Kelly Leonard to host WGN podcast

Kelly Leonard

Kelly Leonard

Kelly Leonard, longtime artistic leader, producer and executive with The Second City, will host a new weekly podcast in partnership with Second City Works and Tribune Media news/talk WGN AM 720.

Titled “Getting to Yes, And,” the program will upload new episodes at 7 a.m. every Tuesday on iTunes and WGNPlus.com, starting this week.

Leonard will interview visionaries, authors and leaders who “operate at the intersection of creativity and commerce,” according to Second City Works, the business-to-business arm of the famed Chicago improvisational comedy institution.

Son of the late Roy Leonard, the legendary WGN personality for more than 30 years, Kelly Leonard stepped down last year as president of Second City Theatricals to form Kelly Leonard Productions, a production company with ties to The Second City.

“We’re thrilled to partner with WGN Radio on this new podcast,” Steve Johnston, president of Second City Works, said in a statement. “Our success as a business is due in large part to our passion for interesting connections and dialogues. We operate from a place of endless curiosity, whether with our client partners or with other thought leaders. This podcast is the perfect example of how we approach the world.”

Todd Manley, vice president of programming and content at WGN, said: “Most conversations about business and innovation are overloaded with talking points, but Kelly has a charm that unleashes the magic within inventive minds. We can’t wait to start this audio adventure with Second City Works.”

Leonard’s inaugural guests on the show will include Neil Stevenson, managing director of IDEO Chicago; cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, author of Wired to Create; and Dartmouth scholar Sydney Finkelstein, author of Superbosses.