Lewis McDonald is the Global Managing Partner, Energy Sector at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer — one of the most senior energy lawyers in the world, with a career built around some of the largest energy deals on the planet.

In this episode of Crescendo Conversations, Lewis shares the four pieces of music that have shaped his identity, his career, and his life: Living on a Prayer (Bon Jovi), Private Universe (Crowded House), Best of You (Foo Fighters), and Everything in Its Right Place (Radiohead).

We talk about what Lewis calls "cognitive athletes" — and why the way high-performing people think about pressure and recovery needs to change. We talk about an $11 billion energy deal in Mozambique, and what it actually meant for the people whose lives it touched. And partway through our conversation, Lewis picked up a guitar and played.

Music credits:
Living on a Prayer — written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Desmond Child. Piano: Zen Zeng.
Private Universe — written by Neil Finn. Performed live by Lewis McDonald.
Best of You — written by Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett. Piano: Zen Zeng.
Everything in Its Right Place — written by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Philip Selway. Piano: Zen Zeng.

Crescendo Conversations is hosted and produced by Zen Zeng, concert pianist.

To register your interest in upcoming Crescendo events and behind-the-scenes content, visit zenzeng.net/connect.

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Home. Family. Community. The belief that you build something slowly, and you build it right.

Martin Dougall, Global Senior Partner in Forensic Solutions at KPMG, shares the song that has never left him — and the values that haven't either.

Before he became Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly was a child who loved music. A son. A husband. A keen-fisherman. Someone who felt most alive in particular moments that had nothing to do with a title.

In this first conversation of Crescendo Conversations, Prof. Paul Kelly shares four pieces of music that trace the full arc of a life — where he came from, what lit him up, what the weight of the pandemic revealed about him, and what music he is walking toward now.

What emerges isn't a career retrospective. It's something far more interesting: a portrait of a person who has held enormous responsibility and remained, quietly, himself.

This is a conversation about family, belonging, courage and hope, told through the only language that bypasses everything we've learned to perform.

"Zen is a great conversationalist. I didn't know what to expect before the interview, and now I feel grounded, elated and honoured." — Prof. Paul Kelly