Deep Purpose

Deep Purpose

A series of captivating conversations with Professor Ranjay Gulati and top global CEOs, describing how the pursuit of purpose guides them to achieve performance gains, social benefits, and personal bests. Each episode explores how a revolutionary “Deep Purpose” approach to business can deliver game-changing results for companies and society alike.
  • 23 May 2023
  • Deep Purpose

McKinsey's Climate Consulting

In this bonus Deep Purpose release, we are sharing an episode of the HBS podcast Climate Rising with host Professor Mike Toffel. In this episode, Daniel Pacthod, Senior Partner and global co-leader of McKinsey Sustainability, shares how the company works with its clients to address climate risk and find opportunities through its pillars of net-zero strategy, green business building, decarbonization transformation, net-zero financial institutions, and sustainable investing. He also offers advice for those interested in careers in business and climate change.
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Previous Episodes

Anand Mahindra: The Rise Philosophy at The Mahindra Group

  • 19 DEC 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
The core purpose of The Mahindra Group is to help people “rise.” Company leader Anand Mahindra says the “rise” philosophy guides how this sprawling enterprise makes money, motivates employees, and strives for a better world. Mahindra describes how “rise” is a beacon for the group’s 250,000 employees and makes life better for people across the globe.

DBS CEO Piyush Gupta Aims to Lead the Best Bank in the World

  • 12 DEC 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
Like many winning businesses, DBS (formerly known as The Development Bank of Singapore) is obsessed with the customer experience. CEO Piyush Gupta says DBS’ mission to be the best bank in the world pays huge dividends for employees, investors, and communities. He tells Professor Gulati that effective leadership in the digital age requires collaboration and trust. Gupta says performance and purpose go hand in hand, helping build companies that will last.

Why Brazil’s Nubank Founder David Vélez Plans to Give Away Billions

  • 05 DEC 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
David Vélez is a founder of the world’s biggest digital bank: Nubank in Brazil. Vélez tells Professor Ranjay Gulati that he started his remarkable business career as a boy – and with an unusual investment. Vélez describes how having a deep purpose helped his team defy the critics and build Nubank from scratch. Nubank’s core mission led it to outperform the competition. And deep purpose is prompting Vélez, a multi-billionaire, to give away his wealth in his lifetime.

Dilhan Pillay Leads Temasek Holdings’ Ongoing Purpose Journey

  • 28 NOV 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
Temasek Holdings is an investment firm owned by the Government of Singapore with a diverse, global portfolio. It owns energy companies and a major airline. It’s also committed to a green future, which generates unique challenges for the firm. CEO Dilhan Pillay says the Temasek’s ongoing “purpose journey” helps it meet those challenges, delivering real financial performance while navigating the tricky tides of current events.

How Higher Purpose Guides CEO Sim Tshabalala of Africa’s Standard Bank Group

  • 21 NOV 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
In South Africa, CEO Sim Tshabalala of Standard Bank Group worked his way up from the country’s largest Black township to lead one of Africa’s largest financial institutions. It might seem like an improbable trajectory: from the “dusty streets of Soweto” to the executive suite of a highly influential business. In this episode, Tshabalala explains how hewing to a deep purpose guides his bank to do the right thing for shareholders and society – and how purpose gives his own life a clear direction.

Arcos Dorados Founder Woods Staton: The Importance of Core Principles

  • 14 NOV 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
Arcos Dorados (Golden Arches in English) is the world’s largest independent McDonald’s franchisee. It has restaurants across Latin America and the Caribbean. Founder Woods Staton says purpose is a work in progress for his company. But having core principles helped Arcos Dorados keep the doors open – with minimal layoffs – during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this candid conversation, Staton describes his lifelong mission to prove that a highly successful business leader can also be socially responsible.

Mumzworld Founder Mona Ataya: Empowering Women in the Middle East

  • 07 NOV 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
Mumzworld is the largest online baby store in the Middle East. It was created by Mona Ataya, one of the most influential businesswomen in the region. Ataya is driven to empower women, motivate employees and benefit all of the company’s stakeholders. In this conversation, Ataya recounts the challenges of creating a women-led company in a socially conservative environment. She explains the critical importance of finding talent that aligns with your values to maximize a company’s social and financial performance.

How Mudassir Sheikha’s Rideshare Company Careem Became a Unicorn in the Middle East

  • 31 OCT 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
A near-death experience led Mudassir Sheikha and his business partner to a deep sense of purpose in creating the rideshare company Careem. They wanted to make an impact – and did so big-time. Sheikha says that purpose is Careem’s “superpower,” bringing energy, focus and exceptional financial success to the company. Doing business with a clear, core purpose helped Careem become a rare startup “unicorn” in the region.

Walgreens-Boots Alliance Leader Rosalind Brewer Inspires Joy through Better Heath

  • 24 OCT 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
As the CEO of Walgreens-Boots Alliance, Roz Brewer leads a large and diverse company in a challenging business sector that is critical to the well-being of society: health care. Having a Deep Purpose is essential, she says, because profits come from doing the right thing. In this candid conversation, Brewer reveals how her own family’s health concerns informed her leadership. She also describes the unique challenges she faces as a Black woman in charge of a Fortune 100 company.

Unilever CEO Alan Jope Maintains a Long History of Doing Good

  • 24 OCT 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
Alan Jope of Unilever leads a company with a historical commitment to doing good. This massive company sells more than 400 brands. It started back in 1885 with a bar of beauty soap. Jope says navigating with a deep purpose makes his company stronger and more profitable. The approach has not been without controversy. But Jope says it’s the both the right and smart thing to do.

Harvard Business School Professor Ranjay Gulati Introduces Deep Purpose Podcast

  • 29 SEP 2022 |
  • Deep Purpose
Deep Purpose is a series of captivating conversations with Harvard Business School Professor Ranjay Gulati and top global CEOs about how courageous leaders unlock potential, proving that vast performance gains–and vital social benefits–are the payoffs when firms get purpose right.