All Episodes And Guests

Motivated to Lead

Podcast

Helping you become a better leader.

with Mark Klingsheim

Episode 233: Doug Hoekstra

This week, we interviewed Doug Hoekstra. Doug worked at Medtronic for 30 years and retired in August 2021. At Medtronic Doug held the position of Vice President and Global Controller for 12 years. In this role, he led global finance operations and reporting, financial planning, business development support, finance enterprise excellence, and the finance training and development programs. He also co-chaired the Finance Executive Committee, which focused on business operations and results, functional strategies and planning, key functional objectives, and talent management. Prior to this position, Doug served in a variety of other finance roles, including roles in several business units and at the Corporate level.

Prior to Medtronic, Doug was an audit manager at KPMG, a public accounting firm. He graduated from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management in 1986.

Doug is currently serving on the Board of a privately held company, focusing on coaching and mentorship.

Episode 232: Marie-Pierre Dhers (replay)

This week, we revisit our interview with Marie-Pierre Dhers. She founded an advisory firm in 2013 in New York City. Her network of partners advises investors and entrepreneurs in aviation and aerospace, transportation, energy, and new technology in the US and Europe. She is actively serving on several boards.

Before that, Marie-Pierre held senior executive positions for more than 20 years at Air France-KLM, one of the largest European airline Groups with over $30B in revenues. She built a track record of driving growth and leading large complex transactions and transformations.

She holds a Master of Science from Cranfield University, UK, a Master degree in engineering from the French College of Civil Aviation, ENAC (Grande Ecole Ingenieur), Toulouse, France, and an Executive MBA from Saint John’s University, New York, USA. She is certified in Corporate Governance by INSEAD.

Episode 231: Steve Nash, Human Performance Mentor & Leader

This week, we interview Steve Nash, the Founder of Traditional Human Performance.

Steve’s background experience includes almost 25 years as a military officer/commander, serving at home and abroad in The Royal Canadian Regiment, the Canadian Airborne Regiment, the UK Parachute Regiment (on exchange), and the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command.

Further, he has 10+ years working with at-risk youth and 20+ years running his company, Traditional Excellence Human Performance. His activities span from more formalized boardroom/conference room presentations and classroom courses to outdoor/experiential events through fitness, wilderness adventure, and beyond. Steve is an 8^th-degree black belt in Shotokan Karate.

Episode 230: Dr. Kevin Fickenscher, Physician Executive

This week we interviewed Dr. Kevin Fickenscher who is a senior physician executive with extensive domestic and international experience in large, complex healthcare organizations. Throughout his career, he experienced strategic and operational management roles related to the development and expansion of programs as well as turnaround initiatives by serving in various C-suite positions.

He holds demonstrated expertise in healthcare system development, consulting, technology management, informatics, infotech deployment, transformation, and care management with related experience in leadership and organizational development, strategic planning, clinical quality, and health policy with an established national reputation as a dynamic, visionary, and strategic leader in healthcare.

Episode 229: Paula Cruickshank, SVP, BDC

This week, we interviewed Paula Cruickshank. Since June 2020, she has held the role of Senior Vice President in Ontario, overseeing BDC’s financing and consulting services across the province’s 33 Business Centres.

Paula has more than 25 years of banking industry experience.

Prior to her current role in Ontario, she held the role of Senior Vice President, British Columbia and North, from 2017 to 2020, where she successfully grew the bank’s financing and consulting services throughout that region.

In terms of operational responsibilities, most recently Paula was Digital Transformation Lead. She worked to ensure that digital investment decisions, segmentation strategies, and omni-channel and client teams continued to deliver value to BDC’s clients. This responsibility built on her experience running the Virtual Bank from 2019 to 2020.

She joined BDC in 2009 as Vice President, Securitization, taking over the management of the Canadian Secured Credit Facility, a $12-billion Government of Canada program to help restart the asset-backed securities market following the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Paula also launched BDC’s Funding Platform for Independent Lenders (F-PIL) to provide capital to smaller financing and leasing companies. In 2015, she assumed responsibility for both Syndicated Financing and Indirect Financing (formerly Securitization), rebranding the unit as Wholesale Financing in June 2016. Before joining BDC, Paula spent more than 11 years with the Scotiabank Group, where she gained broad experience in Structured Finance and Corporate Finance.

In 2023, Paula was recognized by Women We Admire as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Toronto. She has been a board member of Futurpreneur since 2020. She holds an International MBA from the Schulich School of Business and an LLM in Banking and Financial Institutions from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Episode 228: Gayle Packer, CEO, Terracon (Replay)

This week, we revisit our interview with Gayle Packer, Board Chair, CEO, and President of Terracon. She joined Terracon (ENR#24)* in 2004. During her 17 years with the company, Gayle has served in multiple leadership roles, including attorney, co-general counsel, director of corporate services, and chief administrative officer. She has been instrumental in Terracon’s growth, coordinating the acquisition of more than 50 companies and expanding the company to over 150 offices nationwide.

Gayle holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Laws from the University of Arkansas. In addition, she also has earned bachelor’s degrees in political science, international studies and agricultural economics, as well as a master’s degree in agricultural economics and applied business management from The Ohio State University. Prior to joining Terracon, Gayle held roles in sales and public relations for the agricultural broadcasting network in Ohio and was as an attorney (specializing in the areas of corporate, tax and employee benefits) at regional and national law firms in their Kansas City offices.

In April 2021, Gayle was elected to the board of VHB, Inc., (ENR#56)* an employee-owned transportation and energy engineering firm, and she serves on VHB’s audit committee. Gayle was recognized in the Kansas City Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business class of 2010 and Ingram’s top Women Executives in 2020. She currently serves on local, regional and national non-profit boards of directors, including the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation (audit committee and investment committee), ACE Mentor Program, ACEC Research Institute (finance committee), Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Gayle was recently elected to the executive committee of the Design Professionals Coalition. Gayle is a member of both the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and Women Corporate Directors where she has served on the programming committee for the local chapter.

Episode 227: Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham. Julia Lee is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and a National Geographic Fellow and Explorer. She currently serves as a faculty co-director for Center for Positive Organizations. She is also a faculty affiliate at the Sanger Leadership Center, and Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining Ross, she served as a Lab Fellow in Institutional Corruption at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, and a Research Fellow in Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University. She earned her PhD, MPP, and AM degrees at Harvard University, where she was trained in organizational behavior, psychology, and behavioral economics.

Dr. Lee Cunningham studies the psychology of narratives, lay theories, and behavioral ethics. She is passionate about understanding the power of narratives in shaping objective reality, discovering the mechanisms that alter them, and illuminating how narratives can be leveraged to yield more ethical, sustainable, and adaptive behavior in the workplace. Her research has been published in a number of top scientific journals in management and psychology, including Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Journal of Applied Psychology.

Dr. Lee Cunningham strives to promote the use of scientific evidence in diagnosing and addressing critical problems in public policy and business practices, and has many years of experience in consulting and conducting field research with leading companies, non-profits, and governments. She teaches BBA, MBA, and executive education courses on leadership, teams, negotiation, and conflict resolution, and was named one of the Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors by Poets and Quants in 2020.

Episode 226: Jeff Lackey, Leadership Lessons

This week we interviewed Jeff Lackey. Jeff is the founder and CEO of JKL Advisors, a consultancy whose purpose is to help grow small, medium, and large corporations that need to unlock their growth strategy with people. Jeff recently served as Vice-President of Talent Acquisition for CVS Health, where he led the award-winning Global Talent Acquisition team for a $300B / 300,000-person enterprise for more than 7 years. He has also led Talent Acquisition for other globally recognized brands, including Rolls-Royce, First Energy, and Corning Incorporated.

Over his 25+ year career, his teams have hired over 1 million people in over 70 countries and across 8 industries – including healthcare, retail, insurance, aerospace, defense, energy, communications, and executive search.
Jeff is continually evaluating new technologies and innovative approaches to Talent Acquisition. He regularly meets with company leaders who are shaping the landscape of Talent Acquisition and includes some of them on his weekly podcast Growing your business with People. Jeff has successfully deployed over 40 different TA Technologies spanning up to 70 countries. He has dedicated many years to participating in industry forums like The Conference Board, Gartner/Leadership Council, customer advisory board to many TA tech companies, HRO Today, DirectEmployers (fmr. Board member), HR.com, and CareerXRoads.

Jeff also serves on the advisory board for Year Up Rhode Island and is the Board Chair for Skills For Rhode Island’s Future, as well as serving on the National Expansion Committee for Skills for America’s Future, three not-for-profit organizations that seek to close the opportunity gap in employment.

Episode 225: Keith Grossman, Leadership Lessons from a CEO

This week, we welcome back Keith Grossman. Keith has been a leader in the medical technology industry for more than 35 years. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Nevro Corporation (NVRO), where he was previously President and CEO from 2019 through April 2023.

Prior to Nevro, he was named President and CEO of Thoratec Corp. (THOR) for the second time in 2014. He led the company’s return to growth, a 2.5x increase in company value, and its $3.4 billion acquisition by St. Jude Medical in 2015. He previously served as the CEO, President, and Director of Conceptus, Inc. (CPTS) from 2011 to 2013, where he took the company from negative sales growth to over 20% growth, tripled EBIDTA, and led the company’s sale to Bayer Healthcare for over $1.1 billion, a 3x increase in the company’s value before his arrival.

Prior to Conceptus, Keith served as managing director of TPG (Texas Pacific Group), a private equity firm, as a member of its healthcare investment team. Prior to TPG, Mr. Grossman served as Thoratec’s President, Chief Executive Officer, and director for the first ten years of its growth as a commercial company.

Prior to Thoratec, he held a number of commercial and general management roles with companies including SulzerMedica and American Hospital Supply Corp.

He currently also serves as Vice Chairman of Alcon, Inc., and is on the board of Outset Medical, Inc. and previously served as a member of the Board of directors of Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Kyphon, Inc., ViewRay, Inc., Zeltiq, Inc, and a number of privately held medical device companies. Keith received a B.S. in life sciences from The Ohio State University and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.

Episode 224: Steve C de Baca, EVP, Chief Patient Safety & Quality Officer, Royal Philips

This week we interviewed Steve C de Baca. Steve is Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Safety & Quality Officer of Royal Philips. He brings more than 30 years of quality and regulatory affairs (QRA) experience in the medical technology industry.

Prior to joining Philips, Steve served as the EVP of QRA for Cardinal Health, supporting the $185 bn enterprise and was a member of the Operating Committee.

Prior to this, Steve served as VP of QRA for Orthopedics and Americas for Zimmer Biomet, where he was responsible for supporting multiple business segments as well as the Americas region for international regulatory and compliance. Earlier in his career, he served as the SVP of Quality, Regulatory & Clinical Affairs for the Danaher Diagnostic platform, which includes the four separate operating companies of Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, Leica Biosystems, Radiometer & Cepheid. Prior to that, Steve was with Boston Scientific for over eight years in progressively senior strategic roles, the last of which was VP of Quality, for the Cardio, Rhythm, and Vascular (CRV) and the Neuromodulation businesses.

Additionally, Steve served as an industry board member and instructor for six years for the Regulatory Affairs master’s degree program at St. Cloud State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering and industrial technology and an MBA, both at California State University Long Beach.

He lives in Minnesota and has been married to his wife Katherine for over 24 years. They are proud of their son Carson who is currently attending Northeastern University in Boston.

Episode 223: Renee Ryan, CEO, Board Member (replay)

This week, we revisit our interview with Renee Ryan. Renee has 25 years of building category-creating healthcare companies. She was most recently the CEO of Cala. Prior to Cala she led the health technology investments for Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC) on the West Coast and Asia Pacific for 8 years. While at J&J, she made over 15 new investments, including the Series A for Cala Health. Previously, she was a healthcare investment banker at RW Baird, Jefferies and Goldman Sachs. Renee currently sits on the boards of Cala, Neuropace and RefleXion Medical.

Episode 222: Sean Bacon, Sustaining Mental Toughness

This week, we interviewed Sean Bacon. Sean is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran who served 12 years as a Paratrooper and as an Instructor at the Canadian Forces Military Police Academy. During that time, Sean developed a system of training to psychologically and physically prepare both soldiers and police to thrive in some of the worst situations and environments the world has to offer with a winning mindset.

His company, Dynamic Shift Consulting Inc., leverages this experience to work with Corporate Leaders and Organizations to develop and sustain Mental Toughness, Leadership, and Team Development in a competitive environment.

His clients include The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold Medal Women’s Eight Rowing Team, Scotiabank, Scotia Wealth, Business Development Bank of Canada, First West Credit Union, Prospera Credit Union, Mountain Equipment Company, Kal Tire, Attabotics, Langley Concrete, Gran Tierra, AG Hair, and the Canadian Men’s National Soccer Team.

Episode 221: John Lowry, Negotiation Made Simple

This week, we welcome Dr. John Lowry. John is a recognized authority on negotiation through his experience as a lawyer, management consultant, entrepreneur, negotiation coach, and university administrator. We discuss his new book Negotiation Made Simple, A Practical Guide for Solving Problems, Building Relationships, and Delivering the Deal.

His results-focused, systematic approach to negotiation has been successfully implemented by thousands of professionals across the United States. John teaches negotiation at the top-ranked Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law and lectures in Vanderbilt University’s Master’s in Management in Health Care program.

John serves as president of Thrivence, a new management consulting firm affiliated with Barge Design Solutions. In addition to leading the firm, John counsels clients on leadership, executive team effectiveness, strategy, revenue growth, and conflict management. He also provides negotiation training and coaching for governmental entities, healthcare organizations, and other businesses. John is a popular keynote speaker and leads multiple executive retreats each year including the opening retreat of the Nashville Health Care Council Fellows program.

John earned his bachelor’s degree in speech communications from Pepperdine University and master’s degree in religion from Abilene Christian University. He received his juris doctorate degree from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law. He has also completed graduate work in dispute resolution at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law and in public policy at California State University, Sacramento.

John resides in Nashville, TN with his wife, Melissa, and their three children.

Episode 220: Andy Bass, Start With What Works

This week, we interviewed Andy Bass, who is a consultant, author, and speaker who works with businesses to find and exploit their hidden assets. He has worked with organizations in the UK, US and Far East including International Automotive Component Group, Rolls Royce, L’Oreal, Trimas, Deutsche Bank and The Advanced Propulsion Centre.

Prior to his consulting career, Andy was a lecturer at Aston Business School and has also taught at Oxford Saïd, Warwick and Strathclyde Business Schools.

Andy has a PhD in Software Engineering and describes himself as a geek who learned to wear a suit (to the point where he can pass undetected in the C-suite – usually). He is author of Start With What Works: a faster way to grow your business, Committed Action: The three-step method to inspire your people to take action, and The Performance Papers: Incisive Briefings for Busy Leaders.

Outside work, he played lead guitar in a Rush tribute band, and is a failed standup comedian.

For free book chapters and presentations, visit: bassclusker.com.

Episode 219: Jeremy Utley, Ideaflow (Replay)

In this week’s episode, we revisit our conversation with Jeremy Utley. Jeremy is the Director of Executive Education at Stanford’s d.school and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford’s School of Engineering. He is the co-host of the d.school’s widely popular program, “Stanford’s Masters of Creativity.” He is the coauthor of Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric That Matters (Portfolio) with Perry Klebahn.

He is also on the teaching teams of d.org, an organizational design course, and Transformative Design, a course that turns the tools of design onto graduate students’ lives. One of the most prodigious collaborators at the d.school, Jeremy has taught alongside the likes of Lecrae, Dan Ariely, Laszlo Bock, and Greg McKeown.

He holds a BBA with Honors in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Episode 218: Scott Flora, Experienced CEO, Board Member

This week, we interviewed Scott Flora. Scott is an accomplished medical device executive who has held global leadership positions at Smith & Nephew Loptex (Opthalmology), Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics, and Covidien, now known as Medtronic. Scott was also the CEO at Invuity, OmniGuide, and Conventus Orthopaedics. In the past, Scott has held public board roles at MAKO, now Stryker, and Invuity, now Stryker. Scott is currently President and CEO of SFlora Consulting, LLC, which assists investors and CEOs of early and later-stage growth businesses with their growth strategies.

Scott is Chairman of the board at Palliare LTD and a board member of TubeWriter, Origami Surgical, and Integrum.

Episode 217: Heather Simonsen, CEO, Boomerang Medical, Inc. (Replay)

This week, we revisit our interview with Heather Simonsen. Heather is the CEO and Board Member of Boomerang Medical, Inc., a bioelectronic medicine company focused on autoimmune diseases.

Throughout her career, Ms. Simonsen has served in numerous executive leadership roles, most recently as the President of PQ Bypass, Inc., a medtech company acquired in 2021 in one of the highest-valued vascular device exits in the past decade. Prior to that, she held senior leadership roles at both venture-funded medical technology startups, five of which were acquired, as well as Fortune 500 companies such as Abbott and Johnson & Johnson.

She spent the early part of her career in hospital administration and management consulting with a specialty focus on risk management for healthcare organizations. Her record of effectively and efficiently bringing multiple companies from start-up to liquidity, including the successful sale of PQ Bypass. In addition to her operating roles, Simonsen was one of the founding board members for the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) in San Francisco and also served on the HBA national Board of Directors.

Currently, she serves on the Founders Board of Advisors for Stanford’s StartX incubation program for entrepreneurial companies focused on changing the future of healthcare. She has an MBA from Chicago’s DePaul Kellstadt School of Business and completed the Executive Program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Episode 215: Pam Fox Rollin, Growing Groups into Teams

This week we interviewed Pam Fox Rollin. Pam coaches executives and top teams in Silicon Valley and globally. Pam also facilitates technology and healthcare organizations to succeed in strategic transformation, executive development, and culture change. Her bestselling books — Growing Groups into Teams and 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role — are described as indispensable for leaders at all levels. Pam and her team at Altus Growth Partners work with highly capable people to take on their next round of leadership and strategic growth.

Pam’s MBA is from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business (GSB), where she later served as Guest Fellow in leadership and Master Coach for executive education.

Episode 214: Ann Latham, The Power of Clarity

This week, we interviewed Ann Latham. Ann is the author of The Power of Clarity: Unleash the True Potential of Workplace Productivity, Confidence, and Empowerment.

She is also the founder of Boston area consulting firm Uncommon Clarity®, Inc. Her clients represent more than 40 industries and range from for-profit organizations, such as Boeing, Medtronic, and Hitachi, to nonprofit organizations as diverse as Public Television and Smith College.

Ann spent the first half of her career working in high-tech companies, beginning as a software engineer and winding up reporting to the CEO and leading cross-functional and cross-divisional efforts to set strategy and make operational improvements. In 2004, after years of helping only one company at a time, Ann decided to strike out as an independent consultant so she could take her talents to many companies and increase her impact.

Ann has also authored three additional books: The Disconnect Principle, The Clarity Papers and Uncommon Meetings.

Ann has been quoted in the New York Times, Bloomberg, MSNBC, and is an expert blogger for Forbes.com. She is also a guest lecturer at the Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts and Springfield College.

She graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University with a degree mathematics.

Episode 213: Tim Lupinacci, CEO and Chair, Baker Donelson

This week, we interviewed Tim Lupinacci. Tim spent the first 28 years of his legal practice focused on helping financial institutions solve complex problems arising in commercial restructuring and bankruptcy matters throughout the country. During his leadership journey at Baker Donelson, Tim chaired the Financial Services Department, the Women’s Pathways to Leadership Committee, and served as a member of the Firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. He was awarded with the Firm’s highest award for both advancement and support of women and advancement and support of minorities.

Four years ago, he was selected as CEO and Chair of Baker Donelson, which is one of the 100 largest law firms in the country. In these positions, he has led the Firm through significant organizational change, growth, and the global pandemic. He continues leading Baker Donelson through its five year BakerVision 2028 strategy, and the execution of its Diversity & Inclusion Compact.

As a self-professed “leadership junkie,” Tim’s journey to stepping up as a leader began thirty years ago as a young lawyer after disappointing a boss with an epic failure. The boss challenged Tim (after significant yelling and tough love!) by saying he saw Tim as a strong young leader who needed to recognize that he was a leader, and step up to own his work, his career, and his ambitions.

In the three decades since, Tim has studied, read, and grown his leadership skills through hard work, being curious, trying novel ideas, failing, learning from the failures, and getting better every day. This culminated in launching a non-profit called “Everybody Leads” focused on empowering individuals in underserved communities with basic leadership skills and confidence to better lead themselves, lead others, and lead in the community.

Episode 212: Lesly Jules, HOPE International

This week, we interviewed Lesly Jules. Lesly is the author of three influential management books; one of them is a Handbook for Church Management. He is a visiting professor in MBA programs in Haiti and USA.

Lesly currently serves as regional director with HOPE International, a Christ-centered organization that empowers men, women, and families to break the cycles of physical and spiritual poverty through discipleship, biblically based business training, savings services, and small loans. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and son.

Episode 211: Vanessa Patrick, The Power of Saying No

This week, we interviewed Dr. Vanessa Patrick. Vanessa is a Professor of Marketing and the Associate Dean for Research at the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. We discuss her book The Power of Saying No.

She has been recognized with a number of awards for both scholarship and teaching, including the LeRoy and Lucille Melcher Faculty Excellence award from the Bauer College of Business for Research Excellence (2011), Service Excellence (2016) and Teaching Excellence (2018). The Marketing Science Institute named her one of the top young scholars in the field. In 2012, she was named one of the top 50 most productive marketing scholars worldwide by the DocSig of the American Marketing Association. She was appointed as a Fulbright Specialist (2019-24) by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Vanessa has published dozens of research articles in top-tier academic journals in psychology, marketing, and management, and popular accounts of her work have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Los Angeles Times, Business Week, Fast Company, Forbes, Huffington Post and Washington Post. In her research, she investigates strategies to achieve personal mastery and inspire everyday excellence in oneself and others and is a pioneer in the study of everyday consumer aesthetics.

She has a PhD in Business from the University of Southern California and an MBA in marketing and a BS degree in microbiology and biochemistry from Bombay University in India.

Vanessa lives with her family in Houston, Texas.

Episode 210: John Paul (J.P.) Stephens

This week, we interview John Paul (J.P.) Stephens. J.P. is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. His research focuses on the experience of work relationships and the coordination that these relationships enable. More specifically, this has entailed close examination of people’s experience of high-quality connections, their emotional carrying capacity (or ability to express more and different kinds of emotion), the interplay between emotion and attention for the aesthetic experience of collective work, and the relational coordination that facilitates the collective efforts of complex, interdependent project work.

His work has appeared in the Academy of Management Review, the Journal of Business Ethics, the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, the Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work, the Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship, and the Handbook of Leadership and Creativity. He has also contributed to stories in Fast Company and public radio’s Marketplace.

Episode 209: David Klein

This week we interviewed David Klein. David is a nationally recognized, award-winning transformational coach and experience designer in the baseball and softball world. His distinct approach marries traditional coaching with modern methodologies, tailored to resonate with today’s youth.

As a former college baseball player and coach, he laid the foundation for Legends Baseball and Softball in 2009. From its humble beginnings as a summer collegiate baseball team and youth camp, Legends Baseball has grown exponentially to become the largest club baseball program on the West Coast. Impressively, it stands alone as the only U.S. franchise specializing in baseball and softball, producing over 50 players who have signed MLB contracts, and nurturing 3 major leaguers and 2 Olympians.

Episode 208: Emily Jordan Gargas

This week, we interviewed Emily Jordan Gargas. Emily is a dynamic force in the world of marketing. She holds a remarkable track record across various sectors such as tech, sports/fitness, healthcare, retail and has led teams at global heavyweights like Nike and Google as well as nimble, high growth startups like Tubi and Willow. Most recently, she was steering the ship as the VP of Marketing at Willow Innovations spearheading consumer awareness, brand strategy and performance marketing.

She’s an expert architect of brand campaigns, product launches, and digital initiatives and enjoys nothing more than masterfully constructing high-caliber marketing teams under a culture infused with innovation and collaboration. She has won a number of AdWeek and AdAge awards for her provocative brand campaigns and a Cannes Lion for her work on Google’s first popup store and retail strategy.

Emily lives in Oakland California with her husband, Dan and 10 month old daughter, Jovie. She credits much of her success to having a supportive partner, a helpful support system and her midwestern work ethic.

Episode 207: Anjan Thakor, Senior Associate Dean, and John E. Simon, Professor of Finance at the Olin Business School

This week, we interview Anjan Thakor, Senior Associate Dean, and John E. Simon, Professor of Finance at the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis. Thakor was previously The Edward J. Frey Professor of Banking and Finance at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, where he also served as chairman of the Finance area. He has served on the faculties of Indiana University, Northwestern University, and UCLA.

He has worked with many companies, including Whirlpool Corporation, Allision Engine Co., Citigroup, RR Donnelley, Dana Corporation, Anheuser-Busch, Zenith Corporation, Lincoln National Corporation, J.P. Morgan, Landscape Structures, Inc., CIGNA, Borg-Warner Automative, Waxman Industries, Reuters, The Limited, Ryder Integrated Logistics, AT&T, CH2M Hill, Takata Corporation, Tyson Foods, Spartech.

He has published over 75 research papers and seven books. He is past managing Editor of the Journal of Financial Intermediation and past president of the Financial Intermediation Research Society. He has a Ph.D. (Finance) from Northwestern University.

Episode 206: Ann Hatcher, Strategic Human Capital Advisor | CHRO

This week, we interviewed Ann Hatcher. Ann is a Senior Consultant at Thrivence, based in Nashville, with more than 25 years’ experience in all areas of human capital. Prior to joining Thrivence in 2022, Ann was the Chief HR Officer role at Wellpath, a $2B private-equity backed healthcare company contracting with state and local governments. At Wellpath, Ann built a scalable HR function to support company growth. Prior to Wellpath, Ann held multiple VP roles at HCA Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest publicly traded hospital companies.

Ann received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Washington & Lee University and Master of Business Administration from Belmont University. She serves on the board of the Urban League of Middle TN. She serves as Adjunct Faculty at Vanderbilt University’s Master of Leadership and Organizational Performance. Ann and her husband Scott reside in Nashville, where they are cheering on their recent college graduate son Joseph.

Episode 205: Brennan Marilla, Chief Commercial and Operating Officer at Ossio, Ltd.

This week we interviewed Brennan Marilla. Brennan has a 30-year track record of driving growth and commercializing transformative therapies in med-tech. He currently serves as Chief Commercial & Operating Officer for Israeli start-up OSSIO, where he has helped build one of the fastest growing, disruptive companies in the orthopedic implant market over the last 6 years.

Before OSSIO, he was Chief Commercial Officer for Surgical Specialties Corp (now Corza Medical), where significant improvements in top and bottom-line performance for the contract manufacturer led to a successful acquisition by Vivo Capital in 2017. Prior, he was VP & GM of Covidien’s $650M Endovascular business and VP, Sales and Marketing for their $1B+ Peripheral Vascular sector. In his tenure, these franchises rapidly transformed into a market-leading brand through multiple product introductions, disruptive technology acquisitions, and market development campaigns.

Before Covidien, he spent 12 years at Medtronic where he was VP, US Sales and Director, Global Marketing for their aortic stent graft business, where he helped develop these therapies into what is now the standard of care in a $2 billion global market.

Episode 204: Ellen Taaffe, Author of The Mirrored Door

This week, we are joined by Ellen Connelly Taaffe. Ellen is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Kellogg School of Management, where she teaches Personal Leadership Insights and is the Director of Women’s Leadership Program. She spent 25 years with Fortune 500 companies holding the top brand management post at divisions of PepsiCo, Royal Caribbean, and Whirlpool Corporation.

Ellen serves as an independent board director for three company boards, runs a leadership advisory consulting, speaking, and coaching business and is a TEDx speaker. She shares her insights on leadership, careers, and advancing women and inclusion through her writing and speaking in media like Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Insider, Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Kellogg Insight.

In her new book, The Mirrored Door: Break Through the Hidden Barrier that Locks Successful Women in Place, Taaffe uses her vast experience to help women understand and navigate through internal and external obstacles to create the careers they desire.

Episode 203: Meredith Bell, Co-Founder & President, Grow Stong Leaders

On this week’s podcast, we interview Meredith Bell, co-founder and President of Grow Strong Leaders. Her company publishes software tools and books that help people build strong relationships at work and at home.

Meredith is an expert in leader and team communications, the author of three books, and the host of the Grow Strong Leaders Podcast. She co-authored her latest books, Connect with Your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills, and Peer Coaching Made Simple, with her business partner, Dr. Dennis Coates. In them, Meredith and Denny provide how-to guides for improving communication at work and serving as a peer coach to others.

Episode 202: Ryan Quinn

In this episode, we interview Ryan Quinn. Ryan is the Chair of, and an Associate Professor in, the Management and Entrepreneurship Department of the University of Louisville’s College of Business. He is also the Academic Director of the Center for Positive Leadership. He earned his Bachelors of Science in Statistics at Brigham Young University and earned a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management and a graduate certificate in Complex Systems from the University of Michigan.

He conducts research, teaches, and consults on topics related to leadership and change management. He has published research on topics such as courage, learning, flow, communication, and relationships in journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Academy of Management Discoveries, and Social Networks, and he is also a co-author of the book, Lift: The Fundamental State of Leadership.

He has taught at all levels, including executive, Ph.D., MBA, and undergraduate, and has consulted around the world for Fortune 500 companies, private firms, start-up businesses, non-profits, and government institutions. He is particularly interested in discovering and using tools that help individuals and organizations to unleash their full potential.

Episode 201: Melissa Pickering, VP of Product, Willow Innovations

This week Melissa Pickering joins us as a guest on Motivated to Lead. Melissa is a product executive with 18 years of experience in building products and product teams across CPG, EdTech, and MedTech industries. Melissa is VP of Product at Willow Innovations, a company dedicated to building solutions to moms’ most meaningful problems.

She began her career as a mechanical engineer for Disney Imagineering, which motivated her to launch an edtech startup to inspire a future generation of engineers. After her startup was acquired, she relocated to Denmark for several years to build and lead product innovation teams at The LEGO Group.

She has shared her purpose-driven product beliefs on the TEDx stage and continues to share her experiences with emerging product leaders as a volunteer podcast host.

Episode 200: Alisa Cohn, From Start-Up To Grown-Up (Replay)

In this week’s episode, we revisit our interview with Alisa Cohn. Alisa is an Executive Coach who has worked with C-suite executives at prominent startups (such as Venmo, Etsy, Draft Kings, The Wirecutter, Mack Weldon, and Tory Burch) and Fortune 500 companies (including Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Pfizer, Calvin Klein and The New York Times.) She is the author of From Start-up to Grown-up, which won the 2022 Independent Press Award, and the creator and host of a podcast of the same name.

A frequent keynoter, Inc. Magazine named Alisa one of the top 100 leadership speakers, and she was named the Top Startup Coach in the World at the Thinkers50/Marshall Goldsmith Global Coaches Awards and the #1 Global Guru for Startups.

She is the executive coach for Cornell’s New York City tech incubator, and she has coached leaders from around the world, including the first female minister of the transition state of Afghanistan and the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. She has guest lectured at Harvard, Cornell, The Naval War College and Henley Business School. Her articles have appeared in HBR, Inc, and Forbes, and she’s been featured as an expert on BBC World News, Bloomberg TV, and in the NY Times and Wall Street Journal.

Episode 199: Stacey Porter, Chief People Officer, Outset Medical (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Stacey Porter. Stacey is the Chief People Officer at Outset Medical. Stacey has expertise in organizational design, innovative talent practices, and employee engagement.

Prior to Outset, she was the Head of Global Talent Development for Intuitive Surgical, Inc., responsible for designing performance and succession practices, while developing leaders and high-performing teams. Stacey has held leadership roles at VMware and Roche, and has built a career on creating nimble, progressive organizations. She has a MSW and doctoral studies in industrial/organizational psychology.

Episode 198: Jason Mellad, CEO & Co-Founder, Start Codon (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Jason Mellad. Jason is the CEO of Start Codon. Jason is a scientist entrepreneur passionate about translating innovative technologies into better patient outcomes. As CEO and co-founder of Start Codon, a Cambridge-based accelerator, he aims to identify and recruit the most disruptive healthcare startups worldwide. Previously he was CEO of Cambridge Epigenetix and Business Development Manager for Horizon Discovery’s diagnostics division.

Jason has a Ph.D., Medicine from the University of Cambridge.

Episode 197: Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham (Replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham. Julia Lee is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and a National Geographic Fellow and Explorer. She currently serves as a faculty co-director for Center for Positive Organizations. She is also a faculty affiliate at the Sanger Leadership Center, and Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining Ross, she served as a Lab Fellow in Institutional Corruption at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, and a Research Fellow in Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University. She earned her PhD, MPP, and AM degrees at Harvard University, where she was trained in organizational behavior, psychology, and behavioral economics.

Episode 196: Magnus Nicolin (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Magnus Nicolin. Magnus served as Chief Executive Officer, of Ansell, a global company with over 14,000 employees, until 2021. He is currently the Chairman of the Board at Munters a $1B provider of indoor climate solutions. He also serves on the boards of BillerudKorsnäs and Fam AB which are multi-billion-dollar companies.

Prior to joining Ansell, Magnus, a Swedish citizen, spent three years with Newell Rubbermaid Inc., most recently as President, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. Prior to that, he spent seven years with Esselte Business Systems Inc, where in 2002, he led the leveraged buy-out of Esselte from the Stockholm and London Stock Exchanges. Following the buy-out, he became the Chief Executive Officer of Esselte. He has also held senior management positions with Bayer AG, Pitney Bowes, and McKinsey & Company.

Episode 195: Brittany Bradrick, COO & CFO, Board Member (Replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Brittany Bradrick. Brittany has over 20 years of experience in finance, strategy, and corporate development for life science companies, with operational and advisory experience. Brittany is a COO & CFO at Neurelis, Inc. Before that; she was the COO and CFO at ViaCyte. Previously she was Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development at Insulet Corporation, an insulin pump company. Before Insulet, she was Director, Business Development and Alliance Management at Abbott Diabetes Care, a glucose measurement company. Before Abbott, Brittany was an investment banker in the life science industry for ten years at Piper Jaffray, Credit Suisse, and Chase Securities. Brittany started her career as a Federal Reserve Bank Examiner.

Brittany earned an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and a B.S. in business administration from the University of Missouri. She currently serves on the advisory board of AltrixBio and the board of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.

Episode 194: Nick Damiano, CEO & Founder, Andromeda Surgical

This week we interview Nick Damian. Nick is a serial entrepreneur focused on solving unmet needs to improve patient care. He is currently CEO & Founder of Andromeda Surgical, which is developing autonomous robots for safer, better, more efficient surgery. Before that, he was CEO & Co-Founder of Zenflow, where he co-invented a novel implant for BPH (enlarged prostate) and led the product from inception through multiple clinical trials to commercial readiness, raising over $60M in funding. He was also CTO & co-founder at Nurep, later re-branded as Avail MedSystems. He was the key architect of the company’s remote surgical support product for operating rooms that is now used in hundreds of medical facilities.

Nick earned his M.S. and B.S. with Distinction in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University and was an Innovation Fellow at Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. He was the first medtech founder to be funded by Y Combinator twice and actively advises startups through StartX, UCSF Rosenman Institute, and Nucleate Bio. He also dabbles on the investor side as a Venture Partner at Pioneer Fund.

Episode 193: Ralph Boyd, President & CEO, SOME, Inc.

This week we interview Ralph Boyd. Ralph is the President and CEO of SOME, Inc. a large Washington, D.C.-based housing development, health care, and human services organization.

Boyd has extensive experience as a senior executive and board leader in both the public company and nonprofit sectors and served as a federal prosecutor and assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice. His executive experience also includes serving as EVP and general counsel of a Fortune 50 financial services company, CEO of a major corporate foundation, CEO of the Americas region of an international real estate development organization, and a regional CEO of The American Red Cross. Boyd also previously practiced law as a partner in the Boston office of Goodwin Procter LLP and the Washington, D.C., office of Alston & Bird.

Ralph serves on the board of directors for InfuSystem and currently serves as chair of the Compensation Committee. He also serves as a member of the Corporate Nominating and Governance Committee.He previously served as a board member and Audit Committee chair of the DirecTV Group, Inc. (formerly NASDAQ: DTV) and as a member of the company’s Nominating and Governance Committee.

He currently serves as chair of Sandy Spring Bancorp’s (NASDAQ: SASR) Compensation Committee and as a member of the Executive and Nominating and Governance Committees. Boyd also is the non-executive chairman of the NHP Foundation, a nonprofit developer, owner, and operator of multi-family affordable housing properties nationwide.

Boyd is a graduate of Haverford College and Harvard Law School.

Episode 192: John Milad, Healthcare VC, Executive, Board Member

This week we interview John Milad. John has 25 years of experience as a start-up executive, venture investor, and banker specializing in healthcare innovation across the UK, Europe, and the US. He had 10 years of life sciences venture experience at a family office, Atlas Venture, NBGI Venture and Downing. Notable exits include Symetis, ACT/EPIX, BoneSupport and Medcast/WebMD.

John is a Co-founder of Quanta Dialysis Technologies, which I led as CEO for 8 years. Notable outcomes include creating an award-winning, disruptive portable dialysis system; raising nearly $400m in funding; commercially launching in UK and US; and establishing trans-Atlantic commercial operations. For another 2 years, he served as an executive at Nitec Pharma, which was ultimately sold to Horizon Therapeutics.

John has held multiple board positions across the sector. He has been an advisor to NIHR i4i programme. Mentor at the Enterprise Hub of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

He has been recognized in the Sunday Times Maserati List of the UK’s Top 100 “Game Changing Innovators and Entrepreneurs”; Winner of the 2022 MacRobert Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering for outstanding engineering innovation.

Episode 191: Vanessa Bohns (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Vanessa Bohns. We discuss her new book You Have More Influence Than You Think. Vanessa is a social psychologist, an award-winning researcher and teacher, and a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University.

She holds a PhD in psychology from Columbia University and an AB in psychology from Brown University. Professor Bohns has been a Visiting Scholar at the NYU Stern School of Business and has taught at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, and her research has been published in top academic journals in psychology, management, and law, and featured by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Economist, and NPR’s Hidden Brain. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and two daughters.

Episode 190: Fouad Al Noor, Co-Founder & CEO, ThinkSono

This week we interview Fouad Al Noor. Fouad is the Co-Founder and CEO of ThinkSono. Prior to ThinkSono, Fouad was an entrepreneur with Entrepreneur First, where they created a medical software startup.

Fouad has also worked as a Research Assistant at Imperial College London, where they worked on the design of data logging and battery optimization circuit for a portable EEG sensor. This device is used to help with sleep monitoring using brain signals.

Before that, Fouad worked as a Software Engineer at SAP, where they worked on front-end UI for a large manufacturing project. Fouad has also worked as an Events Manager at Cafe Parfait, where they helped design a night out for the club. Fouad has also interned at SPI Lasers as an Electronic Engineering Intern and was the Opinions Editor at Wessex Scene.

Fouad Al Noor has a Master of Engineering (MEng) in Electronic Engineering with Nanotechnology from the University of Southampton.

Episode 188 & 189: Gregg Lehman, Experienced CEO, and Board Member

In this two-part conversation, we welcome Gregg Lehman to join us as our guest. Gregg was our first guest on the Motivated to Lead podcast. Gregg has significant experience in CEO and board director (Chairman/Vice Chairman) positions. He is a transformational leader moving underperforming businesses to high-performing, profitable companies. His expertise is diverse, with a concentration in healthcare services, medical devices, payment models, and healthcare IT (B2B, B2C). Gregg has recently joined us at SIMA Partners as the Healthcare/Medical Device Practice Co-Leader.

Gregg currently serves on the board of InfuSystem (NYSE: INFU). He has held positions of Chairman, Vice Chairman, Executive Chairman, member of the Audit Committee, Chairman of the Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Governance Committee. Lehman has served as CEO of EB Employee Solutions, LLC. He was president and CEO of MGC Diagnostics Corporation, a leader in cardio-respiratory diagnostics, from July 2011 until May 2014. He served as president and CEO of Health Fitness Corporation, a population health management company, from 2007 through 2010.

Before that, he held numerous senior-level executive and governance positions in the medical and higher education, including president and CEO of INSPIRIS, Inc., a Nashville-based specialty care medical management company; of Gordian Health Solutions, Inc., a population health management company; and of the National Business Coalition on Health in Washington, D.C. He also served as president of Taylor University in Indiana.

Gregg earned a Doctorate and a Master of Science in higher education administration, with a minor in finance and economics from Purdue University and a Bachelor of Science in business management and marketing from Indiana University.

Episode 187: David Kuraguntla , CEO and co-founder, Alio

This week we interview Dave Kuraguntla, the co-founder and CEO of Alio, a medical technology company reinventing chronic disease management. After serving in the Air Force, Dave was selected for a fellowship that allowed him to attend medical school. He received his medical degree in osteopathic medicine (D.O.). He was preparing for a surgical residency when he experienced firsthand the need for better technological solutions for those with chronic conditions.

Drawing on his experience as a former NIH researcher, Dave began to explore the potential of noninvasive wearables for conditions like End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD). Since then, Alio has secured $53 million in funding to date and formed key strategic partnerships with organizations like the NHS in the UK and US Renal Care. For more information visit www.alio.ai.

Episode 186: Bill Facteau, CEO, Earlens Corp. (Replay)

In this episode, we revisit our interview Bill Facteau who is Chairman, President, and CEO of Earlens Corporation in Menlo Park, California. Bill joined Earlens Corporation as Chairman, President & CEO in November of 2013. Previously he acted as the Vice Chairman of ExploraMed Development, LLC, a medical device incubator based on the West Coast and as an Entrepreneur in Residence at New Enterprise Associates (NEA). He also serves on the Board of Directors of ExploraMed Development LLC, NeoTract, Inc., and Autonomic Technologies, Inc. (ATI). Previous to this, Mr. Facteau was at Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) from January 2010 through January 2012 as Worldwide President of their ENT Division. Facteau joined JNJ via the $800M acquisition of Acclarent, Inc. where he served as the President, CEO, and a member of the Board of Directors since the company’s formation in 2004. Under Facteau’s leadership, the company went from concept to acquisition in 5 ½ years, raised over $100M, created jobs for approximately 400 employees, grew revenues to $100M and became profitable. Earlier in his career he was GM of Endovascular Division of Abbott Vascular. Bill has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut and is a named inventor on several issued patents.

Some of his recent published works include: “Reboot, Not Refresh,” International Banker Spring 2018; “Board Evaluations: Getting Aligned,” published by Nasdaq 2017, and “Six Reasons Digital D&O Questionnaires Streamline Proxy Disclosure,” published by Nasdaq 2017, and Board Evaluations 101, 2016.

Episode 185: Byron Loflin (Replay)

This week we revisit a conversation with Byron Loflin who is the Global Head of Nasdaq Board Advisory & Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence. He is the founder of the Center for Board Excellence (CBE) and is the architect of CBE’s unique board assessment and advisory platform that was acquired by Nasdaq. Byron is recognized in the governance community for developing unique products that address board dynamics, corporate culture, accountability, and performance. His experience and expertise are in the design and administration of assessments and advising board chairs, boards, committees, directors, and executive management in a full range of corporate governance matters, including strategic alignment, best practices, board refreshment, diversity, structures, and corporate planning. He and his team have performed several hundred third-party board, committee, peer, and CEO self-assessments for organizations of all structures and sizes.

Byron is a graduate of Harvard Business School (OPM) and James Madison University (BA). He is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance, Institute of Directors (UK), and the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Episode 183: New CEO’s and Boards, Beverly Behan (Replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Beverly Behan. Bev is one of the foremost global experts on board effectiveness, having worked with nearly 200 Boards of Directors (largely S&P1500s) over the past 25 years. She’s worked with boards across the United States and around the world on a range of issues including the design of genuinely worthwhile board and director evaluations and the development of comprehensive CEO and board succession plans.

We discuss her newest book New CEO’s and Boards: How to Build a Great Board Relationship-and a Great Board. She also consults to Board Chairs and new CEOs about optimizing their effectiveness in leading and working with their boards. Bev is the author of the governance classic, Great Companies Deserve Great Boards, named Governance Book of the Year by Directors & Boards magazine in 2012 and Board & Director Evaluations: Innovations for 21^st Century Governance Committees. Becoming a Boardroom Star, debuted in Sept/21 as the #1 New Release on Amazon in corporate governance.

Episode 182: Heather Simonsen, CEO, Boomerang Medical

This week we interview Heather Simonsen, CEO and Board Member, Boomerang Medical, Inc., a bioelectronic medicine company focused on autoimmune diseases.

Episode 181: Paul Batz, CEO, Good Leadership (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Paul Batz the CEO and Founder of Good Leadership Enterprises. Paul Batz has ushered in the golden era of executive team coaching, changing the conversation about what modern leadership looks like. He founded Good Leadership to help CEOs, business owners, executives, and community leaders grow and thrive with the idea goodness pays. Paul’s not-so-secret sauce teaches how alignment, commitment, and open accountability within teams are rewarded with great business results.

Paul’s personal mission is to help teams weave goodness into their work, achieving more together than they ever could alone. He uses goodness as the subject for team coaching, training, speaking, and inspirational programming.

The movement began when the Good Leadership Breakfast Series took off like a rocket. Since 2010, more than 30,000 guests have attended what is now the hottest leadership development networking breakfast series in the Midwest. In 2017, Paul started Good Leadership Press, a publishing label that produces positive books and tools to help good leaders create great results in their personal and professional lives.

Paul is blending the Seven Fs with his business partner and wife Melinda and their three adult children who all touch the business. He is hopelessly addicted to golf, an Elton John wannabee piano player, a philanthropist, and he loves hosting dinner parties at their home in Bloomington, MN.

Episode 180: Christine Yan, Board Member, Strategic Advisor (Replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Christine Yan, an experienced public company board member and senior operating executive with a successful track record in managing global P&L, M&A, Sales and Marketing, and R&D Engineering. Christine serves on the board of Modine Manufacturing Company, ON Semiconductor, Ansell Limited, and Cabot Corporation. She is a member of the China Advisory Group for the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs.

Christine spent nearly 30 years with Stanley Black and Decker, a $14 billion global diversified industrial company. She was a member of the senior executive team. She held a number of significant P&L roles, including as President of Asia, President of Storage and Workspace Systems, President of Americas, and President of Global Automotive for Stanley Engineered Fastening.

Christine is a member of The Committee of 200 (C200), an invitation-only membership organization of the world’s most successful women business leaders.

Christine holds an MBA from the University of Michigan, a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from Wayne State University, and a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Shandong University.

Episode 178: Steven Kwast, Lt. General, Air Force, (Ret.) (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Steven Kwast, who is the CEO of Skycorp Inc. He is a retired Air Force General who has spent his life understanding the art of peaceful International affairs and national security strategies.

He was raised in a remote African tribe and is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy in astronautical engineering. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He has extensive experience in recruiting, educating, training, and developing the workforce for the US Air Force.

He was the University President for the Air Force’s University (Air University) in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a combat-seasoned fighter pilot with extensive command experience at every level in the US Air Force. He authored the “Fast Space” study that puts forward a plan to develop the economic and national security power of Space for 21st-century challenges.

Episode 177: You Have More Influence Than You Think, Vanessa Bohns

This week we revisit our interview with Vanessa Bohns. We discuss her new book, You Have More Influence Than You Think. Vanessa is a social psychologist, an award-winning researcher and teacher, and a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University.

She holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University and an AB in psychology from Brown University. Professor Bohns has been a Visiting Scholar at the NYU Stern School of Business and has taught at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, and her research has been published in top academic journals in psychology, management, and law, and featured by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Economist, and NPR’s Hidden Brain. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and two daughters.

Episode 176: Michael Bungay Stanier (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Michael Bungay Stanier. Michael is the author of six books and is best known for The Coaching Habit, the best-selling coaching book of the century with over a million copies sold and already recognized as a classic. We discuss Michael’s brand-new book, How To Begin.

Michael was a Rhodes Scholar and plays the ukulele badly. He’s Australian and lives in Toronto, Canada. Learn more at www.MBS.works.

Episode 175: The Power of Flexing, Susan Ashford (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Susan (Sue) Ashford, who is an award-winning scholar and Professor at the University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business. She is the author of “The Power of Flexing: How to Use Small Daily Experiments to Create Big Life-Changing Growth”.

Her research has been summarized as advice for managers in the Harvard Business Review, the Harvard Business Review blog, New York Magazine, and The Conversation. Sue is a Fellow of the Academy of Management. She was awarded the prestigious Career Achievement Award for Distinguished Scholarly Contributions to Management by that Association in 2017 and the OB Division Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

Sue is a native Californian and the daughter of two native Californians. Sue lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with her husband, also a University of Michigan faculty member, with whom she raised three daughters.

Episode 174: Jeremy Utley, Ideaflow

In this week’s episode, we talk with Jeremy Utley. Jeremy is the Director of Executive Education at Stanford’s d.school and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford’s School of Engineering. He is the co-host of the d.school’s widely popular program, “Stanford’s Masters of Creativity.” He is the coauthor of Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric That Matters (Portfolio) with Perry Klebahn.

He holds a BBA with Honors in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Episode 173: Mark Herschberg, The Career Toolkit

In this week’s episode, we interview Mark Herschberg, who is the author of The Career Toolkit, Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You. Educated at MIT, Mark has spent his career launching and fixing new ventures at startups, Fortune 500s, and academia.

He’s developed new software languages, online marketplaces, new authentication systems, and tracked criminals and terrorists on the dark web. Mark helped create the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program, MIT’s “Career Success Accelerator,” where he’s taught for twenty years.

Mark also serves on the board of Plant a Million Corals.

Episode 172: Alden Mills, Unstoppable

In this week’s episode, we interview Alden Mills. Alden became a nationally ranked rower, a gold medalist in the Olympic Festival, and captain of the freshman and varsity teams at the U.S. Naval Academy. As a Navy SEAL, he led his platoon through multiple missions.

After discharge from the military, he founded Perfect Fitness and led it to growth of over 12,000% annual sales of $90 million, and Inc. magazine recognition as the fastest-growing consumer products in America in just three years. He developed over 40 patents, including the Perfect Pushup, Perfect Pullup, Perfect Sit-up, and Perfect Ab Carver.

Alden’s books include Be Unstoppable: The 8 Essential Actions to Succeed at Anything and Unstoppable Teams: The Four Essential Actions of High-Performance Leadership. He has been featured on ABC’s Nightline, CBS This Morning, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, and more. He serves on boards of a number of non-profits.

For tools and resources to help you become unstoppable, visit Alden-Mills.com.

Episode 171: Kristie Paskvan, Experienced COO, CFO and Board Director

In this episode, we interview Kristie Paskvan. Kristie is an experienced board member and CFO/COO/President with over 25 years of experience assisting diversified financial services, asset management, real estate, insurance, and professional services companies grow their businesses worldwide.

Kristie is a board director at First Women’s Bank (FWB) – a de novo bank launched in 2021, SmithBucklin – a Chicago-based association management company, and the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) which provides objective state insurance rate and loss cost recommendations. She is a member of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago board of directors where she chairs the Stronger Neighborhoods committee and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce board. Additionally, she is a member of the University of Illinois Dean’s Business Council for the Gies College of Business. Kristie is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), attaining Certified Board Director status.

Kristie was a member of the Mesirow Financial board of directors for 6 years, participating in or leading numerous committees including strategy, audit, information technology, HR & compensation, and enterprise risk management.

She is a part-time Associate Director in the Magelli Office of Experiential Learning at the University of Illinois Gies College of Business. Previously she was the CFO and COO at Mesirow Financial, a global financial services company.

Kristie received her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois. She has an executive MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. She is a member of the Illinois CPA Society for which she is a contributor to its quarterly Insight magazine.

Episode 170: Shawn McCormick, Experienced Life Sciences CFO and Board Director

In this week’s episode, we interview Shawn McCormick. Shawn has 30 years of financial expertise and operational experience in the medical device and life sciences industry. Most recently, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Aldevron, a private equity-backed CDMO. Shawn joined Aldevron in 2020 and remained until February 2022, following the sale of the company to Danaher, Inc. in 2021. He served as the Chief Financial Officer of Tornier N.V. and Tornier, Inc. from September 2012 until the completion of the merger with Wright Medical in October 2015. He also served as Tornier’s Principal Accounting Officer. Mr. McCormick served as Chief Operating Officer of Lutonix Inc. from April 2011 to February 2012, when Lutonix was sold to C.R.Bard.

He served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of ev3, Inc. from January 2009 to July 2010 and as its Principal Accounting Officer. ev3 was sold to Covidien in July 2010. Mr. McCormick held various positions of increasing responsibility at Medtronic, Inc. from 1992 to 2009, including Vice President of Corporate Development from May 2008 to January 2009 and Vice President of Finance for the Spinal, Navigation, and ENT business from 2002 to 2007.

He has been a Director of Nevro Corp. since September 2014 and Inspire Medical Systems Inc. since January 2017. He also served on the board of Surmodics, Inc from December 2015 to December 2020 and the board of Entellus Medical from December 2014 to February 2018, when Entellus was sold to Stryker. Mr. McCormick serves as the Audit Committee Chair for both Nevro and Inspire and previously for Entellus. He also served as a Surmodics’ audit committee and governance and nominating committee member. Mr. McCormick served on the board of LANX from August 2010 to November 2013, serving on the Compensation Committee and Audit Committee before LANX was sold to Biomet in November 2013.

Mr. McCormick is a Certified Public Accountant (non-active license). He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Arizona State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

Episode 169: Alisa Cohn, From Start-Up to Grown-Up

In this week’s episode, we interview Alisa Cohn. Alisa is an Executive Coach who has worked with C-suite executives at prominent startups (such as Venmo, Etsy, Draft Kings, The Wirecutter, Mack Weldon, and Tory Burch) and Fortune 500 companies (including Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Pfizer, Calvin Klein and The New York Times.) She is the author of From Start-up to Grown-up, which won the 2022 Independent Press Award, and the creator and host of a podcast of the same name.

Episode 168: Joe Mandato, CEO, Venture Investor, Author

This week we interview Joe Mandato. Joe holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Case Western Reserve University, where his research focused on the evolving role of boards in ensuring effective corporate governance. He was a 2011-2012 Fellow of Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative and served as Co-Chair of Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Coalition. He is a Managing Director at DeNovo Ventures, Senior Advisor at Apercen Partners, Advisor to Sonder Capital, and 15-year Lecturer at Stanford University.

He has served on more than 20 public and private boards focused on technology and the life sciences, including Align Technology (NASDAQ), Avedro, Axogen, Inc. (NASDAQ), Hansen Medical (NASDAQ), Insound Medical & Vynca Health. He also serves on the boards of Case Western Reserve University, Headstart, and Save the Children.

He was a seed investor, board member and advisor to the founders of Align Technologies and has served as CEO of five life sciences companies, which resulted in significant shareholder value. He was a member of the founding management committee of Guidant Corporation (NYSE) and was an entrepreneur-in-residence at Mayfield Fund, a Silicon Valley venture fund. He has authored or co-authored thirty articles on healthcare and governance and the book The Entrepreneur’s Journey.

Episode 167: Darrell Johnson, Chief Strategy Officer, RLDatix

This week we interview Darrell Johnson. Darrell has built expertise in working within the healthcare industry, identifying how data systems may be applied to improve patient outcomes, decrease healthcare utilization costs, and increase provider care delivery efficiencies. His passion centers on not simply bringing technologies to market, but the successful implementation and utilization of these technologies within the entire healthcare system, including patients.

He has utilized his marketing and business skills for over twenty years to identify and develop transformational business models across multiple healthcare industries, including pharmaceutical, capital equipment, implantable therapy devices, and medical software. Darrell is the Chief Strategy Officer at RLDatix, a global SaaS healthcare company aiming to improve quality, safety, and risk outcomes. Before RLDatix, Darrell spent three years as Cerner’s first Chief Marketing Officer and the global EHR leader and twelve years in various leadership roles with Medtronic, the largest medical device company in the world. Darrell is passionate about driving brand leadership and usability experience. He built the world’s largest remote monitoring system that has over 1.5 million lives being monitored across 78 countries, with strong evidence reflecting the impact on both clinical and economic outcomes. With his vision of engaging patients, his team also developed the world’s first patient smartphone application for personal device management. His efforts consistently resulted in number-one brand positions globally.

Prior to joining Medtronic, Darrell worked at GE Healthcare in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for approximately eight years and held several key management and marketing positions. His data systems passion resulted in many firsts at GE Healthcare, including centralized remote monitoring, smart alarms, and a wireless digital portable x-ray technology. All of these technologies had significant value impact in improving clinical outcomes and improving care delivery efficiencies.

Darrell holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.

Episode 166: Rich Ferrari, Co-Founder, De Novo Ventures

In this week’s episode, we interview Richard Ferrari. Rich is a Co-Founder of De Novo Ventures which had $650 million under management and was one of the premier firms dedicated to Medical Devices and Biotechnology.

Rich has raised over a billion dollars for companies he has directly influenced and participated in approximately 1.8 billion dollars in acquisition events. Additionally, and most recently Rich served as the CEO and Chairman of PQ Bypass which culminated in a successful acquisition to Endologix for $350M. Rich has been a successful CEO of two publicly traded medical technology companies. Cardiovascular Imaging Systems, the first and leading developer of ultrasound imaging catheters was eventually acquired for $125 million by Boston Scientific. Rich also pioneered the off-bump bypass movement via CardioThoracic Systems (CTS), the market leader in disposable instruments and systems for performing minimally invasive beating heart bypass surgery ultimately acquired by Guidant for $350 million in November 1999.

Rich was a co-founder of CTS and the force that led the company to an initial public offering in only 7 months, the fastest of any medical technology company in history. Additionally, Rich was the co-founder of the MTG Group which developed Ensure femoral closure device which sold to J&J for $100 Mill returning 10x to investors, and also IVS which developed the Star Close and sold to Abbott for $100Mill also returning 10x to investors.

Rich is also the co-founder of Transaortic an integrated femoral sheath and embolic capture system for TAVR procedure which was sold last year to Medtronic. Rich is also co-founder of Tenon Medical an orthopedic device for treating SI-Joint Pain currently trading on NASDAQ under TNON.

Episode 165: Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

This week we welcome Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham for this week’s conversation. Julia Lee is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and a National Geographic Fellow and Explorer. She currently serves as a faculty co-director for Center for Positive Organizations. She is also a faculty affiliate at the Sanger Leadership Center, and Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining Ross, she served as a Lab Fellow in Institutional Corruption at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, and a Research Fellow in Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University. She earned her PhD, MPP, and AM degrees at Harvard University, where she was trained in organizational behavior, psychology, and behavioral economics.

Episode 164: Rashim McKinney, President & Chief Innovation Officer, Gibraltar Solutions Development Co.

This week we interview Rashim McKinney. Rashim is the President and Chief Innovation Officer of the Gibraltar Solutions Development Company, an economic research and development firm based in Montgomery, AL. Gibraltar informs policy and programs that guide public and private investment. To advance small business, entrepreneurship, and innovation culture across the Deep South– with a focus on ecosystem building, workforce development, and start-up acceleration.

A Veteran and former Air Force Officer, Rashim was commissioned through Det 015–, the historic ROTC unit established at Tuskegee Institute in 1919 and home of the Tuskegee Airmen. During his career as an Acquisitions Officer, he led diverse teams to develop and administer Defense Space, Education, and Information Technology programs of increasing resource responsibility and technical complexity.

Strategist, bridge-builder, and trusted adviser to community leaders, organizers, and activists alike, Rashim is deeply committed to the community. He has worked alongside change agents, stakeholders, and decision makers to establish forward-thinking public-private partnerships and initiatives that produce meaningful outcomes including Social Montgomery, I-85 Cyber Corridor Movement, Montgomery Techlab, The Lab on Dexter, The Alabama Collective, and River Region Trails.

McKinney holds a Masters of real estate development from Auburn University and a B.S. in management science from Tuskegee University. He is a proud girl dad of three daughters: Maia, 16, Annelise 6, and Simone 4.

Episode 163: Diane Honda, CAO & General Counsel, Barracuda Networks (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Diane Honda. Diane currently serves as the Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Barracuda Networks, Inc., a leading global provider of email, network, and data security and recovery solutions; she is responsible for leading the company’s Legal and Human Resources departments and is a trusted advisor to the CEO, executive team, and Board.

Diane is a highly accomplished senior executive with extensive experience successfully partnering with company leadership and boards in strategy development and execution, transformative business initiatives, cybersecurity, advanced technology, and operational excellence.

Diane is active in her community and is a member of several educational and non-profit Boards. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Java Joy, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing meaningful employment and transformational experiences to people with disabilities.

Episode 162: All You Have to Do Is Ask, Wayne Baker (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Wayne Baker. Wayne is the author of the book All You Have to Do Is Ask, and the Robert P. Thome Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Management & Organizations at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He is also a Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan and Faculty Associate at the Institute for Social Research. He currently serves as Faculty Director of the Center for Positive Organizations.

His teaching and research focus on social capital, social networks, generosity, positive organizational scholarship, and values. He has published numerous scholarly articles and four books. His management and leadership articles appear in venues such as Harvard Business Review, Chief Executive Magazine, and Sloan Management Review.

Prior to joining the Michigan faculty, he was on the faculty at the University of Chicago business school. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University and was a post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard University.

Episode 161: Lindy Greer

In this episode, we revisit our interview with Lindred (Lindy) Greer, who is an Associate Professor of Management & Organizations and faculty director of the Sanger Leadership Center at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on how to design and lead effective organizational teams. Lindy has published in outlets such as Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Applied Psychology, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, among others. Her work has been covered in media outlets, including the New York Times, Forbes, and Fast Company, and she has received awards from the Academy of Management and American Psychological Association. Poets and Quants recognized her in 2019 as one of the top 40 under 40 business school professors, calling her a ‘rockstar prof’.

Lindy received her B.S. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and her Ph.D. in social and organizational psychology from Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Episode 160: Doug Bruhnke

This week we interview Doug Bruhnke, Founder/CEO at Global Chamber®. Doug is a global entrepreneur dedicated to helping members of Global Chamber® successfully reach new markets across 525 metros – everywhere!

He is a two-time expat with Dupont in Tokyo and Singapore with over 30 years of global business experience in nearly all countries and segments.

Doug is also a regional advisor for U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and a member of global groups including Arizona District Export Council. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Utah and an EMBA from Michigan State University, and is co-inventor on 5 patents.

Doug is based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Palo Alto, California.

Episode 159: D. Keith Grossman, Chairman & CEO, Nevro

This week we interview Keith Grossman. Keith was named CEO and President of Nevro in March of 2019. Keith has over 30 years of experience in the medical device field. He served most recently, and for the second time, as the President, Chief Executive Officer, and director of Thoratec Corporation, leading up to its 2015 sale to St. Jude Medical.

Prior to Thoratec, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and director of Conceptus, a women’s health medical device company, leading up to its sale to Bayer Healthcare. Prior to Conceptus, Keith served as managing director of TPG (Texas Pacific Group), a private equity firm, as a member of its healthcare investment team. Prior to TPG, Mr. Grossman served as Thoratec’s President, Chief Executive Officer, and director for the first ten years of its growth as a commercial company.

He currently serves as Vice Chairman of Alcon, Inc., and Chairman of Outset Medical, Inc. and previously served as a member of the Board of directors of Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Kyphon, Inc., ViewRay, Inc., Zeltiq, Inc, and a number of privately held medical device companies. Keith received a B.S. in life sciences from The Ohio State University and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.

Episode 158: Susan Templeton, Vice Chair, Sebold Capital Management

This week we welcome Susan Templeton who is Vice Chair of Sebold Capital Management, an investment advisory and financial planning firm serving high-net-worth individuals and families. Susan is also on the board of directors for Claridges Trust Company where she sits on the investment and audit committee. In addition, she is on the advisory board of Seyen Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm.

Susan has her BSBA from the University of Denver, MBA from the University of Chicago and is a graduate of the Board Governance Program- at Northwestern University.

For fun, Susan just completed her certification in Environmental Leadership and is now studying for her ESG Certification.

Outside of business Susan participates in triathlons around the country and plays mediocre golf.

Episode 157: Leadership Lessons from the Edge, Robert Swan (Replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Robert Swan, who is the first person to have walked to both the North and South Poles. His leadership and determination made his 900-mile journey to the South Pole the longest unassisted march in history. He was awarded the Polar Medal by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Youth.

Robert is a polar pioneer, a leader in energy innovation, and the founder of the 2041 Foundation. This story of unbelievable spirit will take you on a journey of inspiration, courage, and humility. Robert committed to his dream at the age of 11, achieved it with a team after 22 years, and is now, on a 50-year mission to help preserve Antarctica.

Episode 156: Gary Oliver (Replay)

In this episode, we revisit our interview with Gary Oliver, CEO of Excelerate. Gary is an experienced CEO/board member with deep experience across venture-backed, mid-size and large global technology companies. Gary is the CEO of Excelerate

We talk to Gary regarding AI (Artificial Intelligence) trends and the impact it will have on business now and in the future. Gary’s focus has been to harness the power of data for disruptive competitive advantage.

Prior to Excelerate he was the Chairman and CEO at Razorthink. He has 30 years of experience in the technology industry. Before coming to Razorthink he was the CEO of Blazent, where he took the company from pre-revenue to become the leader in IT data intelligence with cumulative revenues exceeding $100M. Prior to Blazent, Gary led the IT Service Management business unit at Remedy leading to a $1B acquisition by Peregrine where he then served as GM of the Infrastructure Management business. Prior to Remedy, Gary was SVP at Visa responsible for the company’s internal technology strategy and initiatives. Earlier in his career, Gary held numerous sales, marketing and executive roles at IBM, including responsibility for IBM’s multi-billion-dollar Data Management SW revenue. Gary is a graduate of UCLA and serves in multiple board and advisory roles.

Episode 155: Jeannine Sheehan (Replay)

In this episode we revisit our interview with Jeannine Sheehan who is the EVP/Chief Administrative Officer & HR Officer for InfuSystem, she is based in Boston. Prior to InfuSystem Jeannine was the Chief Human Resources Officer for Crimson Hexagon a PE financed company. Her background has included working for large publicly traded companies.

In this conversation we discuss the role of HR as a strategic business partner, and ask the question are there still barriers for women in business? We also discuss the topics of inclusion and diversity.

In Part two coming next week, we will discuss the War for Talent and how to improve processes to make better hiring decisions.

Episode 154: The New Leader’s Action Plan, George Bradt (Replay)

In this week’s episode, we revisit our interview with George Bradt. George has led the revolution in how people start new jobs – accelerating transitions, so leaders and their teams reduce their rates of failure and fulfill potential. After Harvard and Wharton (MBA), he progressed through sales, marketing, and general management roles around the world at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and J.D. Power’s Power Information Network spin-off as chief executive.

He is the Founder and chairman of the executive onboarding and transition acceleration firm PrimeGenesis, which has reduced new leader failure rates from 40% to below 10% since 2003.

Author of 9+ books on leadership and onboarding including The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan, over 650+ articles for Forbes, and 16 plays and musicals (book, lyrics and music).

Episode 153: Gary Swart, General Partner, Polaris Partners (Replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Gary Swart. Gary is a General Partner with Polaris Partners and until April 2014 he was the CEO of oDesk (now UpWork, NASDAQ; UPWK). Gary is a thought leader in entrepreneurship; how best to hire and manage teams; and the future of work, including online work.

He is passionate about helping small businesses thrive, fueled by his extensive experience working with startups and small businesses and mentoring entrepreneurs and business school students. Gary has spoken at the Inc. Leadership Conference, The Economist’s Ideas Economy panel, South by Southwest, TechCrunch 50, TiECon, GigaOM’s Net:Work Conference, and at Harvard Business School which teaches a case study on oDesk.

His commentary has appeared in a variety of publications including Forbes, TechCrunch, The Washington Post and The Next Web. He has also appeared on TV and radio shows including the BBC, National Public Radio, CNBC and Bloomberg TV and Startups Uncensored. Previously, Gary led SMB Sales for the Americas at IBM’s Rational Software Product Group, and also served as VP of Worldwide Sales and Operations at Intellibank. Gary holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.

Episode 153: Gary Swart, General Partner, Polaris Partners (Replay)

Episode 152: Karen Long , Managing Director, KCK Medical (Replay)

In this week’s episode, we revisit our interview with Karen Long, a Managing Director at KCK (Med Tech) Group. KCK focuses on capital investment in commercial and growth-stage medical device companies. Karen has been with KCK since January 2018, when she joined as Executive-in-Residence. Karen serves as Board Director in many KCK portfolio companies as well as Independently. Karen has been a President and CEO prior to KCK Medical.

Karen has spent over 20 years in medical devices and diagnostics developing and marketing novel and market-leading products focused on improving quality of life.

Karen began her career as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker after receiving her undergraduate and graduate degrees from San Diego State University.

Episode 151: Dr. Ross Jaffe, Healthcare VC (Replay)

In this episode, we revisit our conversation with Ross Jaffe, MD. Ross is an experienced healthcare venture capitalist. Ross is one of the founding Managing Directors of Versant Ventures. He now serves as a Venture Advisor to New Enterprise Associates (NEA) while completing his Versant responsibilities.

Ross has been recognized on the Forbes Midas List of leading venture capitalists.

Ross has a BA from Dartmouth, an MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Episode 150: Stacy Porter, Chief People Officer, Outset Medical

This week we interview Stacey Porter who is the Chief People Officer at Outset Medical. Stacey has expertise in organizational design, innovative talent practices, and employee engagement.

Prior to Outset, she was the Head of Global Talent Development for Intuitive Surgical, Inc., responsible for designing performance and succession practices, while developing leaders and high-performing teams. Stacey has held leadership roles at VMware and Roche, and has built a career on creating nimble, progressive organizations. She has an MSW and doctoral studies in industrial/organizational psychology.

Episode 149:Paul Batz, Founder & CEO, Good Leadership

This week we interview Paul Batz the CEO and Founder of Good Leadership Enterprises.
Paul has ushered in the golden era of executive team coaching, changing the conversation about what modern leadership looks like. He founded Good Leadership to help CEOs, business owners, executives, and community leaders grow and thrive with the idea goodness pays. Paul’s not-so-secret sauce teaches how alignment, commitment, and open accountability within teams are rewarded with great business results.

Episode 148: Steven Kwast, President, Genesis Systems

This week we interview Steven Kwast who is the Chief Global Officer (CGO) and President of Genesis Systems. He is a retired Air Force General who has spent his life understanding the art of peaceful International affairs and national security strategies. He was raised in a remote African tribe and is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy in astronautical engineering. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He has extensive experience in recruiting, education, training, and developing the workforce for the US Air Force. He was the University President of the Air Force’s University (Air University) in Montgomery Alabama. He is a combat seasoned fighter pilot with extensive command experience at every level in the US Air Force. He authored the “Fast Space” study that puts forward a plan to develop the economic and national security power of Space for 21st-century challenges.

Episode 147: Judy Zimmer, President, Coachology

This week we welcome Judy Zimmer, who is an executive coach, national speaker, and team leader. Judy has dedicated her career to showing already-successful leaders how to leverage their brand, create more happiness and be more productive. As president of Coachology.us, Judy has had the privilege of working with 4400+ leaders around the globe. In addition to personal branding, Judy helps clients with how to increase leadership presence, be more effective communicators, be more productive, increase confidence, and how to make powerful connections for others. You can learn more about Judy at coachology.us

Episode 146: William “Bill” DeMarco, Chief of Innovation, Air University

This week we interview Professor J. William “Bill” DeMarco, Colonel, USAF (ret), serves as the Chief of Innovation Development for Air University (AUiX). AUiX connects AU students, faculty, and staff with partners in DoD, academia, and industry identifying opportunities for collaboration, and for developing new capabilities, strategies, and technologies. AUiX’s vision is to increase Air University’s contributions to national security, strategic competition, and the profession of arms by taking ideas and concepts— “One Step Beyond.” Bill is the founder and former Chair for the Leadership Department and is an Assistant Professor at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), Maxwell AFB, Alabama.

Bill is a five-time commander with experience commanding at the squadron, group, and region level, as well as serving as ACSC’s 44th Commandant. Bill is an adjunct professor with Auburn University in Leadership. He served as a National Security Affairs Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and is a fellow at The Judge Business School, Cambridge University, England, a guest lecturer at Ross Business School, Michigan University, and at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, as well as a master coach with GiANT Worldwide leadership consulting. He has contributed as a leadership consultant for the National WWII Museum’s Corporate Leadership Academy in New Orleans, LA.

Episode 145: Jeff DeGraff, The Innovation Code

This week we interview Jeff DeGraff. Jeff is an advisor to Fortune 500 companies, a top innovation speaker, a business professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and a bestselling author.

He founded the Innovatrium, an innovation consulting firm focusing on creating innovation culture, capability, and community where he offers three kinds of coaching services: Executive Coaching, Innovation Project Coaching, and Personal Development Coaching. He earned his nickname, the “Dean of Innovation,” while working as an executive for Domino’s Pizza in his youth, where he accelerated Domino’s growth from a regional success story to an international franchise phenomenon.

He is also the author on several books on how teams innovate, his most recent being The Innovation Code: The Creative Power of Constructive Conflict.

Episode 144: Renee Ryan, CEO, Cala Health

This week we interview Renee Ryan CEO of Cala. Renee has 25 years of building category-creating healthcare companies. Prior to joining Cala as CEO in August 2019, she led the health technology investments for Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC) on the West Coast and Asia Pacific for 8 years. While at J&J, she made over 15 new investments, including the Series A for Cala Health. Previously, she was a healthcare investment banker at RW Baird, Jefferies and Goldman Sachs. Renee currently sits on the boards of Cala, Neuropace and RefleXion Medical.

Episode 143: Shayne Hughes, Ego Free Leadership

Shayne Hughes is president of Learning as Leadership, a culture change and leadership development firm serving the private and public sectors. His expertise in creating cultures of open communication and collaboration has led to substantial improvements in organizational and personal performance for such clients as Fairchild Semiconductor, NASA, Sandia National Laboratories, Shell Oil, and Capital One, among others. He is also experienced in the complex dynamics of family businesses.

Mr. Hughes has taught leadership at the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, the University of Michigan’s Executive MBA Program and the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He is a frequent keynote speaker at many conferences and corporate retreats.

Fluent in French, Mr. Hughes earned his B.A. from the University of California Berkeley and completed graduate studies in group facilitation at the University of Tours in France. His writing has been published in Harvard’s Du Bois Review, Diversity Executive magazine, Forbes.com and Chief Executive magazine. He has been profiled in Psychology Today, and he blogs for the Huffington Post.

Mr. Hughes also authored the coming-of-age memoir When the Running Began, in which he shares authentically how the pains of his past became infused with substance abuse and the coping strategies of his ego, and what it took to grow beyond them.

Episode 142: Dr. Mark Shrime, Solving for Why

This week we interview Dr. Mark Shrime who is O’Brien Chair of Global Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Lecturer in Global Health and Social Medicine at the Harvard Medical School.

Mark has written a new book Solving for Why: A Surgeon’s Journey to Discover the Transformative Power of Purpose. Mark is a longtime staff surgeon volunteer with Mercy Ships in sub-Saharan Africa.

He received his MD from the University of Texas and received his Ph.D. in health policy from Harvard University, with a concentration in decision science.

When not working, he is an avid photographer and rock climber and has competed on Seasons 8, 9, and 11 of American Ninja Warrior.

Episode 141: Molly Fletcher, The Energy Clock (Replay)

In this week’s episode, we revisit our interview with Molly Fletcher. Molly is a popular speaker, the author of multiple books, and a successful entrepreneur. Formerly, she was a top sports agent hailed as the “female Jerry Maguire” by CNN as she recruited and represented hundreds of sports’ biggest names.

During this interview Molly shares the practical advice from her new book, The Energy Clock: 3 Simple Steps to Create a Life Full of ENERGY- and Live Your Best Every Day.

Episode 140: Dr. Carole Robin, Connect (Replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Dr. Carole Robin. She has been in the business of helping leaders grow for over 35 years. Carole shares lessons learned in her career and we talk about her new book Connect.

Most recently she served as the Faculty Director of the Interpersonal Dynamics for High-Performance Executives Program and Director of the Arbuckle Leadership Fellows program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB). She received the MBA Distinguished Teaching Award for her work in numerous courses, including Interpersonal Dynamics (the most popular elective course at the GSB for over 45 years). She is the Co-Founder of Leaders in Tech for leaders of high-growth tech companies committed to building high-performing and culturally healthy organizations.

Episode 139: The Extraordinary Power of Leader Humility, Marilyn Gist (Replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Marilyn Gist; she is the author of The Extraordinary Power of Leader Humility. Marilyn helps others become the leader everyone admires by creating thriving organizations and great results. She asks us to Imagine a world in which all leaders feel and display a deep regard for others’ dignity. This is what humility means, and it helps leaders resolve conflict, increase engagement, and optimize performance.

Marilyn speaks and consults widely, based on experience as a scholar, teacher, trainer, and senior leader. Formerly Associate Dean, Professor of Management, and Executive Director of the Center for Leadership Formation at Seattle University, she began her academic career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She later joined the University of Washington, where she held the Boeing Endowed Professorship of Business. Marilyn earned her BA from Howard University and her MBA and Ph.D. from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a member of the Academy of Management, American Psychological Association, and the International Women’s Forum.

Episode 138: New CEOs and Boards, Beverly Behan

This week we interviewed Beverly Behan. Bev is one of the foremost global experts on board effectiveness, having worked with nearly 200 Boards of Directors (largely S&P1500s) over the past 25 years. We discuss her upcoming book, New CEOs and Boards.

She’s worked with boards across the United States and around the world on a range of issues including the design of genuinely worthwhile board and director evaluations and the development of comprehensive CEO and board succession plans. She also consults to Board Chairs and new CEOs about optimizing their effectiveness in leading and working with their boards. Bev is the author of the governance classic, Great Companies Deserve Great Boards, named Governance Book of the Year by Directors & Boards magazine in 2012 and Board & Director Evaluations: Innovations for 21^st Century Governance Committees. Her latest book, Becoming a Boardroom Star, debuted in Sept/21 as the #1 New Release on Amazon in corporate governance.

Episode 137: Finding My Way Home, John Houston

This week we interview John Houston. After facing hardships as a young man that could have permanently derailed his life, John has become a respected and successful business owner who views his companies as a platform to reach people for Christ and support ministries around the world. He is the Founder and CEO of John Houston Custom Homes, a homebuilding company he began in 2004. Since that time, he has started five additional companies which make up the JH Family of Companies including a mortgage company, a land-development company, a title company, an insurance company, and an environmental erosion company.

He is a graduate of Southwestern Assemblies of God University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and his favorite, an associate’s degree in the Bible. He serves on several local non-profit boards, including his alma mater, and the Oaks Church.

John has been married to the love of his life, Tracy, for almost thirty years, and they are the parents of two young adult kids, Austin and Ashtyn. They live outside of Dallas and enjoy eating a great steak, spending time outdoors, and traveling on adventures together as a family.

Episode 136: You Have More Influence Than You Think, Vanessa Bohns

This week we interview Vanessa Bohns. We discuss her new book You Have More Influence Than You Think. Vanessa is a social psychologist, an award-winning researcher and teacher, and a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University.

She lives in upstate New York with her husband and two daughters.

Episode 135: Michael Bungay Stanier

This week we interview Michael Bungay Stanier. Michael is the author of six books. He’s best known for The Coaching Habit, the best-selling coaching book of the century with over a million copies sold and already recognized as a classic. We discuss Michael’s brand-new book, How To Begin.

Michael Bungay Stanier is at the forefront of shaping how organizations around the world make being coach-like an essential leadership competency. In 2019, he was named the #1 thought leader in coaching. Michael was the first Canadian Coach of the Year, has been named a Global Coaching Guru since 2014.

Michael founded Box of Crayons, a learning, and development company that helps organizations transform from advice-driven to curiosity-led. (Learn more at BoxOfCrayons.com.)

Michael was a Rhodes Scholar and plays the ukulele badly. He’s Australian, and lives in Toronto, Canada. Learn more at www.MBS.works.

Episode 133: The Power of Flexing, Susan Ashford

This week we interview Susan (Sue) Ashford who is an award-winning scholar and Professor at the University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business. She is the author of “The Power of Flexing: How to Use Small Daily Experiments to Create Big Life-Changing Growth”.

Sue’s passion for helping people to be maximally effective in their work lives has driven her teaching and research work on self-management, proactivity, change from below, and leadership and its development. Her research has been summarized as advice for managers in the Harvard Business Review, the Harvard Business Review blog, New York Magazine, and The Conversation. Sue is a Fellow of the Academy of Management. She was awarded the prestigious Career Achievement Award for Distinguished Scholarly Contributions to Management by that Association in 2017 and the OB Division Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

She was previously on the faculty of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and received her MS and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University.

Sue is a native Californian and the daughter of two native Californians. Sue lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband, also a University of Michigan faculty member, with whom she raised three daughters.

Episode 131: FairWays to Leadership, Dr. Eric Boyd and Anna Boyd

This week we welcome Dr. Eric Boyd and Anna Boyd to the podcast.
Dr. Eric Boyd is an award-winning Associate Professor of Marketing who teaches sport marketing and sales in the DeVos Sport Business Management program at the University of Central Florida. He received his doctorate from the University of Virginia, and has taught at top institutions around the world, including University of Edinburgh and IE Business School.

Anna Boyd brings her clients over 25 years of experience as a trusted senior leader in the government, corporate and non-profit sectors where she led housing, mortgage finance and community development policy at a national level. Throughout her career, she has maintained a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including the development of leadership curriculum with an equity lens.

Dr. Eric and Anna Boyd are the founders of FairWays to Leadership (fairwaystoleadership.org), a nonprofit organization providing leadership development training to college students from diverse communities using the game of golf.

Episode 130: Developing Resilience as a Leader, Edward (Ned) Powley

This week we revisit the subject of developing resilience with Edward H. Powley, Ph.D. (Ned) is an Associate Professor of Management in the Graduate School of Defense Management (GSDM) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). He teaches organizational behavior in the MBA and EMBA programs for GSDM.

He facilitates workshops, coaches senior leaders, and teaches modules on leadership and emotional intelligence for the Center of Executive Education (CEE) and the Human Resources Center of Excellence (HRCOE) at NPS.

Episode 129: Kirk Williams,CHRO, DFIN

This week we interview Kirk Williams the CHRO of Donnelly Financial Solutions (DFIN) a $1B global financial compliance company based in Chicago. In this role, Kirk is responsible for setting all Human Resource and Communications strategies for the company and leads a team of 35 professionals who support 2,500 employees in 14 countries around the world. Kirk has extensive experience working with executives and boards of directors. He is known for being a transformational leader, someone who finds pragmatic solutions to complex problems and helps companies achieve superior results. Kirk shares leadership lessons learned in his career.

Prior to joining DFIN, Kirk served as Chief Human Resources Officers for both James Hardie Building Products in Chicago and Allianz Life Insurance in Minneapolis. In addition, he has held senior HR executive roles at global companies like Walmart, Honeywell, and American Express. Kirk has extensive management experience at the national and global level, has led diverse workforces, has played critical roles in companies’ transformational efforts.

Kirk received his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, cum laude, from Kent State University and received his Juris Doctor, with honors, as well as a certificate in labor and employment law at Chicago Kent College of Law. He is licensed to practice law in both Illinois and Arkansas.

Episode 128: The CEO Tightrope, Joel Trammel (Replay)

In this episode we revisit our interview with Joel Trammell who is a successful CEO and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience. Joel’s leadership as a founder and CEO resulted in successful nine-figure acquisitions by two Fortune 500 companies. As CEO and co-founder of network management software firm NetQoS, he delivered 31 consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth and a $200 million valuation. CA Technologies acquired the company in 2009, generating more than 10x return on capital to its private equity investors. In 2010, he co-founded Cache IQ, a storage software company that NetApp acquired two years later.

Having started his first technology company in 1990, Joel is committed to using his experience to help current and aspiring CEOs. In addition to The American CEO blog, he writes regular columns for Inc.com. He published a book – The CEO Tightrope – that describes a systematic approach to the critical chief executive role. In addition, he runs a CEO seminar in Austin every year.

Joel holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana Tech University and is a former instructor at the Naval Nuclear Power School. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Cathy and their three children.

Episode 127: Caro Van Hove (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Caroline (Caro) Van Hove, the President, and CEO of a venture-backed, clinical-stage medical aesthetics company, NC8, an ExploraMed company, and previously held several commercial leadership roles at both start-up and large-cap companies.

She is a global commercial leader with over 20 years of diverse experience in the pharmaceutical, consumer, and medical device industry. Her experience spans North America to Europe, Africa, the Middle East to Asia Pacific, and Latin America

Episode 126: Randy Haykin (Replay)

In this episode, we revisit our conversation with Randy Haykin. Randy is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, philanthropist and educator, and “wine angel” who lives and works in the Bay Area. In 2011, Randy founded the philanthropic venture entity The Gratitude Network (http://gratitude-network.org) to mentor social entrepreneurs globally. Randy currently coaches CEOs and is a Vistage Chair, overseeing a peer group of 16 growth-stage CEOs in the Bay Area.

In 1997, Randy co-founded Outlook Ventures, a $200m early-stage tech fund. Prior to Gratitude and Outlook, Randy served as founding VP of Marketing & Sales at Yahoo and played early roles at Overture, NetChannel, Electric Minds, and AOL’s Greenhouse program, a successful venture incubator. He has also held management roles at Apple Computer, Paramount/Viacom.

Randy has taught courses on innovation, entrepreneurship, and finance at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business as well as Cambridge University Judge Business School.

Randy holds a BA in Organizational Behavior and Management from Brown University, magna cum laude, and an MBA from Harvard.

Episode 125: Brian Dumaine, Author of Bezonomics (Replay)

In this episode, we revisit our interview with Brian Dumaine. Brian is an award-winning journalist and a contributing editor at Fortune magazine. His new book, Bezonomics: How Amazon Is Changing Our Lives and What the World’s Best Companies Are Learning From It (Scribner), takes an unbiased look at Amazon’s increasingly dominant business model, the competitors either imitating or trying to outfox the company, and the ways “Bezonomics” is shaping the life of every American consumer.

Episode 124: The Motivation Code, Todd Henry (Replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Todd Henry regarding his latest book, The Motivation Code, Discover the Hidden Forces That Drive Your Best Work.

Positioning himself as an “arms dealer for the creative revolution”, Todd Henry teaches leaders and organizations how to establish practices that lead to everyday brilliance. He is the author of five books (The Accidental Creative, Die Empty, Louder Than Words, Herding Tigers, and The Motivation Code) which have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he speaks and consults across dozens of industries on creativity, leadership, and passion for work.

With millions of downloads, his podcast The Accidental Creative offers weekly tips for how to stay prolific, brilliant, and healthy.

Todd’s book Die Empty was named by Amazon.com as one of the best books of 2013.

Episode 123: Dr. Karyn Gordon

This week we talk with Dr. Karyn Gordon (Leadership & Relationship Expert) author of The Three Chairs: How Great Leaders Drive Communication, Performance & Engagement.

Karyn is the CEO and co-founder of DK Leadership, a global leadership coaching company whose purpose is developing great leaders at work and home. She has spoken to more than 500,000 people across 17 countries—including Fortune 500 companies, family businesses, entrepreneurs, professional associations, and others. She is also a media personality & consultant (Good Morning America, Forbes, The New York Times) – and the TV resident Leadership & Relationship Expert for Canada’s #1 Talk-Show – Cityline). In 2021, she was nominated for the 29th annual RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award.

Karyn has a Doctorate in Marriage & Family and certifications in Leadership and Emotional Intelligence, Dr. Karyn was invited to collaborate with professors from The Wharton School to develop an EQ training curriculum specifically for family businesses.

Episode 122: Dr. Jeff Holmes

This week our guest is Dr. Jeff Holmes. Jeff has more than 24 years of experience in executive-level positions, including 12+ years in founder, executive, and lead roles. Jeff provides senior executive coaching, CEO advising, and C-suite consulting. A dedicated coach for over 30 years, he has worked with top leaders during times of crisis and helped numerous young high potentials move from graduation to placement in high-level leadership roles across the US. He has also raised tens of millions of dollars for faith-based nonprofits and charities.

As a founder, Jeff has launched several organizations growing them through early development into a multi-million dollar, life-changing impact both in the US and globally. His passions for organizational development, change management, and individual identity development are leading to expanded engagement, offerings, and growth in his current entrepreneurial endeavors.

Jeff holds a Doctorate in identity development from Fuller Theological Seminary and a BA in psychology with a minor in macroeconomics from the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently enrolled in the Said Business School at Oxford studying change leadership. He is also Gottman certified for counseling and an accomplished parenting counselor. Jeff has been married to his gifted interior designer wife, Marci, for 29 years, has a son in college, and is a dedicated athlete in his free time.

Episode 121: Peter Greer

This week Peter Greer joins us as our guest. Peter is the president and CEO of HOPE International, a global Christ-centered economic development organization serving throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining HOPE, Peter worked internationally as a microfinance adviser in Cambodia and Zimbabwe and as managing director for Urwego Bank in Rwanda. He received a B.S. in international business from Messiah University and an MPP in political and economic development from Harvard’s Kennedy School.

Peter’s favorite part of his job is spending time with the entrepreneurs HOPE serves—whether harvesting coffee with farmers in Rwanda, dancing alongside savings groups in Haiti, or visiting the greenhouses of entrepreneurs in Ukraine. As an advocate for the Church’s role in missions and alleviating extreme poverty, Peter has co-authored over 10 books, including Mission Drift (selected as a 2015 Book Award Winner from Christianity Today), Rooting for Rivals (selected as a 2019 Leadership Resource of the Year in Outreach magazine), The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good (selected as one of the top 40 books on poverty by WORLD magazine) and Created to Flourish (which his mom reviewed with five stars and a smiley face emoji). More important than his role at HOPE is his role as husband to Laurel and dad to Keith, Liliana, Myles, and London. While his sports loyalties remain in New England, Peter and his family live in Lancaster, PA.

Episode 119: Michael Critelli

This week we welcome Michael Critelli, former Chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes. He has been a Fortune 500 company leader, a mailing industry leader, a serial entrepreneur, and a member of multiple non-profit and for-profit fiduciary and advisory Boards, including a 22 ½ year tenure as an Eaton Corporation Board member.

He delivered a total return for Pitney Bowes shareholders that exceeded the S&P 500 index during his 11-year CEO tenure, despite a declining US mailing market. He led the company through a transition to digital technology product and software transition and built the foundation for the company’s later pivot to digital commerce. Pitney Bowes did 80 acquisitions and both a spin-off and multiple divestitures on his watch. He and Pitney Bowes won numerous awards for leadership development, diversity and inclusion, adherence to ethical standards, commitment to communities, and world-class health program.

His entrepreneurial, Board, investment, advisory, and philanthropic activity since retiring from Pitney Bowes in 2008 has been focused on building cultures of health in organizations, communities and families.

Michael produced a full-length feature film called From the Rough, based on the true story of the first black woman to coach a men’s college athletic team.

He obtained his BA from the University of Wisconsin in political science and communications (1970) and his JD cum laude from the Harvard Law School (1974).

Episode 118: Dawnet Beverly (Replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Dawnet Beverley as our guest. Dawnet is a seasoned executive with 30 years of ascending management, sales, and technology roles. She is the Executive Vice President with global responsibilities for Donnelley Financial Solutions Capital Markets Group. Dawnet has served on boards and volunteered her professional expertise to a number of charitable organizations. She holds a master’s degree in Organizational Development from Pepperdine University.

Dawnet is often described as a visionary, a strategic thinker, a compassionate leader, and a driver of operational excellence. She excels at corporate leadership, strategy, technology sales leadership, building, and transforming teams, developing talent, creating value, and leading change.

Aligned with her passion for the environment and water advocacy, Dawnet served as Board Member for Water.org and The Pacific Institute. An inspiring keynote speaker, her message of treating everyone with dignity and respect has garnered great interest on social media and has been the hallmark of her leadership brand. Dawnet is an avid golfer who has researched and written a thesis on the correlation between golf awareness/competence and effective leadership.

She was recognized as a “Most Influential Women” honoree in Silicon Valley and is a member of both the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and C200 (a premier organization of women business leaders)

Episode 117: Jane Dutton (Replay)

In this episode, we revisit our interview Professor Jane Dutton is a world expert in the field of Positive Organizational Scholarship. She shares ideas on how small actions can create a big impact and help your team flourish.

Episode 116: Aaron Gani (Replay)

This week we revisit our interview with Aaron Gani, the founder, and CEO of BehaVR, LLC, creating digital therapeutics for behavioral health through the unmatched psychological power of Virtual Reality. Gani has been creating applications and experiences with technology throughout his career in healthcare and financial services, up to and including serving as Chief Technology Officer of Humana, a Fortune 50 managed care organization.

Aaron is a founding member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Digital Medicine (DiMe) Society, and a founding advisory board member of the International Virtual Reality Healthcare Association (IVRHA). Gani holds a Master’s in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University, an MBA, General Management and Health Sector Management from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and a BS in Management/CIS from the University of Louisville.

Episode 115: Ryan Hawk

This week we welcome Ryan Hawk. Ryan is a speaker, author, and podcast host. In his new book, Welcome to Management: How to Grow From Top Performer to Excellent Leader.

Hawk is sharing the advice he wishes he knew when he transitioned into a leadership role. Ryan is the host of the popular podcast, The Learning Leader Show, which boasts millions of listeners in 150+ countries.

In this episode, Ryan shares how to transition seamlessly from individual performer to exceptional leader.

Episode 114: Molly Fletcher

In this week’s episode, we interview Molly Fletcher, a trailblazer in every sense of the word– a rare talent of business wisdom, relationship brilliance, and unwavering optimism. A popular keynote speaker, she shares the unconventional techniques that helped her thrive as one of the first female sports agents in the high stakes, big ego world of professional sports and now a successful entrepreneur.

Formerly, as president of client representation for sports and entertainment agency CSE, Molly spent two decades as one of the world’s only female sports agents. She was hailed as the “female Jerry Maguire” by CNN as she recruited and represented hundreds of sport’s biggest names, including Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, PGA TOUR golfer Matt Kuchar, broadcaster Erin Andrews, and basketball championship coaches Tom Izzo and Doc Rivers.

As she successfully negotiated over $500 million in contracts and built lasting relationships, she also observed and adopted the traits of those at the top of their game. Molly shares her proven approach to negotiating in her company’s Game Changer Negotiation Training workshops, teaching people how to close more deals faster while strengthening the relationship.

Molly has been featured in ESPN, Fast Company, Forbes, and Sports Illustrated. A sought-after motivational speaker, she delivers game changing messages to top companies, trade associations, and teams worldwide.

Molly is the author of five books: The Energy Clock, Fearless At Work; A Winner’s Guide to Negotiating; The Business of Being the Best; and The 5 Best Tools to Find Your Dream Career.

Molly currently serves on the board of directors for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and the national advisory board for the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA).

Molly earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Michigan State University while captaining the women’s tennis team. Molly’s energy and passion for life shines through everything she does. She finds her greatest joy at home in Atlanta with her husband Fred and their three daughters.

Episode 113: Gayle Packer

This week we welcome Gayle Packer, Board Chair, CEO and President of Terracon. Gayle joined Terracon in 2004. During her 17-years with the company, Gayle has served in multiple leadership roles at Terracon including attorney, co-general counsel, director of corporate services, and chief administrative officer. She has been instrumental in Terracon’s growth, coordinating the acquisition of more than 50 companies, and expanding the company to over 150 offices nationwide.

Gayle holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Laws from the University of Arkansas.

Episode 112: Jack Briggs

This week we welcome Jack Briggs as our guest. Jack is the President & CEO of the Springs Rescue Mission. Jack shares thoughts from his career and leadership lessons learned.

He lived in Colorado Springs briefly as an infant before his military father was transferred to Hawaii, and then to California. He returned to the area in 1982 to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy, graduated in 1986 and then headed to pilot training. He spent the first 20 years of his 31-year military career as a pilot before ascending to leadership, eventually becoming a Major General.

His final role in the Air Force was as Director of Operations for U.S. Northern Command headquarters in Colorado Springs. He served on the board of Springs Rescue Mission in 2017 before retiring from the military that same year. Upon his retirement, he and his wife Margaret of 32 years (who share three kids together) moved to the East Coast, where he served as New York University’s vice president of Global Resiliency and Security.

Episode 111: Marie-Pierre Dhers

This week we interview Marie-Pierre Dhers. She founded an advisory firm in 2013 in New York City. Her network of partners advises investors and entrepreneurs in aviation and aerospace, transportation, energy, and new technology in the US and Europe. She is a Board Member at a Swiss start-up in Airborne Wind Energy, an alternative or additional energy source to wind turbine farms.

Before that, Marie-Pierre has held senior executive positions for more than 20 years at Air France-KLM, one of the largest European airline Groups with over $30B revenues. She built a track record of driving growth, and leading large complex transactions and transformations

Episode 110: (Replay) Kim Cameron

In this episode, we revisit our conversation with Kim Cameron. Kim is a Professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business he shares his thoughts around positive leadership and the impact it has on organizations.

He is a co-founder of the discipline of Positive Organizational Scholarship—the scientific study of what produces extraordinary performance in organizations and their employees.

He actively consults with business organizations on five continents, federal and military organizations, and health care and educational organizations. He received BS and MS degrees from Brigham Young University and MA and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University.

Episode 109: (Replay) Al Carey

This week we revisit our conversation with Al Carey, who recently served as CEO of PepsiCo North America until he retired from PepsiCo in 2019. Al shares lessons he has learned in his career, and we talk about leading during adversity and how to help your team thrive in challenging times.

Al’s career included a multi-decade PepsiCo veteran with experience across snacks and beverages and was responsible for leading North America Beverages, Frito-Lay North America, and Quaker Foods North America. Before this role, he was chief executive officer of North America Beverages, where he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of PepsiCo’s beverage business across North America. He joined PepsiCo in 1981 after working at The Procter & Gamble Company. Al is the Executive Chairman of Unifi Inc and also serves on the board of directors of The Home Depot, Inc. and boards of the University of Maryland and the Bridgeport Rescue Mission.

Episode 108: (Replay) Shellye Archambeau

This week we revisit our conversation with Shellye Archambeau. Shellye is an experienced CEO and Board Director with a track record of accomplishments building brands, high-performance teams, and organizations. She shares lessons learned from her life that she has written about in her new book, Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms. A book that will inspire you, and provide the tools to enable you to fight the battles, make the tradeoffs and create the life you want.

Shellye Archambeau currently serves on the boards of Verizon [NYSE:VZ], Nordstrom [NYSE: JWN], Roper Technologies [NYSE: ROP], and Okta [NASDAQ: OKTA]. She is also a strategic advisor to the Royal Bank of Canada, Capital Markets Group, and Forbes Ignite.

Shellye has over 30 years of experience in technology. She is the former CEO of MetricStream, a Silicon Valley-based, governance, risk, and compliance software company. During her tenure, MetricStream grew from a fledgling startup into a global market leader. She is also a Forbes contributor and the protagonist of the Harvard Business School Case Study: Becoming a CEO.

Episode 107: (Replay) Robert Pasin, CEO/Chief Wagon Officer, Radio Flyer Inc.

This week we interview Robert Pasin, the CEO/Chief Wagon Officer of Radio Flyer Inc., the business founded by his grandfather in 1917. Radio Flyer is an iconic brand that holds a special place in people’s hearts because it instantly transports them to a happy time — to the best parts of childhood. Robert works with a wonderful group of passionate “Flyers” whose mission is to create products that bring smiles to kids of all ages and create warm memories that last a lifetime. Company sales have grown significantly because of Robert’s focus on building a highly committed and creative team. The product line has expanded beyond the iconic Little Red Wagon™ to include tricycles, scooters, and other ride-ons featuring innovative, beautiful, playful design. Robert is the Emmy winning producer of the animated short film, Taking Flight.

In 1991, Robert earned his Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Notre Dame, where he served as student body president. After graduation, Robert taught 6th grade in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood through the Amate House Young Adult Volunteer Program. In 1997, Robert completed his M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Episode 106: (Replay) Kara Goldin, CEO, Hint Inc,

This week we revisit our interview with Kara Goldin, the Founder, and CEO of Hint, Inc., best known for its award-winning Hint^® water, the leading unsweetened flavored water, and the author of Undaunted.

Kara has been named among Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs and Forbes’ 40 Women to Watch Over 40.

She is an active speaker & writer and hosts the podcast The Kara Goldin Show, where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs, and other disruptors across various industries. She lives in the Bay Area.

Episode 105: (Replay) Josh Makower, New Director, Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign

This week we revisit our conversation with Josh Makower, who was recently selected as the new Director of the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. Josh is the Founder and Executive Chairman of ExploraMed, a medical device incubator. He is also a General Partner at NEA and leads the MedTech/Healthtech practice. He also serves at the Stanford University Medical School as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine and is Co-Founder of Stanford’s Biodesign Innovation Program. Josh currently serves on the board of directors for a number of Medical Technology companies. Josh holds over 300 patents and patent applications for various medical devices.

He received an MBA from Columbia University, an MD from the NYU School of Medicine, and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

Episode 104: Marcel Gehrung, CEO, Cyted

This week we interview Marcel Gehrung. Marcel is the cofounder and CEO of Cyted Ltd, a company that uses artificial intelligence to find biomarkers that detect cancer and other diseases early. He was selected this year for the Forbes 30 under 30 leaders in Europe.

Marcel is a scientist and serial entrepreneur with a demonstrated experience in leadership, fundraising, high-growth business management, and translational science.

Marcel has a Ph.D, from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor and Master of Science, Nanoscience/Biomedical Technologies from the University of Tübingen

Episode 103: Magnus Nicolin, CEO, Ansell

This week we interview Magnus Nicolin. Magnus serves as Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director, Executive Director of Ansell, a global company with over 13,000 employees.

Prior to joining Ansell, Magnus, a Swedish citizen, spent three years with Newell Rubbermaid Inc., most recently as President, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Prior to that, he spent seven years with Esselte Business Systems Inc, where in 2002, he led the leveraged buy-out of Esselte from the Stockholm and London Stock Exchanges. Following the buy-out, he became the Chief Executive Officer of Esselte. He has also held senior management positions with Bayer AG, Pitney Bowes, and McKinsey & Company.

Episode 102: Bill High, Executive Chairman & Founder, The Signatry

This week we interview Bill High, who is the Executive Chairman & Founder of The Signatry. Having lost his own father at age 12, Bill deeply understands the need for healthy families. Today his mission is to empower families in building legacies of generosity, in addition to his writing and speaking; Bill coaches families, individuals, business owners, and financial advisors in practical aspects of biblical generosity and multi-generational legacy.

After building a successful career as a lawyer, in 2000, he embarked on a new adventure—starting up The Signatry. Under Bill’s leadership, The Signatry has received contributions of over $4 billion and facilitated over $3 billion in charitable grants. Bill has also branched out in several business ventures to further the causes of generosity and family legacy, including iDonate, an integrated online donation platform serving the nonprofit community.

Bill and his wife Brooke have been married over 30 years. As the proud parents of four children and grandparents of three grandchildren, they love building their own family legacy. You can learn more about Bill at www.billhigh.com.

Episode 101: Pam York, Co-Founder & General Partner, Capita3

This week we welcome Pamela York as our guest. Pam is an investor and serial entrepreneur with extensive success from launch to exit in technology-based companies. She’s the co-founder and Managing Partner of Capita3 Ventures, an early-stage venture capital group investing in women-led startups with game-changing health innovations. Over her career, she’s been involved in over 50 new company launches, with a dozen company acquisitions or IPO’s to date, and serves on numerous boards.

Previously Pam pioneered three technology platforms that went on to successful commercialization and co-founded two VC-backed startups that each had exits, one with a highly successful IPO. She also led the University of Iowa’s technology commercialization foundation. She oversaw a portfolio of 1000 technologies concentrated in life sciences and built a startup pipeline from scratch, attracting hundreds of millions in venture capital financing and numerous exits to date.

Pam has 20 years of training in transformative leader growth. She applies awareness-based leader training to develop founders into top CEOs, featured at TEDx in 2018, and also delivered to healthcare leaders and innovators at Mayo Clinic. Pam is a mentor or advisor for Techstars, Revolution, NSF I-CORPSTM, Medical Alley, and others. She has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois and completed private equity financing at Wharton.

Episode 100: Daniel Mueller, CEO, SOLIDleaders

This week we interview Daniel Mueller. Daniel is one of the earliest and most active pioneers of the executive coaching industry. As of 2020, he has provided executive coaching for more than 1,525 CEOs and executives, delivered 50,000+ hours of one-on-one executive coaching, and has been privileged to witness major transformations in the lives of most clients. Passionate about serving leaders at every level, Daniel is dedicated to helping executives become more effective in all aspects of their personal and professional lives.

Prior to specializing in executive coaching, he was CEO of a management training company, a business advisory firm, and an organizational development consultancy – all three of which heavily influenced his unique approach to executive coaching. In addition to drawing on these disciplines, Daniel has extensive training in the behavioral sciences, behavioral psychology, and executive career counseling. An avid student of executive leadership, he regularly speaks and publishes on subjects critical to executive peak performance.

Since his first executive coaching engagement in 1987, Daniel knew he had found his calling, and had a meteoric rise to the top of the emerging executive coaching profession. However, the more outwardly successful Daniel became, the greater the internal pain grew of feeling like an imposter. He chose to numb this pain with alcohol, which led him into recovery for alcoholism – his sobriety date is March 4, 1996. Humbled and broken, Daniel began diligently working to attain personal transformation. This story of amazing success, total failure, and complete redemption has led to one of his favorite sayings: “I coach from a place of weakness, not strength.” From the wreckage emerged a tried and true methodology for helping any executive grow to the next level – if they are willing to do what it takes. Daniel is a good example of: “If he can do it, anyone can.”

He is gratefully married to the love of his life, Patty, and has three awesome daughters.

Episode 99: Diane Honda, Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel, Barracuda Networks Inc.

This week we interview Diane Honda. Diane currently serves as the Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Barracuda Networks, Inc., a leading global provider of email, network, and data security and recovery solutions; she is responsible for leading the company’s Legal and Human Resources departments and is a trusted advisor to the CEO, executive team, and Board.

Diane is a highly accomplished senior executive with extensive experience successfully partnering with company leadership and boards in the areas of strategy development and execution, transformative business initiatives, cybersecurity, and advanced technology, and operational excellence.

In 2019, Diane was recognized as one of the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 100 Women of Influence. She also received the General Counsel Impact Award from The Recorder, an ALM publication, in 2013 for her leadership and guidance on Barracuda Networks’ IPO. She is an Alumnae of the DirectWomen Board Institute Program (2019). DirectWomen is an independent organization that identifies, selects, and assists leading women attorneys who are ready to serve as directors on public company boards.

Diane holds a Juris doctorate, from Santa Clara University School of Law and Bachelor of Science degrees in Applied Math/Computer Science and Industrial Management from Carnegie Mellon and leadership development and strategic marketing program acknowledgments from theUniversity of Michigan and Harvard Business School.

Episode 98: Kathy Tune, CFO/COO Marani Health, VC

This week we welcome Kathleen Tune she is a proven healthcare executive. Kathleen is currently the CFO and COO of Marani Health. She is a Managing Partner with Capita3; an early-stage venture capital fund focused on women-led startup founders. She also founded and manages the health care investment firm Fourth Element Capital, investing in health care technology companies. Kathleen is a former partner at Thomas, McNerney & Partners, where she led and managed an extensive investment portfolio. She has worked with a range of companies from startups to large organizations in the highly regulated healthcare industry, has extensive community leadership activities, and serves on several non-profit boards, including currently serving on the board of directors for Gillette Children’s Hospital and the University Enterprise Laboratories.

Kathleen currently serves on the corporate boards of Marani Health., Visura Technologies, Inc. and Agitated Solutions, Inc. In addition to her active corporate board seats, Kathleen has served on the boards or in board advisory roles to a number of additional companies including VertiFlex, Inc., CAS Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CASM), Galil Medical Ltd, DyaMX, Inc., Softscope Medical Technologies, Inc., Torax Medical, Inc., Atritech, Inc., AppTec Laboratory Services, Inc. and CNS Therapeutics, Inc

Kathleen holds an M.S. degree in Veterinary Microbiology from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, where she was a Robert and Gail Buuck Scholar. She also holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Minnesota State University, where she graduated with honors.

Episode 97: Christine Yan, Board Member, Strategic Advisor

This week we welcome Christine Yan, an experienced public company board member and senior operating executive with a successful track record in managing global P&L, M&A, Sales and Marketing, and R&D Engineering. Christine serves on the board of Modine Manufacturing Company, ON Semiconductor, Ansell Limited, and Cabot Corporation. She is a member of the China Advisory Group for the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs.

Christine is a member of The Committee of 200 (C200), an invitation-only membership organization of the world’s most successful women business leaders.

Episode 96: Marilyn Gist, Author of The Extraordinary Power of Leader Humility

This week we welcome Marilyn Gist; she is the author of The Extraordinary Power of Leader Humility. Marilyn helps others become the leader everyone admires by creating thriving organizations and great results.

She asks us to Imagine a world in which all leaders feel and display a deep regard for others’ dignity. This is what humility means, and it helps leaders resolve conflict, increase engagement, and optimize performance. Marilyn speaks and consults widely, based on experience as a scholar, teacher, trainer, and senior leader.

Formerly Associate Dean, Professor of Management, and Executive Director of the Center for Leadership Formation at Seattle University, she began her academic career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She later joined the University of Washington, where she held the Boeing Endowed Professorship of Business.

Marilyn earned her BA from Howard University and her MBA and Ph.D. from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a member of the Academy of Management, American Psychological Association, and the International Women’s Forum.

Episode 95: David Hemink , CEO, Nonin Medical

This week we interview Dave Hemink the CEO of Nonin Medical. Dave has extensive experience as a leader and innovator in the medical device industry.

Before joining Nonin, he served as president of Cantel Medical, a leading provider of infection prevention products and services.

Prior to Cantel, Dave served as senior vice president of electrophysiology at Boston Scientific, a renowned global medical technology leader, and president of Bard Access Systems, a market leader in vascular access devices. Earlier in his career, he held senior sales and marketing roles at Abbott Vascular Devices, Dell EMC, and Boston Scientific.

Dave has a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications from California State University, Fresno

Episode 94: Ray Gary, CEO, iDonate

This week we interview Ray Gary who is the CEO of iDonate, a company that provides nonprofits with technology solutions to do more good in the world. Ray’s experience in launching, building and helping businesses succeed spans nearly three decades, including various leadership positions in technology companies. Previously, he served as President of the Venture Capital group of Koch Industries, one of the nation’s largest private companies, where he oversaw numerous technology investments.

Ray currently serves as an Advisory Board member of the Highland Park chapter of KLIFE – a faith-based ministry for students and also sits on the Board of the greater Baton Rouge/LSU area Young Life ministry.

Ray is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Business Management. While at the University of Oklahoma, he was selected as a member of the President’s Leadership Class, and played collegiate tennis. Ray and his wife Gina live in Highland Park, Texas and have three kids; Clare, Hannah, and Trey.

Episode 93: Carole Robin, Ph.D.

This week we interview Dr. Carole Robin. She has been in the business of helping leaders grow for over 35 years. Carole shares lessons learned in her career and talks about her new book Connect.

In addition to her teaching, she has coached and consulted for individuals and groups of high-profile executives for the last fifteen years. Her clients work with her to develop their interpersonal skills, update limiting mental models, and learn to modify their style. She has become internationally known for her expertise in interpersonal relations and, particularly, experiential small group learning. This type of training gives participants the capacity to become more effective leaders, build higher-performing organizations, and have richer, more fulfilling personal and professional relationships.

Episode 92: Robert Swan, OBE

This week we welcome Robert Swan, who is the first person to have walked to both the North and South Poles. His leadership and determination made his 900-mile journey to the South Pole the longest unassisted march in history. He was awarded the Polar Medal by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Youth.

Episode 91: Tom Juhase

This week we welcome Tom Juhase, an accomplished public company executive; most recently, he was the Chief Operating Officer of DFIN. Prior to his current role as COO, leading DFIN’s sales, service, and manufacturing, Tom served as president at R.R. Donnelley. He was responsible for the Service Group consisting of Global Outsourcing, Business Communications Solutions, Financial Services, and Language Solutions. Prior to joining R.R. Donnelley, Tom held various sales and management roles at Bowne & Co., American Cyanamid Company, and IBM.

Tom received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Seton Hall University and earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Miami.

Episode 90: Norm Fjeldheim

This week we welcome Norm Fjeldheim as our guest. Norm is the former Chief Information Officer and Head of Global Facilities at Illumina, the global leader in next-generation DNA sequencing, which he joined in 2016. Prior to joining Illumina, Mr. Fjeldheim spent 28 years at Qualcomm, the semi-conductor pioneer of 3 generations of mobile wireless technologies, the last 17 years as Chief Information Officer and Head of Global Security. Mr. Fjeldheim currently serves on several advisory boards and boards.

Mr. Fjeldheim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Information Systems from San Diego State University.

Episode 89: Gary Swart, General Partner, Polaris Partners

Gary Swart is a General Partner with Polaris Partners, and until April 2014, he was the CEO of oDesk (now UpWork, NASDAQ; UPWK). Gary is a thought leader in entrepreneurship, how best to hire and manage teams, and the future of work, including online work. He is passionate about helping small businesses thrive, fueled by his extensive experience working with startups and small businesses and mentoring entrepreneurs and business school students. Gary has spoken at the Inc. Leadership Conference, The Economist’s Ideas Economy panel, South by Southwest, TechCrunch 50, TiECon, GigaOM’s Net:Work Conference, and at Harvard Business School, which teaches a case study on oDesk.

His commentary has appeared in a variety of publications, including Forbes, TechCrunch, The Washington Post, and The Next Web. He has also appeared on TV and radio shows, including the BBC, National Public Radio, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV and Startups Uncensored. Previously, Gary led SMB Sales for the Americas at IBM’s Rational Software Product Group and also served as VP of Worldwide Sales and Operations at Intellibank.

Gary holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.

Episode 88: Brittany Bradrick, CFO & COO, ViaCyte

This week we welcome Brittany Bradrick as our guest. Brittany has more than 20 years of experience in finance, strategy, and corporate development for life science companies, with both operational and advisory experience. Before joining ViaCyte, Ms. Bradrick was Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development at Insulet Corporation, an insulin pump company.

Prior to Insulet, Ms. Bradrick was Director, Business Development and Alliance Management at Abbott Diabetes Care, a glucose measurement company. Prior to Abbott, Ms. Bradrick was an investment banker to the life science industry for 10 years at Piper Jaffray, Credit Suisse, and Chase Securities. Ms. Bradrick started her career as a Federal Reserve Bank Examiner.

Ms. Bradrick earned an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and a B.S. in business administration from the University of Missouri. She currently serves on the advisory board of AltrixBio and the board of MedExecWomen.

Episode 87: Jon Morrison, Retired President Americas, WABCO

This week we are welcoming Jon Morrison as our guest. Jon most recently was the President, Americas for WABCO. Jon shares leadership lessons learned in his career. Before that role, he served as President, North America for American Axle and Manufacturing since November 2014. Before then, he held the position of Vice President Vehicle Dynamics and Controls with WABCO. From 2006 through 2014, Morrison served as President and General Manager of Meritor WABCO, the joint venture between Meritor and WABCO.

Before then, he held various leadership positions during a 15-year career with Dana Corporation. These included General Manager, Plant Manager, and Global Director of Sales and Engineering. In addition, Morrison spent seven years working with PBR International, an Australian-based light vehicle foundation brake manufacturer. At PBR, Morrison started as President of a joint venture between Delphi and PBR. Morrison later became Vice President of Sales and Product Planning North America. His 30-year career includes responsibilities in Finance, Manufacturing, Sales and Marketing, Engineering, and managing global customer relationships.

Morrison holds a Bachelor’s degree in General Management from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, both located in the U.S.

Episode 86: Geoff Crouse, CEO of Syneron Candela

This week we welcome as our guest Geoff Crouse the CEO of Syneron Candela and a member of the Board of Directors. Geoff has successfully led businesses in the life sciences sector spanning capital equipment, diagnostics and tools. Prior to joining Syneron Candela, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Cord Blood Registry from 2012 to 2015, when the company was sold to AMAG Pharmaceuticals. Prior, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Immucor, a publicly-traded company in the in-vitro diagnostics marketplace, and led Health Economics and Reimbursement Outcomes for Roche Diagnostics.

Geoff currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors at Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA) and Prelude Fertility.

Geoff holds a BA in English from Boston College, an MBA and a Masters of Public Health, from the University of California, Berkeley.

Episode 85: Dawnet Beverley, EVP Donnelley Financial Solutions

This week we welcome Dawnet Beverley as our guest. Dawnet is a seasoned executive with 30 years of ascending management, sales, and technology roles. She is the Executive Vice President with global responsibilities for Donnelley Financial Solutions Capital Markets Group. Dawnet has served on boards and volunteered her professional expertise to a number of charitable organizations. She holds a master’s degree in Organizational Development from Pepperdine University.

She was recognized as a “Most Influential Women” honoree in Silicon Valley and is a member of both the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and C200 (a premier organization of women business leaders).

Episode 84: Developing Resilience as a Leader with Edward (Ned) Powley Ph.D.

This week we discuss the subject of developing resilience with Edward H. Powley, Ph.D. (Ned) is an Associate Professor of Management in the Graduate School of Defense Management (GSDM) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). He teaches organizational behavior in the MBA and EMBA programs for GSDM. He facilitates workshops, coaches senior leaders, and teaches modules on leadership and emotional intelligence for the Center of Executive Education (CEE) and the Human Resources Center of Excellence (HRCOE) at NPS.

He is co-editor of the Research Handbook of Organizational Resilience (Edward Elgar) and has published scholarly and practitioner articles on organizational resilience, organizational change and culture, appreciative inquiry, leadership and organizational healing in Human Relations, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Academy of Management Executive, Journal of Business Ethics, The Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Journal of Management Spirituality and Religion, and other journals.

Ned has 25 years experience in organizational and leadership development, having consulted and conducted research with a variety of organizations including Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutes, Prudential Retirement, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Navy, Roadway Express, Society for Organizational Learning’s Sustainability Consortium, and Stephen R. Covey and Associates. He also worked for the Corporate Executive Board and for The World Bank Group.

B.A., Brigham Young University, (Anthropology)

M.A. The George Washington University (Organizational Management) Ph.D. Case Western Reserve University (Organizational Behavior)

Episode 83: Julie Smolyansky, CEO of Lifeway Foods

In this week’s episode, we interview Julie Smolyansky, the CEO of Lifeway Foods. She became the youngest female CEO of a publicly held firm when she took over Lifeway Foods at the age of 27 in 2002. Since then, Julie has continued the company’s growth trajectory with creative product development and marketing to bring kefir, the company’s flagship product, into the U.S. mainstream. Under her leadership, the company has expanded distribution throughout the United States, Mexico, the UK, and Ireland, as well as portions of Central and South America and the Caribbean. She has been named to Fortune Business ‘40 under 40,’ Fortune’s 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter, as one of the Best Instagrammers of the 40 Under 40 list, and was recently named a 2020 Champion of Wellness by VeryWell.

Julie is a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is an emeritus member of the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council and was part of the 2015 class of Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum. She has produced several documentaries, including “The Homestretch,” “Honor Diaries,” “The Hunting Ground,” and most recently, “On the Record.” In 2013 Julie co‐founded a non‐profit, Test400k, an organization dedicated to advocating ending the backlog of 400,000 untested rape kits in the United States. She released her first book, The Kefir Cookbook: An Ancient Healing Superfood for Modern Life, Recipes from My Family Table and Around the World, in March of 2018. She lives in Chicago and is the mother of two girls.

Episode 82: The Art of Being Indispensable at Work with Bruce Tulgan

This week we interview Bruce Tulgan, who is internationally recognized as a leading expert on the best practices of effective management, generational change, and young people in the workplace. We discuss his newest book, The Art of Being Indispensable at Work.

Management Today has called Bruce a “management guru” for his expertise and delivery.

Bruce has written numerous best-selling books, including It’s Okay to Be the Boss (2007, revised & updated 2014), Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage the Millennials (2009, revised & updated 2016), The 27 Challenges Managers Face (2014), and Bridging the Soft Skills Gap: How to Teach the Missing Basics to Today’s Young Talent (2015). His newest book, The Art of Being Indispensable at Work, is available now from Harvard Business Review Press.

Bruce lectures at the Yale Graduate School of Management and other academic institutions, and his writing has appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers, including the Harvard Business Review, BusinessWeek, HR Magazine, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.

Episode 81: What I Wish I Knew at Twenty-Two

(Part Three)

In this episode, we revisit conversations with eight leaders as they share the answer to the question knowing what you know now, what advice would you give yourself at twenty-two?

Episode 80: Replay of Purpose-Driven Leadership with Dr. Robert Quinn

In this episode, we revisit our conversation with Dr. Robert Quinn and he shares insights on how to become a purpose-driven leader.

Robert Quinn has spent the last 40 years doing research, publishing, teaching, consulting, and speaking to more than half of the Fortune 500. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business.

He has published 18 books including his book, Deep Change which is a long-term best seller.

He was selected as one of the “World’s Top 30 Organizational Culture professionals for 2018.” He has one of the highest rates of repeat invitations in the speaking industry. Over 15 million people have viewed his recent talk on purpose.

Episode 79: Caro Van Hove, President & CEO, NC8 an ExploraMed company

This week we interview Caroline (Caro) Van Hove, the President, and CEO of a venture-backed, clinical-stage medical aesthetics company,NC8 an ExploraMed company and previously held several commercial leadership roles at both start-up and large-cap companies.

Caro previously served as Chief Commercial Officer of Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.; a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on therapies in immunology and inflammation. Prior to Sienna, Ms. Van Hove was Senior Vice President of International Strategic Marketing at Allergan, where she oversaw commercial operations for the medical aesthetics, eye care, and specialty care franchises. Previously, she managed sales & marketing, customer service, and customer excellence in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East and led Allergan’s international medical aesthetics operations. Caro also served as part of Allergan’s Global Operations & International Leadership Teams.

Caro serves as Executive Chair on the Board of Directors of Sientra; a publicly-traded medical aesthetics company. And she is a proud member of the Board of Directors of Mission Plasticos, a global non-profit dedicated to providing reconstructive surgery to children in need.

She is a proud mom of three little girls and wife to a firefighter, residing with her family in Huntington Beach, California.

Episode 78: Robert Pasin, CEO/Chief Wagon Officer, Radio Flyer Inc.

An avid runner, Robert has completed numerous marathons, including Boston and a 50-mile ultra. Robert’s favorite activities are creating family videos and playing with his four children in their backyard full of wagons, tricycles & other ride-on toys.

Episode 77: Karen Long, Managing Director, KCK (Med Tech) Group

In this week’s episode, we interview Karen Long, a Managing Director at KCK (Med Tech) Group. KCK focuses on capital investment in commercial and growth-stage medical device companies. Karen has been with KCK since January 2018, when she joined as Executive-in-Residence. Karen serves as Board Director in many KCK portfolio companies as well as Independently.

Prior to KCK, Karen was President and CEO of Nuelle, a women’s consumer health company incubated at ExploraMed, a Silicon Valley medical device incubator. Nuelle was acquired in 2017.

Karen has spent over 20 years in medical devices and diagnostics developing and marketing novel and market leading products focused on improving quality of life. She has held a series of key operating roles in consumer diagnostic companies.

Karen began her career as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker after receiving her undergraduate and graduate degrees from San Diego State University.

Episode 76 : The New Leader’s Action Plan, George Bradt Chairman & Founder PrimeGenesis

In this week’s episode, we interview George Bradt he has led the revolution in how people start new jobs – accelerating transitions, so leaders and their teams reduce their rates of failure and fulfill potential. After Harvard and Wharton (MBA), he progressed through sales, marketing, and general management roles around the world at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and J.D. Power’s Power Information Network spin-off as chief executive.

He is the Founder and chairman of the executive onboarding and transition acceleration firm PrimeGenesis, which has reduced new leader failure rates from 40% to below 10% since 2003.

Author of 9+ books on leadership and onboarding including The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan, over 650+ articles for Forbes, and 16 plays and musicals (book, lyrics and music).

Episode 75: Laura Chambers, CEO of Willow

This week our guest is Laura Chambers who is the CEO of Willow, the creator of the world’s first quiet, all-in-one, in-bra wearable breast pump.

As a mom to three, she is especially passionate about Willow’s mission to bring joy to motherhood. Laura joined Willow from Airbnb, where she led the Core Hosts business, focusing on helping Airbnb guests find high-quality, unique homes and helping hosts have wonderful experiences with their guests.

Prior to Airbnb, Laura held various leadership roles at eBay, PayPal, Skype, and McKinsey & Co in Australia. She holds an MBA from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne. Laura and her family reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Episode 74: Dave Murphy, Retired President & CEO Red Wing Shoe Company Inc.

This week we interview Dave Murphy, and he shares lessons learned from his career. Dave served as President & CEO of Red Wing Shoe Company Inc. for fifteen years and retired in December 2015. Prior to joining Red Wing Shoe Company in 2001, Murphy spent 23 years in increasingly responsible positions at Minneapolis-based General Mills, a $12 billion global manufacturer and consumer foods marketers. During his tenure at General Mills, Murphy served as Sr. Vice President – International Foods; President – General Mills Canada; President – Big “G” Cereals; and President – Betty Crocker Products.

Dave is active in the local community, having served as Chairman of the Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media Boards of Directors. In addition, he serves as Chairman of the Board for Wenger Corporation, a Board Member of Red Wing Shoe Company and Mortenson Construction.

Dave has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Murphy is married and has three adult children and five grandchildren. He enjoys skiing and photography.

Episode 73: Undaunted, Interview with Kara Goldin, Founder & CEO Hint, Inc.

This week we interview Kara Goldin, who is the Founder and CEO of Hint, Inc., best known for its award-winning Hint^® water, the leading unsweetened flavored water, and the author of Undaunted.

Kara has been named among Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs and Forbes’ 40 Women to Watch Over 40.

She is an active speaker & writer and hosts the podcast The Kara Goldin Show, where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs, and other disruptors across various industries. She lives in the Bay Area.

Previously, Kara was Vice President of Shopping and E-commerce Partnerships at AOL, where she lead the growth of its startup shopping business to a $1 billion enterprise.

Follow Kara on all social handles @KaraGoldin

www.drinkhint.com

Episode 72: Accelerating Leadership, Interview with Lance Hazzard

This week we interview Lance Hazzard who shares lessons learned from his career and from his book Accelerating Leadership. Lance is an author, certified executive coach, and a former Fortune 100 HR Vice President. He uses expertise and experience to guide clients to develop greater insights, build capabilities, gain new perspectives and make choices that resonate with their values, allowing them to operate more effectively, achieve desired results and lead more authentically.

Prior to founding Oppnå® Coaching, Lance served as a Vice President of Human Resources at Medtronic, a global medical technology and solutions company, working in multiple global business units and group functional capacities.

Lance holds an MS in Economics from Butler University and a BA in Social Science, Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University.

Episode 71: Interview with Josh Makower, NEA General Partner, Founder & Executive Chairman ExploraMed

This week we interview Josh Makower, a General Partner on NEA’s healthcare team leading the MedTech/Healthtech practice. Josh is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of ExploraMed, a medical device incubator that has created eight companies over the past 20 years.

Notable transactions from the ExploraMed portfolio include Acclarent, acquired by J&J in 2009. EndoMatrix, acquired by C.R. Bard in 1997, TransVascular, acquired by Medtronic in 2003 and Neotract acquired by Teleflex in 2017. On-going ExploraMed/NEA ventures include NeoTract, Moximed, Willow, NC8, and ExploraMed V.

In addition to his role at NEA, Josh serves on the faculty of the Stanford University Medical School as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine and is Co-Founder of Stanford’s Biodesign Innovation Program. Josh currently serves on the board of directors for Foundry Therapeutics 1, Lungpacer, NC8, Magenta Medical, Intact Vascular, Vesper Medical, DOTS Technology Corp., Eargo, ExploraMed, Intrinsic Therapeutics, Moximed, SetPoint Medical, Willow and Coravin.

Josh holds over 300 patents and patent applications for various medical devices. He received an MBA from Columbia University, an MD from the NYU School of Medicine, and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

Episode 70: Unapologetically Ambitious, Interview with Shellye Archambeau

This week we interview Shellye Archambeau. Shellye is an experienced CEO and Board Director with a track record of accomplishments building brands, high-performance teams, and organizations. She shares lessons learned from her life that she has written about in her new book, Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms. A book that will inspire you, and provide the tools to enable you to fight the battles, make the tradeoffs and create the life you want.

To learn more about Shellye, visit shellye.com.

Episode 69: The Motivation Code, Interview with Todd Henry

This week we interview Todd Henry regarding his latest book, The Motivation Code, Discover the Hidden Forces That Drive Your Best Work.

With millions of downloads, his podcast The Accidental Creative offers weekly tips for how to stay prolific, brilliant, and healthy.

Todd’s book Die Empty was named by Amazon.com as one of the best books of 2013.

Episode 68: Interview with James Reinstein

In this week’s episode, we interview James Reinstein, who is President and CEO of Saranas. His career has focused on Medical Technology industry; prior to Saranas, he was the CEO of Cutera. and Aptus Endosystems. He currently serves on the board of directors of Mainstay Medical and Monteris Medical.

Earlier in his career, he was the Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Cyberonics, where he led a commercial turnaround by growing revenues from approximately $100 million in 2007 to over $200 million in four years. Prior to Cyberonics he had a 17-year career with Boston Scientific Corp.

After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia in Athens, Mr. Reinstein spent four years in sales and sales management roles with Procter & Gamble.

Episode 67: Reinvent Your Impact, Interview with Chuck Bolton

In this episode, we interview Chuck Bolton; he shares thoughts from his new books focusing on reinventing your impact, unleashing purpose, passion, and productivity to thrive. Chuck is an author and C-suite level coach for leaders and top teams who seek to make a massive impact in the medical device, healthcare, and life sciences sectors. He is a leading advisor and consultant on leadership, reinvention, strategy, productivity, and growth. He shows and inspires his clients to create great impact and value, so they flourish and win in a disruptive world.

Chuck is a reinvention thought leader and a six-time bestselling author. His most recent books, both released in 2020, 19 Fighting COVID-19: Unsung Heroes Creating Impact During the Pandemic and Unrest and Reinvent Your Impact: Unleashing Purpose, Passion, and Productivity to Thrive, are international bestsellers in the USA, Canada, and Australia.

Chuck received an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management and a BA from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He was recognized at Keller with the “40 for 40” award as a distinguished alum.

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Episode 66: Leading and Thriving Through Adversity- Al Carey

This week we talk with Al Carey, who recently served as chief executive officer of PepsiCo North America until he retired from PepsiCo in 2019. Al shares lessons he has learned in his career, and we talk about leading during adversity and how to help your team thrive in challenging times.

Al’s career included a multi-decade PepsiCo veteran with experience across snacks and beverages and was responsible for leading North America Beverages, Frito-Lay North America, and Quaker Foods North America. Before this role, he was chief executive officer of North America Beverages, where he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of PepsiCo’s beverage business across North America. He joined PepsiCo in 1981 after working at The Procter & Gamble Company. Al is the Executive Chairman of Unifi Inc and also serves on the board of directors of The Home Depot, Inc. and boards of University of Maryland and the Bridgeport Rescue Mission.

Episode 65: Small Actions, Big Impact- Interview with Jane Dutton

In this episode, we interview Professor Jane Dutton is a world expert in the field of Positive Organizational Scholarship. She shares ideas on how small actions can create a big impact and help your team flourish.

Dr. Dutton co-founded the Center for Positive Organizations at the Ross School of Business in 2002. She is the only Distinguished University Professor on the faculty at Ross, which is the highest award given to a faculty member at the University of Michigan. Jane’s research and teaching sit at the interaction of strategy, management, and psychology. In particular, she examines how high-quality connections and identity processes increase employees’ and organizations’ capabilities. She has published 13 books; two focused directly on managers, including her most recent book with Gretchen Spreitzer, How to Be a Positive Leader: Small Actions, Big Impact.

She serves on the Board of Directors for Kelly Services. She has also worked with over 160 for-profit and not-for-profit organizations as a faculty coach with teams of MBA students doing consulting on strategy, marketing, and leadership projects.

Episode 64: Interview with Lindy Greer

In this episode, we interview Lindred (Lindy) Greer, who is an Associate Professor of Management & Organizations and faculty director of the Sanger Leadership Center at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on how to design and lead effective organizational teams. Lindy has published in outlets such as Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Applied Psychology, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, among others. Her work has been covered in media outlets, including the New York Times, Forbes, and Fast Company, and she has received awards from the Academy of Management and American Psychological Association. Poets and Quants recognized her in 2019 as one of the top 40 under 40 business school professors, calling her a ‘rockstar prof’.

Lindy received her B.S. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and her Ph.D. in social and organizational psychology from Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Episode 63: Interview with Kristian Tapaninaho, Founder & CEO, Ooni

In this episode, we interview Kristian Tapaninaho, who is the Founder and CEO of the global outdoor pizza oven brand Ooni. Originally from Finland, Kristian invented the world’s first portable wood-fired oven in 2012 when his pizza was good, and he wanted it to be great. Through the spark of this initial idea, Kristian’s gone to set the world alight with a range of innovative outdoor cookware products and leads a team of A-players to build the future of Ooni.

Kristian loves to run while listening to heavy metal, having saunas, and as well as creating a global brand- he has the goal of visiting every whiskey distillery in Scotland.

Episode 62: Interview with Dr. Ross Jaffe

In this episode, we interview Ross Jaffe, MD. Ross is an experienced healthcare venture capitalist with particular expertise in medical technology. Dr. Jaffe is one of the founding Managing Directors of Versant Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm, where for the last thirty years, he has focused primarily on early-stage medical device companies. Having retired from active investing for Versant in 2016, he now serves as a Venture Advisor to New Enterprise Associates (NEA) while completing his Versant responsibilities.

Ross has served on the boards of multiple successful medical technology companies. Dr. Jaffe earned a BA in Policy Studies from Dartmouth, an MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He completed his residency in internal medicine and served as a part-time attending physician at the University of California, San Francisco.

Ross has been recognized on the Forbes Midas List of leading venture capitalists. Dr. Jaffe is a current member and former Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and a former Chair of the Board of the Children’s Health Council in Palo Alto, CA.

Episode 61: Interview with Dr. Wayne Baker

In this episode, we interview Wayne Baker is the author of the book All You Have To Do Is Ask, and the Robert P. Thome Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Management & Organizations at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He is also a Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan and Faculty Associate at the Institute for Social Research. He currently serves as Faculty Director of the Center for Positive Organizations.

Episode 60: Interview with Jim Mallozzi, Business Leader, Advisor

In this episode, we interview Jim Mallozzi. Jim’s work as a transformational business leader has been noted in numerous books, articles and academic business case studies, including; Practicing Positive Leadership, Tool & Techniques that Create Extraordinary Results (2012); Positive Leadership Strategies for Extraordinary Performance (2013) both by Dr. Kim Cameron and book “All You Have to Do Is Ask” by Dr. Wayne Baker” (2020).

Jim is considered a master practitioner of Positive Leadership. His consulting practice, Mindset Advisors LLC, has helped turn loose the power of positive deviance for scores of organizations worldwide.

Jim has held senior-level positions with Aetna, Hartford Life, and, most recently, CEO and Chairman Prudential Real Estate.

During his career, he has worked throughout North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. Jim holds a BSBA and an MBA from the Sawyer School of Management, Suffolk University, in Boston.

Episodes 58 & 59: Positive Leadership, Interview with Kim Cameron, Professor, Author

In these two episodes, we interview Kim Cameron. He is a Professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business he shares his thoughts around positive leadership and the impact it has on organizations.

He is a co-founder of the discipline of Positive Organizational Scholarship—the scientific study of what produces extraordinary performance in organizations and their employees.

Episode 57: Interview with Brady Pyle, Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer, NASA

In this episode, we interview Brady Pyle is the Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer for NASA. Brady shares his thoughts on leadership and lessons learned in his career.

Brady is responsible for leading Human Resources Services for NASA. Over the past two years, Brady has led the Executive HR Directors for NASA’s ten field Centers. He joined the Executive ranks in March 2016 as HR Director for NASA’s Johnson Space Center—home to NASA’s Astronauts and leaders in human space exploration, including the International Space Station, which recently celebrated 20 years of continuous human presence in space.

In 2013, he started a blog at OutOfThisWorldLeadership.com, where he serves leaders as they shoot for the stars.

Episode 56: Interview with Lucienne Ide

In this episode, we interview Lucienne (Lucie) Ide, M.D., Ph.D., a healthcare innovator, the Founder and Chairman of Rimidi. Her diverse experiences in medicine, science, venture capital, and technology to transforming the delivery of chronic care management.

Before starting Rimidi in 2012, Dr. Ide worked as a physicist at the National Security Agency, Raytheon Systems Corporation, and Monarch Capital Partners, a venture capital firm. She holds a joint M.D./Ph.D. degree from Emory University.

Episode 55: Replay of Interview with Grace Colón

In this episode, we revisit our interview with Grace Colón, who is the CEO of InCarda. Grace has over 25 years of experience in biopharma, genomics, healthcare, and industrial biotechnology.

Grace serves on several boards and is on the Advisory Board of the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University. Dr. Colón received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was an NSF Fellow.

Episode 54: Replay of Interview with Gregg Lehman

In this episode, we revisit our first episode of Motivated to Lead interview with Gregg Lehman. Gregg is a business leader and has been a CEO with both public and private companies. Gregg has served on many boards, and early in his career, he was a President of Taylor University. Gregg is currently the CEO of The Difference Card.

Gregg shares interesting thoughts from his career that will be helpful for executives early in their career as well as seasoned executives.

Episode 53: Interview with Lorraine Parker-Clegg, Global Human Resources Leader

In this week’s episode, we interview Lorraine Parker-Clegg. Lorraine shares lessons learned in her career and her perspective, hiring great talent. Lorraine is an international business leader with in-country expertise across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Lorraine has held Human Resources leadership positions with companies such as BE Aerospace, Bristol Myers Squibb, Medtronic, most recently, she was the Chief Human Resources Officer at Doncasters Group. Lorraine is highly regarded for her ability to take on the tough challenges, helping organizations bring necessary change to further their human capital and talent agenda.

Episode 52: No Limitations! Interview with Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham

In this episode, we interview Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham. Aaron was born with Spina Bifida; the doctors said he would never be independent. Aaron is an extreme wheelchair athlete who travels internationally to compete and holds five Guinness Book of World Records.

Aaron enjoys showing young kids with disabilities that a wheelchair can be a tool, not a restriction. He loves helping younger children learn how to handle their chairs in new and different ways and teaching them a trick or two. Someday he hopes to design and build the most wicked chair in the world.

Episode 51: Interview with Brian Dumaine, Author of Bezonomics

In this episode, we interview Brian Dumaine. Brian is an award-winning journalist and a contributing editor at Fortune magazine.

His new book, Bezonomics: How Amazon Is Changing Our Lives and What the World’s Best Companies Are Learning From It (Scribner), takes an unbiased look at Amazon’s increasingly dominant business model, the competitors either imitating or trying to outfox the company, and the ways “Bezonomics” is shaping the life of every American consumer.

Episode 50: Interview with Adam Houlahan

In this week’s episode, we interview Adam Houlahan, who is an International Keynote Speaker specializing in LinkedIn strategies for entrepreneurs, and CEO of the highly successful LinkedIn agency, Prominence Global.

He hosts arguably the world’s largest free online LinkedIn training event, with thousands of people registering every 12-weeks. He is considered to be one of Australia’s leading experts in harnessing the power of LinkedIn for business.

He is the author of three Amazon best-selling books, Social Media Secret Sauce, The LinkedIn Playbook, and Influencer. Adam co-authored a fourth international best-seller Better Business, Better Life, Better World.

Episodes 48 & 49: Interview with Dr. Robert Quinn – Purpose Driven Leadership

In these episodes, we talk with Dr. Robert Quinn and his shares insights on how to become a purpose-driven leader. This is a two-part conversation.

He has published 18 books including his book, Deep Change which is a long-term best seller.

He was selected as one of the “Worlds Top 30 Organizational Culture professionals for 2018.” He has one of the highest rates of repeat invitations in the speaking industry. Over 15 million people have viewed his recent talk on purpose.

Episode 47: Interview with David Burkus

This week we interview David Burkus, one of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are changing how companies approach innovation, collaboration, and productivity.

As a skilled researcher and inspiring communicator, Burkus’ award-winning books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. By making cutting-edge organizational research accessible and applicable, Burkus pushes audiences to reconsider how they work both individually and in teams and unlocks the methods top performers use to thrive at work and in life.

A renowned expert, Burkus’ writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, and more. He’s been interviewed by NPR, the BBC, CNN, and CBS This Morning. Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50.

Episode 46: Interview with Angie Lienert CEO of IntelliGenesis

In this episode, we interview Angie Lienert, CEO of IntelliGenesis. Angie shares her inspiring personal story and lessons learned in her career.

Angie founded IntelliGenesis in 2007 with a dedication to keeping our soldiers safe through the improved analysis and protection of the USA’s National Security Missions.

She has since grown the company to more than 135 employees specializing in Machine Learning & Data Science, Cyber Services & Analytics, All-Source Analysis, and Mission Application Development.

As a business owner, Angie started the kind of company that she wanted to work for and continues to ensure it has that supportive atmosphere for every employee—one where employees work hard and enjoy coming to work, but also where their personal lives are valued.

Angie has received many professional awards for her entrepreneurship and philanthropy. Some of her awards have included The Baltimore Sun’s Top Leadership Award, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Maryland’s Most Influential People, Women in Technology – Leadership Award.

Episode 45: Interview with Dr. John Hurrell

In this episode, we interview Dr. John Hurrell, who is the Chief Commercial Officer for Jana Care. He has held senior executive roles globally for companies in the Lifesciences. He shares lessons learned in his career and how to manage teams in a time of crisis. He has also served as Advisor to several global diagnostics companies.

John has a distinguished track record of growing companies in the healthcare industry, including the Focus Diagnostics product subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics (acquired by Diasorin). At Focus, he was the president and general manager, where he led the development and launch of more than 70 molecular diagnostic tests and successfully gained 510(k) approvals for six products. Previously, John served as VP of Business Development at Quest Diagnostics.

In his earlier days, John was SVP R&D Operations for Boehringer Mannheim (now Roche Diagnostics), where he was responsible for the development of the blood glucose monitoring system AccuChek Advantage and other highly successful POC products.

John is a Harvard Medical School Fulbright Fellow and has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry/Immunology and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry/Chemistry from Melbourne University.

Episode 44: Leading During a Crisis Interview with Jack Porter CEO, Cognizer

In this week’s episode, we interview Jack Porter, CEO of Cognizer. Jack shares his thoughts around managing in crisis in this new environment.

Jack is a serial entrepreneur who has been the CEO of eleven startups. He has extensive experience in advanced analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. His expertise includes understanding how to leverage complex mathematical algorithms, data visualizations, and sophisticated business models.

Mr. Porter has worked on some of the largest AI projects in the world at companies like American Express, Discover Card, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, and Reliance Jio. He has a comprehensive understanding of traditional machine learning models, neural networks, and advanced deep learning.

Mr. Porter has published eight books on technology innovation and entrepreneurship. He often speaks at industry events like the Kellogg Innovation Network, Gartner Group Research Board, and AI by the Bay. He is also a regular contributor to magazines such as Infoworld, CIO Magazine, and eWeek.

Episode 43: Interview with Brahim Zabeli CEO, Smart Meter

In this episode, we interview Brahim Zabeli. Brahim is the CEO of Smart Meter and has held many leadership roles in the commercial areas of sales, marketing, and business development. He has 20 years of experience in diabetes medical devices gained through working for worldwide leaders Johnson & Johnson and Becton Dickinson. In that time, Brahim has been responsible for successfully bringing dozens of new products to market. He has a terrific knowledge of the nuances of the diabetes marketplace, including customers, channels, reimbursement, and managed care.

He holds a BA in Economics from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an MBA from the Claremont Graduate University.

Episode 42: Interview with Jan Molino “How to Build a Personal Brand”

In this podcast episode of Motivated to Lead, we interview Jan Molino, who is the President & CEO of Aspire Ascend, a consulting firm providing career & board development services to enhance the success of executive women in leadership. Jan share lessons learned through her career, and we focus our conversation on How to Build a Personal Brand.

Jan’s consulting to both for-profit and non-profit organizations has resulted in the development of numerous programs to sponsor, encourage, and support executive women in leadership roles. Her strength in bringing influential women and professionals together is complemented by a powerful network she utilizes to assist women in achieving their goals.

She is an emeritus member of the on George Mason University Women in Business Initiative Advisory Board. A graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, she completed post-graduate work in marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Episode 41: Interview with Jean Holloway

In this episode, we interview Jean Holloway. Jean is a Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary at CryoLife, Inc. Prior to joining CryoLife in 2015, she held various positions, including Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of C.R. Bard, Inc., Deputy General Counsel, Medtronic, Inc., Vice President, Litigation, Boston Scientific, Inc., and Deputy General Counsel, Guidant Corporation. Jean also spent nearly 15 years in private practice as a trial lawyer at Dorsey & Whitney, Faegre & Benson and Sidley & Austin.

Jean has a J.D./MBA (cum laude) from the University of Chicago, and two undergraduate degrees from Yale University in engineering and political science.

Episode 40: Interview with Ralph Balestriere

In this episode, we interview Ralph Balestriere who is EVP and Chief Financial Officer at Red Wing Shoes Co. In this role, he is responsible for global finance and business development for this worldwide developer, manufacturer, marketer and retailer of purpose-built footwear, PPE garments and accessories under the brand names of Red Wing, Irish Setter, Worx, and Vasque.

Prior to joining Red Wing, Ralph had senior financial positions with several major corporations, most recently as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Teleflex Medical Inc.

Ralph is a graduate of Boston University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance.

Episode 39: Interview with Randy Haykin

In this episode, we interview Randy Haykin. Randy is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, philanthropist and educator, and “wine angel” who lives and works in the Bay Area. In 2011, Randy founded the philanthropic venture entity The Gratitude Network (http://gratitude-network.org) to mentor social entrepreneurs globally. Randy currently coaches CEOs and is a Vistage Chair, overseeing a peer group of 16 growth-stage CEOs in the Bay Area.

Randy has taught courses on innovation, entrepreneurship, and finance at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business as well as Cambridge University Judge Business School. Randy holds a BA in Organizational Behavior and Management from Brown University, magna cum laude, and an MBA from Harvard.

Episode 38: Interview with Rick Brimacomb

In this episode, we interview Rick Brimacomb, who is an Investor, Advisor, and Board Member. Rick began advising and investing in emerging companies as a venture capitalist in 1991 and has helped numerous companies develop into “investment grade” opportunities, attract funding, and create shareholder value. Brimacomb & Associates, founded in 2005, gives Rick a platform to assist business leaders in refining strategies, assembling resources, and securing funding. Before launching his firm, Rick co-founded the Sherpa Partners venture capital fund. He is an advisor to several companies, founder of Club Entrepreneur and The Network Connect, and a past President of the Minnesota Venture Capital Association.

Episode 37: Interview with Jim McDermid

In this episode, we interview Jim McDermid, who has a background as a senior executive focused on human resources over his career. He was most recently the SVP, and CHRO of CryoLife, Inc. publicly traded medical technology company and previously was a VP of Human Resources at Medtronic’s Cardiac and Vascular Group with $10B in sales and 23,000 employees. Jim shares his thoughts around talent management and performance management and other lessons he has learned in his career.

Jim has a Master of Arts, McMaster University, and a Bachelor of Arts, University of Toronto. Jim has won many awards for his HR leadership, including the Wallin Leadership Award. Jim currently works as an HR Consultant helping organizations with HR Strategy.

Episode 36: Interview with Nancy Briefs (Replay)

This week’s episode of Motivated to Lead we revisit our interview Nancy Briefs the CEO of AltrixBio. Nancy is a serial entrepreneur of seven start-ups and has raised over 500M in equity in her career. Nancy is a strategic business leader with extensive experience creating value, driving strategy and launching product commercialization in diverse life science companies.

She is a trusted advisor and mentor to founders and boards. Nancy is an active member of the start-up community in Massachusetts. She was recognized as Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

Episode 35: Interview with Francois Michelon

This week we revisit our interview with Francois Michelon the CEO and Board Chair of Endra Life Sciences. Francois’s career has spanned over 20 years in the healthcare technology field. He has experience working in a startup, private equity, and Fortune 20 environments. In 2017 Francois led Endra Life Sciences to a successful IPO. Francois shares lessons learned from his career in the corporate world and what he has learned as a startup CEO.

Episode 34: Interview with Jason Mellad

In this episode, we interview Jason Mellad the CEO of Start Codon. Jason is a scientist entrepreneur passionate about translating innovative technologies into better patient outcomes. As CEO and co-founder of Start Codon, a Cambridge based accelerator, he aims to identify and recruit the most disruptive healthcare startups worldwide. Previously he was CEO of Cambridge Epigenetix and Business Development Manager for Horizon Discovery’s diagnostics division. Jason has a Ph.D., Medicine from the University of Cambridge.

Episode 33: Interview with Brian Verrier

In this episode, we interview Brian Verrier who is the CEO of Ossio Ltd. Brian shares lessons learned in his career. He has spent the last 28 years in med-tech, most recently serving as the President of Covidien/Medtronic $1.2B Peripheral Vascular Business. During Brian’s tenure at Covidien, the Peripheral Vascular Business grew from $350M to $1.2B through a series of acquisitions and a focused organic portfolio development strategy. Prior to Covidien, Brian spent 14 years in sales and marketing at Medtronic, serving as VP of Sales for the Coronary Business from 2005 – 2010. Over the course of his career, Brian has led the launch of several disruptive medical technologies and substantive M&A transactions.

Under his operating leadership, Brian has a reputation of developing aggressive growth strategies, strong operational discipline, building world-class teams, and exceptional customer focus.

Episodes 31 & 32: Interviews with David Dennis

In this episode, we interview David Dennis who is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Eckerd Connects, one of the largest national nonprofits advocating for children and families. Under Mr. Dennis’s guidance, the once exclusively residential treatment organization has expanded into a nationwide, multi-service organization creating community-based options for children, young adults, and families.

Under David’s leadership, the number of children and families served by Eckerd Connects has more than tripled, and the organization has developed more than 120 programs across the country. It now operates in more than twenty states and the District of Columbia with an annual operating budget of $220 million.

David often shares his personal story of adversity and second chances. Removed from his alcoholic mother’s care after his father’s death, David is passionate about connecting people to the opportunities they need to succeed. David has earned certifications as a licensed professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, and childcare administrator. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma Baptist University and a master’s degree in marriage and family counseling from Southwestern Baptist Seminary.

Episode 30: Interview with Gary Oliver

In this episode, we interview Gary Oliver who is an experienced CEO/board member with deep experience across venture-backed, mid-size and large global technology companies.

We talk to Gary regarding the trends of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the impact it will have on business now and in the future. Gary’s focus has been to harness the power of data for disruptive competitive advantage. Gary uses his experience to help CEOs and boards of non-profit organizations scale up their impact.

He was the Chairman and CEO at Razorthink. He has 30 years of experience in the technology industry, most recently as CEO of Blazent, where he took the company from pre-revenue to become the leader in IT data intelligence with cumulative revenues exceeding $100M. Prior to Blazent, Gary led the IT Service Management business unit at Remedy leading to a $1B acquisition by Peregrine where he then served as GM of the Infrastructure Management business. Prior to Remedy, Gary was SVP at Visa responsible for the company’s internal technology strategy and initiatives. Earlier in his career, Gary held numerous sales, marketing and executive roles at IBM, including responsibility for IBM’s multi-billion-dollar Data Management SW revenue. Gary is a graduate of UCLA and serves in multiple board and advisory roles.

Episode 29: Interview with Sal Mondelli

In this episode, we interview Sal Mondelli, he is a seasoned president and CEO, having served as the leader of three organizations across multiple industries. Most recently, Sal was president and CEO of a nonprofit organization. He is in his encore career as an Executive Coach and Consultant with The Bailey Group www.thebaileygroup.com located in the Minneapolis area. In his current role, he advises boards and CEO’s. He has been a board member for many corporate and nonprofit organizations.

He has been a guest lecturer at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management and an Adjunct Professor at Crown College. He received his M.S. in Systems Management from the University of Southern California and a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD.

Sal shares some great advice from lessons learned in his career in both corporate and nonprofit organizations.

Episode 28: Interview with Joel Trammell

In this episode, we interview Joel Trammell who is a successful CEO and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience. Joel’s leadership as a founder and CEO resulted in successful nine-figure acquisitions by two Fortune 500 companies. As CEO and co-founder of network management software firm NetQoS, he delivered 31 consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth and a $200 million valuation. CA Technologies acquired the company in 2009, generating more than 10x return on capital to its private equity investors. In 2010, he co-founded Cache IQ, a storage software company that NetApp acquired two years later.

Having started his first technology company in 1990, Joel is committed to using his experience to help current and aspiring CEOs. In addition to The American CEO blog, he writes regular columns for Inc. He published a book –The CEO TIghtrope – that describes a systematic approach to the critical chief executive role. In addition, he runs a CEO seminar in Austin every year.

Episode 27: Interview with Grace Colón

In this episode, we interview Grace Colón who is the CEO of InCarda. Grace shares great insights and leadership lessons she has learned in her career.

Grace has over 25 years of experience in biopharma, genomics, healthcare, and industrial biotechnology. Grace is Executive Chairman (formerly CEO) of ProterixBio, and serves on the boards of CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA) and Cocoon Biotech and on the Advisory Board of the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University. Formerly, she was a partner at New Science Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm with over $700M under management, and served on the boards of Paradigm Diagnostics and PerceptiMed.

Dr. Colón received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was an NSF Fellow.

Episode 26: Interview with Clint Carnell

In this episode, we interview Clint Carnell the CEO of The HydraFacial® Company. Clint championed the rebranding of the company in 2017 and drove the company strategy and culture shift that has resulted in explosive revenue growth and rapidly growing global recognition.

In 2000, he founded and later successfully sold Charleston Renal Care, a chain of dialysis centers to DaVita. His background includes leadership positions with Thermage/Solta as well as Bausch + Lomb and other healthcare services & medical technology companies. He is also Chairman of OrangeTwist Brands.

Episode 25: Interview with Nancy Briefs

This week’s episode of Motivated to Lead we interview Nancy Briefs the CEO of AltrixBio. Nancy is a serial entrepreneur of seven start-ups and has raised over 500M in equity in her career. Nancy is a strategic business leader with extensive experience creating value, driving strategy and launching product commercialization in diverse life science companies.

She is a trusted advisor and mentor to founders and boards. Nancy is an active member of the start-up community in Massachusetts. She was recognized as Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

Episode 24: Interview with John Deedrick

In this episode, we interview John Deedrick, who is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Fourth Element Capital, a healthcare technology venture capital firm. Prior John was Co-founder, and General Partner with Accuitive Medical Ventures focused on medical device companies. John started his career in venture capital for Mayo Clinic Ventures.

John has served on the boards of many companies and also is President of CHIP Solutions, a business consulting firm to both private and public companies as well as individuals.

John shares lessons learned from his career in business and as a VC.

Episode 23: Interview What I Wish I Knew at Twenty-Two (Part Two)

In this episode, we revisit conversations with six leaders as they share the answer to the question knowing what you know now if you were what advice would you give yourself at twenty-two?

Episode 22: Interview with Aaron Gani

In this episode of Motivated to Lead, we interview Aaron Gani who is the founder and CEO of BehaVR, LLC, creating digital therapeutics for behavioral health through the unmatched psychological power of Virtual Reality. Gani has been creating applications and experiences with technology throughout his career in healthcare and financial services, up to and including serving as Chief Technology Officer of Humana, a Fortune 50 managed care organization.

Gani is a founding member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Digital Medicine (DiMe) Society, and a founding advisory board member of the International Virtual Reality Healthcare Association (IVRHA). Gani holds a Master’s in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University, an MBA, General Management and Health Sector Management from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and a BS in Management/CIS from the University of Louisville.

Episodes 20 & 21: Interviews with Byron Loflin

In this two part interview, we interview Byron Loflin who is the founder of the Center for Board Excellence (CBE) and is the architect of CBE’s unique board assessment and advisory platform. Byron is recognized in the governance community for developing unique products that address board dynamics, corporate culture, accountability, and performance. His experience and expertise are in the design and administration of assessments and advising board chairs, boards, committees, directors and executive management in a full range of corporate governance matters including strategic alignment, best practices, board refreshment, diversity, structures, and corporate planning. He and his team have performed several hundred third-party board, committee, peer and CEO self-assessments for organizations of all structures and sizes.

Episode 20: Interview with Dr. Charles Morgan

In this podcast episode, we interview Dr. Charles Morgan, the CEO of Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities. Dr. Morgan shares insights from his career and lessons he has learned in leadership.

Dr. Charles P. Morgan is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. He is a graduate of Antioch Christian University, where he earned the degree, Doctor of Theology. His Doctoral Dissertation was “A Theology of Missions.” Dr. Morgan’s most recent degree is from Fuller Theological Seminary, where he graduated with a Master of Science Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.

He served as Founder and Senior Pastor of Resurrection Life Fellowship, a non-denominational Christian Church located in Westchester, California, for thirty-three years. Concurrent with his pastoral ministry, he was Vice President of Program at the Los Angeles Mission.

He has taught Leadership Skills and Personal Development at Penske College, the multi-billion dollar auto industry giant. He serves on the Board of Directors of City Gate, an association of mission service providers across the United States and Canada, serving those experiencing homelessness, poverty, and addiction. He teaches seminars for SURGE, formed to equip faith community leaders to effectively engage in cross-cultural contact and relations with immigrant population and communities. He is a theologian and international conference speaker.

Episode 18: Interview with Genie James

In this episode, we interview Genie James; we discuss the question Is Stress hijacking your brain and sabotaging your career? Genie gives tips and tools to turn that around. We also discuss the use of virtual reality to treat chronic stress, pain, and addiction.

Genie James has proven herself as an intrapreneur and entrepreneur with unparalleled success in early recognition of – and capitalization on – emerging trends within the healthcare industry. Over 20+ years, she has worked closely with large healthcare systems, physician organizations, private equity groups, and venture capitalists.

As President and Founder of GJ Enterprises, LLC, Genie now blends her operational business acumen with her clinical training in neurosciences and cognitive repatterning. Exciting alliances include BehaVR, providing virtual reality treatments for chronic stress, pain and addiction and Spark Biomedical, launching non-invasive neurostimulation solutions for opioid withdrawal.

In 2018, Genie was recognized as by TeamHealth as one of twelve rising women leaders in healthcare.

Genie is also the bestselling author of six books and a much sought-after speaker. She first turned the traditional medical community on its ear with her books Making Managed Care Work (McGraw-Hill) and Winning in the Women’s Healthcare Marketplace (Jossey-Bass). Her seventh book, Brain Switch: The Neuroscience and Spirituality of New Beginnings is scheduled for release early 2020.

Genie has a Master of Medical Science from Emory University and Ph.D. Studies from the University of Tennessee.

Episode 17: Interview with Rich DiIorio

In this episode of Motivated to Lead podcast we interview Rich DiIorio, who is the President and CEO of InfuSystem (NYSE American:INFU). Rich shares lessons learned in his career and as a CEO.

Rich brings a strong track record of accomplishment with more than 17 years of medical sales experience, extensive expertise in product launch, and industry knowledge focused on driving growth in the oncology market. During Rich’s13-year tenure with InfuSystem, he has received numerous awards and honors. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. DiIorio held various sales and sales leadership roles at Stryker Medical, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and Thermo Scientific. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Boston College.

Episode 16: Interview with Barbara Philibert

In this episode, we interview Barbara Philibert the President & CEO of the Pettibone LLC Platform of the HEICO Companies. Pettibone is comprised of eleven diverse operating companies, seventeen global locations, and 1,000 employees.

Prior Barbara was President and COO for Oatey Co. Throughout her career Barbara has held a number of international operations, marketing, and sales roles with a strong focus in manufacturing branded products.

Barbara serves on the Board of Trustees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and serves on additional boards. Barbara Philibert holds a BA and MA from the University of Iowa, is a Kellogg Executive Scholar in General Management, and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt from Case Western Reserve.

Episode 15: Interview with Teresa Riffel

In this episode we interview Teresa Riffel who is the Vice President of Quality at Cirrus. She joined in early 2015 and is responsible for quality assurance, quality engineering, air safety and continuous improvement in the company. Teresa is an accomplished aerospace executive with extensive industry experience. She has held executive leadership positions in quality, global strategic sourcing and supplier integration for international Fortune 500 companies as well as other aerospace suppliers.

Teresa shares lessons learned in her career and the importance of having outside interests to refocus.

Teresa has a Bachelor of Science degree in business management, a Master’s degree in management information systems and has certificates from the Thunderbird School of Global Management Executive Leadership Program and Michigan State Strategic Supply Chain Management program.

Episodes 13 &14: Interviews with Jeannine Sheehan

In this episode of Motivated to Lead we interview Jeannine Sheehan who is the EVP/Chief Administrative Officer & HR Officer for InfuSystem, she is based in Boston. Prior to InfuSystem Jeannine was the Chief Human Resources Officer for Crimson Hexagon a PE financed company. Her background has included working for large publicly traded companies.

In this two-part conversation we discuss the role of HR as a strategic business partner, and ask the question are there still barriers for women in business? We also discuss the topics of inclusion and diversity.

In Part two coming next week, we will discuss the War for Talent and how to improve processes to make better hiring decisions.

Episode 12: Interview with Peter Crosby

In this podcast, we interview Peter Crosby. Peter has been the CEO of six medical device companies in four countries, including public and private. Experience includes raising capital, company formation, intellectual property, research and development, quality systems, manufacturing, clinical and regulatory, market launch and sales management.

Peter has an M.Eng.Sci. in Biomedical Engineering, and is an inventor on over 30 US patents and applications. He also serves as an innovation advisor to the University of California Irvine working with startups in their entrepreneurship program.Peter shares lessons learned as a CEO and throughout his career.

Episode 11: Interview with Bill Facteau

In this episode we interview Bill Facteau who is Chairman, President and CEO of EarLens Corporation in Menlo Park California. Bill joined Earlens Corporation as Chairman, President & CEO in November of 2013.

Bill was at Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)as Worldwide President of their ENT Division. Facteau joined JNJ via the $800M acquisition of Acclarent, Inc. where he served as the President, CEO since its formation in 2004. Under Bill’s leadership, the company went from concept to acquisition in 5 ½ years, raised over $100M, created jobs for approximately 400 employees, grew revenues to $100M and became profitable.

Earlier in his career he was GM of Endovascular Division of Abbott Vascular. Bill has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut and is a named inventor on several issued patents. Bill shares lessons learned in his career.

Episode 10: Interview with John Reynolds

In this podcast episode we interview John Reynolds who is an executive leader. John has been a leader at UnitedHealth Group as Senior Vice President and the CEO/ General Manager of Optum Connect.
Previously John was the President of the Healthcare, Government and Biller Solutions for FIS (Fidelity National Information Services, NYSE:FIS). His background also includes experience in the banking industry as an SVP with Wells Fargo where he led the Global Trust & Custody business.

John has an undergraduate degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Business, Organization and Management. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota where he is a subject matter educator in the Dynamics of Leadership. John shares his experiences as a business leader and lessons he has learned in his career.

Episode 9: Four Questions to Ask Before Your Next Executive Search

In this podcast episode, we share four questions you should ask before starting an executive search.

Episode 8: What I Wish I Knew at Twenty-Two

In this podcast episode, six leaders share their thoughts on with what they know now, what advice would they give themselves at the age of twenty-two.

Episode 7: Interview with Dave Keil

This week we interview Dave Keil, he shares leadership lessons he has learned. Dave is a COO and Operating Partner for Franworth, a growth equity firm. Dave is the CEO of The Lash Lounge a Franworth brand. Prior to Franworth Dave was the CEO of Pure Barre. Prior to Pure Barre Dave was the CEO of Honey Baked Ham Company. Earlier in his career Dave was on the global leadership team of Ecolab. Prior to Ecolab Dave was at General Mills as President of the Haagen-Daz Shoppe Company and Director of Corporate Development. Dave share insights from his career and lessons he has learned.

Episode 6: Interview with Francois Michelon

This week we interview Francois Michelon the CEO and Board Chair of Endra Life Sciences. Francois career has spanned over 20 years in the healthcare technology field. He has experience working in startup, private equity and Fortune 20 environments. In 2017 Francois led Endra Life Sciences to a successful IPO. Francois share lessons learned from his career in the corporate world and what he has learned as a startup CEO.

Episode 5: Interview with Rod Brenneman

In this episode we interview Rod Brenneman. Rod has had a career that has included being CEO of Butterball, LLC where he was tasked with turning around the world’s largest turkey producer and processor. Previous he was the CEO of Seaboard Foods, Rod helped build the company from its infancy to a $1.7 billion dollar company. Rod has also served on a number of boards both corporate as well as non-profit in his career. He has been an advisor for VC firms and Operating Partner for CIC Capital Partners a Dallas based Private Equity firm.

Episode 4: Interview with John Maroney

In this podcast we interview John Maroney the CEO of Alessa Therapeutics. John’s career has included being a CEO, board member and a successful VC for a decade as General Partner of Delphi Ventures in Silicon Valley. John is an trusted advisor and mentor to CEOs. We look forward to John’s insights and thoughts on leadership and career development.

Episode 3: Interview with Mike Klein

In this episode, we interview CEO Mike Klein who is Executive Chairman and CEO of iCAD a medical technology company, focused on artificial intelligence image interpretation technologies and intra-operative radiation therapy. Mike is a CEO board member who’s career has spanned Fortune 200 companies as well as startups. Mike lives in the Bay Area and has been a adjunct lecturer at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University teaching the next generation of business leaders. Mike is an active member of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial community.

Episode 2: Interview with Martha Aronson

Interview with Martha Aronson who is a corporate board member and has held a number of senior executive positions with Medtronic, Hill-Rom and Ecolab. Martha has had global executive experience running businesses up to $1 billion in revenue, both in the US and internationally. Martha has been recognized as a top corporate director and serves on non-profit boards. She shares her experience and lessons learned throughout her career.

Episode 1: Interview with Gregg Lehman

Interview with Gregg Lehman who is a business leader and has been a CEO with both public and private companies. Gregg has served on a number of boards and early in his career, he was President of Taylor University. Gregg is a thought leader in the healthcare industry. Gregg shares interesting thoughts and lessons learned from his career that will be helpful for executives early in their career as well as seasoned executives.

All Episodes And Guests

Motivated to Lead

Podcast

with Mark Klingsheim

Episode 2: Interview with Martha Aronson

All Episodes & Guests

Interview with Doug Hoekstra

Interview with Marie-Pierre Dhers (replay)

Interview with Steve Nash

Interview with Paula Cruickshank

Interview with Gayle Packer (Replay)

Interview with Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham (Replay)

Interview with Jeff Lackey

Interview with Keith Grossman

Interview with Steve C de Baca

Interview with Renee Ryan

Interview with Sean Bacon

Interview with John Lowry

Interview with Andy Bass

Interview with Jeremy Utley

Interview with Scott Flora

Interview with Heather Simonsen

Interview with Pam Fox Rollin

Interview with Ann Latham

Interview with Tim Lupinacci

Interview with Lesly Jules

Interview with Vanessa Patrick

Interview with John Paul (J.P.) Stephens

Interview with David Klein

Interview with Emily Jordan Gargas

Interview with Anjan Thakor

Interview with Ann Hatcher

Interview with Brennan Marilla

Interview with Ellen Taaffe

Interview with Meredith Bell

Interview with Ryan Quinn

Interview with Melissa Pickering

Interview with Alisa Cohn (Replay)

Interview with Stacey Porter (Replay)

Interview with Jason Mellad (Replay)

Interview with Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham (Replay)

Interview with Magnus Nicolin (Replay)

Interview with Brittany Bradrick (Replay)

Interview with Nick Damiano

Interview with Ralph Boyd

Interview with John Milad

Interview with Vanessa Bohns

Interview with Fouad Al Noor

Interview with Gregg Lehman (Part Two)

Interview with Gregg Lehman (Part One)

Interview with David Kuraguntla

Interview with Bill Facteau (Replay)

Interview with Byron Loflin (Replay)

Interview with Lorraine Parker-Clegg (Replay)

Interview with Beverly Behan (Replay)

Interview with Heather Simonsen

Interview with Paul Batz (Replay)

Interview with Karyn Gordon (Replay)

Interview with Steven Kwast (Replay)

Interview with Vanessa Bonds (Replay)

Interview with Michael Bungay Stanier (Replay)

Interview with Susan Ashford (Replay)

Interview with Jeremy Utley

Interview with Mark Herschberg

Interview with Alden Mills

Interview with Kristie Paskvan

Interview with Shawn McCormick

Interview with Alisa Cohn

Interview with Joe Mandato

Interview with Darrell Johnson

Interview with Rich Ferrari

Interview with Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham

Interview with Rashim McKinney

Interview with Diane Honda (Replay)

Interview with Wayne Baker (Replay)

Interview with Lindy Greer (Replay)

Interview with Doug Bruhnke

Interview with D. Keith Grossman

Interview with Susan Templeton

Interview with Robert Swan (Replay)