In this wrap-up episode, Jeff Lakusta and Nadia Carta look back on the three-year experiment that became 99 conversations exploring the human side of leadership. They revisit the early days when fewer than ten people were listening, the joy of celebrating tiny signs of growth, and the deeper lessons that made the project sustainable.

Along the way, they trace the themes that surfaced again and again: leadership grounded in values, the unexpected loyalty that follows honest accountability, and the simple truth that action outlasts perfection.

The episode closes with the question asked to every guest: what piece of advice would you leave behind?

99 Humans have shared their stories. Now Nadia and Jeff reflect on what they’ll carry into the next chapter.

linkedin.com/in/nadiacarta/

linkedin.com/in/jefflakusta/

99 Humans is a multimedia platform centered on humanizing leadership. Hosts Jeff Lakusta and Nadia Carta interview a group of cross-industry leaders, seeking stories about the human side of leadership. Join us and share your story:

www.99Humans.com | linkedin.com/company/99-humans

Leadership isn’t just the strategy you announce—it’s the story people can believe long enough to live.

In this conversation, Gavin McMahon, CEO of Fassforward and author of Story Business, traces his path from mechanical engineer to transformation guide, and reframes change as a human act before it’s a corporate one. What began as faith in logic, meritocracy, and clean answers evolved into something messier and more powerful: the recognition that organizations move when people’s inner narratives move.

Gavin shares why emotions aren’t the enemy of good decisions, how hope, fear, and reason work together to create momentum, and what it looks like to lead transformation without flattening the people inside it.

This conversation is about cutting through jargon, respecting the psychology of change, and learning to lead with narrative clarity when certainty is a luxury.

linkedin.com/in/gmcmahon/

fassforward.com

99 Humans is a multimedia platform centered on humanizing leadership. Hosts Jeff Lakusta and Nadia Carta interview a group of cross-industry leaders, seeking stories about the human side of leadership. Join us and share your story:

www.99Humans.com | linkedin.com/company/99-humans

Leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about learning how to stay steady when none seem to exist.

In this conversation, Gila Wilensky, Chief Solutions Officer at WPP Media, shares what it means to lead with curiosity, composure, and a sense of humor in an industry that never stops reinventing itself. From her first lesson—“be a duck”—to her later discovery that tension and change can be creative forces, Gila reveals how she balances decisiveness with empathy and innovation with imperfection.

We explore how AI is reshaping the marketing world, why curiosity is the most underrated leadership skill, and how the best systems evolve the same way people do—through trial, iteration, and the occasional burnt pancake. Gila also opens up about the rituals that keep her grounded: early mornings, deep focus, and the rare art of doing one thing at a time.

This conversation is about staying human in fast-moving systems, leading with calm in the churn, and finding grace by gliding through chaos.

linkedin.com/in/gilawilensky/

99 Humans is a multimedia platform centered on humanizing leadership. Hosts Jeff Lakusta and Nadia Carta interview a group of cross-industry leaders, seeking stories about the human side of leadership. Join us and share your story:

www.99Humans.com | linkedin.com/company/99-humans