Hunger & Heart with Kaila Colbin
Introducing Hunger & Heart, a podcast about the intersection of wild ambition and fierce compassion, hosted by entrepreneur Kaila Colbin.
Kaila tackles the myth that you can either empathise or get the job done, but not both. She talks to people who have managed to perform at the absolute highest level while still holding tightly to their values — specifically, sportspeople — revealing insights that apply not only to sports but to the world of work and beyond.
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Kaila Colbin is founder and CEO of Boma, an organisation building a world of intentional, intelligent, courageous leaders. Boma is the creator of the Crusaders Leadership Programme™, bringing insights from five of the greatest rugby legends of all time to leaders globally.
An award-winning leader renowned for impact, Kaila works with teams and organisations to build cultural alignment, cultivate honesty, and adapt to a rapidly changing world.
As an international keynote speaker, she has shared the stage with the likes of Bear Grylls, General Stanley McChrystal, astronaut Chris Hadfield, and Swati Mandela. Her powerful, up-to-the-minute insights and world-class delivery make her a standout favourite with any audience.
She developed TEDxChristchurch into New Zealand’s flagship TEDx event and brought Singularity University to New Zealand and Australia, supporting thousands of people to engage with exponentially accelerating technologies and their impact on humanity. Her work to champion Aotearoa New Zealand on a global stage saw her given the 2022 Kea World Class New Zealanders Friend of New Zealand award.
As a founder of the non-profit Ministry of Awesome, Kaila played a critical role in developing Christchurch’s startup ecosystem. She has extensive governance experience, and has been involved with mergers, capital raises, and company sales in the US and NZ. She trained with Brené Brown and Al Gore, and is a chartered member of the Institute of Directors and a certified Project Management Professional.
A native New Yorker, Kaila speaks English, Spanish, French and Italian. She holds a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from Cornell University. Her purpose in life is to be an uplifting presence.
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- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 57 minutes
- Episodes
- 25
- Years Active
- 2024 - 2025
Raelene Castle: “You spend a lot of time in the pain cave”
Raelene Castle is a woman of firsts: first female CEO of a club in the National Rugby League, the first female CEO of Rugby Australia, and the first female CEO of Sport New Zealand. She’s also unafra…
Rob Penney: “It wasn’t about who I was, it was about my effect on other people”
Rob Penney just finished his 2nd year as head coach of the Crusaders.
Year One: the team didn't make it to the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade.
Year Two: complete turnaround, won the c…
Kathrine Switzer: “It’s not about going fast, it’s about finishing the job”
Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967 — and had to literally fight off a race official to do so. Because of her, millions of women are now empowered by th…
Barbara Kendall: “The bigger the event, the bigger the fall”
New Zealand windsurfing icon Barbara Kendall won Olympic gold in 1992 — the first Kiwi woman to win gold in any sport in more than 40 years, and only the second woman ever to do so. She is a 5x Olymp…
Ian Jones: “None of us should chase other people’s normal”
Ian Jones MNZM is one of New Zealand's most capped locks, with 105 games and 79 tests for the All Blacks. Known as Kamo, Ian played for the Chiefs from 1996 to 1999, and is now a rugby commentator f…
Anna Galvan: “She made me want to be the best I could be”
Anna Galvan's netball career spanned 17 years. She played for the Southern Sting and for the Canterbury Flames, later the Canterbury Tactix. As a Silver Fern representing New Zealand, she competed at…
Tori Moorby: "I've got one shot at this. How good could I be?"
Tori Moorby has been dominating the javelin throw in New Zealand since March of 2014 when she first broke the New Zealand record. She was just 19 years old. Since then, she's broken her own record ov…
Sam Whitelock: “That’s the difference between winning and losing”
Sam Whitelock was the fastest player ever to reach 100 international appearances, the youngest New Zealander to reach 100 tests and one of just 44 men in the world to win a Rugby World Cup more than …
Cultivating sustainable obsession: The most powerful insights from the first 14 episodes
Pulling key moments from the original conversations, Kaila shares the most powerful insights and themes that have emerged from the first three months of the podcast.
She covers:
- The role of obsession i…
Christie Jenkins: “I just remember being absolutely crushed”
Christie Jenkins was number one in Australia and top 10 in the world in not one, not two, but THREE sports: trampolining, CrossFit and beach volleyball.
She is currently the Managing Director of Tech…
Mea Motu: “My daughter fought for me, so why can’t I fight for her?”
Mea Motu is a professional boxer, nicknamed “The NightMea”. She's a five-time national champion across four weight classes — the most titles held by any female Kiwi boxer. In 2023, she captured the I…
Adam Nicholls: “Is being an elite athlete good for you? Probably not.”
Adam Nicholls is a professor at the University of Hull. He researches the factors that predict doping among adolescent athletes, as well as how athletes cope and manage their emotions. His research h…
Norm Maxwell: “If I didn't perform… I'm gone.”
Norm Maxwell, Crusader #21, is not your ordinary rugby player. At 1.98m tall but weighing just 90kg, the lock quickly gained a reputation for being an extremely physical player. Having struggled phys…
Sir Graham Henry: “A recipe for disaster”
Sir Graham “Ted” Henry led the All Blacks to win the 2011 Rugby World Cup and was named IRB Coach of the Year a record five times. He was also responsible for New Zealand’s worst ever performance at …
Shea McAleese: “I'm a bit of a crazy bastard”
Shea McAleese is a 4x Olympic hockey player, has won silver and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games, and is the third most capped player in New Zealand history.
In this episode, Shea talks about:
- T…
Julia George: “The pressure is constant.”
This week, we talk to Julia George. Julia works in one of the most competitive environments in the world. She is the Director of Partnerships at Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology, where she lea…
Joe Kennedy: “Magic in a bottle”
This week, we talk to Joe Kennedy, the Director of Athletics and Sports Leadership at the Obama Presidential Center. Joe is a lifelong basketball player, coach, and civics leader. He coached in the N…
Katie Sadleir: “You have two choices: sit and wallow or step up”
This week, we talk to Katie Sadleir, an absolute titan in global sport. Katie is a former Olympic and Commonwealth Games athlete, was General Manager of Women's Rugby for World Rugby, and is currentl…
Sir Wayne Smith: "Death is afraid of them that have the heart of a lion"
This week, we talk to Sir Wayne Smith, a true legend in the world of rugby. Smithy won three Rugby World Cups and, along with Todd Blackadder and Justin Marshall, was one of the first three inductees…
Chelsea Lane: Alarming and almost impossible
This week, we talk to Chelsea Lane, a game-changer in high-performance sport. Chelsea was Vice President of Player Performance and Sports Medicine at the Atlanta Hawks and Executive Director for Perf…