Podcasts

In this episode of the Safety on the Edge podcast, we sit down with Anthony Aarons, an expert whose career journey has transitioned from high-risk environments like mining, oil, and gas directly into the world of artificial intelligence. With the rapid and sometimes terrifying pace of AI development, this conversation dives into the realities, emerging risks, and undeniable opportunities of integrating AI into safety management. Anthony introduces the critical concept of “cognitive offloading,” exploring what happens to our visceral safety […]

There is much within safety discussion on the limitations of lagging metrics and the need to establish better ways of measuring safety. But what if the issue was not the type of metric, but measurement and the behavioural consequences of measurement? And what if performance indicators that we use to measure safety meant different things to people? The presentation will explore the behavioural effect of performance metrics. Based on empirical research with 20 safety leaders overseeing large and global organisations, […]

In this episode of Safety On The Edge Talks, host Corrie Pitzer, CEO of SafeMap and co-founder of Safety on the EDGE, sits down with Shannon Frattaroli. Shannon is a Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and leads the Center for Injury Research and Policy. Together, they dive into the critical intersection of academic research and practical industry application. Shannon shares her expertise on taking a public health approach to injury prevention, aiming to systematically reduce […]

In this episode of Safety on the EDGE, EDGETalks, Corrie Pitzer sits down with Todd Conklin for a candid conversation about how safety thinking is evolving and where it still falls short. They dig into a shift that sounds simple but changes everything: the worker is not the problem. The worker is the solution. From there, the discussion goes deeper. Why do organizations still default to controlling people instead of learning from them? Why does safety continue to focus on […]

What really causes catastrophic failure? It’s rarely a lack of intelligence, data, or expertise. More often, it’s silence, filtered truths, and decisions made at the edge of uncertainty. In this episode of EDGE Talks, we speak with Rodney Rocha, former Chief Engineer at NASA and a central voice in uncovering the systemic failures behind the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. This is not a retrospective. It’s a conversation about leadership under pressure, risk at the edge, and why organizations repeatedly fail […]

In this episode of SOTE Edge Talks, Malcolm Staves (Global VP of Health and Safety at L’Oreal and co-founder of SOTE) sits down with Jennifer McNelly, CEO of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), for a deep dive into the evolution of safety leadership. Jennifer shares her unique journey—from growing up in a political family in Alaska to leading one of the world’s most influential safety organizations. The conversation explores how safety professionals can transition from technical experts to influential leaders by leveraging personal strengths and focusing on organizational culture. Jennifer breaks down the Workplace EHS Coalition’s core principles, the critical role of leading indicators, and why mental health has moved from the “backburner” to front and center in the modern workplace. Whether you are a seasoned executive or an early-career professional, this episode offers a masterclass in courageous leadership and the power of community in saving lives. Key Topics Covered: The “Unicorn” Career: How a background in national politics and the U.S. Department of Labor shaped Jennifer’s mission-driven leadership style. Beyond Compliance: Why culture “eats strategy for lunch” and the importance of psychological safety. Strengths-Based Leadership: Using Gallup CliftonStrengths—like “Woo” (Winning Others Over) and “Strategic”—to build trust and hope within an organization. Leading Indicators: Shifting the focus from the “rearview mirror” of lagging statistics to proactive, business-driven safety practices. The Power of Community: How the ASSP’s 36,000 members collaborate to ensure safety is an inherent right for every worker. SOTE 2026: A look ahead to the upcoming Safety on the Edge forum in Baltimore. About Jennifer McNelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermcnelly/ Jennifer McNelly is the CEO of ASSP and a certified Gallup CliftonStrengths coach. With a career spanning the public and private sectors, she is a leading advocate for workforce development and global safety standards. Outside the office, she is a WSET Level 2 wine enthusiast and an avid pickleball player. 00:00 – Welcome to SOTE Edge Talks 00:47 – Meet Jennifer McNelly: From Alaska to the CEO of ASSP 01:46 – Wine Certification and Life Outside the Office 04:28 – Reflections on SOTE 2025 and Industrial Visits 06:12 – A “Unicorn” Career: Politics, Public Service, and Manufacturing 08:50 – How Safety Found Me: Joining ASSP as CEO 11:48 – The Passion of the Safety Professional 12:27 – The Power of Community: ASSP’s Global Chapter Structure 14:34 – CliftonStrengths: Building Influential Leaders 18:01 – Why Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch 20:38 – What is “Woo”? Demystifying the Top 5 Strengths 24:18 – Memories from SOTE: Living on the Edge 28:03 – Normalizing the Mental Health Conversation 33:44 – The Workplace EHS Coalition and Core Principles 38:51 – Leading vs. Lagging Indicators in Safety 44:07 – The Future of ASSP: Digital Transformation and Career Coaching 54:19 – Why ASSP Partners with SOTE 58:55 – Turning Back Time: Courage and Stewardship 1:02:29 – Closing Remarks

In this episode, Kathy Seabrook shares a global perspective on how safety, sustainability, and business performance intersect. She explains why safety cannot sit on the sidelines of strategy and why leaders need to understand risk in the same way the rest of the business does. Kathy discusses the evolution of people sustainability, the economic forces reshaping the safety profession, and the importance of connecting culture, governance, and human performance to long term value creation. Her insights come from decades of […]

In this episode, Carole Smets shares a candid look at what it takes to transform safety inside a global organization. Drawing on her experience at Pernod Ricard, Carole explains why real safety performance begins with culture, not compliance, and why leaders must learn to listen, focus on risk, and create a space where people feel safe to speak up. Carole also highlights the importance of diversity in decision making, the role of authenticity in leadership, and why every improvement starts […]

Most companies measure safety by the numbers. Kim Greene measures it by the people who go home at the end of the day. In this inspiring conversation, Kim shares the story behind Southern Company’s safety transformation, why TRIR went up even as the workforce became safer, and how creating psychological safety unlocked honest reporting and real learning. From hurricane recovery to frontline mentoring, Kim offers rare insight into what caring leadership sounds like and what it means to lead with […]

Safety didn’t stop evolving in 1984. Jean-Christophe Le Coze explains what changed — and how leaders should adapt. Malcolm Staves, co-founder of Safety on the Edge and Global VP of H&S at L’Oréal, talks with Jean-Christophe “JC” Le Coze, safety scientist and Research Director at INERIS, about how the lessons of Charles Perrow’s Normal Accidents still guide us—and how they’re being re-imagined for a more connected and complex world. JC unpacks his books Safety Science Research: Evolution, Challenges and New […]