Humble Beginnings
The CEOs and senior GovCon leaders of today weren't always sitting in the corner office. They weren't born in suits with a handbook for success and a direct path to leadership. In fact, before many of these executives came into positions of powers, they had rather humble beginnings -- no corporate family tree or unlimited access. Many had to find their way on their own with little to fall back on. This podcast will share the stories of high school part-time work, first jobs and early-career decisions, decades before the CEO appointments and the board memberships. We'll learn about the unconventional paths to success, the ones most of us can relate to.
Humble Beginnings
'I Can Survive Cancer, I Can Go Learn How to Run a Business': John Ustica on Unknowns and Opportunities
For John Ustica, president and CEO of Siemens Government Technologies, his story starts with a medical scare on a soccer field in the first grade. An abdominal pain later proved to be a tumor on his kidney, and he'd spend 65 weeks in chemotherapy, endure several surgeries and visit doctors for years to come for checkups. Ustica fully recovered, but this experience (and the restrictions that came with it) taught him a thing or two about saying "why not" to life opportunities.
Tune in to hear how Ustica's life progressed thereafter, from academic challenges to landing in the energy industry and scoring his first management job at just 26 years old. Ustica shares how he progressed in Siemens and worked his way up, and the many positions, industries and locations the company would take him through along the way.