Beyond the Case
A podcast where global leaders from the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management (OPM) community join in a personal capacity and share the real decisions, failures, and mental models behind building enduring companies.
This podcast is independent and not affiliated with Harvard Business School.
Episodes
101 episodes
Life After the Exit: Choosing What Comes Next - Paweł Sieczkiewicz
Paweł’s journey leaves us reflecting on what we are building alongside our ambitions. As he prepares to step away from the company he built, his life already contains learning, friendships, curiosity, and opportunities to contribute. There is a...
Facing Cancer, Rethinking Success - Dr. Anna Lautenschlaeger
Dr. Anna Lautenschlaeger reflects on building a life whose value extends beyond business success. From a childhood in Germany where travel was out of reach to living in 17 countries, the serial entrepreneur, economics PhD and OPM 69 participant...
17 Mistakes, a $475 Million Exit and What Matters in Life - John Osher
John Osher, the creator of SpinBrush, turned decades of experience into a list of 16 mistakes entrepreneurs don’t have to make. In this conversation, he shares the life behind those lessons, from driving taxis and working as a plumber and carpe...
The Humility to Ask, the Discipline to Act - Pedro Barboglio
When a fire devastated his family’s manufacturing facility, Pedro Barboglio’s first move was to call people who had survived the same crisis. Their experience helped him organise the response and restore production in roughly four weeks, a less...
From Cleaner Air to First Homes: 30 Years of Purpose - Tenoch Ochoa
After 30 years in vehicle emissions testing and a business exit in financial services, Tenoch Ochoa is starting again, building a lending venture in California focused on helping Latino families purchase their first homes. He explores what it t...
Prepare Today for Tomorrow’s Exit: Tax Planning and Succession - Vikas Garg
Vikas Garg built VG CPA PC from a basement practice in 2005 into a firm with offices in Virginia, Washington, DC, and New York. A chartered accountant, CPA and HBS OPM participant, he shares how becoming an entrepreneur changed his under...
The Quiet Influence of Spouses on a Family’s Legacy - Hassan Sheikh
Hassan Sheikh, a director at CCL Holding and Harvard Business School OPM 67 participant, lost his father at 21 but never doubted that his cousins would protect his place in the family business. That confidence came from years of shared meals, m...
Personal Guarantees, Family Wealth, and Knowing When to Sell | Henry Maksoud Neto
Henry Maksoud Neto took responsibility for his family’s Brazilian business facing roughly $250 million in debt, 600 employees, and a disputed succession. He shares the personal cost of trying to preserve a family enterprise, how e...
From $2,000 to 2,000 Employees, and a Bigger Purpose - Rajendra Bagwe
Harvard Business School OPM alumnus Rajendra Bagwe co-founded Reliable Autotech in 1984 with just $2,000, helping build an enginee...
From Poker to Entrepreneurship: Making Decisions Without All the Cards - Matt Widdoes
Matt Widdoes’s journey from entrepreneurial parents and professional poker to leading growth teams and founding MAVAN reveals a consistent approach: pursue learning, build trusted relationships, and make tho...
From Father-Son Partnership to a Tata Acquisition - Prashant Kandoi
This conversation with Prashant Kandoi is largely about family business, entrepreneurship, succession, values, and learning through experience.Prashant grew up watching his father build an electrical business from the ground up af...
The Power of Pattern Recognition - Richard Chen
In our living group, Richard was often seen as the wise one, the person we looked to for a thoughtful, well-researched view of a case. His reflections in this conversation reveal why: he has learned to turn experience into a personal philosophy...
Becoming Who the Journey Requires - Jay Shah
Jay Shah’s journey reflects the power of combining deep expertise with curiosity, resilience and an openness to change. Influenced by his father’s commitment to excellence, Jay built a career at the intersection of architecture and technology, ...
The Early Lesson That Made Me Rethink Wealth, Success, and Happiness - Pedro Thompson
Pedro Thompson's life philosophy was shaped long before he became a CEO, investor, or entrepreneur. Growing up in a family that had once been wealthy but lost everything taught him an early lesson that external success is fragile, while charact...
Building With Family: Our Greatest Competitive Advantage - Minh Wilson
At first glance, Minh Wilson's story is about martial arts. In reality, it's about family.The daughter of Vietnamese refugees, Minh grew up watching her parents sacrifice everything to create a better future for their children. When a ma...
From One Idea on a Napkin to South America's Largest Independent Research Firm: An Insight Into the Mind of Dato Netto
Dato's journey began at age 14 when he took a job at a parking lot and learned accounting simply because he wanted to understand how profits were calculated. From there, he built a successful career in finance, M&A, and investment managemen...
What Happened When I Finally Bet on Myself - Sumit Sood
For 15 years, Sumit Sood built a successful career in global software sales, leading markets across the Middle East and India. By most standards, he had stability, a strong income, and a clear career path ahead of him.But at age 40, he m...
From Rap Battles to Boardrooms: The Road to 2 Grammys and 15 Investments - Djo Moupondo
Djo Moupondo shares his journey from rapper to entrepreneur, investor, and business builder across multiple continents. Starting in the music industry, Djo learned early lessons about creativity, conviction, and spotting talent, skills that wou...
Don't Fall in Love With the Trade - David Halabu
David Halabu's career has been defined by disciplined reinvention. Starting as a trader, he learned to make decisions under pressure, manage risk, and separate emotion from outcomes. After recognizing that the post-financial-crisis environment ...
From Water Phobia to Kazakhstan's National Water Polo Team - Kaiyr Kochshigulov
Kaiyr Kochshigulov shares an inspiring story of transformation, resilience, and leadership. Unable to swim until the age of 10 due to a fear of water, Kaiyr challenged himself to learn, discovered water polo, and eventually represented Kazakhst...
What Do You Leave Behind Besides Money? - Koby Jones
This conversation is ultimately about the tension between achievement and alignment.Koby’s story begins as a classic success arc: high performer in global financial markets, top-ranked derivatives professional, climbing the corpor...
From Risk-Averse Lawyer to Entrepreneur - Lewis Ho
Lewis Ho’s journey is a story of reinvention, from a 25-year legal career built on risk management to entrepreneurship, robotics, and AI. Trained as a lawyer and eventually becoming partner at major firms, Lewis spent decades advising li...
Designing an Intentional Life - Lauren Cohen
A special thank you to Professor Lauren Cohen for taking the time to join me on Beyond the Case and for continuing to inspire so many of us through the
