Gut+Science explores employee engagement insights you can act on, from CEOs you can trust. Get ready for high energy interviews led by employee engagement evangelist Nikki Lewallen—ones that’ll have you rethinking what it means to build successful people-first cultures.
Your story is not just your past. It is your leadership currency.
Nikki sits down with Cristian Cibils Bernardes, founder and CEO of Autograph, to explore the powerful connection between storytelling, identity, and meaningful work. Cristian shares his journey from Paraguay to Stanford, Google, and ultimately entrepreneurship, revealing how a personal quest to understand his own life narrative became a mission to help others preserve and leverage theirs.
Together, Nikki and Cristian unpack why owning your story can deepen human connection, strengthen leadership influence, and shape the future of work in an AI-driven world. From family legacy to workplace belonging, this conversation will challenge you to reflect on what you stand for and how your experiences can inspire those you lead. 💡
Additional Resources:
Connect with Cristian on LinkedIn
Learn more about Autograph
Listen to Cristian’s podcast: Rabbit Hole Research
Watch Gut + Science (and more) on YouTube!
Connect with Nikki on LinkedIn
Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn
Learn more about PeopleForward Network
Nikki’s Key Takeaways:
- Your life story shapes leadership authenticity and connection
- AI can preserve wisdom across generations and workplaces
- Self-reflection builds clarity, confidence, and meaningful influence
- Storytelling strengthens relational business and culture building
- Leaders who share journeys inspire deeper trust and engagement
Nikki Gregory
Gut + Science
Gut + Science is a mentoring platform for people-first leaders of all levels. We talk to exceptional leaders who prioritize culture, get fired up about employee engagement, and are excited to share ideas and tools for bettering employee experiences.
We are on a mission to improve employee engagement by inspiring and equipping leaders to help employees thrive at work. Host Nikki Gregory highlights accomplished, people-first CEOs (and executives) that share their powerful mindsets, experiences and tools that have helped them succeed. Content experts share education and inspiration on topics such as diversity and inclusion, emerging and lucid leadership, and corporate social responsibility. We named the show Gut + Science because leaders need both data and experiences to guide decision making.
Nikki is passionate about helping millions love their work, about giving back, about investing in people. In Gut + Science, these callings come to life in the form of high-energy interviews designed to help pave the way for people-first cultures, and give leaders the inside scoop on how to build winning cultures and companies. Nikki has helped countless executives make meaningful, relationship-oriented investments.