Build Your Exit Before You Need It with Julián Hernández

📌 TAKE OUR FREE QUIZ ➡️ https://talentandtruth.beehiiv.com/indepen... What should you be doing before you’re ready to leave corporate? For Julián Hernández, the answer started years before his final day. After more than 30 years in advertising across Latin America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East, followed by five years consulting for governments and national champions, Julián had built a successful corporate career. But alongside it, he had also been quietly building something else: optionality. In this conversation with Independent Executive host Sabine Kühn, Julián shares how he prepared for independence while he was still employed - from investing in his own development and building a presence on LinkedIn, to separating his identity from his job title and rethinking where responsibility for his career really sat. He also talks candidly about what happens once you actually leave: pricing your own work, setting up a company, losing the infrastructure you once took for granted and discovering which parts of corporate life you unexpectedly miss. Today Julian is a Partner at Unthinkable Creative Co. in Dubai, working with strategy firms, communications firms and in-house teams on creative strategy, campaigns, film and capability This episode is for anyone who is successful in corporate today, but knows they may not want - or be able - to stay there forever. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 01:22 Julián’s 30-year global advertising career 03:52 Why we treat employment as the default 07:49 Building options and a lesson from his father 14:50 Becoming “Julián Inc.” 22:15 Why your job title is rented 24:58 How LinkedIn became a source of paid work 28:08 Ageing at work and leading across cultures 34:23 Taking responsibility for your own growth 42:56 What life actually looks like after leaving 51:08 What to do five years before going independent 56:05 Letting go of your old identity About Julián Hernández Julián Hernández has spent more than 30 years in communications, primarily in advertising, working across Latin America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. After three decades in agencies, he spent five years consulting for governments, corporates and national champions before moving into independent work. Today, he is a Partner at Unthinkable Creative Co. and works with organisations internationally. Connect with Julián: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianhernandezr/ About Independent Executive Independent Executive is a podcast for accomplished executives who want to build a career with more independence, choice and ownership. Hosted by Executive Strategist Sabine Kühn, each episode features a candid conversation with an executive who has left corporate life to build something of their own. Subscribe wherever you listen: Spotify 🎧 - https://open.spotify.com/show/6px2hXvIKj9e... Apple Podcasts 🎧 - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inde... YouTube 🖥️ -    / @independentexecutive   Follow the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/independentexecu... LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/independe... Connect with Sabine: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabine-kuhn/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabinek___/ Work with Talent & Truth: https://talentandtruth.beehiiv.com/executi...