#268 Mel Silva: Google's MD on Losing Her Dream Job, Trusting Her Instinct and Making Yourself Replaceable

Mel Silva is the Managing Director of Google for ANZ. She has held senior leadership roles across Asia-Pacific, including leading Google's APAC Go-to-Market Strategy & Operations from Singapore. Today, she oversees one of Google's most influential regional businesses,  and serves on the board of the Sydney Opera House. In one of her most candid interviews, Mel shares the story behind leading Google. From growing up in a family business to taking career risks that meant pay cuts and missed promotions, she reflects on the setback that changed everything, the mentor who saw potential she couldn't yet see, and why learning to separate instinct from her inner critic transformed both her career and her leadership. Vidit and Mel explore leading Google through Australia's landmark News Media Bargaining Code, returning from parental leave to a transformed company, building leaders who can one day replace you, balancing ambition with motherhood, and how AI is reshaping the way we work, learn and lead. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at [email protected] Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG,, Allens, Macquarie Capital, City of Sydney and more.  Show notes and more episodes here Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here Contact us via our website ________ TIMESTAMPS 02:18 Growing up in a family business 08:41 The career move that changed everything 14:55 Joining Google after a pay cut 22:36 Losing the MD role 31:18 The move to Singapore 40:27 Australia's News Media Bargaining Code 52:11 Leading Google through crisis 1:04:52 AI: Google's biggest platform shift yet 1:18:30 Parenthood, ambition & identity 1:31:42 The future of Search 1:43:15 Leadership lessons 1:49:30 Quickfire ________ The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world’s most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW. Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), David Eckstein (CFO, Legora), Jesse Zhang (CEO, Decagon), Vandita Pant (CFO, BHP), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear), Gautam Chari (Head of Capital Commitments, Bank of America), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India).