Crisp Cuts from the C-Suite

In this episode, I connected with Dru Ernst. Dru is the co-founder and head brewer of Dru Bru Taproom and Brewery, based in Washington state. Born and raised in Merced, California, Dru fell in love with beer when he spent a summer in Germany with his foreign exchange student's family. Dru then attended Gonzaga University on a tennis scholarship where he met his wife and graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering. Dru and his wife moved to Seattle where Dru became an avid homebrewer brewing small batches for friends and family in the backyard of his townhouse. His passion for beer quickly grew into an obsession and he decided to quit his job as a full-time civil engineer to pursue a career as a business owner and head brewer. Dru, along with his wife (Sara) and two other business partners joined forces and identified Snoqualmie Pass, WA as the perfect location for Dru Bru. They broke ground in the summer of 2013 and officially opened their doors to the public on December 19, 2014. Since then Dru Bru has been awarded 23 medals at regional and craft brewing competitions and opened a second 18,000 square foot taproom and warehouse in Cle Elum WA. For more information about Dru Bru, please visit www.drubru.com. Dru is a proud father of two and enjoys spending his time exploring all that the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

I've got some big life events happening, so this is a quick pause on this week's episode. I'm working on some new content, so stay tuned!

Ben Rivera is the CEO of Leatherman Tool Group, headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Leatherman is the USA manufacturer of the original, multi-purpose tool. With over $100 million in annual revenue and employing over 500 people in the Portland area, Leatherman designs, manufactures and distributes its highly sought-after products to over 80 countries throughout the world. Ben has been at Leatherman Tool Group since 1991, and he holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Oregon State University.

Darren Rankin is currently co-owner and CEO of CMD, one of the oldest and now largest agencies born in the Pacific Northwest. Darren has a history of leading agencies, with an eye towards sports marketing, social impact and international brand marketing. As a graduate of Harvard University, captain of the basketball team and a professional player internationally, guiding powerful teams is his forte. CMD is a full-impact agency, specializing in all things that bring brands to life and drive true business results for clients such as Intel, Microsoft, Xbox, T-Mobile, Banner Bank and Car Toys. Prior to CMD, Darren held leadership positions on both the agency and brand-side with GlobalStar USA, BRC Group, LeadDog Marketing Group, and IMG. His true passion-play side project, the Joe Moore Award, honors the best Offensive Lines in the country and it's the only National College Football Award to honor a true “unit vs the individual.” Throughout his career, Darren has tapped into his love of sports and the power it evokes, leveraging his relationships within the NFL, MLB, NCAA and NBA to drive new business partnerships, mentor athletes for success beyond the playing years, and support nonprofit organizations such as the Steve Nash Foundation, the Athlife Foundation and the Foundation for Teamwork. For more information about the Joe Moore Award, please visit https://joemooreaward.com/.

Lynn Penner-Ash's interest in winemaking grew out of an early passion for the sciences. After a summer working for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., she studied botany at the University of California, Davis, the birthplace of the American wine industry. In her junior year she changed her major to viticulture. Then, after working the graveyard shift during crush at Domaine Chandon, she changed her degree to enology. After graduation, Lynn worked at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Domaine Chandon, and Chateau St. Jean. Intrigued by the emerging wine industry, she and her husband Ron moved to Oregon in 1988 where she joined Rex Hill Vineyards, becoming the first female winemaker hired in Oregon. Consistently producing award-winning wines, she became Rex Hill Vineyard's president and chief operating officer in 1993 and remained with the winery until 2002. In 1998, Lynn and Ron started Penner-Ash Wine Cellars, carefully crafting small amounts of Pinot Noir and Syrah. Their early success with the label allowed them to dream of what they could create and within a few years they began focusing full time on building Penner-Ash Wine Cellars. In 2005, Lynn and Ron designed and built a sustainable, gravity-flow estate winery surrounded by vineyards, a building that seems to spring from the land itself and reflects the values, spirit, and winemaking philosophy of the couple.

For Season 2 of Crisp Cuts from the C-Suite, you will hear from industry-specific leaders about their triumphs and challenges. We're still asking those hard-hitting questions and will cover everything from leadership to... tacos!

In our final interview of Season 1, I sat down with Bob Murphy. Bob is the Chief Revenue Officer of Patra and leads all customer acquisition, marketing, product management and corporate strategy initiatives to scale Patra's revenue and profitability growth. Patra is a leading provider of technology-enabled solutions for the insurance industry. Bob has over 35+ years of professional experience, primarily in the financial technology industry, and has functional skills in: general management, sales, business development, strategic planning, product development, M&A, restructuring, marketing and corporate governance. Bob has conducted business in over 40 countries around the world, and currently resides in the Bay Area with his family.

Welcome to #GivingTuesday! Hopefully, you safely celebrated Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. The holidays are officially upon us, and today is the ultimate opportunity to think about giving back. On this special episode, I'm profiling two nonprofit executives. GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. Learn more about this movement by visiting www.givingtuesday.org. Kris Carico is the CEO of SOLVE Oregon, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to keeping Oregon clean and healthy. She has over 20 years of not-for-profit management experience, working for some of the region's most notable organizations, including the Oregon Zoo Foundation and DoveLewis Animal Hospital. Kris earned her degree from Portland State University, majoring in Social Science. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Kris has a deep love for all Oregon has to offer, including the beautiful natural areas, amazing food and delicious beer. Her interests outside of work include kayaking, hiking and spending time with her son. Founded in 1969, SOLVE's mission is to bring Oregonians together to improve the environment and build a legacy of stewardship. SOLVE restores and preserves Oregon's environment by mobilizing the power of volunteers while partnering with the generosity of donors. To learn more about SOLVE, visit www.solveoregon.org. Angela Hult is the President of the Kuni Foundation, a private regional foundation with assets of more than $200 million. Angela works with the Foundation board to develop and implement strategy, including grantmaking, advocacy and impact investing. Under her leadership the foundation has made a direct investment in a female-led cancer research start-up, launched advocacy efforts to secure more housing for people experiencing intellectual disabilities, re-branded the foundation, and in response to the COVID pandemic doubled the amount of grants awarded in 2020. Her nonprofit board service includes the Center for Women's Leadership and Grantmakers of Oregon and SW Washington, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Albertina Kerr, and Children First for Oregon. She was the first woman elected to the national board of the Coastal Conservation Association. She is currently a Trustee of the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts. In 2016, she was named a Woman of Influence by the Portland Business Journal. Before joining the Kuni Foundation, Angela led all philanthropic and community investment efforts for Cambia Health Solutions. She directed employee volunteerism and community engagement, corporate giving, regional and national grant making, sustainability, executive board placement and the employee giving campaign. Angela also worked for PacifiCorp, where she focused on acquisitions and asset divestitures. She began her career in Taiwan where she worked for the Sheraton Corporation. Angela received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Pacific Lutheran University and is a graduate of the Leadership Academy for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College's Carroll School of Management. She is proud to be a lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest. For more information about the Kuni Foundation, visit www.kunifoundation.org.

Patrick McCreery is President of the Meredith Local Media Group. He oversees Meredith's 17 local television stations, which combined, produce 700 hours of local news and entertainment content each week, and reach more than 11 percent of U.S. households. McCreery also oversees MNI Targeted Media, which joined Meredith's Local Media Group after the acquisition of Time Inc. McCreery has more than 25 years of experience in the broadcast industry and has worked for Meredith since 2003. Most recently he served as Executive Vice President of Operations and Vice President of News and Marketing from 2014 until June 2018 when he was promoted to President. He has served on numerous non-profit Boards including Lines for Life, Muscular Dystrophy Association and the American Heart Association. McCreery is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. McCreery resides in Arizona with his wife and their three children.

In this episode, we connected with Nat Borchers. Nat grew up in Pueblo, Colorado and went to the University of Denver. He graduated with a Bachelor's and Master's of Science in Accounting. Nat played professional soccer for 14 seasons. He won an MLS Cup with Real Salt Lake in 2009 and with the Portland Timbers in 2015. He was selected to the MLS Best XI in 2010. In 2017, Nat retired from professional soccer. He is currently a broadcaster for the Portland Timbers and the owner of NDB Real Estate, an Oregon-based real estate investment company.

A recognized and award-winning Motivational Speaker and founder of Lou Radja Enterprises, Lou's trainings on leadership, personal growth, diversity and service inspire and equip audiences around the world to Be More and Give More. As Founder and Executive Director of EduCongo, a U.S. based nonprofit organization, Lou's energy is also devoted to generating awareness and support to provide quality education for over 2,000 underprivileged children in the Congo. A graduate of Portland State University, Lou studied International Affairs with a focus on development challenges and opportunities in today's globalized world. He is a member and Past President of the Portland Pearl Rotary Club and serves on various nonprofit boards in the community. Lou and his wife Stacy are proud parents of two boys, Yenga and Senda. For more information about professional coaching, please visit https://louradja.com/.

In this episode, we will connect with Andy McCulloch. Andy McCulloch joined Kaiser Permanente in 2006 as President of the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan of the Northwest, leading the Northwest Region to a consistent ranking as one of the United States' highest performing health systems. Andy is widely recognized for his leadership and contributions to the field of healthcare administration and public health. Andy retired from this role in July of 2017, and he lives in the Portland area.

For today's episode, we connect with Mike Fritz, who is the CEO of DWFritz Automation located in Wilsonville, Oregon. He joined the company in 1999 after 11 years at Nike. In 2007, Mike took over as President and CEO. Since then, the company has grown to over 500 employees worldwide. In 2018, Mike won Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Under his transformational leadership, DWFritz has continued to grow while providing top level service to clients in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Mike lives in the Portland area with his wife Kristin, and they have three grown children.

We connect with Dick Clark in today's episode. Dick joined The Portland Clinic as CEO in the summer of 2015, bringing 30 years of senior management and healthcare leadership experience. Prior to joining The Portland Clinic, Dick spent nearly 12 years with Providence. As Executive Director of Providence St. Vincent Medical Foundation, Dick oversaw $185 million in assets and led a $74 million capital campaign. Before making the transition to healthcare, Dick was an executive at the Portland Rose Festival for 15 years. He started in 1988 as the Director of Public Relations and Marketing. In his final 10 years with the Rose Festival, Dick served as the Executive Director overseeing a 100-member board and 5,000 volunteers. He has been an active member of the Portland Rotary Club since 1996 and served as its President in 2007-2008. He served for two years as Chair of the Oregon Ethics in Business program sponsored by the Rotary Club of Portland. He was named the Club's Rotarian of the year in 2010 and 2014. A native resident of Portland, Dick and his wife, Liz have two children – Scott, and his wife June, who live in San Francisco, and Kate, who lives in New York City.

In this episode, we connect with Peggy Maguire who is the President of the Cambia Health Foundation and the SVP of Corporate Responsibility and Palliative Care. Peggy works with a wide range of stakeholders to improve care for people with serious illness and support family caregivers. Under her leadership, the Cambia Health Foundation has invested more than $44M to advance palliative care access, quality and awareness. Peggy also directs Cambia's regional health plans' Personalized Care Support program, which includes health insurance benefits for palliative care services, advance care planning, specialized care management, and caregiver recognition and support.

In the first episode of our series, we'll connect with Jon Gehrs, a Co-Founder of Pacific Foods, based in Tualatin, Oregon. His most recent role was serving as President of the Packaged Foods Division at the company. In 2017, Gehrs helped navigate the sale of Pacific Foods to Campbell Soup Company for $700 million. He now serves as Chairman of the Board for The Toasted Oat and Smith Brothers Farms, among other interests.

Crisp Cuts from the C-Suite is a quick dive into the personal and professional lives of executives along the West Coast. We will cover everything from leadership and professional development to... tacos! Yes, we're asking the hard hitting questions so you can get to know these execs on a more personal level. What makes them tick? Listen to find out more!