Episode 26 · Industrials & Infra
Sustainability, ESG and the long game: Dr Zaheera Soomar on leading transformation across 70 countries
A global transformation leader whose work spans Anglo American, Bain and Chevron on why sustainability must move from compliance to strategy, and what it actually means to lead for the long term.
23 March 2026 · Hosted by Oliver Helvin
Highlights
Why this episode matters
Dr Zaheera Soomar has worked in over seventy countries across mining, oil and gas, education, and energy transition. Her view on transformation, the difference between fixing assumed problems and fixing real ones, is the kind of distinction most boards miss until it is too late. This episode is for anyone running an ESG, education or transformation programme that has stopped converting effort into impact.
Key themes
The long game is the only game that matters
Zaheera's view is that most transformation programmes fail because leaders chase the metrics that make them look good in a quarterly review rather than the metrics that compound over five to ten years. She talks about specific examples from public-sector work where short-term wins actively undermined the long-term agenda, and what it takes to hold a programme to its real horizon. The cost of getting this wrong is not money: it is the next decade of an institution.
Why ESG must move from compliance to strategy
Zaheera is direct that most ESG programmes she sees are still designed by the legal team to satisfy disclosure requirements, not by the strategy team to drive value creation. She makes the case for treating ethical sourcing, climate exposure, and social-impact accountability as primary strategic levers, not corporate-affairs decoration. The companies that get this right are quietly building competitive advantage; the ones that don't are accumulating risk they haven't priced.
The AI dilemma: data without empathy
Zaheera is sceptical of how leadership and HR functions are deploying AI right now. Her concern isn't the technology, it's the speed at which decisions are getting handed to systems that can't see the human context behind the data. She talks about specific cases where the spreadsheet was clearly right and the decision was clearly wrong, and what it takes to design AI-assisted processes that don't strip the human judgement layer.
Vulnerability as the precondition for credibility
In a region and an era that rewards confidence theatre, Zaheera argues that the leaders who actually deliver transformation are the ones willing to admit what they don't know. She frames vulnerability not as weakness but as the operating mode that lets teams flag problems early, before they cost money. Authenticity, in her telling, is a delivery tool, not a values statement.
We're fixing problems we've assumed, not the ones people actually live with.
Takeaways
- Hold transformation programmes to their real horizon, not the quarterly review
- Treat ESG as strategy, not compliance, or accept the unpriced risk
- Design AI-assisted processes that preserve the human judgement layer
- Vulnerability is a delivery mode, not a soft skill
- Go far together; speed without inclusion compounds the wrong things
About Dr Zaheera Soomar
Dr Zaheera Soomar
Executive, Academic and Independent Advisor, Independent
Global (70+ countries)
Dr Zaheera Soomar is a seasoned executive, academic and independent advisor with over two decades of global experience spanning 70-plus countries. Her work sits at the intersection of sustainability, public sector transformation, ESG strategy, education reform and energy innovation. She has held leadership roles at Anglo American, Bain and Company, Chevron and Eurasian Resources Group, and serves as an adjunct professor in sustainability and ethics. She holds an MBA and a Doctorate in Business.
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