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Thank you to the 1,400 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 questions!
I hope reading
7 Questions with Sarah Baldeo
helps you in your leadership.
Cheers,
Jonno White
7 Questions with Sarah Baldeo
Name: Sarah Baldeo
Current title: CEO
Current organisation: ID Quotient Advisory
Sarah Baldeo holds a degree in Neuroscience and several certifications in Legislative Compliance, Research Ethics, and Marketing. Currently a Rotman EMBA Candidate education is one of her passions. Her career spans 15 years in Technology and Compliance across large conglomerates and start-ups alike. She has personally designed and built several Digital Identity Applications and takes great pleasure in mentoring young women in STEM via her work with groups like Build a Dream, Girl Strong, and the Canadian Women's Chamber of Commerce.
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1. What have you found most challenging as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise?
I find that learning to say no to accepting new engagements or board positions has been a great challenge.
2. How did you become a CEO or executive of a large enterprise? Can you please briefly tell the story?
Early on in my career I held multiple VP roles with large enterprises - having been recruited by an asset management firm at the age of 21 gave me a huge head start in my corporate journey. Now as the CEO of ID Quotient Advisory, I started the firm myself in 2010 and grew it from a consultancy to a global enterprise over 10 years.
3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?
Typically my work days start at 5am to connect with my team in APAC, then I spend 30 minutes daily on mindfulness meditation and 45 minutes working out. By 8:30am virtual school starts for my son and conference calls with attorneys, bankers, clients, board meetings begin! My work day typically doesn't end until 1am.
4. What’s the most recent significant leadership lesson you’ve learned?
I have learned that it is important to prioritize the investment of my time - saying no to new opportunities can be phrased as "I'd love to, but right now is not a good time for me in my path."
5. What one book has had the most profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?
Blue Ocean Shift my Kim & Mauborgne has hugely impacted my leadership style - learning to bring "humanness" back into my corporation and switch from "red oceans" to innovative "blue ocean" approaches.
6. How do you build leadership capacity in a large enterprise?
Empowerment. In a word.
7. If you had to pick just one story, what would be the most meaningful story from your time as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise so far?
Going through defending the company I built from a large lawsuit that was filed in the USA to try and derail my organization was a very painful time but was hugely meaningful and really taught me how much being a Founder truly matters to me.