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Lead with Purpose

Lead with Purpose

By: Ron Boire
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Summary

Lead with Purpose is a long-form series featuring leaders who are building something that matters. Founders, CEOs, board members, and thinkers sit down with Ron Boire, former CEO of Barnes & Noble, Sears Canada, and Brookstone, for unscripted, unedited conversations about how leaders define their purpose, navigate crisis, and make the hard calls that shape their companies, their teams, and their lives: from strategic transformation and the future of work to the human side of leading through technological change. No soundbites. No scripts. Just real dialogue between people who have sat in the chair.

2026 Ron Boire
Economics
Episodes
  • Bold by Design: Brendan Dowling on Purpose, Ireland, and the Leaders of Tomorrow [004]
    May 12 2026

    Lead with Purpose: Ron Boire and Brendan Dowling

    In this episode, Ron sits down with Brendan Dowling, serial entrepreneur, executive coach, and visionary for the future of Ireland. Brendan leads Celtic Leadership, a coaching and training company dedicated to accelerating the growth of companies through programs designed for CEOs and their senior management teams. Celtic Leadership He also serves as lead business advisor coach on Enterprise Ireland's flagship Leadership for Growth program, working with approximately 200 CEOs per year.

    Ron Boire:

    • Website: www.ronboire.com
    • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ronboire
    • Substack: ronboire.substack.com
    • Keynote speaking: www.ronboire.com/keynote-speaking
    • Executive coaching: www.ronboire.com/executive-coaching

    Brendan Dowling:

    • Website: celticleadership.net
    • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dowlingbrendan
    • Book: Accelerating Company Growth at celticleadership.net/book

    Also mentioned:

    • Enterprise Ireland
    • IESE Business School
    • The Reinvention Summit
    • Rita McGrath at Valize
    • China's Humanoid Robots: See What They Can Do
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    1 hr and 30 mins
  • JoAnn Garbin, Designing AI for the Forest, Not the Factory [003]
    May 5 2026

    Lead with Purpose Podcast: Ron Boire and JoAnn Garbin

    Ron sits down with JoAnn Garbin, author, innovator, and co-founder of Regenerous Labs, a venture studio dedicated to regenerative innovation at the intersection of sustainability and technology. JoAnn spent 25 years building at that intersection before joining Microsoft, where she led efforts to reimagine what a data center could be.

    Ron and JoAnn explore the rapid pace of AI-driven change, why most leaders are less prepared than they think, how to free yourself from the 80% of work that doesn't require your best thinking, and what it really means to lead from a clear set of values.

    Follow JoAnn:

    • Website: www.joanngarbin.com
    • Substack: joanngarbin.substack.com
    • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joanngarbin
    • Regenerous Labs: www.regenerouslabs.com
    • Book: The Insider's Guide to Innovation at Microsoft (Post Hill Press, 2025)


    Follow Ron:

    Website: www.ronboire.com

    • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ronboire
    • Substack: ronboire.substack.com
    • Keynote speaking: www.ronboire.com/keynote-speaking
    • Executive coaching: www.ronboire.com/executive-coaching
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 37 mins
  • Aidan McCullen, A Life Leadership Journey [002]
    Apr 28 2026

    Ron sits down with Aidan McCullen, transformation consultant, keynote speaker, author, college professor, and former professional rugby player. Recorded after the two connected at the Reinvention Summit in Dublin, this conversation covers personal reinvention, organizational transformation, resilience, the future of work, AI, and what it really takes to rebuild your identity after losing everything you were known for.

    The Innovation Show: https://theinnovationshow.io Thinkers50: https://www.thinkers50.com Trinity College Dublin: https://www.tcd.ie The Reinvention Summit: Dublin-based event convening global thinkers to help Ireland build its next chapter

    Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organizations and Life by Aidan McCullen: https://www.amazon.com/Undisruptable-Permanent-Reinvention-Individuals-Organisations/dp/1119770483

    Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck: https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322

    Negotiate This by Herb Cohen: https://www.amazon.com/Negotiate-This-Caring-But-Not/dp/044669780X

    The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen: https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Revolutionary-Change-Business/dp/0062060244

    Aidan McCullen: https://aidanmccullen.com

    Website: https://www.ronboire.com Lead with Purpose Podcast: https://www.ronboire.com/podcast

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 15 mins
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