When you leave a big corporate name behind, you have to go back to what you can actually do for a client.

Paola Cavallero spent more than 30 years in international corporate roles at companies including Microsoft, Nokia, Coca-Cola, Gillette and Johnson & Johnson, leading teams across sales, marketing, operations and general management. Then she stepped away from that structure to begin her own second curve as an independent partner with ERA Group.

In this episode of Your Second Curve, Dr. Arnd Halbach, author of Your Second Curve, talks with Paola about what drove the decision, how her work now spans consulting, board positions and mentoring, and what she learned about building a pipeline from scratch without the big brand behind her. They also cover investing in training, using AI as a one-person business, and why a success fee model suits the way she works. She also has three pieces of advice for anyone considering the move.

Going independent doesn't have to mean going it alone.

Jeff Reynolds spent more than 30 years in executive leadership across privately held and publicly traded companies before starting his consulting business in 2018. Eight years on, he works closely with C-suite leaders to improve performance, optimise costs and strengthen enterprise value.

In this episode of Your Second Curve, Dr. Arnd Halbach, author of Your Second Curve, talks with Jeff about the move from leading large organisations to working on his own, why having your spouse on board matters, how he handled the first weeks and months in a home office, and how he found his first clients and grew them into a portfolio. They also cover how he built a network of specialists to work with on client projects and why that keeps the energy up, how he thinks about retirement and legacy, and his advice for anyone thinking about leaving corporate to start their own business.

What does it really take to leave a corporate career and go independent?

Pellegrino Riccardi, award winning TEDx speaker and cross-cultural expert, did it in 2007 with no business plan and a family to support. Nineteen years later, the phone is still ringing.

In the first episode of Your Second Curve, Dr. Arnd Halbach, author of Your Second Curve, talks with Pellegrino about the scary first years of self employment, why he never started a company and still works alone as a sole trader, and how he built a speaking business on word of mouth. They also cover how AI is changing work, what people leaving senior corporate roles need to relearn, and his advice for anyone in their late 40s or 50s thinking about starting their own business or a second career.