Top 10 business podcasts for CEOs

10: McKinsey Global Institute

Number of Episodes 15

Overview This brand-new podcast series Forward Thinking from the renowned McKinsey Global Institute features conversations with today’s thought leaders on expert ideas designed to help shape the future of business. Hosted by Michael Chui and Anna Bernasek, each episode features innovative thinkers and industry pioneers exploring he latest trends and ideas reshaping the global economy.

Recent episodes include an interview with Nobel prize-winning economist Sir Christopher Pissarides on job loss and creation post-pandemic and interviews about the the next big revolution (bio) and on mentorship and diversity. Each podcast is also transcribed, which you can download in PDF format.

Platforms Google Podcasts / Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher

09: TED Business

Number of episodes 33

Overview TED Talks are well-known via video, but there’s also a podcast series, TED Business, launched in October last year, with weekly episodes hosted by Modupe Akinola, Associate Professor of Management and Director at Columbia Business School. Akinola presents the most powerful and surprising ideas that illuminate the business world, covering topics that include everything from setting smart goals and undoing injustice at work, to landing that promotion and unlocking the next big innovation.

Post-talk, Akinola offers a mini-lesson on how to apply the ideas to your own life. From 10 minutes to over an hour, recent episodes include ‘How AI can help us be more human by tech investor Kai-Fu Lee, ‘The unexpected habits of original thinkers’ by organisational psychologist Adam Grant and ‘How to lead in a crisis’ by leadership researcher Amy C. Edmondson.

Platforms Apple / Spotify

08: The CEO Edge Podcast

Number of episodes 140

Overview Offering what it calls ‘fireside chats with inspiring CEOs and thought leaders”, the CEO Edge Podcast has been designed to “populate the world with inspiring leaders”. Host Dr Nancy MacKay picks the brains of successful CEOs and trusted advisors on relevant and compelling topics, from customer experience and leveraging data to executing strategy and developing top talent. Each episode is bite-sized, just 20-30 minutes each, with interviews dating back to 2017.

Platforms Apple Podcasts

07: From Scratch with Jessica Harris

Number of episodes 107

Overview Described as a “show about the entrepreneurial life”, host Jessica Harris, a New York entrepreneur herself, meets with leading pioneers from the business world, social sector, and the arts, and provides listeners with a candid, first-hand view of the startup process with guests often speaking frankly about their sources of inspiration, challenges, setbacks, allies and 'a-ha' moments.

Overview Guests cover all industries, from the media and hospitality to big tech, aviation and financial services, and include big names, with Harris having picked the brains of the founders of Twitter (Jack Dorsey), Virgin (Richard Branson), Infosys (Nandan Nilekani), LinkedIn (Reid Hoffman) and Netflix (Reed Hastings) as well as executives like the former CEO of CVC (Christine Whitman), the investor Jim Rogers, and the chairman of Wipro Azim Premji. Running since March 2011, there are 107 episodes to date with each lasting around half an hour, perfect for the morning jog.

Platforms Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Podbean

06: Masters of Scale

Number of episodes 181

Overview More than just business interviews, original podcast series Masters of Scale hosted by Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, is all about thinking boldly and differently about business and the world and explores and tests theories of scaling.

In each episode, Hoffman introduces a different theory on how successful businesses scale, and goes onto test and turn the validity of each theory via interviews with legendary business leaders about their path to scale with cameo appearances throughout from other leaders and voices. For example, one of the episodes features former President Barack Obama discussing ‘the right moment to act’ with a cameo appearance from the Black Eyed Peas.

This concept results in an original format that demonstrates just how companies can grow from zero to infinite and shows how big concepts and simple hacks can change everything. Other big minds Hoffman has picked include Mary Barra, CEO of GM, on the company’s pandemic pivot; executive chairman of The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger on how acquisitions become an ecosystem; and Melanie Perkins, CEO of Canva on the secret power of onboarding.  

Platforms Apple / Spotify

05: Dose of Leadership

Number of episodes 300+

Overview Claiming to be the “ultimate leadership resource” for inspiring and educational interviews with relevant and motivating leaders, Dose of Leadership is a weekly podcast (since 2014) courtesy of host Richard Rierson. In each episode, Rierson talks to leadership and influence experts from a diverse range of backgrounds who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of the truth, common sense and courageous leadership. Interviews are exploratory and thoughtful and deliver relatable, day-to-day leadership advice.

Platforms Apple Podcasts / Stitcher / Spotify / Podbean / Owltail

04: From founder to CEO

Number of episodes 392

Overview If you're a company founder who wants to take your business forward as CEO, From Founder to CEO is the perfect podcast! Host entrepreneur Todd Uterstaedt interviews a diverse mix of CEOs who tell their stories, reflect on the journeys made and deliver the lessons learned. A great source of information and inspiration, the conversations Todd has with his CEO guests are both inspiring and actionable designed to help founders scale business and transition to becoming a great CEO.

Topics include everything from leadership style to scaling skills with practical podcast subjects including how to delegate when you’re an empath, how to navigate boundaries, and how not to let failure obscure your genius, among many others. Founders and CEOs interviewed include Mailchimp’s Ben Chestnut, Netflix’s Marc Randolph and Dunkin’ Donuts’ Robert Rosenberg.

Platforms Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Pandora / Castbox / Amazon Music

03: Entrepreneurs on Fire

Number of episodes 447

Overview Founded and hosted by John Lee Dumas, author of The Common Path to Uncommon Success, the award-winning Entrepreneurs on Fire podcast generates over a million listens monthly. In each episode, Dumas picks the brains of inspiring entrepreneurs providing listeners with both inspiration and practical strategies to help them ‘fire up’ their entrepreneurial journey.

Dumas was the first podcaster to interview entrepreneurs and having undertaken 3,000 entrepreneurial stories to date, including interviews with Seth Godin, Barbara Corcoran and Tim Ferriss, he's pretty much got the genre sewn up. 

Platforms Spotify / Stitcher / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Acast

02: Leadership and Loyalty

Number of episodes 675

Overview Claiming to be a podcast that top Fortune 500 execs listen to, Leadership and Loyalty is a long-running series hosted by Dov Baron, named one of the Top 30 Global Leadership Gurus and bestselling author of books including One Red Thread.

Baron interviews everyone from thought leaders and futurists to psychotherapists and professors to company founders and CEOs on a diverse range of intriguing and informative topics, from the blockchain being the future of business and the power of data literacy, to improving your company culture and strengthening your social brand. Past guests have included Tom Bilyeu, co-founder of billion-dollar brand Quest Nutrition; Kevin Harrington, inventor of the infomercial; and Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett Packard.

Platforms Apple Podcasts / Acast / Stitcher

01: HBR IdeaCast

Number of episodes 795

Overview Brought to you by the Harvard Business Review, and hosted by HBR’s leading editors Alison Beard and Curt Nickisch, HBR Ideacast is an award-winning weekly podcast running since 2006 that interviews the leading thinkers in business and management. Episodes include some serious business heavyweights, from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg to Mastercard’s Ajay Banga and General Motors’ Mary Barra discussing equally heavyweight topics from recruitment strategies and lessons in diversity to fighting climate change and mastering the art of persuasion.

Platforms Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Spotify / RSS / Overcast / RadioPublic