🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris
Workforce Innovation and Equity with Cynthia Hansen
Episode 2
In this episode, Chris sits down with Cynthia Hansen - Managing Director of the Innovation Foundation empowered by the Adecco Group, and a change-maker in global workforce inclusion. Together, they explore Cynthia's journey from her first job at a veterinary office to teaching in Japan, leading initiatives at the World Economic Forum, and now steering a foundation that pushes the boundaries of corporate philanthropy.
Along the way, Cynthia shares how her personal story - from growing up in a multicultural family on the U.S.A. West Coast to raising trilingual children in Switzerland has shaped her vision for a more inclusive and opportunity-rich future. She reflects on the art of balancing professional ambition with personal fulfillment, the power of small actions, and why embracing both grit and humanity is essential for leadership.
This is a thoughtful and inspiring conversation about purpose, agency, and crafting a legacy that truly matters in a complex, interconnected world.
📍 The ingredients:
00:30 Welcome and favorite drink
02:23 Early career beginnings: veterinary office to convalescent hospital
06:16 Leading the Innovation Foundation and redefining corporate philanthropy
10:58 Family transitions, trilingual kids, and life in Switzerland
12:24 Career pivots: from aspiring vet to professor to global leader
16:19 International experiences and lessons from Japan
18:12 Designing with, not for communities
22:02 Conversations with her kids on stereotypes and identity
22:56 Hopes for future generations and climate-conscious living
23:45 Making high-stakes choices as a CEO
26:27 What inspires change and what keeps her going
27:30 Books that leave a mark: from India to leprosy to social change
30:22 Technology, AI, and the "serendipity engine"
34:30 Looking ahead to 2050: challenges, hope, and self-correcting systems
37:04 Balancing life, leadership, and letting go of what doesn't matter
41:58 Lessons learned and staying true to a personal North Star
🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Cosmopolitan
🎧 A thought to leave you with:
How do we create systems that unlock human agency?
Episode Resources:
Connect with Choosing to Matter
Instagram : @choosingtomatter
LinkedIn : @choosingtomatter
Credits:
Host: Chris Luebkeman
Executive Producer: Jonelle Simunich
Guest Relations: Taline Frantz
Editors: Viktoria Bacheva and Asmita Mehta
Sound Designer: Taline Frantz
Design and Manager: Kinny Tran-Marazza
Graphic Designer: Nazaré Sarabúa
Recorded with our partners at the Schweizerhof Hotel Zürich
Presented by: [Y]our 2040
Website: your2040.com/podcast
Subscribe & Listen: Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
