Centaur Stage
Episodes
How AI is Redefining the Future of Workforce Learning with Russell John Cailey
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with Russell John Cailey, CEO and Founder of Elham Studio and Almach AI, and Tala Odeh, Capability Development Lead at Cosmic Centaurs....
Understanding Neuroinclusion in the Workplace with Dr. Molly Taylore
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Workplaces are at their best when every individual’s strengths are recognized and supported. Together, Dr Molly Taylor & Tala Odeh will explore ...
Conference Closing Is the System the Strategy?
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After seven weeks of exploring systems thinking through the lens of leadership, culture, and transformation, the 2025 Cosmic Conference comes full cir...
Building Systems to Bring Culture to Life with Tala Odeh & Marilyn Zakhour
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Culture isn’t the soft stuff, it’s the system that makes everything else work.In this lively conversation, Marilyn Zakhour and Tala Ode from Cosmi...
Building Systems to Reclaim Your Time with Dhiren Bhatia
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Time is the one system every leader struggles to manage — and the one that reveals how well all the others work.In this energizing conversation, Dir...
Building Systems to Transform at Scale with Ibraheem Sheerah
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to lead transformation across one of the region’s most complex organizations, and make it human?In this powerful conversation, Ibr...
Building Systems to Transform Large Companies with Breeze Dong
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you nudge a 13,000-person organization to move from managing change to creating the conditions for change?In this conversation, Chun Feng “Br...
Building Systems to Balance Parenthood & Work
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Parenthood is one of the most complex systems we’ll ever navigate — and for working parents, it often runs in parallel with another: work.In this ...
Weaving the Human into the System (& Vice Versa) with Dr. José-Rodrigo Córdoba-Pachón
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to bring humanity back into our systems, and to see ourselves as part of them?In this conversation, Dr. José-Rodrigo Córdoba-Pachó...
Building Systems to Innovate with Wissam Adib
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Innovation rarely fails because of a lack of ideas. It fails because the systems around it are built for compliance, not experimentation.In this episo...
The Heart of Systems with Rawan Albina
10 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In leadership, we often focus on strategies, frameworks, and structures. But what keeps systems alive are the people within them — their purpose, pr...
Building Systems to PERFORM with Stoyan Yankov
10 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most leaders want high performance. Few know how to sustain it. In this energizing session, Stoyan Yankov, productivity & performance consultant, ...
🎧 Building Systems to Deepen Impact with Daniel Delati & Mazuba Haanyama
10 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Metrics can tell you if you’re moving, but not whether you’re moving in the right direction. In this conversation, Daniel Delati, Managing Partner...
Understanding the Systems Thinking Toolbox with Drs Derek & Laura Cabrera
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if you could train your brain to think more effectively, to see connections, anticipate ripple effects, and redesign the systems you operate in?I...
Building Systems to Scale Psychological Safety with Sander Hoeken & Marilyn Zakhour
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We often think of psychological safety as something created within teams — but what about the systems, structures, and incentives that surround them...
🎧 Breaking the System: Leading in the Age of AI with Imad Lahad
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI is not just another wave of technological change, it’s reshaping the very systems that govern how we work, lead, and create value. In this episod...
Understanding Systems Change with Darren Yeh
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this session from the 2025 Cosmic Conference, Marilyn Zakhour is joined by Darren Yeh, Managing Director at Omplexity Consulting, a systems change ...
Leading Through Systems: The 2025 Cosmic Conference Opening Keynote
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’re kicking off the 2025 Cosmic Conference with an opening keynote you won’t want to miss.In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour, CEO & Founder of...
Psychological Safety: The Superpower of High-Performing Teams
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the key to unlocking bold ideas, honest feedback, and high performance wasn’t talent or experience—but psychological safety?In this specia...
The Surprising Power of Rituals - Learnings from our HBR Article
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the key to more engaged employees isn’t a new incentive program, but something much more human?In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour and Dr. Cons...
Mastering the Limitations of Polarities
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the closing session of The Cosmic Conference, Marilyn Zakhour is joined by Jose Santos, Affiliated Professor of Practice in Global Management at IN...
Mastering Polarities in Organizations
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Cosmic Conference series, Marilyn Zakhour unpacks how organizations can thrive by mastering the inherent polarities that define...
Mastering Sustainable Performance
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for a keynote with #Burnout Research & Coach Matt Bartlett-Bond MSc GMBPsS who shares his insights and research about burnout with CEO &am...
Mastering the Mythic & the Mundane
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for a keynote and discussion with Executive Coach and Partner at Cultivating Leadership Gayle Karen Young Whyte as she explores the essential ...
Mastering Change in Uncertainty
05 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our guests Ayoub Semaan and Janine Weber-el Meouchy offer a new approach to leading organizational change in today's complex and unpredictable wo...
Mastering Dualities in Leadership
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Marilyn Zakhour for the opening keynote of the 2024 #CosmicConference, as she explores how exceptional leaders navigate the complexities of today...
Mobile Giant to Nostalgic Memory: The Decline of Nokia’s Digital Dynasty
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we delve into Nokia's incredible rise and dramatic fall. Once a global leader with 40% of the market share, Nokia connected 1.5 ...
Navigating the Tides of Change: Taking the Film out of Fujifilm
25 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 7 of Centaur Stage Season 3, "Taking the Film Out of Fujifilm," host Marilyn Zakhour delves into the captivating story of Fujifil...
Prioritizing well being at work with Sandra Saleme
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sandra Salame is the founder of Siira, a mental wellbeing platform that provides emotional support through harnessing the power of communities to over...
Leading through Time with Prof Jose Santos
10 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jose Santos joined us for the 4th year in a row for our closing session to talk about the role that time plays in leading organizations that deliver i...
Leading Organizations through Restructuring
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tandem’s Rabih Brair and Alexander Damouni spoke at the 2023 #CosmicConference on Wednesday, November 8 to share insights on how leaders can navigat...
Leading the Reskilling Revolution
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of our dearest members of the #CosmicCommunity, Dr. Christiane Mueck joined us for the 2023 #CosmicConference to discuss capability building, the ...
Leading in a Global Organization
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Soussane Chartouny is Senior director, EMEA/LATAM Field & Channel Marketing at Palo Alto Networks. She’s experienced in developing go to market ...
Leading Systemic Change
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joining us for this year’s 2023 hashtag#CosmicConference is M. Belen Settembri CPCC MCC (Master Certified Coach), Executive and Leadership Coach, an...
Leadership During Change: Adapting your leadership to the phases of change with Wissam Adib
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wissam Adib is an Executive Coach & Organizational Behavior Expert.He leverages a 25-year career leading large- and small-scale organizational tra...
Lead. Execute. Fund. Grow.
21 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
📣 SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT: Joining us for this year's 2023 #CosmicConference is Fahad ‘Abu PowerPoint’ Habib, Founder of Boost | Consulting R...
Leading the Long Term Game with Richard Fitzgerald
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Fitzgerald is CEO and Founder of Augustus Media, an award-winning modern media company in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, publishers of Lovin Dubai,...
Leading for Sustainable Growth with Patrick Flesner
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Patrick Flesner is a growth mindset leadership coach, mentor and advisor who has a unique and holistic perspective on leadership and business growth. ...
Leading the Strategy Process from Experimentation to Execution with Mihai Ionescu
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mihai Ionescu, Strategy Management technician, has spent the past 15 years developing the practice-tested definition of a Strategy cycle that connects...
Masters of Strategy Execution: The Coach's Perspective with Wissam Adib
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for a rerun of Wissam’s keynote about creating a high-trust executive team from the Opening Event of the 2023 #CosmicConference. Wissam A...
Masters of Strategy Execution: The Consultant's Perspective with Jean Abou Assi from PWC
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for a rerun of Jean Abou Assi's Fireside chat with Marilyn Zakhour during the Opening Event of the 2023 Cosmic Conference.Jean is a Partn...
Masters of Strategy Execution: The Managers' Perspective
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Learn how to become a master of strategy execution from leaders directly involved in doing this at various scales. You'll hear from Infosysta&apo...
Leading Organizations that Deliver - Virtual Keynote
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Marilyn Zakhour the CEO & Founder of Cosmic Centaurs, hosted a Linkedin Live at the #CosmicConference on Tuesday, October 10, at 1PM Dubai time (G...
Revolution and Reckoning: The Rise and Fall of Carlos Ghosn at Nissan
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Witness the transformation of a struggling giant, the formation of the Renault-Nissan alliance, and the consequences of unchecked power. Join us for ...
Bootstrap to Brilliance: Atlassian's Unusual Journey to Scale
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How did 2 college grads bootstrap a company with only $10,000, and without any VC money, which would later become one the biggest tech companies in th...
From Maverick to Mishap: Southwest's rise & fall
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How did America’s most popular airline, Southwest Airlines, cancel 16,700 flights over the 2022 Christmas period, leading to a 820 million dollar lo...
When Innovation Goes Wrong: Kodak's Untold Digital Camera Story
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1975, Kodak engineer Steven Sasson unveiled the world's first digital camera—a momentous leap forward for the industry. How did Kodak end up...
"Discovering" your Strategy: Lessons from IKEA's founding story
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the Swedish province of Småland where the founder of IKEA Ingvar lived, the stony land produced poor crops. Farming wasn’t enough to survive. Pe...
Mastering the Turnaround: How Best Buy Stood the Test of Time
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How did Best Buy have its shares go from being worth $11 to $110 in 8 years - knowing those were the 8 years that witnessed Amazon’s peak?Listen to ...
Pits & Peaks from the 2022 Cosmic Conference all about the Employee Experience
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
💫Up for a round of Pits & Peaks?It’s a ritual we do after events, projects and at the end of each month. We come together to share the incred...
(re)Leveraging Systems Thinking for Engagement at Scale with Breeze Dong
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Breeze Dong, Transformation & Enterprise Agile Coach @Roche, joined us at the #CosmicConference on Friday, October 21st, at 4 PM (GMT +4). Breeze ...
(re)Thinking your Identity at Work with Jonathan Yeo
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Yeo, Founder at the Potential Space, joined us at the 2022 #CosmicConference to talk about identity in the workplace. In this interactive se...
(re)Building the Firm as an Establishment with Jose Santos
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jose Santos, Affiliated Professor of Practice in Global Management @ INSEAD, joined us at the #CosmicConference on Wednesday, October 19, at 1 PM (GMT...
(re)Kindling Connections at Work with Connie Hadley
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Connie Hadley, Founder of Institute for Life at Work, joined Marilyn on Tuesday, October 18, at 6 PM (GMT +4) for the #CosmicConference to discuss r...
(re)Visiting Assumptions about the Workplace with Agustin Chevez
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Agustin Chevez, an Architect and Academic, walked in isolation for 42 days from Melbourne to Sydney expecting to incubate a unique idea about work...
(re)Implementing Flexibility at Scale with Claudius Boller from Spotify
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Claudius Boller Managing Director Middle East, North Africa, South Asia excluding India at Spotify joined us for the #CosmicConference on Thursday, Oc...
(re)Thinking the Role of the Intranet with Adam Booth & Jennifer Dunsford
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jennifer Dunsford, Employee Engagement Consultant at Crayon, and Adam Booth, Group Managing Director at Omnia, joined us for a session of the 2022 #Co...
(re)connecting distributed teams with in-person off-sites with Chase Warrington
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Chase Warrington Head of Remote Doist joined us on Wednesday, October 12, at 12 PM (GMt +4) for the #CosmicConference.He discussed the impact of in-pe...
(re)strategizing leadership with Dr. Susan Vroman
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Susan R. Vroman, Lecturer of Management at Bentley University, joined us to share her insights on how leaders can provide opportunities for employ...
(re)shaping the EX through imprintable moments with Gillian French
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gillian French Expert in Residence - Employee Experience at Workvivo joined us on Monday, October 10, at 5 PM (GMT +4) for the #CosmicConference to te...
(re)prioritizing Well-being at Work with Scott Armstrong
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Armstrong Founder at mentl joined us on Monday, October 10, at 1 PM (GMT +4) at the #CosmicConference to talk about #MentalHealth at work!Scott ...
(re)Engaging your Organization with Purpose &Intention with Tony Jamous from Oyster HR
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Jamous, CEO at Oyster® joined us on Friday, October 7 at 4:30 PM (GMT +4) at the #CosmicConference toexplore how remote companies can make the #...
(re)Thinking the Office with Imad Lahad, Managing Director, Dubai Operation @ APCO Worldwide
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Imad Lahad, Managing Director, Dubai Operation @ APCO Worldwide., tells us all about our approach to (re)designing APCO’s Dubai offices.
(re)thinking work with Laurel Farrer, International Remote Work Expert
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Laurel Farrer, International Remote Work Expert, joins us at the #CosmicConference to discuss how to become remote first!
(re)Establishing your Purpose, Culture & Values with Tariq Saiduddine, COO @Zension Technologies Inc
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tariq Saiduddin, Chief Technology Officer @ Zension Technologies Inc., joined us for the #CosmicConference opening event to share his thoughts on enga...
(re)Thinking Work: The Unshackling of Work from Place with John Preece
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
John Preece Chief Property Officer at Hub Australia, will be joining us on Wednesday, October 5th at 12PM (GMT +4) at the #CosmicConference to talk ab...
(re)Designing the Employee Experience: The 2022 Cosmic Conference Keynote with Marilyn Zakhour
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We believe in creating holistic, integrated experiences for teams and individuals to contribute their best work.In the words of CX specialist and auth...
Flexible work models in action with Damian Brown
03 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this discussion, Marilyn and Damian discuss how Chalhoub Group shifted to integrating flexible work best practices into their work model and what D...
The Future of the Office with Hamza Khan
26 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Marilyn and Letswork Co-Founder discuss how his at Letswork have adapted to the recent changes and how he believes it will shape the ...
Scaling a startup in the post-pandemic world with Rami Kahale
19 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Centaur Stage, Marilyn and Rami Khale, the CEO of Joi Gifts discuss his experience running and scaling an e-commerce business, how ...
What Agile can teach us about running remote teams with Andrew Blain
12 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Centaur Stage, Marilyn and Andrew Blain discuss how he developed a framework based on the interconnection between agile and remote ...
Can you shatter glass ceilings while working from home? With Rhea Chedid
05 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode was a special one because it was a crossover between the Who Run The World Podcast and Centaur Stage. This past year has turned the way w...
Ability Not Age with Adam El Rafey
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Marilyn and the remarkable 10-year-old Adam El Rafey speak about the future of learning and why he believes in #AbilityNotAge. Listen...
Teaching entrepreneurship to children with Helen Al Uzaizi
22 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Helen Al Uzaizi shares why she believes in teaching youth about entrepreneurship and how we can integrate it into school curriculums or after-school p...
Data-driven Organizational Design & Decision-making with Phanish Puranam
15 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour and Phanish Puranam discuss using the power of data and algorithms to design better organizations. The problem of div...
Why Broad Knowledge Wins in a Specialized World with James Piecowye
09 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Centaur Stage, Marilyn and James Piecowye discuss why broad knowledge wins in a specialized world. In this compelling conversation,...
Discussion with Nitesh Batra: Mindful Leadership
02 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Marilyn discussed mindful leadership with Nitesh Batra, a Mindfulness Teacher, Host of The Mindful Initiative Podcast, and a Certifie...
Debate with Rama Chakaki: Remote Work & Refugee Talent
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Centaur Stage, Marilyn and Rama Chakaki debate whether remote work creates more or less opportunity for refugee talent. The compell...
Agile Teaching with Jose Santos
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The fourth episode of #CentaurStage features INSEAD's Affiliated Professor of Practice in Global Management Jose Santos. In this discussion, Mari...
The Art of Virtual Facilitation with Myriam Hadnes
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The third episode of Centaur Stage with Dr. Myriam Hadnes explores the art of virtual facilitation, how to make workshops work and the recent Never Be...
Debate: Are Remote Teams Better?
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this second edition of the Cosmic Conference's closing panel, we debated the topic of remote teams and the importance of the “workplace”...
Managing Diversity in Distributed Teams
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Diversity in the workplace has been hyped up a lot in the last few years. Various studies have shown that diverse teams and companies, ethnically and ...
The Impact of Workspaces on Collaboration
07 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, during the ‘Future of Work Conference’, we hosted a panel titled, ‘Is the office dead?’ We were curious if it was time for the offi...
Internal Communications in Distributed Organizations
07 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Internal Communications has long been an important function in organizations, but it is often overlooked. The pandemic, however, has made keeping empl...
What we can learn from (E) sports Teams
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sports and (e) sports teams remind us that success is driven by collaboration. These teams are great to study and learn more about leadership, perform...
Keynote: Unpacking the Challenges of Hybrid Work with Mark Mortensen
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the opening keynote of the second edition of the Cosmic Conference all about the Future of Teams Mark Mortensen Professor and Former Area Chair o...
LinkedIn's Ziad Rahhal on Leadership, Empathy, and Customer-Centricity
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The second episode of CentaurStage with Ziad Rahhal explores what it means to lead in today’s world, how his approach to leadership has evolved, and...
Debate with Iulia Istrate: Is Corporate Culture Dead in Remote Work Settings?
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Iulia Istrate joins Cosmic Centaurs CEO & Founder Marilyn Zakhour for the inaugural episode of Centaur Stage, a new weekly show exploring bold ide...
Centaur Stage Trailer
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Centaur Stage is a podcast by Cosmic Centaurs exploring bold ideas about the future of work and learning. In each episode, podcast host, CEO & Fou...