The Hardest Pivot I Ever Made, with Spencer Stuart’s Lisa Caswell

In Her Ellement

What happens when the support you need comes from someone you least expect?

For Lisa Caswell, that moment came with an invitation to a surprise meeting halfway across the world. Today, Lisa is a Partner at Spencer Stuart, where she helps companies attract top Silicon Valley talent. She’s also a former CEO of eMeter, which was acquired by Siemens, and has held leadership roles at Ariba, Apple, and IBM.

In this episode, Lisa opens up about the hidden trade-offs of AI, why the best leaders sometimes come from unexpected places, and how to navigate the hard pivots in a career. She also reflects on what it takes to let go of a role you once saw as your calling.

1:47 A Mysterious Call to Munich

4:34 Gary’s Recommendation

5:49 Sailer or Entrepreneur?

8:11 A Major Pivot

10:45 Embracing Tough Feedback

12:49 The Importance of Vulnerability and Growth

14:56 Finding Leaders in Unexpected Places

16:36 Missed Opportunities and the Value of Titles

18:03 From the Front Lines: The Rise of the Chief AI Officer

21:07 The True Costs and Benefits of AI in Business

Links:

Lisa Caswell on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement:

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

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