Choosing to Matter

Navigating Complexity and Community with David Harding

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris Navigating Complexity and Community with David HardingEpisode 17 In this episode, Chris sits down with David Harding - submariner, strategist, and change-maker. From a young man determined to join the British Navy to a career spent beneath the ocean, David's path has carried him from military service to leading major infrastructure projects, and now to shaping policy and investment in Sydney. Along the way, he discovered purpose in building and bringing together teams - whether on submarines, in the Australian outback, in corporates or within communities striving for cohesion and hope. What drives David is a belief in teamwork, trust, and the quiet power of community. In this conversation, he reflects on the leadership lessons he has carried from the Navy into construction, policy, and social initiatives; from nation-building railways to mentoring First Nations youth and supporting social cohesion through sport. Together, he and Chris explore resilience, complexity, and the choices that bind us to one another. This is a conversation about leadership, belonging, and the strength of community. 🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Australian Chardonnay 🎧 A thought to leave you with: What choices will you make to strengthen trust and resilience in the communities you belong to? Episode Resources: David Harding [https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-harding-a8b90320/] NSW [https://www.linkedin.com/company/nswgovernment/] Connect with Choosing to Matter Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/choosingtomatter/]: @choosingtomatter LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/choosingtomatter/posts/?feedView=all]: @choosingtomatter Explore all our platforms [https://linktr.ee/Choosingtomatter?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafgQ6_tUaXjiIIvp0Y2KyoY43UXqTnx3ZJ_C93AbPyG1Kyb40_nepRUwI0SqQ_aem_SRlXmGwaFIJzQEV-Sy9eyw] Credits: Host: Chris Luebkeman Executive Producer: Jonelle Simunich Guest Relations: Taline Frantz Editors: Viktoria Bacheva and Asmita Mehta Sound Designer: Taline Frantz Design and Manager: Kinny Tran-Marazza Graphic Designer: Nazaré Sarabúa Presented by: [Y]our 2040 Website: your2040.com/podcast

The Stories We Dance with Cathy Marston

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris The Stories We Dance with Cathy MarstonEpisode 16 In this episode, Chris sits down with Cathy Marston, choreographer, artistic director of the Ballett Zürich, and a masterful storyteller through dance. Cathy's path began with ballet training in Cambridge and continued at the Royal Ballet School before unfolding into a distinguished international career. She went on to direct Bern Ballet, became an Associate Artist at the Royal Opera House, and, since August 2023, has led the Ballett Zürich, attracting world-class dancers from across the globe. Her choreography is deeply literary; a signature of her work. Cathy has brought to life adaptations of Jane Eyre, Victoria (Queen Victoria's story), and the critically acclaimed The Cellist, based on Jacqueline du Pré's life. Her most recent big success was Ian McEwans bestselling novel 'Atonement', and her upcoming work is an adaptation of Romeo & Juliet (May 23, 2026); another ambitious leap in narrative ballet. What drives Cathy is the conviction that dance is empathy in motion - a way to reach across time, emotion, and story. In this conversation, she reflects on the responsibility of leading a company and the importance of reviving and reimagining choreography as living, enduring art. Together, we explore the discipline of craft, the daring of innovation, and the courage required to pass on knowledge while nurturing new voices. This is a stirring conversation about narrative, empathy, and the stories we carry forward. 🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Mojito 🎧 A thought to leave you with: What stories can only be told through movement, and how might they change the way we understand one another? Episode Resources: Cathy Marston [https://www.cathymarston.com/]Opernhaus Zurich [https://www.opernhaus.ch/en/spielplan/ballett/] Connect with Choosing to MatterInstagram [https://www.instagram.com/choosingtomatter/] : @choosingtomatter LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/choosingtomatter/posts/?feedView=all] : @choosingtomatter Explore all our platforms [https://linktr.ee/Choosingtomatter?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafgQ6_tUaXjiIIvp0Y2KyoY43UXqTnx3ZJ_C93AbPyG1Kyb40_nepRUwI0SqQ_aem_SRlXmGwaFIJzQEV-Sy9eyw] Credits: Host: Chris Luebkeman Executive Producer: Jonelle Simunich Guest Relations: Taline Frantz Editors: Viktoria Bacheva and Asmita Mehta Sound Designer: Taline Frantz Design and Manager: Kinny Tran-Marazza Graphic Designer: Nazaré Sarabúa Recorded at the Schweizerhof Hotel Zurich Presented by: [Y]our 2040 Website: your2040.com/podcast

Rethinking Value and Building Regenerative Worlds with Gil Friend

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris Rethinking Value and Building Regenerative Worlds with Gil Friend Episode 15 In this episode, Chris sits down with Gil Friend, strategist, translator, and sustainability pioneer. From a curious, science-minded kid in New York to working alongside Buckminster Fuller on the World Game, Gil's path has always intertwined curiosity with contribution. He went on to become one of the first Chief Sustainability Officers in the United States, serving the City of Palo Alto, and has advised global companies, investors, and cities through his career. His journey has carried him from cooking in natural food restaurants to shaping sustainability strategies for major corporations and public agencies; always with an eye on pushing the bounds of the possible. Gil describes himself as a "scout from the future," a pollinator of ideas, and a translator between worlds. What drives him is the conviction that the world can work for all life, if we organize ourselves with imagination and care. In this conversation, Chris and Gil explore systems thinking, the business case for sustainability, and leadership as a blend of outward action and inner dialogue. They reflect on how to move from abstract urgency to grounded action and how to lead with both clarity and compassion. This is a conversation about the creative possibilities of the living world. 🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Rasa — an adaptogenic herbal brew with chicory, burdock, mushrooms, and cocoa. 🎧 A thought to leave you with: What becomes possible when we treat sustainability not as an add-on, but as the core logic of business? Episode Resources: Gil Friend [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gfriend/] Natural Logic Inc. [https://www.linkedin.com/company/natural-logic/] Connect with Choosing to MatterInstagram [https://www.instagram.com/choosingtomatter/]: @choosingtomatter LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/choosingtomatter/posts/?feedView=all]: @choosingtomatter Explore all our platforms [https://linktr.ee/Choosingtomatter?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafgQ6_tUaXjiIIvp0Y2KyoY43UXqTnx3ZJ_C93AbPyG1Kyb40_nepRUwI0SqQ_aem_SRlXmGwaFIJzQEV-Sy9eyw] Credits: Host: Chris Luebkeman Executive Producer: Jonelle Simunich Guest Relations: Taline Frantz Editors: Viktoria Bacheva and Asmita Mehta Sound Designer: Taline Frantz Design and Manager: Kinny Tran-Marazza Graphic Designer: Nazaré Sarabúa Presented by: [Y]our 2040 Website: your2040.com/podcast

From Scramjets to Sustainable Design with Anne Kovachevich

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris From Scramjets to Sustainable Design with Anne Kovachevich Episode 14 In this episode, Chris sits down with Anne Kovachevich, engineer, futurist, and sustainability pioneer. From her early fascination with physics and scramjets to her current role shaping the cities of tomorrow, Anne's path has been guided by curiosity and resilience. A formative trip to Serbia - and her first introduction to coffee - offers a glimpse of the playful, human side behind her rigorous professional journey. At the core of Anne's work is a conviction that the built environment must serve both people and planet. She reflects on leading the design of sustainable precincts in Brisbane ahead of the 2032 Olympics, weaving together technology, nature, and community. Together, we explore systems thinking, the complexity of human behavior, and how vision can turn abstract sustainability into lived experience. This is a thoughtful conversation about imagination, resilience, and the choices we make today that will shape the cities of tomorrow. 🍸 Cocktail of the episode: Espresso Martini 🎧 A thought to leave you with: How can the spaces you design nurture both human and planetary health? Episode Resources: Anne Kovachevich Mott MacDonald [https://www.linkedin.com/company/mott-macdonald/] Connect with Choosing to MatterInstagram [https://www.instagram.com/choosingtomatter/]: @choosingtomatter LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/choosingtomatter/posts/?feedView=all]: @choosingtomatter Explore all our platforms [https://linktr.ee/Choosingtomatter?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafgQ6_tUaXjiIIvp0Y2KyoY43UXqTnx3ZJ_C93AbPyG1Kyb40_nepRUwI0SqQ_aem_SRlXmGwaFIJzQEV-Sy9eyw] Credits: Host: Chris Luebkeman Executive Producer: Jonelle Simunich Guest Relations: Taline Frantz Editors: Viktoria Bacheva and Asmita Mehta Sound Designer: Taline Frantz Design and Manager: Kinny Tran-Marazza Graphic Designer: Nazaré Sarabúa Presented by: [Y]our 2040 Website: your2040.com/podcast

Crafting Hospitality and Clarity with Andreas Stöckli

🎙️ Choosing to Matter: Cocktails with Chris Crafting Hospitality and Clarity with Andreas StöckliEpisode 13 In this episode, Chris sits down with Andreas Stöckli, hotelier, chef-turned-general manager, and steward of one of Zurich's landmark hotels. From cutting his fingers as a teenage apprentice in the kitchen to guiding a historic property through its transformation into a five-star destination, Andreas has built his career on hospitality with people at the center. His journey spans adventures abroad and hard-learned lessons in kitchens from South Africa to The Bahamas, charting a steady climb from chef's whites to the front office. What drives Andreas is the belief that hospitality is about honesty, presence, and creating spaces where others feel safe and cared for. In this conversation, he reflects on leadership as clarity in action, balancing tradition with innovation, weaving sustainability into luxury, and the quiet strength of influencing what we can. This is a conversation about leadership, hospitality, and the power of belonging. 🍸 Cocktail of the episode: A straight, smoky whisky. honest, raw, and clear. 🎧 A thought to leave you with: How might leadership look if we approached it like the hospitality industry - creating clarity, care, and belonging for everyone we serve? Episode Resources:Andreas Stöckli [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasstoeckli/] Hotel Schweizerhof Zurich [https://www.linkedin.com/company/hotel-schweizerhof-z%C3%BCrich/] Connect with Choosing to MatterInstagram [https://www.instagram.com/choosingtomatter/]: @choosingtomatter LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/choosingtomatter/posts/?feedView=all]: @choosingtomatter Explore all our platforms [https://linktr.ee/Choosingtomatter?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafgQ6_tUaXjiIIvp0Y2KyoY43UXqTnx3ZJ_C93AbPyG1Kyb40_nepRUwI0SqQ_aem_SRlXmGwaFIJzQEV-Sy9eyw] Credits: Host: Chris Luebkeman Executive Producer: Jonelle Simunich Guest Relations: Taline Frantz Editors: Viktoria Bacheva and Asmita Mehta Sound Designer: Taline Frantz Design and Manager: Kinny Tran-Marazza Graphic Designer: Nazaré Sarabúa Recorded at the Schweizerhof Hotel Zürich Presented by: [Y]our 2040 Website: your2040.com/podcast