386. Building alliances with your enemies, finding your executive courage, and championing legacy projects with David Borger, Executive Director for Business Western Sydney and former NSW Politician episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 29, 2026 · 37 MIN

386. Building alliances with your enemies, finding your executive courage, and championing legacy projects with David Borger, Executive Director for Business Western Sydney and former NSW Politician

from The Inner Chief · host Greg Layton

"I remember being a young bloke as Lord Mayor and I was almost reticent to ask my small team to do the job. I felt guilty. Over time I realised that delegating is actually giving people opportunities." In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, I speak to David Borger, Executive Director for Business Western Sydney and former NSW Politician, on Building alliances with your enemies, finding your executive courage, and championing legacy projects. 🎧👉  chiefmaker.com/386  👂   DISCOVER HOW THE CHIEF MAKER MINI MBA WILL DRIVE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT IN REAL-TIME. JOIN THE WAITLIST: chiefmaker.com/minimba    David is the Executive Director of Business Western Sydney, where he champions the growth, infrastructure and innovation precincts shaping one of Australia's most important regions. A former Lord Mayor of Parramatta (the youngest ever at just 30), David has also been the State Member for Granville and Minister for Roads and Housing, and has has spent his career bringing people together around big ideas and getting things done. He has served on a range of Boards across government, business, transport, culture and urban development, including NRMA and the Powerhouse Museum. David is still as passionate as ever about ensuring that all communities are great places to live, regardless of where they are located. In this Masterclass, we talk about: ✅ Building alliances around ideas, by communicating even with your enemies. ✅ Finding the courage to speak up when you first get elevated to a senior position. ✅ Advocating for large projects in small decision time windows, and ✅ Championing Western Sydney's infrastructure, innovation precincts and legacy projects. Stay epic, Greg Connecting with David Borger You can connect with David via LinkedIn. Books and Resources Freedom's Forge - by Arthur Herman The New Geography of Jobs - by Enrico Moretti Similar Episodes from Business NSW Paula Martin, Executive Director, Regional NSW and Visitor Economy, on Learning from everyone, adapting to shorter strategy cycles, and genuinely receiving feedback Paul Nicolaou, the Executive Director of Business Sydney, on The 3Ps of building an insanely valuable network, daring to be different, and making people happy Zaklina Craig, Executive Director – People, Culture & Workplace, on Optimising role design for peak performance, managing differences in confidence between men and women, and navigating the decision to fire someone Follow Chief Maker 📝 Get my Finish Strong monthly newsletter with insanely valuable career tips 👍 Follow Chief Maker on LinkedIn or Instagram 📃 Grab one of the many FREE Leadership Resources 📈 Join the waitlist for the Chief Maker MiniMBA 🎓 Take one of the Chief Maker Academy courses 🍏 Subscribe for free to The Inner Chief podcast on Apple Podcasts 🎵 Subscribe for free to The Inner Chief podcast on Spotify 🎬 Subscribe for free to the Chief Maker YouTube channel 🤝 Connect with the Chief Maker

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Apr 29, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

386. Building alliances with your enemies, finding your executive courage, and championing legacy projects with David Borger, Executive Director for Business Western Sydney and former NSW Politician

0:00 37:37

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Inner Chief?

This episode is 37 minutes long.

When was this The Inner Chief episode published?

This episode was published on April 29, 2026.

Can I download this The Inner Chief episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!