News and Insights
Breaking Through the Noise: How Executive Profile Interviews Can Set Leaders Apart
January 8, 2025
The executive profile interview has long been a cornerstone of the communications toolkit. It provides a sought-after platform for business leaders to enhance their profile, communicate their organisation’s strategic vision, connect with key audiences, and humanise what may otherwise be perceived as a faceless or overly corporate entity.
Of course, such interviews are not without their challenges. Executives may face difficult questions (this is how you earn your interviewer and audience’s respect) and cannot always expect the conversation to align neatly with their agenda. Yet, for most – with the correct preparation – the potential rewards outweigh the risks.
Yet, despite the obvious upsides, many business leaders fail to fully capitalise on the opportunity. Frequently, an interviewee’s passive, disjointed or overly risk-averse messaging can leave the reader questioning: what was the point of the interview? In crude terms – yes, they got their face in the newspaper – but to what end?
Encouragingly, recent months have proven particularly fruitful for conversation-generating business profile interviews that demonstrate the medium’s true potential. These interviews not only stimulated conversations within their industries, but also achieved what so many of us aspire to – genuine thought leadership.
Actionable insight
Typically, you don’t have to venture too far to find a tech entrepreneur with something to say. For many aspiring founders, their powers of persuasion are embedded in their DNA.
Stripe co-founder and president John Collison is regarded as one of the more considered communicators amongst his peers. In September 2024, he sat down for an interview with The Currency, where he discussed, amongst other topics, Ireland’s tech ecosystem, the Apple tax windfall, housing, data centres, and broader economic trends. Collison’s reflections were all underpinned by actionable insights, as opposed to self-serving or superficial hot takes.
When reflecting on the economic and infrastructural challenges facing Ireland, Collison’s central message was one of measured optimism. Despite acknowledging the many well documented difficulties, his tone consistently emphasised the need for vigilance, curiosity, and radical decision-making. When asked how Ireland can avoid stagnating, he encouraged those in the decision-making seats to remain “paranoid about complacency.” This statement encapsulates his belief that continuous, forward-thinking action is crucial for maintaining momentum and seizing emerging opportunities.
The recurring theme throughout the interview is Ireland’s struggle with supply-side constraints, particularly housing and infrastructure. Collison’s critique of the planning system lays bare the disconnect between Ireland’s economic ambitions and the logistical and bureaucratic realities on the ground. He points to a culture of over-caution, citing “a fear of failure in the air where everything becomes a protracted scandal”, and in doing so, undermining ambition and investment.
In a marked departure from the more emphatic tone of many of his entrepreneurial peers, he also encouraged Ireland to “stop comparing themselves” to “Silicon Valley”, describing it as “the all-time most productive economic and innovation engine there has ever been”, and therefore not necessarily a helpful or realistic comparison.
A non-linear career path
Outside of the tech ecosystem, finance houses and professional services often present a more risk-averse narrative, owing largely to the broad spectrum of client exposures and historically conservative internal cultures.
Within this context, Goodbody CEO Martin Tormey’s recent Irish Times interview marked a refreshing departure from this narrative. Tormey’s openness about taking career breaks is a rarity amongst ‘alpha’ business leaders. While many executives seek to curate a seamless career progression and a relentless pursuit of success, Tormey talked openly about the benefits of multiple career sabbaticals, including his experience living with a nomadic tribe in Kenya, saying, “I ended up going to live with a Nomadic tribe in a village for four months in the Turkana desert.”
At a time when many recent graduates are increasingly valuing purpose and work-life balance, Twomey’s example will resonate with many younger professionals and elevate Goodbody’s employer brand.
Holding the mirror up to your profession
Perhaps even more unusual in the world of business leadership is the recent profile of William Peake, managing partner of corporate law firm Harneys, whose Business Post interview demonstrates how a non-traditional approach can truly cut through the noise. Peake’s candidness about the legal profession’s flaws and his willingness to incorporate humour and self-deprecation into his public persona sets him apart in an industry typically known for its formality and conservatism.
Peake has garnered a cult following among the legal profession for his candid and often mischievous LinkedIn posts on themes relating to mental health, and the egos and absurdities of the legal world.
Whilst his persona may be at times polarising, it is these very traits that attract potential recruits. “I have turned into a one-man recruitment drive. I get 15 to 20 CVs a day now from competitor firms, and people are like, ‘You are talking about the things that resonate with me,’” he reveals.
The former stand-up comedian’s focus on culture over billable hours and his willingness to challenge the traditional narrative of legal professionals as “insecure overachievers” and in some cases “really shit Jordan Belforts” has positioned him and his firm as genuine outliers within an industry that competes aggressively for the best legal talent.
Communicating your vision
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz outlined the company’s strategy to expand beyond its core toy business. He described the Barbie film not as a tool for selling more toys, but as an effort to “break convention” and “create a cultural moment.” Kreiz emphasized that the filmmakers were focused on delivering “quality content that people want to watch,” believing that success would naturally follow. He also fielded questions about the more nuts-and-bolts challenges of supply chain issues and operating a global business amidst a strained geopolitical backdrop. In doing so, he signalled a calm and reassuring leadership approach to navigating these complexities.
Authenticity and clarity of purpose
Effective executive profile interviews are about more than just getting a leader’s face in the media or a quippy soundbite on the masthead. At their core, they provide an opportunity to cut through the noise and genuinely connect with an audience, as opposed to merely ‘surviving’ the interview or emerging unscathed.
The most successful profile interviews are marked by authenticity, vulnerability, and a willingness to discuss personal experiences – though these traits should always be grounded in a clear and compelling strategic message.
Secondly, they demonstrate a genuine willingness to engage with the key issues within their respective industries and the broader economy. In doing so, they acknowledge the challenges but provide genuine actionable solutions.
Leaders like John Collison, Ynon Kreiz, Martin Tormey, and William Peake understand the power of breaking away from traditional corporate narratives. Their willingness to meaningfully engage with diverse perspectives—from career choices to critiques of their industries—fosters trust and strengthens their organisations’ reputations as relatable, engaged, and forward-thinking. Rather than adhering strictly to a script, they demonstrate an ability to cut through the noise, whilst consistently reinforcing their core message.
POSTED BY: Paddy O’Dea
