Career Sessions, Career Lessons

Updated: 08 Dec 2025 • 180 episodes
pathwise.io

Each of us has a unique career story to tell. For the lucky few, their career trajectories are like rockets heading for the stars, with no turning back. More typically, our career paths are more like a game of Chutes and Ladders, with advances and setbacks along the way. On this podcast, guests from a range of industries and backgrounds share their career journeys and the lessons they've learned. Hear from C-level executives, leading academics, entrepreneurs, mid-level leaders, ex-military members, leadership coaches and other career experts, non-profit workers, and gig economy participants. Each guest shares their unique story and career insights to inform and inspire your own path. Career Sessions is part of PathWise.io. Whether you’re just a few years out of school or well into your professional life, PathWise helps you live the career you deserve. PathWise provides comprehensive career and professional development coaching, content, courses, and community, backed by a group of leading coaches and career management experts. Career Sessions’ host, James (J.R.) Lowry, has had multiple careers of his own and learned countless lessons along the way. A Duke engineer by background, he spent the early part of his career as an officer in the US Air Force . From there, J.R. earned an MBA from Harvard Business School to accelerate his transition into the private sector. Following grad school, he spent over a decade with the consulting firm, McKinsey and Company, working with clients across a range of industries and business situations.  He then made a second career shift into financial services, spending time at Fidelity Investments and State Street Bank. Most recently, he joined Janus Henderson Investments as their Chief Operating Officer.  Multiple leadership development programs honed his skills, advanced his career, and fueled his desire to help others with their professions. He hosts this podcast in a personal capacity, and any views expressed are his own and not those of his current or any former employer.

Show episodes

The "Business Sergeant": Leadership Expert, Military Veteran, And Serial Entrepreneur Ready to move past chaos and achieve scalable growth? Today, we dive deep into the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), the powerful framework and toolkit helping leadership teams gain crystal-clear vision, drive disciplined execut

47 min
00:00
47:31
No file found

We hear a lot about the need for resilience these days, but simply wanting to be resilient isn't enough—in fact, the pressure to always bounce back can be counterproductive. In this exclusive interview, Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier, a psychologist, leadership expert, and author of the award-winning book The Resilience Pl

48 min
00:00
48:09
No file found

What happens when a touring musician decides to rewrite the music industry from the inside out? Today, we sat down with Josh Simons—the force behind Vinyl Group, Australia’s only ASX-listed music company, and the founder of Vampr, the world’s largest social network for creatives. Discover how Josh went from a semi-succ

43 min
00:00
43:52
No file found

In the demanding world of biotech and healthcare, charting a successful STEM career path, especially as a woman or minority leader, often feels like navigating without a map. But what if you had access to the boardroom lessons, the personal triumphs, and the hard-won wisdom of an industry veteran? Join us as we dive in

45 min
00:00
45:07
No file found

Software development is undergoing rapid change as AI, DevOps, and data science reshape how teams build and scale products. In this interview, Particle41 CEO and technical co-founder Ben Johnson explains what modern software teams must do to stay competitive. He shares practical insights on boosting developer productiv

47 min
00:00
47:54
No file found

The future of work is here, and it's being shaped by AI-driven change. Dive into a captivating discussion with Monica Marquez, Co-founder of FlipWork, Inc., the enterprise-wide AI workforce transformation system, as she illuminates the evolving landscape of an AI-centric world. Monica shares her unique insights on brid

45 min
00:00
45:31
No file found