Leadership Discoveries

Ben Beckley is the CEO of RevHealth, a full-service agency that partners with progressive healthcare companies to communicate cutting-edge science, launch novel therapies, and help life-changing treatments reach the patients who need them the most. He has over 20 years of experience in healthcare marketing & communications. Hear how to make yourself redundant as a leader, how to be a builder as a leader, how to deliver clarity for your team, how to make sure your values truly get adopted by your team & clients, and his hopes & fears when it comes to AI in the workplace. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Ben at RevHealth.com and on LinkedIn

After 30 conversations on Leadership Discoveries, it’s time to take a moment to reflect on the leadership lessons that keep coming up and to look at what matters most for leaders today. In this special episode, Host Shirley Kavanagh has become Guest Shirley Kavanagh, interviewed by Guest Host Max Branstetter of MaxPodcasting (better known as Shirley’s Wingman & Podcast Producer). Hear why Shirley started Leadership Discoveries in the first place, the leadership lessons frequently mentioned by guests, the leadership themes that surprised Shirley, her takeaways from her Gen Z mini-series on leadership, and what’s next for Leadership Discoveries. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Max at MaxPodcasting.com and on LinkedIn

Three-time guest Dean McAlister, EVP, Inizio Biotech, has spent over 35 years in Fortune 500 pharma leadership, including nearly 3 decades at AstraZeneca. His book, How to Matter Forever, comes out at the end of 2026. Hear how to think about passing the baton as a leader, how to have good judgment as a leader, the importance of constructive dissent, how to have conversations with respect while not avoiding the issue, and how to be an accountable leader. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Dean on LinkedIn

In this episode, I speak with Antoinette Dale Henderson, Founder & Owner of Gravitas Programme, about Leading with Gravitas: finding your voice, presence, and influence. Antoinette is a TEDx Speaker, 2x Author, and Executive Coach. Drawing on over 25 years of experience in leadership communications, including 16 years holding senior positions at the world’s top PR consultancies, Antoinette reflects on why gravitas is so important to leadership, her keys to impact & influence, and how we can get more people into the room when they’re not being heard.
We also explore what we’re missing at the human level in today’s world, what happens if learning goes away, and her advice for leaders at the early stage of their career.
Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn. To learn more about Antoinette’s work, connect with her at AntoinetteDaleHenderson.com and on LinkedIn

In this episode, I speak with Steve Widdoss, Chief People Officer of One Physics, about what it takes for HR to become a truly strategic leadership function. Drawing on senior HR leadership roles across global organisations including JPMorgan Chase, Capital One and Barclays, Steve reflects on why commercial credibility is essential for today's Chief People Officer, how HR earns a genuine seat at the executive table, and why understanding the business is just as important as understanding people.
We also explore leading through growth, organisational transformation and acquisition, the importance of helping leaders manage themselves through uncertainty, and how AI is reshaping the future of work without diminishing the importance of human leadership.
Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn. To learn more about Steve’s work, connect with him at OnePhysics.com and on LinkedIn

In this episode, I speak with Terri Moloney, Chartered Director, about leading & advising in complex environments. Terri is a seasoned business leader with over 3 decades of international experience across private and public sectors, currently serving as an Independent Non-Executive Director at RTÉ and Enterprise Ireland. Hear how important values are to an organisation, what good HR really looks like, what leaders need to be focusing on in a period of transformation, how to step into a board position, and what leaders can improve on today.
Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn. To learn more about Terri’s work, connect with her on LinkedIn

In this episode, I speak with Rob Wood, Portfolio Investor and Founder of the Rob Wood Enterprising Futures Academy, about entrepreneurship, scale, reinvention and widening access to enterprise. Rob founded STEM Healthcare in 2007, scaling it internationally before its acquisition by UDG Healthcare. Today, he is an active portfolio investor, working with technology-enabled pharma services and AI-driven healthcare businesses, including AdvanceAI. Through the Rob Wood Enterprising Futures Academy, created in partnership with Newcastle University in the UK, he is also helping young people build the confidence, tools and support to succeed in life and business.
Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn. To learn more about Rob’s work, visit the Rob Wood Enterprising Futures Academy or connect with him on LinkedIn

In this episode, I speak with Deirdre Garvey, Secretary General of the Irish Red Cross, about courage, compassion, and resilience in leadership. Deirdre leads the staff team, supports the Board, and works alongside thousands of volunteers in an organisation dedicated to saving lives, alleviating suffering, and helping communities respond to emergencies and disasters. With senior leadership experience in the charity and nonprofit sector since 1995, Deirdre shares her reflections on taking risks, transitioning well between leadership roles, managing the deep emotion and purpose that characterise humanitarian work, and caring for yourself while caring for others. We also explore what people-centred leadership means in a world increasingly shaped by AI.
Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Deirdre at RedCross.ie and on LinkedIn

Sylvia Cronin is a highly experienced Chairperson and Independent Non-Executive Director (INED) with an exceptional leadership career spanning financial services, insurance, governance, and regulation. She also currently holds a number of major board roles, including Chairperson of Mercer Global Investments Europe and AIB Life, and Senior Independent Director of FBD Insurance and Canada Life. Hear her advice for board members of tech companies, how a board role differs from an executive leadership role, how to prepare leaders to lead through crises, whether organizations are maximizing their use of AI, and where we’re at in terms of diversity of thought at the board level. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Sylvia on LinkedIn

John Broderick, MSc is a Senior Psychologist with considerable experience in assessment, training, and coaching in emotional intelligence assessment, leadership development, and psychometrics. He is a qualified trainer in a range of psychometric tools, the Emotional Capital Report (ECR) and ECR 360, the MMPI-2, and NEO Personality Inventory. He is a Founding Director of RocheMartin Ltd, a leadership development company. Hear how women & men often differ when it comes to emotional intelligence (EQ), how emotional intelligence can be developed, what emotional intelligence can add for leaders, the best way to measure your EQ, and how we should be thinking about AI from a leadership standpoint. Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and John at RocheMartin.com and on LinkedIn