Jean-Philippe Courtois is a truly remarkable global leader whose career has shaped business, technology, entrepreneurship and positive impact on an international scale.

After joining Microsoft in 1984, our guest went on to serve for four decades at the heart of the company’s global growth, most recently as President and Executive Vice President of Global Sales, Marketing and Operations, working alongside CEO Satya Nadella and helping lead Microsoft’s transformation into a cloud and AI powerhouse.

But his story goes far beyond corporate leadership. He has dedicated much of his work to using technology, entrepreneurship and leadership as forces for good. Through initiatives supporting more than 2,500 environmental and social impact start ups across over 100 countries, he has championed the belief that business can be a powerful engine for positive change.

He is also the President and co-founder of Live for Good, a foundation focused on unlocking the potential of young people from diverse backgrounds through impact entrepreneurship. As Chairman of SKEMA Business School, a board member of ManpowerGroup, Chairman of the Mission Committee at OpenClassrooms, and host of the Positive Leadership podcast, he continues to inspire leaders to align personal purpose with organisational mission.

At the centre of his work is a simple but powerful belief: mission led leadership can unlock human potential, build cultures of wellbeing and success, and create meaningful societal impact.

After more than 15 years in investment banking and consulting, Preeti made a bold shift into entrepreneurship. What sparked it wasn’t a business plan… it was transformation. Following postpartum recovery, she turned to the outdoors, and within a year, summited Mount Rainier. That journey didn’t just change her physically, it reshaped her purpose.

She saw firsthand how powerful the outdoors can be, and more importantly, how inaccessible it still is for so many people.

So she built AdventureTripr, a marketplace connecting people to curated, multi-day adventure experiences with vetted local guides. But this isn’t just about travel. It’s about breaking barriers. Social, cultural, economic. Opening the outdoors to everyone.

Along the way, she’s bootstrapped a business through a global pandemic, navigated the realities of being a female founder, and stepped into investing in women-led ventures focused on health, community, and innovation.

She’s also building real communities through her “Adventures For Everyone” initiative, helping beginners step into new experiences and connect with others on the same journey.

This is a conversation about transformation, resilience, and what happens when you stop waiting and start building something that matters.

Michelle Desmond is a leading voice at the intersection of grief science and innovation.

As a trained thanatologist, consultant, and former executive at Starbucks, Michelle is pioneering modern, science-backed approaches to how we understand, teach, and respond to grief, both personally and in the workplace.

From universities and wellness retreats to global organisations and emerging “grief tech” innovators, her work bridges the gap between human experience and forward-thinking solutions in one of the most universal, yet least understood areas of life.

This is a powerful conversation about loss, leadership, and what it really means to be prepared for the moments that shape us most.