Decoding AQ with Ross Thornley & Mike Raven Feat. Jason Desentz - Chief Human Resource Officer
- Author
- Ross Thornley + Special Guests
- Published
- Tue 09 Sep 2025
- Episode Link
- None
Jason Desentz - Chief Human Resources Officer @ Toshiba | Human Capital Advisor | Keynote Speaker
Jason has honed his craft turning under-dog divisions into high-performance powerhouses. From towing-tech at Horizon Global to private-equity turnarounds at Glacier Advisory Partners. Today, as CHRO of Toshiba’s North-American operations, he’s steering a century-old brand through AI-driven transformation while championing people-first growth. An analytical coach at heart, Jason brings board-level rigor and shop-floor empathy to every culture he rebuilds.
Ross, Mike and Jason talk about guidance, not being alone, everyone is figuring things out, challenges with tech, de-centralisation, auditing, compliance, consultancy, influencing people, building trust, understanding, asking key questions, buying in, pulling solutions from people, un-programming, taking care of employees, leading by example, practice what you preach, employment loyalty changing, pivoting core values, shifting values, building strong connections, incentive programmes, creating value and building purpose. The pair also discuss how we are perceived, support, enabling mistakes, rewards, jobs being offset, shifting learning, readying mindset, dealing with ambiguity, project management skill sets, agility, AI capabilities, curriculum building, learning environments, success, never stop moving forward, pro active teams, safe spaces to work, building trust, influencing people, curiosity, supporting youngsters and don't sweat the small stuff.
Timecodes:
- 00:22 Introducing Jason
- 01:08 Intro to Mike
- 01:40 The upcoming Oasis concert
- 03:18 UNLEASH (HR leaders) conference
- 05:58 Things which have startled Jason this year
- 07:35 Jason's 'Listen, Learn & Lead'
- 13:03 Jason's thoughts on Unlearning
- 16:34 Unlearning against your values and challenges
- 20:02 How Jason is preparing the new generation
- 23:32 Mentoring and coaching
- 27:46 Humanoid robots and replacement
- 31:25 Jason's Toshiba University's impact and human skills
- 34:10 Getting access to Jason's university
- 37:38 What would make this Jason's best year ever
- 41:46 Jason's top three fixes (reaffirming values)
- 44:57 Challenges with buying in and ROI's
- 47:31 The last time Jason did something for the first time
- 49:08 Mike's closing thoughts
- 50:14 Jason's final advice
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