Nobody tells you the truth about what it takes to lead. ExExecs is three former CEOs from banking, education and private enterprise, with careers spanning nine countries and over 80 years of leadership between them, having the candid conversations they never had access to on the way up. Mistakes, turning points, loneliness at the top and the lessons that actually matter. Built for ambitious professionals who want to climb smarter, lead better and avoid the traps that derail good people.
ExExecs Podcast
Claim This Podcastby John Newton
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6 episodes
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Podcast Overview
Nobody tells you the truth about what it takes to lead. ExExecs is three former CEOs from banking, education and private enterprise, with careers spanning nine countries and over 80 years of leadership between them, having the candid conversations they never had access to on the way up. Mistakes, turning points, loneliness at the top and the lessons that actually matter. Built for ambitious professionals who want to climb smarter, lead better and avoid the traps that derail good people.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
2/12/2026
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Recent Episodes
June 4, 2026
Leading Through Disruption
<p>Disruption has stopped being the exception and become the job. Three former chief executives on how to lead through it.</p> <p>John Newton, Tarek Anwar and Robin are the ExExecs - three former executives from banking and education who talk honestly about what leadership actually demands. No guest this episode, just the three of them on the topic every exec is living right now.</p> <p>It's Monday morning. Tariffs, conflict in the Middle East and AI are all landing at once, and you're the one people look to. This episode is a practical answer to "what do I do?" - how to gather your team and run a fast, honest crisis session, why trust decides whether anyone tells you the truth, and how to treat AI as a chance to remodel your team rather than a threat to survive. It is full of real stories, including a few that did not go to plan.</p> <p>Key takeaways:</p> <ul> <li>Run the reverse-brainstorm: give the team five minutes to say how they would destroy the business, then flip every answer into a fix.</li> <li>Disruption is the new business as usual - practise for it with ten provocative minutes at the end of an ordinary meeting.</li> <li>Anticipate risk early and act on it, the way a good school leader prepared for the VAT change years before it arrived.</li> <li>Lead from the front: take the pay cut, fly economy, walk the floor, be present.</li> <li>Do AI with your people, not to them - automate the humdrum, hire for critical thinking, become ambidextrous.</li> </ul><br/> <p>Chapters:<br> (00:00) Introduction<br> (00:26) The disruption leaders face now<br> (01:08) Cost of living and firefighting<br> (03:02) Comfortable being uncomfortable<br> (04:23) Monday morning: gather the team<br> (05:37) Destroy your own business<br> (09:14) The school VAT risk lesson<br> (11:43) The shark in the marina<br> (13:37) Trust and psychological safety<br> (14:31) Ownership, notes and brunch<br> (16:30) Missing the obvious<br> (17:53) A fleet-footed culture<br> (19:15) The fishmonger who pivoted<br> (20:31) Protecting your staff<br> (23:56) A COVID pay cut<br> (25:40) Lead from the front<br> (28:52) The AI challenge<br> (30:06) Remodel the team<br> (33:17) The ambidextrous company<br> (34:24) Words matter: the CEO megaphone<br> (36:06) Wrap-up</p> <p>Mentioned: the previous ExExecs episode, Crisis Management with Hania, who led HSBC in Cairo through the Arab Spring. Search "ExExecs" on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to hear it.</p> <p>If this was useful, follow ExExecs and send us a question or a topic you would like us to take on. We read everything: <a href="mailto:3exExecs@gmail.com">3exExecs@gmail.com</a></p> <p>Hosts: John Newton, Tarek Anwar and Robin.</p>
May 7, 2026
Crisis Management with Hania
<p>On 28 January 2011, Hania was COO of HSBC Egypt. She woke up to find her country had no internet and no mobile phones. Every number on her crisis-team list was unreachable. So she picked up an old phone book.</p><p>For Episode 5, John, Tarek and Robin are joined by Hania for the inside story of running a bank through the Arab Spring and what came after. Robin knew the story from the regional COO seat in Dubai. This conversation has been twenty years in the making.</p><p><strong>What you'll hear:</strong></p><ul><li>The morning of 28 January 2011 - and the paper phonebook that saved the response</li><li>"Emotional stability" - what one senior member of staff said that changed how Hania led</li><li>Why the right person in a crisis is rarely the most senior person in the room</li><li>How to keep the CEO and the regulator informed without crushing the team doing the work</li><li>The queue outside head office that became the proudest moment of her career</li><li>The CEO who came back from abroad and didn't believe his team had handled it</li><li>"Don't waste a good crisis" - the post-event discipline that compounds across a career</li></ul><br/><p><strong>Chapters:</strong></p><p>00:00 Welcome and the three-host introduction</p><p> 01:11 Robin introduces Hania</p><p> 01:34 Hania on ten years as COO of HSBC Egypt</p><p> 02:25 Tarek's first question</p><p> 03:08 28 January 2011: no internet, no mobiles</p><p> 04:40 Stay calm. Systems fail.</p><p> 05:58 How do you stay calm when you're panicking?</p><p> 06:55 "Emotional stability"</p><p> 07:37 Choosing who is in the room</p><p> 08:00 Why Hania went to the number two</p><p> 09:33 The IT outage tension</p><p> 11:05 Visibility and being seen</p><p> 13:08 Priority communications</p><p> 13:50 Cash, queues, and the ATM withdrawal limit</p><p> 14:27 The queue she looked at with real pride</p><p> 14:59 The HSBC brand</p><p> 16:04 Call trees and earthquake-readiness</p><p> 17:24 Did creativity play a part?</p><p> 18:37 What you can prepare for</p><p> 20:44 Drills are too easy</p><p> 21:43 The Christmas Eve thought experiment</p><p> 23:34 Bromley + Croydon: the Bank of America story</p><p> 25:30 Working with the regulator</p><p> 27:28 Managing up: the CEO came back suspicious</p><p> 29:53 Seeing seismic risk early</p><p> 30:43 The cost of having no one in-region</p><p> 31:47 Recognising vs dispelling a crisis</p><p> 33:30 Don't waste a good crisis</p><p> 34:34 Crises that prolong, and team fatigue</p><p> 34:55 John's recap</p><p>If you lead anything that has to keep running when the lights go out, this is the one.</p><p>Get in touch: <a href="mailto:3exExecs@gmail.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">3exExecs@gmail.com</a></p>
April 2, 2026
The Art of Delegation
Three ex-executives tackle the one skill that separates leaders who scale from leaders who burn out: delegation. Trust, control, and why most leaders struggle to let go.
6 total episodes available
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This podcast updates daily.
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