Welcome to the world of human intelligence. Chief Change Officer is a Global Top 3% podcast on Listen Notes, ranked #1 in Careers and Top 30 in Business in the ...
Food52 CEO Erika Ayers Badan: No One Cares About Your Career - Part Two
Today, we continue our two-part journey with Erika Ayers Badan, the CEO of Food52 and Barstool Sports’ first CEO. From her early roles at Fidelity, Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo to leading innovative brands, Erika’s career is packed with stories and lessons that resonate.
In Part One, we delved into her debut book, No One Cares About Your Career, exploring why she wrote it and the practical wisdom it offers for thriving in any workplace.
Now, in Part Two, Erika goes deeper—reflecting on her roots, her leadership style, and her take on addressing toxic work environments. Plus, she shares something you won’t hear elsewhere: the career advice she gives her middle and high school-aged kids in a world that’s constantly changing.
Key Highlights of Our Interview:
Blame It on the Parents? How Childhood Shaped a Love for Teaching and a Struggle with Authority
“I really love to teach. I think my parents, who were in education, gave me that. I also have a fairly strange relationship with authority. I think that also comes from my childhood.”
Do Titles Really Matter? Confessions of a CEO Who Once Cared A Lot
“I don’t really care about titles. It’s a little bit hypocritical because the CEO is a great title. I did care a lot about titles in the hustle years where I was really trying to advance. You should always endeavour to take on more than you had six months ago. Are you doing the same exact thing you did six months ago, without learning, or growing, or tripping on yourself, or taking on something you didn’t know exactly how to do?”
Why Failure Is a Good Thing: Tripping Over Yourself Is Part of the Plan
What’s Your Leadership Style? Finding the Balance Between Boss and Buddy
Toxic Workplace or Just a Bad Day? Getting Real About Fixing Office Culture
“I think that people throw the term toxic workplace around a lot. I’m not sure what it means anymore. I would try to spend as much time as I can to get specifics – what’s going on?”
Career Advice for My Teenage Kids: Balancing Business and Life Lessons
What’s Next After ‘No One Cares’? Teasing the Next Passion Project
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Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Erika Ayers Badan
______________________
Chief Change Officer: Make Change Ambitiously.
Experiential Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives
Global Top 2.5% Podcast on Listen Notes
World's #1 Career Podcast on Apple
Top 1: US, CA, MX, IE, HU, AT, CH, FI
3.5 Million+ Downloads
80+ Countries
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28:29
Food52 CEO Erika Ayers Badan: No One Cares About Your Career - Part One
Erika Ayers Badan, CEO of Food52, joins me for the first part of a compelling two-part series. With a career spanning Barstool Sports, Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo, Erika is no stranger to bold moves and big titles. But this episode isn’t about resumes—it’s about stories. Erika’s journey is filled with lessons that inspired her first book, No One Cares About Your Career. Intrigued by the title? So was I.
In this episode (Part One), we’ll dive into her book—why she wrote it, why now, and why this title resonates. We’ll also explore five actionable tips anyone can use to succeed at work.
In Part Two, we’ll step behind the scenes of her life, discussing her upbringing, leadership style, and her take on toxic work cultures. Plus, she’ll share the advice she’s giving her own kids about thriving in today’s fast-changing world.
Key Highlights of Our Interview:
Revisiting the Roots: A Walk Down Memory Lane to Discover the Past’s Impact on the Present
The Brutal Truth Behind ‘No One Cares About Your Career’—How Did Erika Land on That Mic-Drop of a Title?
"Nobody's coming to help you. It's up to you to save yourself, grow yourself, push yourself, teach yourself."
What Sparked the Inspiration Behind Writing the Book?
What Makes This Book a Game Changer in a Sea of Career Guides?
Who Is This Book Really For? Unpacking the Audience Behind the Pages
"Just because you went to Princeton doesn't mean you have to go work in finance. A lot of times people get caught up in what everyone else thinks they should do. That's the lore. What everyone else thinks they should be and the reality is that nobody's really thinking about you that much. You should do what makes you happy and tell everyone else to jump off a cliff."
30 Years, 5 Simple Lessons: How to Succeed at Work Without the Overwhelm
Connect with us:
Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Erika Ayers Badan
______________________
Chief Change Officer: Make Change Ambitiously.
Experiential Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives
Global Top 2.5% Podcast on Listen Notes
World's #1 Career Podcast on Apple
Top 1: US, CA, MX, IE, HU, AT, CH, FI
3.5 Million+ Downloads
80+ Countries
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32:54
From Family Empire to Personal Legacy: Chris Quek’s Bold Quest for Independence - Part Two
Christopher Quek has always sought to chart his own course.
In this two-part series, we unpack his remarkable journey. Chris, a third-generation member of a well-established family business in Singapore, chose to walk away from family expectations to pursue entrepreneurship in Malaysia. After returning to Singapore, he sold his inheritance to launch TRIVE, a venture capital firm that reflects his vision and independence.
Last episode looked into his quest for self-identity—the reasons behind his bold moves and how he made them a reality.
This time, we’ll discuss his current work as a VC investor, his ambitions for the entrepreneurial landscape in Southeast Asia, and his thoughts on legacy and family at this stage in his life.
Key Highlights of Our Interview:
Kicking off with a big question: Is Singapore still relevant after 50 years? Here's an entrepreneurial view
"In 2015, when Singapore celebrated its 50th birthday as a nation. Singapore evolved itself out of necessity where it built a whole nation, a workforce of engineers, scientists, bankers, lawyers, doctors, specialists. We started losing a whole generation of entrepreneurs."
Bridging the Generation Gap: How to Turn ‘Parents’ Old Ways’ into a Future-Proof Family Business
"I actually have a network of over 300 family business owners across Southeast Asia. And there's always this common themes that starts first. Number one, how do I talk to my parents? How do I have a good working relationship with my parents and a family relationship back at home? Number two, I don't like the way that my parents are doing things and I need to transform this business. How do I convince my parents that I can transform this business as well?"
Turning Spare Millions into Family Business Magic: The Synergy Cycle of Tech, Money and Southeast Asian Economy
"Everyone gets to have food on the table. What we didn't realize that what this family business did was that it took that technology, have more food, more quantity, and decided to sell it cheaper to a poorer province, where those villagers were now able to obtain more quantity of food for their families."
Breaking the Patriarchal Mold: How Self-Development Earned Me My Father’s Respect
"My father has been an Asian patriarch with an iron fist. He now talks to me about the side businesses that he's doing. He asks me as his advisor and no longer sees the son on whom he used to look down."
Still Figuring It Out: The Never-Ending Saga of Self-Discovery
"I still believe that I'm evolving. I'm still learning more in terms of understanding my identity."
Fatherhood and Fortune: What’s the Game Plan for Your Next Generation, Chris?
"Anybody who wants to help the next generation is to be a mentor of values rather than a mentor of processes."
Connect with us:
Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Christopher Quek
______________________
Chief Change Officer: Make Change Ambitiously.
Experiential Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives
Global Top 2.5% Podcast on Listen Notes
World's #1 Career Podcast on Apple
Top 1: US, CA, MX, IE, HU, AT, CH, FI
3.5 Million+ Downloads
80+ Countries
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32:10
From Family Empire to Personal Legacy: Chris Quek’s Bold Quest for Independence - Part One
Christopher Quek has always sought to chart his own course.
In this two-part series, we unpack his remarkable journey. Chris, a third-generation member of a well-established family business in Singapore, chose to walk away from family expectations to pursue entrepreneurship in Malaysia. After returning to Singapore, he sold his inheritance to launch TRIVE, a venture capital firm that reflects his vision and independence.
This episode delves into his quest for self-identity—the reasons behind his bold moves and how he made them a reality.
Next time, we’ll discuss his current work as a VC investor, his ambitions for the entrepreneurial landscape in Southeast Asia, and his thoughts on legacy and family at this stage in his life.
Key Highlights of Our Interview:
Father’s Furious Expectations: When a Third-Gen Heir Sneaks Out of the Family Business
"I couldn't stand all the pollution that the manufacturing plant was producing. And finally, after three days, I sneaked back to Singapore and my father saw me. He got angry. He shouted at me."
Family Education 101: Learning P&L Over Dinner with Dad, Where Burgers Come with a Side of Calculating Profits
"He would take me out to restaurants. And he forced me to start calculating out the revenues. He will start telling me like, what do you think is the expenses behind this? And I had to start learning a profit and loss statement just by that very visible conversation itself."
Beyond the Textbook: How Mentorship Shaped Chris' Evolution
"I'm a product of my mentors in my life. So I'm the number two and number three mentors were also very successful businessmen."
Owning My Identity: Mr. Quek or Just Mr. Quek’s Son?
"There was already a trigger point in my value system that was I going to continue as a the next generation of business owners to continue polluting, just to make money for the sake of money."
Finding My Way: From Circumstances to Self-Fulfilment
"It was more of circumstances and situations and opportunities that just appeared. If you ask me like some certain crossroads in my life, for example, heading off to Malaysia instead of China I felt that was the right thing to do."
The Adventure of Self-Discovery: Uncovering Hidden Layers of Yourself at Every Stage
"Give you a little bit of the element of what at every stage is about really discovering yourself, which is really an exciting journey. You don't realize that you have actually a lot of things about yourself that you haven't discovered. "
Connect with us:
Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Christopher Quek
______________________
Chief Change Officer: Make Change Ambitiously.
Experiential Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives
Global Top 2.5% Podcast on Listen Notes
World's #1 Career Podcast on Apple
Top 1: US, CA, MX, IE, HU, AT, CH, FI
3.5 Million+ Downloads
80+ Countries
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27:25
Vince Jeong’s Journey: From Immigrant Roots to Redefining EdTech Through Live Group Learning
What happens when two Vinces meet? A show filled with bold ideas, heartfelt stories, and actionable insights.
Vince Chan welcomes Vince Jeong, CEO of Sparkwise, to discuss his evolution from a young immigrant navigating culture shock at 12 to an industry disruptor leading an edtech revolution. Along the way, Vince J reveals his mission to scale human connection in corporate training and bring McKinsey-level development to the masses.
With lessons on overcoming challenges, innovating in people development, and rethinking adult learning, this is an episode designed to spark your ambition and redefine what’s possible.
Key Highlights of Our Interview:
Immigrant Experience 101: Learning English and Rediscovering Myself at Age 12
Learning by Doing: The Best Way to Discover What You Really Want. Why Theorizing Only Gets You So Far.
“I’ve often found that you can only really discover and learn your true preferences by gaining first-hand experience. Theorizing only gets you so far.”
Bringing McKinsey’s Gold Standard to Everyone: The Spark Behind Creating an EdTech for Live Group Learning
“At McKinsey, people fought to get onto training programs. It was interactive, engaging, and team-based. I thought that’s what corporate training looked like everywhere—until I saw the difference in other organizations.”
From TV Host to Startup Boss: The Founder-Market Fit of Live Group Learning
“Throughout my life, I’ve just been involved in a lot of things that involve live groups. I used to be on TV in Korea, hosting live shows and facilitating conversations.”
Differentiation Value to Create: Scaling the Unscalable
"What we're doing is we're taking that experience that today can only be accessed by really privileged settings and making it much more accessible to many more people through technology."
Rebuilding Stronger Community: Foster Real Connections Beyond Social Media’s Shallow Bonds
“We create an environment where people solve problems together that are realistic but fictitious, which helps them engage deeply without having to be vulnerable from the get-go.”
Partners in Crime: Those Who Crave Rich Interactions or Scale Quality Learning at a Bargain
Turning Idle Content into Action: Beating AI with Human-to-Human Engagement for Deeper Learning
“There’s a lot of idle content out there today, and simply reading is rarely the best way for people to actually understand those concepts.”
Connect with us:
Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Vince Jeong
______________________
Chief Change Officer: Make Change Ambitiously.
Experiential Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives
Global Top 2.5% Podcast on Listen Notes
World's #1 Career Podcast on Apple
Top 1: US, CA, MX, IE, HU, AT, CH, FI
3.5 Million+ Downloads
80+ Countries
Welcome to the world of human intelligence. Chief Change Officer is a Global Top 3% podcast on Listen Notes, ranked #1 in Careers and Top 30 in Business in the US on Apple Podcasts, and Global Top 10 in Careers in over 20 countries across America, Europe, and Asia Pacific
At Chief Change Officer, we harness change as a superpower. This power is fuelled by role models who candidly and generously share their human intelligence. This isn’t digitised knowledge or AI-generated advice; it’s real, time-tested, experience-driven intelligence that blends logic and love, art and science.
This show marks the 18th career transition for the host Vince Chan. Over the course of 17 prior transitions, countless role models have guided and inspired me. At critical junctions, no matter how lost or despaired I felt, I emerged stronger, better, and happier. Now, I’m here to pass that superpower on to you, uniting global voices to become your role models for career and life transformation.
If you’re a growth progressive, a black horse, someone who doesn’t fit the conventional mold and is determined to create your own life and career playbook—this is for you. Our mission is to help you become wiser in action, clearer in thought, and more ambitious in pursuing the change you seek. If this resonates, then you are a Chief Change Officer.
MAKE CHANGE WITH US at @chiefchangeofficer on Linkedin, Apple, Spotify and Youtube.