Leading Beyond Uncertainty: Navigating a Shifting Economy
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The panel discussion at this year’s LA Executive Awards brought together prominent figures to explore the multifaceted challenges of “leading beyond uncertainty” in today’s dynamic economic and technological landscape.
Principal, L.A. Market Leader, Employee Health & Benefits
MARSH MCLENNAN AGENCY
Brian Hegarty is a principal and leader for Marsh McLennan Agency’s Los Angeles office. In addition to overseeing the firm’s rapid growth in L.A., he specializes in employee benefits programs for mid-size to large companies. He works with clients to build employee benefits programs focused on improving the employee experience and driving retention and recruiting efforts. Since joining the firm in 2008, Hegarty has worked closely with many leading L.A. industries, such as technology, entertainment, apparel, hospitality and more.
President, Commerical Banking
AXOS BANK
David Park, president of Axos Commercial Bank, has over 20 years of banking leadership in Southern California. Since joining Axos in 2018, he has transformed it from a specialty finance institution into a dynamic, relationship-based bank, launching middle market, fund banking, entertainment, technology and premium finance groups. Beyond his role, he serves on boards like the Asian Business Association of Orange County and mentors future bankers as a faculty member at the Pacific Coast Banking School.
Shareholder
GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP
Ashley Farrell Pickett, shareholder in Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s Los Angeles office defends companies in complex litigation nationwide, with an emphasis on labor and employment law. In her practice, Farrell Pickett also acts as outside general counsel and coordinating counsel for various nationwide companies – guiding their litigation as well as compliance strategy.
CEO
VITUITY
Dr. Imamu “Mu” Tomlinson is a transformative leader at the forefront of healthcare innovation. As CEO of Vituity, a physician-led and -owned multispecialty partnership, he oversees care for over 11 million patients annually across more than 690 practice locations nationwide. Under his leadership, Vituity has pioneered initiatives that enhance patient-centered care and operational performance. Dr. Tomlinson also founded the Vituity Cares Foundation, which addresses healthcare inequities and fosters diversity among clinicians.
Panelists emphasized the critical need for C-suite leaders to nurture the next generation, advocating for early mentorship and adoption of emerging talent, and how remote work has changed business practices.
They discussed the economic uncertainties involving tariffs, with Pickett suggesting caution and preplanning to navigate any financial peaks or valleys. Park shifted the focus to essential leadership qualities for digital transformation and workforce changes. He pinpointed digital fluency, an entrepreneurial mindset and resilience as paramount.
The panel concluded by discussing the most essential leadership qualities today compared to a decade ago. Park stressed the heightened importance of communication across diverse generations and backgrounds. Farrell Pickett championed adaptability and clarity of purpose, emphasizing clear communication to gain buy-in, and Dr. Tomlinson offered a powerful closing thought: Leaders should forgo trying to fit into predefined “boxes” and instead embrace their authentic selves.
Here are some key takeaways:
David Park: You have to have an attitude, a “failing forward” – you can’t be afraid to fail. You need to make calculated risks and decisions and always ask, “What did we learn from this, and how can we do better?” So we have a mindset of failing forward. The last thing is resilience: Change is hard. We’re in a world that’s constantly changing. We don’t like to change. The reality is that is the business world we are in, so you need to learn how to help with change management.
Ashley Farrell Pickett: So I think remote work is here to stay, but I do think it is an employment space where policies and practices are implemented in the right way. There are obvious benefits with work-from-home or remote/hybrid, whether it’s a greater employee pool or lower overall employee costs because you’re able to employ people who are in lower-cost areas. There’s a ton of great positives, but I think people are recognizing – especially how far removed we are now from COVID – that there are also a lot of benefits to work culture around team, productivity and collaboration.
Dr. Imamu Tomlinson: Firstly, a lot of times we want to put people in boxes. You want to say, here is the one thing or the three things or the seven things that you need to do to be a leader. But how about you be your absolute authentic self? You bring that superpower every day, all day, and you’ll stop worrying about all of these different qualities that you need to be successful. The second thing I would say is share your power … share that power with the people below you, your peers, the people above you. And that way we can all make the world a better place.
Farrell Pickett: I see clients really excel internally or have a smoothest possible road when they have clarity of purpose, especially from the executive side. And it’s not just that clarity, but communicating that and getting buy-in from the internal stakeholders, from the external stakeholders and everyone they need. Those are the people that really get the buy-in and end up getting from point A to point B much more quickly.
Tomlinson: If we look at how we “disrupt,” I think there’s three tenets. One is you have to be disagreeable – meaning that everything that you think you know, you have to disagree with. And it doesn’t mean that you are throwing that out, but that mindset allows you to learn. The second is being optimistic – being optimistic and disagreeable go together – the idea that I can change the world. And then lastly, I would say relentlessness – disruption doesn’t work for a minute, or an hour a day. You have to just be disruptive in that mindset continuously.
Park: An important leadership quality today, I would say, is communication. I think that it’s not that it became more important, but it’s so vital where we are today. Communication is key. I tell my children all the time. If you can communicate well, no matter what you do in life, you’ll succeed. And I think that our world is so diverse with different levels of generations and different diversity, and so we all communicate in different ways, and you have to be fluent in that.