Big Business, Big Heart with Karen Swager

August 20, 2026

An engineer by training and education, Karen has held multiple leadership roles at The Mosaic Co. since joining the business in 2004 as a director of operations strategy. On this episode, Karen and Business Observer Managing Editor Mark Gordon talked about leading with purpose and clarity during challenging times and some of the steps she took to rise in her career with one of the largest publicly-traded companies in Florida.

3 Takeaways

(10:15) Energy is a must have leadership characteristic
(13:00) Give candid feedback with the purpose of helping others
(18:40) Finding the answer yourself does not teach anyone anything?

Timestamps

(00:00) Introducing Karen Swager, Executive Vice President, Operations, The Mosaic Co.
(04:10) What is The Mosaic Company?
(05:40) Why join The Mosaic Company?
(09:25) What advice would you give to young professionals to rise?
(10:15) Must-have leadership characteristic
(11:10) How do you keep your energy up?
(12:25) Leadership influences
(14:10) Hard to hear feedback
(16:25) Dealing with imposter syndrome
(19:10) What is the future of The Mosaic Company?

Join us every week as we interview business leaders to learn what makes them great, what they look for in growing leaders and much more.