Grey Matter with Declan Kelly: Inside the Minds of the People Who Move the World

For nearly 140 years, The Coca-Cola Company has grown by building one of the most enduring and recognizable brand systems in the world, expanding across markets and categories while maintaining a level of global consistency. That scale and reach became a defining strength, but it also required a new approach as consumer behavior, technology, and expectations evolved.When James Quincey became Chairman and CEO, he approached that moment with a mindset shaped by engineering and operational discipline. Rather than relying solely on precedent, he focused on how complex systems perform under changing conditions.Under his leadership, The Coca-Cola Company expanded its portfolio, evolving into a total beverage company while modernizing its operating model. The intent was not to diminish the brand’s legacy, but to protect it by ensuring the system around it remained fit for the future.In this episode of Grey Matter, Quincey sits down with Consello Founder, Chairman and CEO Declan Kelly to discuss what it takes to lead an iconic institution through change, balancing preservation with progress.In this conversation, Quincey discusses:•How an engineering background informed his approach to leadership and decision-making•Why simplifying parts of the organization became a way to strengthen focus •Streamlining the portfolio while innovating for the future•How leaders act decisively without waiting for perfect information•Why “everything communicates” inside an organization, from dress code  to operating decisions•The responsibility of protecting the core of an iconic brand while still innovating offerings

Jimmy Dunne is often described as a legendary figure in the finance and sporting world. But he'd describe himself more simply—as someone who shows up, relentlessly, for the people who stood by him and the moments that define what matters.For over a decade, he built Sandler O'Neill into one of Wall Street's most respected investment banks. On September 11th, 2001, the firm lost 66 colleagues, nearly one-third of the company, when the South Tower collapsed.He attended every funeral. Committed to paying for every child's college education. And rebuilt the firm from the ground up, refusing to let terrorism win or fear change how he lived. That same resolve and grit have defined everything Jimmy does, from rebuilding his firm to fighting for the future of the game of golf while the world was watching. He does not see any of this as heroic. To him, it's about gratitude, loyalty, and the obligation to do right by the people who believed in you back when nobody was watching at all.In this episode, you'll hear and see Jimmy talk about:· Growing up in a working-class Irish family where his parents taught him to look people in the eye—never up, never down ·  What he learned caddying at 11 years old (lying about his age to get the job) that shaped how he leads today · The concept of "refined desperation"—leadership with intensity but without toxicity · The obligation he felt to his 66 colleagues lost on 9/11 and why rebuilding the firm became about something much bigger than business· His role in one of golf’s most challenging moments and how he fought fiercely to protect the game’s integrity and future· How he embraced pressure at a young age and still does to this day, and how and why it matters in the world of business, and in life. 

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. 

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.