translating conversation into consensus.

Takeaways:
  • If everything's a priority, nothing is. Hone your focus to what you can actually drive consensus around.
  • Influence without action is not influence. Convenings must translate into public policy positions, comment letters, and Hill briefings, not just good conversations.
  • Keep the room small enough for trust. HLC deliberately caps membership at 50-60 so leaders can build real relationships across competing sectors.
  • Map the hidden currents of influence. Staff, think tank leaders, and behind-the-scenes experts often shape decisions more than the household names.
  • Start with a listening tour. When joining HLC, Maria met every member individually before making a single strategic change, and that process built the trust she needed to act.
  • Build relationships before you need someone's support. The Business Roundtable statement succeeded because trust with legal teams and advisors already existed.

Quote of the Show:
  • "At the end of the day, influence is still having the right relationships, being able to take those relationships, put them into public policy positions, and bring them to the right people."

Links:

Shout Outs:
  • Business Roundtable
  • Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
  • Nneka Chiazor / Public Affairs Council 
  • Priya Parker / The Art of Gathering

Creators and Guests

Host
Anthony Shop
Anthony Shop believes in the power of people-centered branding and marketing to create a bright future. He chairs the National Digital Roundtable, the premier convener of digital innovators, leaders and policy shapers. Anthony also is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Social Driver, a digital services firm that helps companies and non-profits establish winning strategies with social media, websites, creative, and advertising. An enthusiastic presenter and teacher, he has led executive-level training for Amazon, PepsiCo, NASA, The British Embassy and the Bipartisan Policy Center. He has been recognized as an “OUTstanding LGBT Role Model” by The Financial Times, “40 Under 40” by The Washington Business Journal, and Business Leader of the Year by the DC Chamber of Commerce. A former newspaper reporter, Anthony was the first new media professional elected to the National Press Club’s Board of Governors. He currently serves on the boards of Leadership Greater Washington and LearnServe International. He earned his MBA from The George Washington University School of Business, where he teaches as an adjunct lecturer.
Producer
Amanda Goyette
Guest
Maria Ghazal
President and CEO, Healthcare Leadership Council

What is Chief Influencer®?

Washington is the Center of Influence - in the U.S. and arguably the world. Chief Influencer® spotlights leaders who have figured out how to break through in today’s fragmented and noisy world. Social Driver teamed up with The George Washington University College of Professional Studies and The Communications Board to recognize these leaders as Chief Influencers and highlight how they inspire and influence others.