In this episode, we speak with Neri Karra Sillaman about her journey from childhood refugee to entrepreneur and academic, and how education became her North Star. She shares how experiences of inequality shaped her values, her approach to risk and failure as redirection, and why being an outsider can be a strategic advantage. The conversation explores building businesses with limited resources, “frying in your own oil,” and redefining legacy as long-term impact on people, organizations, and society.

Neri Karra Sillaman is an immigrant entrepreneur, academic, and author. Born into a persecuted Turkish minority in communist Bulgaria, she moved to Istanbul as a child refugee, where her family later co-founded a company that has grown internationally. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and is an entrepreneurship expert at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Her work focuses on building sustainable businesses that combine purpose and long-term performance.

Links from the episode:

Neri’s book Pioneers

Neri’s personal website

Neri’s LinkedIn profile

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Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
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You’ve built a life that looks successful, but inside, something’s stirring. You’ve done everything “right,” yet you find yourself wondering: Is this it? What now? In Live Your Opus: Reclaim Your Energy, Redefine Success, and Create a Life That Truly Matters, Janine Mathó writes for ambitious, high-achieving people who feel depleted, disconnected, or misaligned, and who sense that the version of success they followed no longer fits.

In this edition of Author Chat, Disrupt Your Career speaks with Janine about her book, reclaiming energy, redefining success, and choosing a life that truly fits. She shares the core ideas behind Live Your Opus, that your life is your opus and that you are your greatest work, and offers a practical path for creating sustainable, meaningful success.

Order Janine’s book Live Your Opus

Janine’s website

Janine’s LinkedIn profile

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Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

How often have we been told that success, especially in leadership, starts with “just being yourself”? In his latest book, Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead), renowned psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic challenges this deeply rooted belief. Drawing on decades of research, he argues that our cultural obsession with authenticity is often misguided and can actually limit individual and organizational effectiveness. The science, he suggests, points to a more nuanced truth: progress comes from adaptability, self-awareness, and attention to how others experience us.

In this edition of Disrupt Your Career Author Chat, we speak with Tomas about his book, exploring why authenticity is misunderstood, how leaders really develop, and what it takes to evolve beyond our current selves in today’s complex workplaces.

Order Tomas‘book Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead)

Tomas' personal website

Tomas’ LinkedIn profile

Thanks for listening!
Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast