Show Notes
In this special live episode of The Nature of Nurture, Leslie sits down with longtime friend and accomplished entrepreneur Jeff Katz for a conversation about leadership, power, integrity, and what it takes to remain connected to yourself while navigating ambition and success. Jeff's career has included founding Orbitz, serving as CEO of Swissair, holding senior leadership roles at American Airlines and Sabre, and leading LeapFrog, giving him a unique perspective on what separates meaningful leadership from the pursuit of power for its own sake.
Together, Leslie and Jeff examine the state of modern leadership and why honesty, humility, and a willingness to say "I don't know" can be more valuable than charisma or certainty. Jeff reflects on the qualities he believes define strong leaders, including integrity, transparency, listening, and giving people a clear sense of mission. He also explains why one of the most important career decisions a person can make isn't simply what company to work for, but who they choose to work with and for.
The conversation explores Jeff's own evolution as a leader, from chasing power, money, and promotions early in his career to developing a deeper understanding of what success means to him. He shares lessons from building Orbitz, working with investors and entrepreneurs, and learning when standing by his principles was worth the professional consequences. Through these experiences, Jeff reflects on the importance of mentorship, making mistakes, trusting your instincts, and learning to distinguish external success from personal integrity. Leslie and Jeff also explore the formative experiences that shaped his understanding of compassion and perseverance. Jeff discusses being raised by parents who survived the Holocaust and the lasting lessons they passed down to him, including the compassion he learned from his mother and the perseverance he learned from his father.
The conversation becomes especially personal as Jeff reflects on how profound loss changed his relationship with leadership and himself. He shares the experience of leading an airline through a fatal plane crash that killed 240 people and the responsibility of facing thousands of grieving family members without having easy answers. For Jeff, experiences like these stripped away the possibility of hiding behind corporate language and fundamentally transformed the way he thought about truth, responsibility, and humanity.
Ultimately, Leslie and Jeff consider how ambition can coexist with integrity and why the relationship we maintain with ourselves may be one of the most important relationships we have. Jeff encourages people to pursue meaningful work, surround themselves with leaders they respect, remain willing to listen and learn, and resist sacrificing their values for money, status, or proximity to power.
This episodes ends with an audience Q&A that can be found in the Patreon membership community for the show: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheNatureofNurture Thank you to everyone who participated.
Guest Jeff Katz is an entrepreneur and longtime business leader whose career has spanned technology, aviation, travel, and consumer products. Trained as an engineer at MIT, Stanford, and the University of California, Jeff founded Orbitz, served as CEO of Swissair, held senior leadership positions at American Airlines and Sabre, and served as CEO of LeapFrog. He has also been recognized five times as one of the 25 most influential people in the travel industry.
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Credits Hosted and produced by Leslie Carr Guest: Jeff Katz Live event hosted at The KINN in Venice (Los Angeles)
#leadership #integrity #entrepreneurship #power #authenticity #careeradvice #selfdevelopment #orbitz #thenatureofnurture
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