Simon Feldman’s story is not a typical Execs Who Run conversation. A founding partner in one of Australia’s largest retail groups, his life imploded after he embezzled $16.7 million and was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. What followed was a brutal reckoning with consequences, identity, and the long, messy process of rebuilding.

In this conversation, Simon opens up about how the collapse unfolded, what prison is really like beyond the clichés, and why the years after release were arguably harder than the sentence itself.

We also explore how running — introduced through his partner KJ — became a pathway to stability, connection, and a new life anchored in purpose rather than pressure.

This episode is raw, honest, and a reminder that reinvention rarely comes from comfort.

Episode Highlights

• Step inside the boardroom moment where Simon’s life collapsed in seconds

• How a random accounting anomaly unravelled a $16.7 million fraud

• What prison is actually like when you are not built for violence

• The mental fight to survive four years inside and four harder years on the outside

• Why the right partner, the right habits, and the right boundaries can change everything

• How running became his anchor — physically, emotionally, and relationally

• The leadership lesson he lives by now: empower people, and let them go with their heart

• His best advice for life, leadership, and running after everything he’s lived through

Connect with Simon

Book: When a Good Man Makes Bad Decisions

→ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/When-Good-Man-Makes-Decisions/dp/1922810709

→ Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/when-a-good-man-makes-bad-decisions-simon-feldman/book/9781922810703.html

Connect with Execs Who Run

Website → https://execswhorun.com

Instagram → https://instagram.com/execswhorun

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/execs-who-run

Connect with Jason

Instagram → https://instagram.com/jasonzane_

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonhunt

If this episode resonates, share it with a friend who runs. Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it helps more leaders find the miles that matter.

Scott Pugh has spent the past 15 years building teams and markets across Asia, most recently as the GM of APAC for Figma. Outside the office, he’s obsessed with some of the toughest endurance challenges in the region — including Hong Kong’s infamous 298-kilometre Four Trails Ultra Challenge.

In this conversation, Scott opens up about the moment he told himself he “couldn’t run”, how he rewired that script, and what ultra-endurance has taught him about resilience, failure, leadership, and never giving up. We unpack the endurance mindset, how to debrief failure without ego, and why the biggest breakthroughs happen when you choose goals you have no right to complete.

Highlights

• How a disastrous 800-metre school race convinced Scott he wasn't a runner for 15 years

• The brutal reality of Hong Kong Four Trails and the humbling lessons from two DNFs

• Why failure is a better teacher than success, if you debrief like an operator

• How Scott uses endurance mindset principles to lead high-performing teams across Asia

• The power of big, uncomfortable goals to drive growth in life and leadership

• Why his best thinking happens while run-commuting through Singapore

• The surprising overlap between ultra runners and elite sales performers

  
  

Connect with Scott:
→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottpugh

Execs Who Run:
→ Website – https://execswhorun.com
→ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/execs-who-run
→ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/execswhorun

Jason:
→ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonhunt
→ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jasonzane_

If this episode resonates, share it with a friend who runs.
Follow Execs Who Run on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it helps more leaders find the miles that matter.

Luke Carlson has spent two decades mastering performance — in business and in running. As the founder and CEO of Discover Strength, a 30-plus-location fitness company built around evidence-based strength training, Luke’s leadership philosophy is as structured as his marathon build-ups. A former NFL strength coach turned entrepreneur, he’s now chasing a sub-three-hour marathon at age 45, while running one of the most disciplined fitness franchises in the world.

In this episode, Luke shares what the process really looks like — from building a company “built to last,” to running 31 marathons with precision, and balancing science, ambition, and joy along the way.

Highlights

• Hear how Luke turned a single 2,000-sq-ft gym into a global franchise guided by purpose, not ego.

• Learn why he believes most runners (and leaders) get the 80/20 rule completely wrong.

• Discover how to train smarter: the science-based strength plan every runner should follow.

• Explore the connection between structure, leadership, and freedom — in business and in running.

• Understand why progress, not perfection, drives both performance and fulfilment.

• • Take away Luke’s timeless framework for vision, purpose, and growth that any leader can apply.

  
  

  Connect with Luke Carlson:
  → Instagram – @lukecarlson3070
  → Discover Strength

• 
  

  Connect with Execs Who Run:
  → LinkedIn – Execs Who Run
  → Instagram – @execswhorun

  
  

  Connect with Jason Hunt:
  → LinkedIn – Jason Hunt
  → Instagram – @jasonzane_
  If this episode resonates, share it with a friend who runs. Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and leave a quick review — it helps more leaders find the miles that matter.

Jess Baird Walsh has turned a simple 30-day challenge into an extraordinary streak of over 1,150 consecutive days of running — and she’s not stopping until she raises $1 million for the Indigenous Marathon Foundation. A leader in AI and innovation, startup founder, and mother of three, Jess brings the same consistency, grit, and self-accountability to her career that she does to the road. In this episode, she and Jason unpack what running every day has taught her about resilience, identity, and finding purpose beyond personal achievement.

Highlights

• Hear how a doctor’s advice to “try running” changed Jess’s life at 18.

• Learn how a 30-day challenge became a three-year streak (and counting).

• Discover what running every day taught her about resilience, self-leadership, and accountability.

• Explore how she found her new purpose supporting the Indigenous Marathon Foundation.

• Understand why running is her anchor for navigating challenge, grief, and growth.

• Find out how Jess balances running, parenting, and leading innovation at a major firm.

Connect with Jess:
→ LinkedIn – Jess Baird Walsh
→ Support the Indigenous Marathon Foundation

Connect with Execs Who Run:
→ Website – execswhorun.com
→ LinkedIn – Execs Who Run
→ Instagram – @execswhorun

Connect with Jason Hunt:
→ LinkedIn – Jason Hunt
→ Instagram – @jasonzane_

If this episode resonates, share it with a friend who runs. Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and leave a quick review — it helps more leaders find the miles that matter.

When a rockstar turns 50 and runs his first marathon, and his coach breaks a world record in a suit — this is what happens next.

What happens when two very different runners cross the same finish line — one in a three-piece suit, the other five days after his 50th birthday?

In this Execs Who Run bonus episode, Jason Hunt and Tim Minchin sit down to relive the Melbourne Marathon. Jason shares what it took to break the Guinness World Record for fastest marathon in a suit, while Tim unpacks how his first 42km run reshaped his idea of aging, endurance, and joy.

It’s an unfiltered, funny, and surprisingly deep conversation about pain, pacing, pride, and why running can be both ridiculous and profoundly human.

In This Episode:

• How Tim’s first marathon turned into a lesson in midlife momentum

• Jason’s behind-the-scenes of running 2:38 in a full tailored Institchu suit

• The strange overlap between art, leadership, and endurance

• Why discomfort tolerance beats raw talent — in sport and in life

• What’s next: Tim’s London Marathon dream and Jason’s next record attempt

  
  

Connect with Tim Minchin:
→ timminchin.com
→ Instagram – @timminchin

Connect with Execs Who Run:
→ Website – execswhorun.com
→ LinkedIn – Execs Who Run
→ Instagram – @execswhorun

Connect with Jason Hunt:
→ LinkedIn – Jason Hunt
→ Instagram – @jasonzane_

If this conversation made you want to go for a run (or buy a better suit), share it with a friend who runs. Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts — and leave a quick review to help more leaders find the miles that matter.

Ned Phillips has sold horse manure door-to-door, run companies across Asia, and now runs Backyard Ultras for fun — the kind where you loop 6.7 kilometres every hour until everyone else quits. The British-born entrepreneur and former CEO turned solopreneur has built and lost multimillion-dollar startups, led with empathy through failure, and found joy in suffering. In this conversation, Jason and Ned explore how endurance sports and business share the same brutal truths: pain is inevitable, ego is fragile, and resilience is a choice.

Highlights

• Hear how Ned went from selling fertilizer to running a listed financial company in Asia.

• Learn how building and losing a $20M startup reshaped his definition of leadership.

• Discover how he found running through a 100km race — as his first ever run.

• Explore the philosophy of Backyard Ultra and the fine line between grit and madness.

• Understand what “the art of suffering” really means, in running, leadership, and life.

• Find out why empathy and curiosity are the most underrated sales and leadership skills.

Connect with Ned:
→ LinkedIn – Ned Phillips
→ Ned’s Website – teachpeoplesales.com

Connect with Execs Who Run:
→ Website – execswhorun.com
→ LinkedIn – Execs Who Run
→ Instagram – @execswhorun

Connect with Jason Hunt:
→ LinkedIn – Jason Hunt
→ Instagram – @jasonzane_

If this episode resonates, share it with a friend who runs. Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and leave a quick review — it helps more leaders find the miles that matter.

Tim Minchin — comedian, composer, lyricist, actor, and accidental marathon trainee — shares the story of how running has been a thread through every stage of his life. From childhood asthma in Perth, to Melbourne’s struggling artist years, through the highs of Matilda, the heartbreak of Larrikins, and his current build-up to the Melbourne Marathon, Tim reflects on how running has given him resilience, self-worth, and perspective at every stage. It’s a conversation about creativity, leadership, and why running continues to shape the way he approaches life and work.

In this conversation, we cover:

• Growing up with asthma and discovering endurance through hockey

• Why running became a coping mechanism in his toughest Melbourne years

• The role running played during creative success and setbacks — from Matilda to Larrikins

• Stories from his 91-minute half marathon in London and a City2Surf PB at 49

• Training routines, favourite Sydney routes, and rediscovering the joy of running

• How running connects to resilience, creativity, and leadership in his life today

• Preparing for the Melbourne Marathon at 50, and what it means at this stage of his life

• Reflections on identity, ambition, and proving things to yourself when no one else is watching

Follow Tim Minchin:

Website: timminchin.com

Instagram: @timminchin

Spotify: Tim Minchin

Stay Connected with Jason & Execs Who Run:

Jason Hunt: LinkedIn | Instagram

Execs Who Run: LinkedIn | Instagram

Website: execswhorun.com

Join the community: Execs Who Run Strava Group

Phoebe Pincus — COO of Startmate, co-founder of Cheeky Run Club, and marathon runner — joins Execs Who Run to share how running has transformed her approach to life and leadership. From ocean swims in Bronte to the cultural boom of run clubs post-COVID, Phoebe shows how running can be more than exercise — it can reshape identity, community, and confidence.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why her Always Swim mantra is about more than just the ocean

• The leap from Startmate Women Fellowship to COO

• The founding story of Cheeky Run Club and the rise of running culture

• Discipline, systems, and the myth of willpower

• How running builds resilience and self-confidence in work and life

• The lessons she’s learned from burnout, overtraining, and recovery

• Her advice on balance, leadership, and doing hard things with joy

  
  

Quote from Phoebe:

“Discipline isn’t forcing yourself to do hard things — it’s building systems so the good things feel easy.” — Phoebe Pincus

Follow Phoebe Pincus:

Instagram: @cheekyrunclub

LinkedIn: Phoebe Pincus

Stay Connected with Jason & Execs Who Run:

Jason Hunt: LinkedIn | Instagram

Execs Who Run: LinkedIn | Instagram

Website: execswhorun.com

Join the community: Execs Who Run Strava Group