Motivated to Lead Podcast - Mark Klingsheim
Motivated to Lead is a podcast designed to help you grow and become a better leader. We interview leaders in business and the non-profit world. Listen each week as we have guests share lessons learned in their career and in life to help you whether you are a new leader or a seasoned leader. Our topics include leadership, career management and how to make great people decisions.
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Episode 327: Karyn Gordon, Three Chairs: How Leaders Drive Communication, Performance & Engagement (replay)
07/09/2026
Episode 327: Karyn Gordon, Three Chairs: How Leaders Drive Communication, Performance & Engagement (replay)
This week, we revisit our conversation 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. John Prato, The Consul General of Canada in New York, hosted a reception honoring her work with New York families and organizations. Over the years, she has served as the media spokesperson for Loblaws, Maple Leaf Foods, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, eHarmony and UNICEF.
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Episode 326: Paul Batz, CEO, Good Leadership (replay)
07/02/2026
Episode 326: Paul Batz, CEO, Good Leadership (replay)
This week, we revisit our conversation with Paul Batz, CEO and Founder of Good Leadership Enterprises. Paul has helped usher in a new era of executive team coaching, reshaping how leaders think about alignment, commitment, and accountability — all rooted in his core belief that goodness pays. He launched Good Leadership to help CEOs, business owners, and community leaders thrive by weaving goodness into their work and achieving more together than they ever could alone. The movement accelerated with the Good Leadership Breakfast Series, now the Midwest’s hottest leadership development event, drawing more than 30,000 guests since 2010. In 2017, Paul expanded the platform with Good Leadership Press, producing books and tools that inspire positive leadership. Paul blends the Seven Fs with his wife and business partner Melinda and their three adult children, all of whom touch the business. He’s a passionate golfer, an Elton John–inspired piano player, a committed philanthropist, and a dinner party host extraordinaire at their home in Bloomington, MN.
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Episode 325: Gary Swart (replay)
06/18/2026
Episode 325: Gary Swart (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, on 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, 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.
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Episode 324: Joel Trammell, The CEO Tightrope (replay)
06/12/2026
Episode 324: Joel Trammell, The CEO Tightrope (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. 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.
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Episode 323: Jane Dutton, Small Actions, Big Impact (replay)
06/01/2026
Episode 323: Jane Dutton, Small Actions, Big Impact (replay)
In this episode, we revisit our interview with 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 intersection 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.
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Episode 322: Rich Ferrari, Co-Founder, De Novo Ventures (replay)
05/18/2026
Episode 322: Rich Ferrari, Co-Founder, De Novo Ventures (replay)
This week, we revisit our conversation with Rich Ferrari. Rich is a seasoned healthcare entrepreneur and investor with a track record of building and scaling medical device and biotech companies. He is a Co-Founder of De Novo Ventures, a premier life sciences venture firm that managed $650M, and has helped raise over $1B in capital while contributing to nearly $1.8B in successful acquisitions. Most recently, Rich served as CEO and Chairman of PQ Bypass, leading to its $350M acquisition by Endologix. He has also led and exited multiple companies, including Cardiovascular Imaging Systems (acquired by Boston Scientific) and CardioThoracic Systems (acquired by Guidant), where he drove one of the fastest IPOs in medtech history. A prolific founder, Rich has co-founded several successful ventures acquired by major players like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, and Medtronic. He currently serves on multiple boards, including Tenon Medical (NASDAQ: TNON), HeartBeam, and Medlumics. Rich holds a BS from Ashland University and an MBA from the University of South Florida, and is a recipient of the Mallinckrodt Award for Excellence in Medicine.
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Episode 321: Byron Loflin, Global Head of the Nasdaq Board Advisory & Nasdaq Center of Board Excellence (replay)
05/11/2026
Episode 321: Byron Loflin, Global Head of the Nasdaq Board Advisory & Nasdaq Center of Board Excellence (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. 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.
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Episode 320: Ann Hatcher (replay)
05/04/2026
Episode 320: Ann Hatcher (replay)
This week, we revisit our interview with 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 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.
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Episode 319: Rod Mathews, CEO, TeamDynamix
04/27/2026
Episode 319: Rod Mathews, CEO, TeamDynamix
This week, we interviewed Rod Mathews. Rod is the CEO of TeamDynamix and a member of the board of directors. Most recently, he was President and CEO at Axcient, a business continuity and disaster recovery software company, where he focused on innovation and market acceleration, leading to its acquisition by ConnectWise late last year. During his tenure, Axcient’s growth rate tripled, driven by the expansion of the market-leading x360 platform focused on the MSP market. As a 34-year tech industry veteran, he has held leadership positions across R&D, marketing, corporate development, and general management with Barracuda Networks, EMC, Data Domain, and NetApp. Rod is also executive chair of the board at Spin.AI, a SaaS security company with a mission to secure SaaS data against ransomware attacks, insider threats, data loss, data leaks, and non-compliance.
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Episode 318: Kristin Russell, CEO, CBTS
04/20/2026
Episode 318: Kristin Russell, CEO, CBTS
This week, we interviewed Kristin Russell. Kristin is the CEO of CBTS and a member of its Board of Directors. Kristin shapes and drives the organization's strategic direction. A dynamic visionary, she is guiding CBTS's evolution from a traditional infrastructure and managed services firm into a market leader in AI-enabled digital transformation solutions. Kristin is a seasoned industry veteran with over 20 years of experience driving transformative growth at leading technology companies. Prior to joining CBTS, she served as the President of Arrow Electronics’ Global Enterprise Computing Solutions (ECS) division. Before joining Arrow, Kristin held key leadership roles at Deloitte Consulting, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems. She also served as the Secretary of Technology and Chief Information Officer for the State of Colorado. Kristin’s leadership has earned her numerous industry accolades, including recognition on CRN’s ‘Top 100 Channel Leaders’, the GTDC Innovator Award, Women We Admire’s ‘100 Women in Technology’, and CIO of the Year by the Denver Business Journal. Kristin excels at building strong, collaborative teams and fostering cultures grounded in accountability, innovation, and high performance. A sought-after expert and engaging speaker, she has been featured in several publications, books, and events. A lifelong learner and tech enthusiast, Kristin thrives on helping others achieve their full potential. Outside of work, Kristin enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her family. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the University of Colorado.
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Episode 317: Todd Henry, The Motivation Code (replay)
04/14/2026
Episode 317: Todd Henry, The Motivation Code (replay)
This week we revisit our conversation with Todd Henry regarding the book, The Motivation Code, Discover the Hidden Forces That Drive Your Best Work. Todd is the author of seven books (including The Accidental Creative, Die Empty, and Herding Tigers), which have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he speaks internationally on creativity, productivity, passion for work, and generating brilliant ideas. Todd’s podcast, Daily Creative, has been downloaded more than 20 million times since 2005. Over the years, Todd has developed a comprehensive framework (The Brilliance Engine™) that empowers leaders and creative pros to produce brilliant work in healthy teams that make a meaningful difference in the world. Through his keynotes and workshops, he shares practical strategies to help people and teams to be brave, focused, and brilliant every day.
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Episode 316: Ryan Hawk (replay)
04/02/2026
Episode 316: Ryan Hawk (replay)
This week, we revisit our conversation with Ryan Hawk—leadership advisor, keynote speaker, and creator of The Learning Leader Show, a top‑ranked podcast downloaded tens of millions of times around the world. Ryan is known for his curiosity, preparation, and ability to draw out deep insights from world‑class performers across business, sports, and culture. He’s the bestselling author of Welcome to Management, The Pursuit of Excellence, and The Score That Matters. In this conversation, Ryan shares how leaders can transition seamlessly from individual contributor to exceptional leader.
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Episode 315: Lorraine Parker-Clegg, Chief People Officer, Allison Transmission
03/19/2026
Episode 315: Lorraine Parker-Clegg, Chief People Officer, Allison Transmission
In this week’s episode, we revisit our interview with Lorraine Parker-Clegg. Lorraine is the Chief People Officer at Allison Transmission. Lorraine shares lessons learned in her career and her perspective on 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.
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Episode 314: Christopher Millerick, Decision Frameworks
03/12/2026
Episode 314: Christopher Millerick, Decision Frameworks
This week we interview Christopher J. Millerick. Christopher is a revenue architect, go-to-market strategist, and expert in partner eco-systems leadership who has spent more than fifteen years engineering the systems that translate Private Equity and Venture Capital investment theses into predictable, capital-efficient revenue growth for enterprise SaaS and cybersecurity companies. As Global Vice President of Worldwide Partner Sales, Alliances & Hyperscalers at Infoblox—a Vista Equity Partners and Warburg Pincus portfolio company—Chris led the structural transformation of a stagnant $450M transactional channel into a strategic growth ecosystem that now executes 97% of total company revenue. Under his leadership, partner-sourced revenue grew from 38% to 73% of new customer bookings, new customer acquisition increased 43%, and the organization scaled steadily toward $1B in annual recurring revenue—all while meeting the board’s rigorous “Rule of 60” profitability and growth mandates. Chris brought expertise that in collaboration with Infoblox’s previous CRO led to the adoption of the "3 WHYs" qualifying framework — a buyer-centric methodology that aligns direct sales, marketing, and partner engagement around the three questions every enterprise buyer must answer before committing: Why now? (Urgency drivers) What happens if I do nothing? (Cost of inaction) Why this solution? (Value clarity) The framework has been deployed across global organizations to compress complex sales cycles and systematically improve capital efficiency. His operating experience spans the full PE value creation lifecycle. He built a greenfield enterprise region at Nutanix from zero to a top-producing region in North America within 24 months, led global revenue responsibility through the successful acquisition of Unitrends by Kaseya and co-led the Plexxi go-to-market turn-around through to acquisition by Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Chris led global channel sales for EMC Corporation’s flagship storage business and held a variety of sales and GTM roles with progressive financial impact across a twelve-year tenure. A 5-time CRN Channel Chief honoree, Executive Revenue Growth Advisor in the Hubble network, and Limited Partner at Stage 2 Capital, Chris holds a BA from the College of the Holy Cross, an MBA from Babson College and Chief Revenue Officer Leadership Program Certificate from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He speaks on partner ecosystem transformation, PE/VC value creation through GTM architecture, leveraging AI in GTM and building revenue engines that deliver both growth and profitability at scale.
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Episode 313: John Milad, CEO, VC, Board Member
02/26/2026
Episode 313: John Milad, CEO, VC, Board Member
This week, we revisit our interview with 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 NIIR/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.
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Episode 312: Stacey Porter (replay)
02/19/2026
Episode 312: Stacey Porter (replay)
This week, we revisit our interview with Stacey Porter. Stacey is the Chief People Officer at PROCEPT BioRobotics. Prior to that, she was 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.
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Episode 311: Keith Grossman (replay)
02/12/2026
Episode 311: Keith Grossman (replay)
This week, we revisit our conversation with Keith Grossman. Keith has been a leader in the medical technology industry for more than 35 years. He was the Chairman of the Board of Nevro Corporation (NVRO) until April 2025, having previously served as President and CEO from 2019 to 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.
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Episode 310: Dr. Robert Quinn, Purpose Driven Leadership
02/05/2026
Episode 310: Dr. Robert Quinn, Purpose Driven Leadership
In this episode, we revisit our conversation with Dr. Robert Quinn as he shares powerful insights on what it means to become a purpose-driven leader. Dr. Quinn has spent the past 40 years researching, publishing, teaching, consulting, and speaking to more than half of the Fortune 500. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and the author of 18 books, including Deep Change, a long term bestseller. He was named one of the “World’s Top 30 Organizational Culture Professionals” in 2018 and holds one of the highest repeat invitation rates in the speaking industry. More than 15 million people have viewed his recent talk on purpose.
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Episode 309: Molly Fletcher, The Energy Clock (replay)
01/28/2026
Episode 309: Molly Fletcher, The Energy Clock (replay)
This week, we revisit our conversation with Molly Fletcher. Molly made her mark as one of the first female sports agents, and during her nearly two decades as President of CSE she negotiated more than $500 million in contracts. She represented over 300 of sports’ biggest names, including Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, PGA Tour golfer Matt Kuchar, broadcaster Erin Andrews, and championship coaches Tom Izzo and Doc Rivers. Today, Molly is recognized as one of the world’s top keynote speakers, and her TED Talk, “Secrets of a Champion Mindset,” has surpassed one million views. She also hosts the popular podcast Game Changers with Molly Fletcher, where she interviews leaders, experts, and high performers across every field. Molly is the founder of Game Changer Performance Group and the author of five books, including her most recent, The Energy Clock.
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Episode 308: Steven Kwast, Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force (ret.) replay
01/20/2026
Episode 308: Steven Kwast, Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force (ret.) replay
This week on Motivated to Lead, we revisit a conversation with General Steven Kwast, CEO of SpaceBilt and one of the most forward thinking voices in national security and the future of space. General Kwast’s story is remarkable. Raised in a remote African tribe, he went on to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy in astronautical engineering and later earned a master’s in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School. Over his distinguished career, he has recruited, educated, and developed the Air Force’s workforce, served as President of Air University, and led at every level as a combat-seasoned fighter pilot. He is also the author of the influential “Fast Space” study, which outlines a bold vision for America’s economic and national security leadership in space.
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Episode 307: Dave Sparkman, How Leaders Shape a Positive Culture
01/13/2026
Episode 307: Dave Sparkman, How Leaders Shape a Positive Culture
This week, we interviewed Dave Sparkman. Dave is the founder and managing director of SPARK Your Culture, a corporate culture advisory services firm, specializing in helping organizations transform and flourish through healthy, high-performance cultures. In his corporate career, Dave served as the SVP, Culture at UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 5 public company based in Minnetonka, MN. Over 9 years in that role, he led efforts to infuse an over 300,000 person organization with a corporate mission and values that would improve corporate results, including the customer and employee experience. Prior to UnitedHealth Group, Dave lived in Los Angeles and served as the partner responsible for the West Region Human Resources function at Arthur Andersen, a worldwide audit, tax, and consulting firm. He also currently serves as the volunteer Executive Director and Board Chair for Crossroads Career, a faith-based, job transition ministry dedicated to helping people who are unfulfilled or unemployed. Dave and his wife, Carrie, have four adult children and five grandchildren.
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Episode 306: Shellye Archambeau, Unapologetically Ambitious (replay)
01/06/2026
Episode 306: Shellye Archambeau, Unapologetically Ambitious (replay)
This week, we revisit our interview 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], Roper Technologies [NYSE: ROP], and Okta [NASDAQ: OKTA]. She previously served on Nordstrom's [NYSE: JWN] board. 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. To learn more about Shellye, visit shellye.com
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Episode 305: Dr. Wayne Baker, All You Have To Do Is Ask (replay)
12/23/2025
Episode 305: Dr. Wayne Baker, All You Have To Do Is Ask (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.
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Episode 304: Susan Ashford, The Power of Flexing (replay)
12/16/2025
Episode 304: Susan Ashford, The Power of Flexing (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". 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. 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.
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Episode 303: Andy Bass, Start With What Works (replay)
12/04/2025
Episode 303: Andy Bass, Start With What Works (replay)
This week, we revisit our interview with Andy Bass. Andy 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.
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Episode: 302: Ken Sher, What's TRUST Got To Do With It?
11/20/2025
Episode: 302: Ken Sher, What's TRUST Got To Do With It?
This week, we interviewed Ken Sher, who is an Executive Coach, Career Coach, Keynote Speaker, and, most recently, an author. Ken spent more than 25 years at Johnson & Johnson in leadership roles across Sales, Marketing, Recruiting, Training, and Leadership Development. Through his experience, Ken has seen that technical skills alone don’t make leaders successful. The best leaders are compassionate, authentic, and know how to build strong, trusting relationships that help teams thrive. He brings these lessons to life in his book, What’s TRUST Got to Do with It? Transforming Leadership, Culture, and the Job Search, where he shows how trust becomes the foundation for meaningful relationships and how those relationships drive results.
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Episode 301: Dr. Andrew Denton, President, Crown College
11/13/2025
Episode 301: Dr. Andrew Denton, President, Crown College
This week, we interviewed Dr. Andrew C. Denton, President of Crown College. Andrew is the 17th president of Crown College. His vision, directed by the Lord, is for Crown to be the boldly Christian college of the Midwest. He provides a high level of vision, strategy, and execution to Crown while remaining deeply committed to leading Crown to be a boldly Christian, academically excellent college that fosters a lifelong, authentic community. Since beginning his presidency, Dr. Denton has led Crown through nearly $ 20 million in capital investments across campus, including the construction of SPBI Hall, the first new building in nearly two decades. Crown’s commitment to the Lord’s vision and investment in campus initiatives resulted in over 20 percent enrollment growth since Fall 2021. Dr. Denton holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership from St. Louis University and an M.B.A. from Missouri State University. He and his wife, Linda, have been married for 26 years and are the proud parents of three children: Lexie, Ashlyn, and Drew.
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Episode 300: Amir Abolfathi, Healthcare Executive, Board Member & Leadership Mentor
11/06/2025
Episode 300: Amir Abolfathi, Healthcare Executive, Board Member & Leadership Mentor
This week, we interview Amir Abolfathi. Amir is an experienced innovator and medical device executive with a proven record of building and scaling successful enterprises. He was a founding team member of uLab Systems, Tusker Medical (acquired by Smith and Nephew), and Sonitus Medical. Amir also served for 6 years as an Officer and Vice President of R&D at Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN), the creator of a unique, invisible orthodontic product. Previously, Amir was the first member of the senior management team at Embolic Protection Inc. (acquired by Boston Scientific), where he was a consulting VP of Operations. In early 1995, Amir co-founded EndoTex Interventional Systems (acquired by Boston Scientific), developers of minimally invasive solutions for the treatment of carotid artery disease. Demonstrated strength in capital strategy and fundraising, with over $280M raised since 2006 and prior contributions to securing $300M from 1995 to 2006, supported by deep venture capital, banking, and strategic partnership networks. Inventor of more than 100 issued patents, with significant contributions in M&A, IPOs, and corporate spin-offs. Served as a public officer of a publicly traded company, bringing broad governance, compliance, and investor relations expertise. Currently, focusing on executive mentorship and board leadership, guiding entrepreneurs and next-generation executives to realize their vision, while serving as a trusted advisor and executive coach.
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Episode 299: Pam Fox Rollin, Growing Groups into Teams (replay)
10/24/2025
Episode 299: Pam Fox Rollin, Growing Groups into Teams (replay)
This week, we revisit our interview with 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.
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Episode 298: Joe Mandato, CEO, VC, Author
10/16/2025
Episode 298: Joe Mandato, CEO, VC, Author
This week we revisit our 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.
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