Executive Decisions with Steve Sedgwick

Bill Winters planned to become a diplomat. Instead, a job at J.P. Morgan led him into banking and eventually to a pivotal early-career decision: move into the emerging derivatives business despite knowing little about it.
In this episode of Executive Decisions, the Standard Chartered Group CEO tells Steve Sedgwick why that experience helped shape a career philosophy he still shares with younger colleagues: when rare opportunities arise, sometimes you should “take the reckless path.” For Winters, that doesn't mean being careless; it means being prepared to choose the less conventional route when it offers more to learn.
Winters also reflects on his 26 years at J.P. Morgan, the lessons of the global financial crisis and what it was like to be fired by Jamie Dimon. He explains why he subsequently ignored advice not to join the UK's Independent Commission on Banking and why, six years after leaving J.P. Morgan, he returned to mainstream banking to become CEO of a troubled Standard Chartered.
He also discusses the decisions behind Standard Chartered's turnaround, mistakes he made along the way, leadership, AI and why he believes ambition can sometimes become a curse.
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Anthony Scaramucci’s career has included high-profile successes and setbacks.
In this episode of “Executive Decisions,” the SkyBridge Capital founder reflects on leaving Goldman Sachs to build his own business, why insecurity led him into the wrong job early in his career and the pride and ego that influenced his decision to join the Trump administration.
After being fired from the White House after just 11 days, Scaramucci was advised to disappear from public life. Instead, he chose to face his critics - a decision he says became part of a wider reckoning with his mistakes, his relationships and himself.
He also discusses being fired and rehired by Goldman Sachs, the lessons he learned from market downturns, rebuilding SkyBridge and the fallout from its relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX.
Through it all, Scaramucci says the lesson has been the same: own your mistakes, face the music and keep going.
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Bettina Orlopp took over as CEO of Commerzbank as the German lender was pushing ahead with a multiyear turnaround — and as UniCredit was building a stake that raised the pressure on the bank's leadership.
In this episode of Executive Decisions, Orlopp explains how she has approached leading through that pressure: staying calm, speaking candidly about difficult change and relying on trusted teams to deliver the bank's strategy.
Orlopp also reflects on the path that brought her there, from nearly two decades at McKinsey to taking on Commerzbank's compliance function, becoming CFO just before the Covid-19 pandemic and later stepping into the CEO role.
She discusses how takeover pressure accelerated Commerzbank's strategy work, the challenges of restructuring and why she believes leaders need to be direct about what change will require.
Note: This interview was recorded on May 12, 2026.
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Steve Hasker never followed a formal career plan. Instead, the Thomson Reuters CEO says his biggest decisions were guided by one question: Would he learn more by saying yes than by staying where he was?
In this episode of “Executive Decisions,” Hasker reflects on the childhood experiences that taught him resilience, the mentors who shaped his leadership and why the people around you can matter more than the role itself.
He discusses leaving McKinsey for Nielsen after an unexpected pitch from former GE executive Dave Calhoun, the lessons he learned from early career mistakes and why surrounding yourself with talented people can accelerate growth as a leader.
Hasker also recalls becoming CEO of Thomson Reuters on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic, leading 25,000 employees through a period of uncertainty and helping transform the company into an AI-powered technology business.
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After more than three decades at science-based firm DSM, Dimitri de Vreeze faced what he calls the hardest decision of his career: selling the materials business where he had grown up professionally.
In this episode of “Executive Decisions,” the DSM-Firmenich CEO reflects on why the decision made strategic sense, even as it felt deeply personal, and how it shaped his view that success is not a finish line.
De Vreeze discusses joining DSM with plans to stay only a few years, the family values and rebellious streak that shaped his leadership, and why he believes leaders should keep challenging what is already working.
He also discusses ending a half-billion-dollar biofuels project, serving as co-CEO, leading the merger that created DSM-Firmenich and why treating assumptions as facts can be one of the biggest risks in decision-making.
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