Ed Bastian: The Grey Matter That Redefined an Industry
Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, embodies a rare kind of leadership—the ability to balance empathy with a deep sense of conviction when the stakes couldn’t be higher. In 2005, he stood alone in bankruptcy court when 180 airlines had filed before him and only a few survived.At the height of COVID, with Delta’s business literally grounded globally, he refused to furlough a single employee. He blocked middle seats for over a year because protecting his people mattered more than the economics.Under his leadership, Delta is now the most admired airline in the world. As Ed said himself, it's not just a byproduct of their planes or technology, it's because of a culture obsessed with taking care of its employees, knowing they'll take care of their customers.This conversation is about what happens when leaders trust something deeper than data or convention and how the hardest moments don’t build character, they reveal it. In this episode, you'll hear and see Ed address:• How growing up as one of nine kids in upstate New York and spending two years driving his younger brother to chemotherapy taught him that leadership is about service, not position.• Why he left Delta six months before filing for bankruptcy and what it took for him to come back and lead the restructuring on his own terms.• The moment his chairman told him during COVID that character isn't formed in the crucible but revealed by it, and how that truth guided the decisions that would shape Delta’s future.• The decision during COVID to refuse furloughs and block middle seats for over a year and why protecting his people mattered more than the potential business impact.
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Larry Culp: The Grey Matter Behind One of the Greatest Turnarounds in Modern History
Larry Culp is one of the most private and respected CEOs in the world. Over seven years, he orchestrated what many call the greatest turnaround in modern business, rescuing GE from $140 billion in debt and splitting it into three independent world-class companies—GE Aerospace, GE HealthCare, and GE Vernova. In this rare conversation, Larry reveals how he did it: by slowing the game down, embedding a culture of continuous improvement, and choosing ruthless focus over comfortable synergy.In this episode, you’ll hear Larry address:How growing up in his grandfather's welding shop and learning "you either get better or worse, but you don’t stay the same," on the basketball court defined his approach to leadership.The early months at GE, when every decision carried existential weight, and why his first move was to slow the game down and focus on operational control.How the discipline of Kaizen — continuous improvement — became the foundation for GE's transformation.His conviction that focus creates strength, and how splitting GE into three independent companies, GE Aerospace, GE HealthCare, and GE Vernova, created three world-class leaders.
About Grey Matter with Declan Kelly: Inside the Minds of the People Who Move the World
Grey Matter is a groundbreaking podcast and broadcast series that takes you inside the minds of the people who move the world. Hosted by Declan Kelly, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Consello, each episode features rare conversations with the most accomplished and influential CEOs, professional athletes, cultural icons, and other global leaders. Not the usual talk about profits and products, but how their minds work and the way they process, decide, and lead.It’s about the art of exceptional leadership that sits between instinct and intelligence—a space many rarely get to see.This is Grey Matter.About ConselloConsello is an Advisory and Investing Platform with offices in New York, Miami, Atlanta, Dublin, Belfast, London, Barcelona, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.Consello’s distinct advisory practices provide the complete strategic counsel today’s leaders need to grow and transform their organizations. Consello’s advisory expertise spans Corporate Advisory; M&A; Management Consulting; Talent; and Sports and Entertainment. Dedicated teams operate in each practice, led by a leadership group with deep operational experience across industries, business growth stages and market cycles and with an expansive set of global corporate relationships.Consello’s investment business, Consello Capital, identifies high-potential mid-market companies and invests capital and expertise to transform their growth.
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