The Intentional Leader: Balancing Ambition With Authenticity

Nicola Kastner, CEO of Event Leaders Exchange (ELX), joins host Courtney Stanley for an honest and inspiring conversation about leading with authenticity, clarity and purpose. She shares how authenticity shapes influence, how intentional ambition drives impact and why staying true to yourself is the most powerful leadership strategy of all.

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Read on for information about the stars of this episode, Nicola!

Nicola Kastner is the CEO of Event Leaders Exchange (ELX). ELX is an invitation-only global community that unites senior corporate event leaders across all industry sectors from large companies.

Built upon the ethos that “it’s lonely at the top,” ELX fosters an environment where senior leaders can exchange ideas and best practices with peers in similar roles through curated in-person gatherings, digital discussions, a robust resource library, and a member-only Slack group, ELX creates space for authentic, planner-led conversations.

Prior to ELX, Nicola has held various roles in the consulting, agency and brand sides of the event industry. Most notably, she was the global vice president of Event Marketing Strategy for SAP where she was responsible for designing and optimizing event strategies for events ranging from 25 to 25,000 people.

Nicola is widely recognized as one of the most respected voices in the global events industry. Her accolades include being named to the Influential EventProfs list by Northstar Meetings Group in 2025, honored as one of Smart Meetings’ Smart Women in Meetings in 2025, featured as a Women Leader in Events by Skift Meetings in December 2024, inducted into the Canadian Meetings Hall of Fame, selected for the Event Marketer B2B Dream Team, and recognized as a Top Woman in Events by Event Marketer Magazine.

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