Exploring Talent Podcast

Scott discusses the role of Chief Architect Officer, and the emergence of the technical role at the executive level. 

Tony discusses why CEOs need to have a strong sales background and how the acceptance of the cannabis industry is changing business perceptions.

Anna talks about the emergence of the CISO role within the executive leadership and responsibility to the Board

In this holiday encore podcast Todd Siegler joins the show today to shed some light on the differences in C-suite roles depending on the organization, C-suite interactions, management of direct reports and aiming at having an impact, above all else. Happy Holidays!

Carlos discusses the role of CRO and the changing nature of sales/revenue leadership, how sales may change post COVID  and building a sales org from scratch.

Kyle Schultz served as a CEO that wound down a company after a sale and he discusses aspects of that few may have considered. He also speaks about turning down a promotion, why and the positive impact on his career.

Shannon Carter serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Michael and Shannon discuss the role of Associations, transitioning among Associations industries such as Nursing, Tech and Veterinary.  She joins us to discuss becoming a CEO of an Association at age 31, and how she was chosen for her current CSO role and the testament of true CEO leadership in hiring her.

Patricia Elias has a unique title at ServiceSource: Chief Legal and People Officer. She joins the show today to talk about how she came to take on the HR role, the unique event that brought her to ServiceSource and a key realization about this very moment in her career.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Patricia Elias started as an SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for ServiceSource in 2016. Within 2 years, she was asked to assume the global HR role and title of Chief Legal and People Officer for a global company of over 3 000 employees.   Her prior roles include serving as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at ViaWest, Senior Corporate Counsel at Flextronics and Lecturer for the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business.   GET IN TOUCH WITH PATRICIA ELIAS ON LINKEDIN THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [2:02] Michael introduces Patricia and asks her to share an interesting fact about herself as well as a little bit on what ServiceSource is, and does — Patricia is an inline skating evangelist! SHOOTING SPORTING CLAYS [4:49] Patricia talks about what brought her to ServiceSource and it all began with shooting sporting clays! CORPORATE SECRETARY [6:38] What does a corporate secretary do? Patricia shares what her first few years were like. She shares the story of how she was approached to take on the role of head of HR. PREPARATION? HARDLY [11:06] Patricia touches on how little preparation she got before taking on the role. It was on the job training, she shares the 2 things that helped her most at the time. Patricia shares why she chose the CPO title instead of CHRO. WHY LAW? WHY IT? [14:33] Patricia shares how she made her way to law, and eventually Counsel, the choice of working in tech and IT probably reflects her strong interest in science. HR/LEGAL [16:53] 80% of her time is spent on HR matters, 10% on legal and the remaining would be a space where she needs to wear both hats. Because of this experience, as well as some personal choices, Patricia will probably never go for a General Counsel role that has no extended responsibilities again. PIVOT [20:05] Patricia and Michael agree that she is currently in the middle of a pivot! Patricia explains that the breadth of the impact she has on the organization could never be equalled by a legal only position. PRIDE AND LEGACY [21:51] Patricia shares how proud she is about having instituted parental leave at ServiceSource as well as the broader diversity impact this measure has had on the business. She shares another pride point. EXPECTATIONS [24:35] Patricia talks about the things she has found to be interesting discoveries about her new role, but she didn’t have expectations per se. She touches on how to handle working in multiple time zones and shares some personal tips on how to manage a team with empathy while working crazy hours. HUMANS VS TECHNOLOGY [26:52] The modern technological paradigm has built a world where work hours have grown to the point of encroaching on personal life, Patricia shares her take on how to maintain healthy work habits. She also touches on the effects of COVID on work environments and her predictions for the future of work. ADVICE [29:32] Patricia offers advice to future CXOs and prepares for C-suite interviews. Know your business, and just don’t be a jerk. She also shares her insight for people who hold dual roles as she does — especially when one of those roles involves legal. BEST WORST JOB PATRICIA EVER HAD [34:14] A temp job answering the constantly ringing corded phone while welcoming and being polite to customers who appeared at the window. It was so stressful it led her to realize she needed a college degree. FINAL THOUGHTS [36:45] An attitude of gratitude, empathy and outward mindset are key to success, and happiness. [37:17] Michael thanks Patricia for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10. Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Leslie has worked in financial services, engineering, Energy, ski industry, health care, and technology and today she joins the show to talk about starting a new role on the eve of a national lockdown and crisis, how she leverages her experience in different sectors and the impact of authenticity on executive culture.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Leslie McIntosh is the Vice-President Head of Human Resources. Previously she held the role of Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer of BioScrip. She was also Vice President, Human Resources at DigitalGlobe, a business unit of Maxar Technologies. Prior to that, she was HR Director at Vail Resorts and held senior HR roles at MWH (now part of Stantec), Janus Henderson Investors, and American Century Investments, with ten years at public companies.   GET IN TOUCH WITH LESLIE ON LINKEDIN THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Leslie and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself as well as what CoreSite is and what they do. NATIONAL LOCKDOWN [3:52] Leslie talks about getting on a plane to her new job at CoreSite on the eve of the National lockdown at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the experiences she drew from to manage that rocky transition. CRITICAL MOMENTS [8:00] In her very first professional-level role, Leslie learned important lessons about how to take feedback and how to become more aware of the impact of her action on others. She shares a second pivotal career moment. CANDIDATE SELECTION [9:27] Passionate, smart, talented, and humble are just some of the key characteristics Leslie looks for in her candidates. ACROSS SECTORS [10:20] Leslie touches on what the advantages are of having touched and worked in so many different sectors. She also touches on the surprises she had at her different roles. WHY THE C? [12:53] Leslie shares what personal discoveries she made on her way to figuring out if the C-suite was for her. She also talks about the rewards and challenges of roles at that level as well as some of the overlooked aspects. PREPARING [16:40] Preparing for a board interview for Leslie is an organized process, she walks us through it and shares her tips for being prepared. INTERVIEW ADVICE [19:27] Leslie shares her advice for people who may be looking at high-rank interviews in the future. CULTURE [20:50] Culture is super important; Leslie shares her own experiences with various places she’s worked in; she also touches on how she identifies good cultures. She also talks about how to change or manage culture. MENTORSHIP [24:15] Leslie speaks to her own experiences as a mentor and a mentee. PASSING YOUR TURN [27:57] Leslie was always very certain that she wanted a company that was the right fit for her and she has passed up opportunities that would have been great for her career, but not such a great fit. EMERGING LEADER ADVICE [29:00] Why do you want the role, and what important thing do you have to give are two things Leslie advises you should think on. She also expands on servant leadership.  BEST WORST JOB LESLIE EVER HAD [31:08] Working for a family catering company, Leslie shares what she learned from that experience. [34:44] Michael thanks Leslie for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways. We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE CoreSite   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Jordan Connely joins the show today as the President of Obsidian HR and CFO of ProService Hawaii (Obsidian's parent company). He and Michael share some interesting practices when it comes to HR as well as Jordans’ thoughts on how to improve your career, how to transition from consulting to the C-suite, and the many roles he’s held throughout the years.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Jordan Conley is President of Obsidian HR, as well as the current CFO of ProService Hawaii (Obsidian’s parent company). He is responsible for the strategy, customer experience, culture, and profitability of the business. Leveraging over 20 years of experience in the HR outsourcing industry, he brings a unique perspective to the evolving needs and definition of “HR” in the modern workplace. Prior to being appointed President of Obsidian HR, he was a founding member of ZeroChaos (now Workforce Logiq) and has held senior leadership roles at CoAdvantage (a large national HR outsourcing firm). As a natural entrepreneur, Jordan is passionate about seeing opportunities where businesses need help and partnering with leaders to protect their operations and make growth a reality. Jordan attended the University of Central Florida and Crummer School of Business at Rollins. He is married with three sons and currently resides in Denver, CO where he is an active car aficionado, an avid reader, and a connoisseur of Colorado beer.   GET IN TOUCH WITH JORDAN CONLEY ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [2:49] Michael introduces Jordan and asks him to share a little bit about what ProService Hawaii and Obsidian HR do as well as the differences between working in Hawaii and on the mainland. A LITTLE BIT OUT OF THE BLUE [8:44] What Jordan didn’t realize at the time was that in consulting he had been doing a year-long interview for the CTO position! CXO PATH [10:30] Having dropped out of undergraduate school to launch a startup, Jordan speaks to his non-linear path to the C-suite by way of an MBA. He shares an anecdote about staying in touch with some of his classmates and even having some of them now working out of Hawaii. SLOW BUT STEADY [15:19] From CTO to COO Jordan talks about the slow transition he made from IT to HR as well as playing both roles for a period of time. Jordan also shares his most rewarding and challenging moments as a COO. KEEPING TRAINS ON TIME [19:10] Jordan shares his take on the COO role as well as the period of time when the COO was living out of Sweden and traveling to Honolulu regularly, requiring Jordan to fill a lot of roles. LEGACY AND ADVICE [20:51] Jordan touches on what he hopes are the traits people will remember him by at ProService. He shares one of his proudest moments at ProService, as well as some critical advice for aspiring c-suite. [24:00] Jordan explains why you need to make sure you’re never a bottleneck as well as relentless prioritization. MANAGEMENT STYLE [26:49] Jordan walks us through the leader-leader style of management and talks about the great advantages and difficulties of Topgrading. RECRUITING [32:10] Recruiting and hiring is one of the most important aspects of Jordan’s job, and he will spend around 40% of his time on it. DECISIONS [33:22] Jordan shares a decision he made that didn’t go as planned.   BEST WORST JOB JORDAN EVER HAD [35:30] Bussing tables at a restaurant! [39:26] Michael thanks Jordan for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways. We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE ProService Obsidian HR Topgrading   Books: Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders, by L. David Marquet The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability, by Craig Hickman, Tom Smith, and Roger Connors Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t, by Verne Harnish Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO, by Nathan Bennett   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Nancy Fitzgerald joins the show today to talk about founding iLendingDIRECT with her husband whose tragic passing led her to take up the role of CEO. In this insightful episode, Michael and Nancy touch on the often discriminatory nature of business, how to operate smooth career pivots, the importance of resiliency and a strong social support network as well as why you should avoid getting your MBA on the job!   ABOUT OUR GUEST Nancy Fitzgerald is an award-winning executive within the automotive finance industry. As CEO, Nancy leads iLendingDIRECT’s executive team and drives the company’s strategic vision and business plan. She also fosters relationships and develops partnerships with national financial companies to help provide their customers with exceptional financial services. Nancy has been awarded the Auto Remarketing Women in Remarketing Award (2016), the Insights Success Magazine’s 30 Most Influential Women in Business (2016), and the Top 25 Most Powerful Women In Business by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce (2020).   GET IN TOUCH WITH NANCY ON LINKEDIN THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Nancy and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself — she is a singer and won the Miss Canada pageant. She speaks a bit about what iLendingDirect is and what they do. TIMES OF CRISIS [6:04] Nancy touches on how COVID-19 has impacted her business bottom line. She also speaks to how her company pulled through the ’08 financial crisis. BEING A MISS [10:05] Nancy talks about the classifications and stereotypical judgments that she has faced through the years, and why her Miss Canada title doesn’t figure on her LinkedIn page. JOURNALISM [14:20] Academic and career paths are often circumvoluted, Nancy talks about having gone for social work, her interest in the Law and social justice, and finally competitive news journalism. She touches on what brought about her pivot toward financial services. OFF THE RAILS [19:00] Patrick, Nancy’s husband and the CEO of their company, passed away on August 26th, 2014. She talks about what it took to earn the CEO title. DOING IT ALL [25:30] Handling the loss of a husband while keeping both family and business afloat was no small feat. It still is tough. Nancy talks about her wonderful support network and family. HIRING [27:30] Nancy talks about her hiring practices, what she looks for in new hires, and how she chooses the people that surround her. She also emphasizes the importance of company culture. BECOMING CEO [29:39] Though she never aimed at being a CEO and though she was very green at it, Nancy speaks to the strengths she’s always naturally had than enabled her to succeed at the position. ADVICE FOR DARK DAYS [31:36] Nancy talks about the Butterfly Foundation and she shares advice for people that may be going through a terrible time. REWARDS [38:20] Forget CEO, what Nancy finds most rewarding is giving back through iLendingDIRECT and the Butterfly Foundation. ADVICE NANCY STILL FOLLOWS [39:32] Get to know what you’re not good at. ADVICE FOR EMERGING CXOs [41:30] After a segue into Bill Gates’ driving style, Nancy shares her thoughts on how great the man is as well as what’s important in life.   BEST WORST JOB NANCY EVER HAD [46:45] Being a producer on Home and Garden television. [49:12] Michael thanks Nancy for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways. We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE iLendingDIRECT iFleetDIRECT The Butterfly Foundation   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10. Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg. FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Bennie S. Covington, Chief People Officer for Integrated Financial Settlements, comes on the show to share his story about falling into HR even as he tried to avoid it, what it means to run a successful business and what you need to cultivate to be a strong leader and aspire to the c-suite, even when you don’t!   ABOUT OUR GUEST Bennie S. Covington has helped small businesses, nonprofits, fortune 500, and global organizations align their culture to their mission-critical goals to help them to create a blueprint for success in the global market. He leverages best practices in Agile principles, Industrial/Organizational Psychology and adult learning theory to do this effectively.   He has mentored hundreds of leaders and managers globally in the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and Belgium. In 2017, he earned recognition for being in the top 10% of global leadership development programs in the areas of executive coaching, team development, and new leader development from HR.com. ​He currently is the Chief People Officer at Integrated Financial Settlements. As a community leader, he has participated in the Downtown Denver Partnership leadership program, served on the Five Points Business District Welton Street Design Working Group and the Denver Mayor’s Pedestrian Committee.   GET IN TOUCH WITH BENNIE ON LINKEDIN THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Bennie and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself as well as share a little about Integrated Financial Settlements.   LEGACY [9:30] Bennie touches on how his goal at the onset of his current role was to stabilize, partner and transform HR in the business. He walks us through the key points to keep in mind in order to tackle such an undertaking and what sustainability really means for a business.   DREAMS OF A CXO ROLE? [13:01] Being C-suite, even being in HR had never been on Bennie’s radar, he talks about the very personal way he became interested in HR and how he came to see CXO roles as a way to transform operations.   C-SUITE QUALITIES [18:06] In order to be tapped for and C-suite role, you have to demonstrate some understanding of business. Bennie talks about a few more reasons why he may have been initially tapped for the VP role as well as some questions he was asked.   IMPORTANT EXPERIENCE [21:35] Having some background in the more technical aspects of the job might have been helpful in the beginning, so Bennie suggests that if you do have a strong interest in a field, you should stay up to date.   RADIO [26:02] Bennie was aiming for a radio hosting career, he recounts how that began in earnest and how he actually changed paths when the industry began consolidating. He does rely upon some of that experience for public speaking.   LEVEL SETTING [33:12] Bennie shares a tip to make sure people follow you in a conversation.   CHRO to CEO? [33:46] Bennie doesn’t know if CHRO moves to CEO but it seems like it might be the time for it.   ADVICE [36:50] Understand the business and the number 1 expense is Bennie’s biggest piece of advice for aspiring CXOs. Bennie shares a city design example!   BEST WORST JOB BENNIE EVER HAD [42:00] Call center work… Bennie touches on what he learned working in a field that was not for him.   [46:50] Michael thanks Bennie for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Integrated Financial Settlements   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

Randal Meske, CRO of ConstructConnect, joins the show today to talk about how he approaches turning around a business, the complex network of qualities that make a good leader, and how to set up your hiring practices so that you know if the fit is right within 90 days.   Today’s discussion is fast-paced and filled to the brim with advice and tips on how to cut your sales chops in today’s market and bettering your function as a team member; take your pens and pencils out and don’t miss out on any of it.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Randal Meske is the CRO at ConstructConnect (a Roper Technologies company) and the Founder and CEO at Evreware, a market intelligence firm.   Prior to Evreware, Randal was the President at Citation Technologies Inc., an environmental compliance solutions company.  Before Citation, Randal was the Vice President of Oracle’s Global Collaboration Sales Unit. Prior to Oracle, Randal was the Vice President, Technical Publishing Business Development at IHS where he managed their worldwide content supply network. Before IHS, he served as Sr. Director of Business Development at Citrix Systems, Inc. He also had multiple international assignments in Europe and Latin America with Lotus and IBM managing regional P&L, creating go-to-market strategies, and building multiple sales organizations in those geographies.   Randal graduated with honors in 1986 from the University of North Texas earning a B.B.A. with an emphasis on International Business.  Prior to University, he studied abroad for one year in Germany.  Randal is fluent in German and currently studies Italian.  He lives in the Denver area with his wife and 3 daughters.   GET IN TOUCH WITH RANDAL ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Randal and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself — Randal was part of a men’s barbershop chorus called the Vocal Majority — and some information on ConstructConnect. SALES CHOPS [8:05] Randal offers a few possible avenues for newcomers to start gathering some direct sales experience — just make sure it’s something you can believe in. C-SUITE QUALITIES [11:50] The advantages of having had good, and bad, leadership in shaping your path to the C-suite. Randal touches on what qualities factor into reaching the C-suite. SIZE OR PRIDE [14:37] Randal shares his biggest, and his proudest deals — they are not the same. JOB REWARDS [18:11] With regards to the rewards of his work, helping people do the best work of their lives is the answer that comes up spontaneously for Randal. CXO DIFFERENCES [19:00] Randal touches on the differences in titles between CSO and CRO. Sales will limit the person to sales whereas most times CRO will encompass marketing as well. #1 CHALLENGE [21:05] Though it depends on the business, Randal talks about the pressure of hitting the number and target objectives you’ve established. He also touches on culture and how important it is to take a business to the next level. TURNING AROUND A BUSINESS [23:44] Randal talks about his management style as an example of how a turnaround might go — he breaks down the details and reminds people in that position to shut up and listen in the beginning. MAKING TALENT CHANGES [28:35] Sometimes you walk into a situation where someone is being inappropriate or abusive, in blatant cases, you address them right away, but if your hiring practices are right, you give people 90 days. LEADERSHIP HIRING [31:19] Randal shares the long version of what he looks for in leadership hires as well as the two most important points: grit and problem resolution. ADVICE FOR VPs [38:05] Learn, learn, and learn is the basis of Randal’s advice, as well as talking to younger people and becoming a better teammate. BEST ADVICE RANDAL STILL USES [42:02] Executives are busy; when they give you time, you have to respect that — don’t take half an hour to make a five-minute point, Randal is a talker, he had to learn this skill. BEST WORST JOB RANDAL EVER HAD [44:38] Digging ditch for a local gas company at $2.87 an hour — Randal shares an ego check story from that time.   [52:03] Michael thanks Randal for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE ConstuctConnect   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

Our guest today is Steve T. Joanis, CEO of PlanetIQ. He comes on the show to share his experience having served as a CFO, President, board member, and partner through different investment firms.   Don’t miss this episode for some serious tips on how to best appear on VC’s radars and stay top of mind for C-suite recruiting as well as what the most successful CXO candidates share in terms of personality traits.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Mr. Joanis has 25-plus years of management consulting, venture capital, and C-Level management experience in venture-backed companies across many industries. He has served on the Boards of Directors for more than 20 companies and has many successful exits to his credit as both a primary investor and as management. His strength in finance and operations has driven his expertise in scaling businesses with a focus on cash flow and value for investors.   Mr. Joanis managed strategy and M&A consulting engagements at LEK consulting, was a primary investor as a Partner at Wolf Ventures and Roser Ventures, was a Founder and Partner of PE firm HardPoint Capital, and had P&L responsibility as a C-level manager at three different startups, going back to 2003. At T3 Media, his most recent success story, Mr. Joanis led the company from pre-revenue through the high-growth phase and exited by selling to two different PE firms in two separate transactions. Mr. Joanis has raised more than $200MM in venture capital or venture-related debt.   Mr. Joanis has a BS from West Point and an MBA from Wharton. He was a decorated military combat aviator prior to his civilian career.   GET IN TOUCH WITH STEVEN ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Steve and asks him to share a little bit about what PlanetIQ does.   BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS [4:02] Steven shares what attracts him to any specific company: market size, protected technology, high-profit margins, and a solid team are all part of his checklist. He talks about what PlanetIQ had to offer to get him on board.   SPEAKING VC [8:30] An overarching theme in Steven’s career seems to have been his pull towards high tech. He touches on some reasons that may be as well as how being on the investment side has influenced his style as a CEO.   LOOKING BACK [12:42] Going back to investment? Steven talks about all of the things he loved in the investing world and what being on the entrepreneurial side offers that suits him better.   DECIDING TO BE A CEO [15:39] Steven’s military career helped shape his decisional process and probably played a huge role in him aiming for decisional roles and positions that offer responsibilities.   MILITARY INFLUENCE [20:22] Steven touches on how the military influenced his leadership style as well as the success he’s garnered. He also speaks to his hiring practices and how the military plays into that aspect as well.   PIVOTING TO THE C-SUITE [28:57] After having moved away from VC, Steven found a comfortable space for himself which put him on the fast track to his first C-suite contract. He also explains how having been on various company boards helped him identify how he could best tackle the C responsibilities.   ADVICE FOR VP’S [32:40] Looking at where CEOs come from when it comes to venture-backed high tech companies, most of them come out of sales or tech. Steven explains how you can use this information to build a strategic path to the C-suite. He also shares a few tips on jumping into a CXO role.   SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES [35:47] Steven touches on what VCs look for, in terms of personality, when searching out new candidates. He also shares ideas on getting onto a VC’s radar.   TIMELESS ADVICE [38:52] Steven shares some early advice he got which is still relevant today, 20 years later.   BEST WORST JOB STEVEN EVER HAD [44:56] Being a dairy farmer!   [47:27] Michael thanks Steven for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE PlanetIQ   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Scott Miller, EVP of Thought Leadership at Franklin Covey and author of the recently released book Management Mess to Leadership Success: 30 Challenges to Become the Leader You Would Follow joins the show to talk about what he learned from being fired, what a thought leader does, what makes great leaders and how to work towards leadership success.   Strap in for a fast-paced, energetic discussion on the ins and outs of leadership.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Scott J. Miller is Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership. Scott has been with the company for 20 years and previously served as Vice President of Business Development and Chief Marketing Officer. His role as EVP caps 12 years on the front line, working with thousands of client facilitators across many markets and countries.   Prior to his appointment, Scott served as the General Manager of the Central Region, based in Chicago. Scott originally joined Covey Leadership Center in 1996 as a Client Partner with the Education Division.   Scott started his professional career with the Disney Development Company, the real estate development division of The Walt Disney Company in 1992. As a research coordinator, he identified trends and industry best practices in community development, education, healthcare, architectural design, and technology. Scott received a B.A. in Organizational Communication from Rollins College in 1996.   GET IN TOUCH WITH SCOTT ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC National Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:15] Michael introduces Scott Miller and welcomes him to the podcast to talk about his experience having nine distinct careers inside the same organization and what initially drew him to Franklin Covey.   GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES [5:30] Scott’s father worked for Lockheed Martin for 35 years, and Scott had a plan to make it to CEO by his mid-fifties; he just never expected to walk most of that path with Franklin Covey! He touches on a few reasons why he stayed.   LEGACIES AND MANAGEMENT STYLES [7:54] Lifting people up is the one thing he would love his legacy to be. Scott also touches on how he approaches managing his employees; brutal honesty is a good start for him.   DISNEY DAYS [12:20] Despite having been an amazing learning experience, Disney was the wrong culture for Scott and his bull-in-a-china-shop attitude got him spun out. He shares his most valuable lesson coming out of Disney.   BEING AN IMPACTFUL LEADER [15:36] Regulating your emotions is a C-suite competency, not an option: You have to be able to have high-courage conversations where you’re moving outside your comfort zone and do it in a delicate and elegant way. He shares an interaction he had with Laird Hamilton.   THE FRANKLIN PLANNER AND MORE [19:22] Scott talks about all of the services and products Franklin Covey offers as well as some of the history of the company.   EARNING THE C-SUITE [22:17] Scott shares the serendipitous story of how he ended up as Chief Marketing Officer as well as how he got on the radar for the position. Always hit your forecast if not your goal, Scott is proud to have earned his way into the C-suite.   DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS [28:35] If you can’t summon the courage to call out people on their blind spots, you don’t deserve the leadership role. Scott explains what you can do to improve, and, believe it or not, it starts with practice and separating facts from emotions.   WHAT IS AN EVP OF THOUGHT LEADERSHIP [34:00] Does Scott just sit there and pontificate all day? It really is the new public relations. Scott breaks down what his work entails in practice.   WORK-LIFE BALANCE [37:55] Scott shares his own experience with what he calls seasons rather than continuous balance.   PERSONAL BRANDS [40:27] Scott touches on the delicate balance he has to keep in order to grow his own brand while keeping his fiduciary responsibility to grow the Franklin Covey brand as well. Be very thoughtful about how you are curating your brand, and if you’re an employee of a company, it needs to be congruent with or separate from it.   BEST WORST JOB SCOTT EVER HAD [47:23] Waiting tables! Scott shares exactly what he learned in terms of both customer service and teamwork.   FINAL THOUGHTS [48:40] Don’t confuse being efficient with being effective.   [49:41] Michael thanks Scott for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Book: Management Mess to Leadership Success: 30 Challenges to Become the Leader You Would Follow, by Scott Jeffrey Miller Podcast: On Leadership with Scott Miller The 7 Habits of Very Highly Effective People, by Dr. Stephen R. Covey   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC National Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Today, Heather Terenzio from Techtonic joins the show. She’s a name that comes up a lot with good buzz and we’re lucky to have her on to talk about acting on and running with an idea, founding and leading her own company, challenges and successes of selling a unique concept, and what drives her. Tune in for loads of advice on building and running flexible companies that survive hardship as well as novel ways to build tomorrow’s workforce.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Heather Terenzio is the founder and CEO of Techtonic Group. Techtonic Group is a software services company building web-based and mobile products for start-ups and the Fortune 1000. Four years ago, Heather founded Techtonic Academy to train people with diverse backgrounds how to code using a unique, Department of Labor (DOL) approved Apprenticeship program. This highly selective Apprenticeship program recruits people who have the desire, ambition, and skill set to be a great software developer — regardless of their background or academic training. The Techtonic Group Apprenticeship program has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Popular Mechanics. Heather believes that diverse and inclusive talent are the building blocks upon which great companies are built. GET IN TOUCH WITH HEATHER ON LINKEDIN THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC National Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:15] Michael introduces Heather and the company she founded and asks her to talk about what Techtonic is, what it does, and how it came about.   LET’S PAY YOU TO LEARN [4:55] Heather touches on how being an apprenticeship company is a really interesting intersection to be in. A whole world of government, grant, and foundation funding becomes available.   AGILE [7:05] Challenges are something that agile helps Techtonics overcome, Heather shares stories of how the company has iterated its processes in order to be better at what they do.   IT’S NOT JUST FOR TRADE JOBS [8:32] Heather touches on some of the reactions she got from developers in the beginning even if humans have been learning by apprenticeship for a long, long time. She also shares some of the apprenticeship criteria and attributes.   BEING BACKGROUND AGNOSTIC [11:42] Taking all of the barriers to entry away was the key to unlocking diversity in a natural way. Techtonics only takes the best of the best and it turns out that this is a very diverse group of people. She shares the first Apple Watch fail as an example of diversity being a necessary element of any successful project.   ONCE THEY’RE IN, THEY’RE HOOKED [15:57] Heather talks about how shifting mindset in potential clients — and their HR departments — takes a while, but once they’re in, they’re hooked!   UNTAPPED LABOR FORCES [19:24] Training veteran spouses is one of Techtonic’s initiatives and Heather touches on how the idea came about as well as who they partnered with to set it up.   IT COMES DOWN TO GUT [22:52] Heather touches on what she looks for in her key hires for the company. She shares some stories of the good and bad fits she’s had.   BUILDING THINGS [24:42] This isn’t Heather’s first company. She talks about her love of building things and what kind of person it takes as well as her experience building her first company.   THERE IS NO ONE HERE I WANT TO BE IN 5 YEARS [27:48] Heather shares her path from engineering to tech. She also talks about how she made her way to the C-suite.   ADVICE [30:54] Heathers shares her advice for people aiming to be CXOs. She also takes time to share the advice her dad gave her.   COVID [33:11] Crisis management is about focusing on what you can control; Heather offers that in her experience leaner companies fare better in crisis.   BEST WORST JOB HEATHER EVER HAD [35:20] Waitressing in high school and college; it’s horrible for a clumsy person, but it makes you so much more efficient and great at customer service.   FINAL THOUGHTS AND READING RECOMMENDATIONS [37:22]   [41:14] Michael thanks Heather for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Techtonic Book: Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, by Ben Horowitz   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC National Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Today’s show is a special announcement in light of the current coronavirus pandemic.   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:50] Michael comes on the show after his own struggle with what may well be COVID-19 to announce a hiatus in the face of this National and International emergency. In the meantime, Michael hopes everyone takes advantage of this extra home time and stays safe and healthy.   Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Today Jamey Seely joins the show to talk about being a Chief Legal Officer — which most people refer to as being your own counsel — the two usual legal career paths, being an executive and LGBTQ in blue-collar industries and working in nuclear.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Jamey was named by Denver Business Journal as one of 2020’s Top 25 Most Powerful and Influential Women in Business; she is a Trailblazer in Business honoree by Aspioneer for 2019, an Outstanding Women in Business Award winner in 2017 and a 2018 Out and Proud Corporate Counsel Award winner by the national LGBTQ bar association — and that’s just since she’s arrived in Denver.   GET IN TOUCH WITH JAMEY ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Jamey and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself — marathoning and cycling worldwide as well as racing cars are just one of the few things this adrenaline junkie likes to do!   [4:44] Jamey explains what Gates is and what they do — they’re everywhere and they have vulcanizers!   CLO OR GENERAL COUNSEL [8:17] What does a CLO do in terms of helping a company be healthy? And Jamey shares the really awesome thing about being on the legal side of a corporation.   BECOMING GC/CLO [13:00] Jamey knew from high school that she wanted to be a CLO — even not fully knowing what that meant. She also speaks to paying her dues and the importance of mentorship.   [17:14] GC used to require corporate securities and M&A, if not, you could be a number two. Jamey touches on the trends today.   [19:19] Jamey speaks to the most common reasons people aim for that role, as well as what makes a good GC.   PEER AND BOARD INTERACTIONS [20:54] A GC serves multiple roles; Jamey shares a professional story that explains the breadth of interactions a GC needs to maintain. She touches on how a board should behave.   WHY JAMEY GOT THE JOB [25:22] She explains why she joined Gates and what her job was from the get-go — make the company public. She talks about how she did it, as well as getting to the big day and ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.   LGBTQ [30:52] Jamey touches on being LGBTQ in business. She shares some advice and talks about how she got a feeling for the culture of diversity at Gates — and how you can get a good feeling for this in any company. Ask if they have a diversity and inclusion initiative both internally and externally!   NUCLEAR [40:28] Jamey talks about working with the brightest minds and running huge fun projects from a legal perspective. She shares her experience of Fukushima which happens right as she had landed an enormous nuclear project.   ADVICE FOR ASPIRING GC/CLO [45:01] Be prepared for the breadth and for being the trusted advisor for the C suite. Jamey breaks down some key experience you should work at getting. Also, keep an open mind!   WHEN JAMEY SET HER SIGHTS [47:54] Jamey speaks to when she decided she was going for the C suite in earnest — after having left law, which became a career asset.   BEST WORST JOB JAMEY EVER HAD [49:46] Litigation was never a match for Jamey — also, waiting tables, it’s brutal. Michael shares his own horrible job!   [53:29] Michael thanks Jamey for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

John Vranas is Chief Development and Marketing Officer for the Humane Society of the United-States. He has a stellar track record of helping organizations raise money and make significant impact in people's lives, society and now animals. Over the years he has rolled out cool programs and partnerships and he comes on the show today to share his experience with us.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Before his work at the Humane Society of the United States, John oversaw the creation and execution of all global projects for fundraising, communications and marketing at Make-A-Wish International. Before that, he served as Vice President of Fundraising for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Senior Vice President of Field Operations at ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as well as the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. Vranas is a graduate of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.   GET IN TOUCH WITH JOHN ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces John Vranas and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself.   John shares how rewarding this side of business can be, and explains what the Humane Society of the United-States is and how it differs from the Humane Society.   SO HOW DOES ONE BECOME A CDO [6:18] John speaks to the trial and error nature of his own career path and how the size of charities has increased enough nowadays that it is becoming a valid career path to be intentional about.   THE JERRY LEWIS TELETHON [9:33] Michael shares his experience of the telethon as a child which leads the conversation to how donation has changed through the years and how it has also remained the same.   NECESSARY SKILL SETS [11:53] John talks about the various skills both learned and innate required to succeed in this type of work.   OUTSIDE OF THE BIG DONOR ROLODEX [13:10] Though the size of donations may differ from one organisation to the next, the important measurement in charities is engagement, John explains how quantitative analytics can lead you to miss the greater picture.   CDO IMPACT [15:56] Aside from driving funding, the impact expected of a CDO is engagement, John touches on working towards closing the gap between donors and causes (from ‘you’ and ‘we’ to ‘us’).   DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING [18:26] John explains how his various roles have converged and what he’s learned along the way.   FUNDING PROJECTS [20:31] John touches on the dynamics of program funding within an overarching funding strategy, as well as the biggest pitfalls to avoid when it comes to donor relationships. He also shares how the ideas for specific programs come about and the requirements for launching and sustaining them.   HIRING SKILLS [27:39] Having a sense of purpose and fitting in the team are very important and John shares the one type of error he will excuse and the one type he won’t.   BASEBALL [29:44] The analogy stands, whether you work at the community level or at the National level, it boils down to the same important factors.   Michael reflects on his own reticence in using veterans’ stories to build engagement at VFW1, John echoes these thoughts but shines a different light on it.   ADVICE FOR ASPIRING C’s [33:47] Understand the position and be comfortable watching other people succeed around you. He also explains what is expected of his position for the benefit of listeners.   Sidebar! [35:30] Did Michael eventually tell Scott Kelly what to say!?   PREPARING FOR A C CHAIR [38:37] Learning to put the right people in the right places may be your greatest asset.   KEY CAREER MOMENTS [40:27] John shares that even though he never directly aspired to the C-suite, his nature got him to take on more and say yes to opportunities.   CONTRIBUTING BETTER [43:00] John shares his advice on how people can better contribute to help their non-profits.   ADVICE JOHN STILL USES TODAY [44:35] This is a piece of two-part advice for which John shares a personal story.   BEST WORST JOB JOHN EVER HAD [47:04] Industrial painting in the hot Virginia summer!   [49:29] Michael thanks John for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE The Humane Society of the United-States   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Timothy Branham had a non-traditional path to the CTO desk. He started out in sales and marketing, moved to consulting, transitioned into delivery and then became the CIO for Fujitsu America. Today’s conversation will range from moving from sales to tech, how a consulting background helped prepare Tim to be a CTO, working for small and large organizations and what tomorrow’s CTO/CIO should be doing today in career management.   ABOUT OUR GUEST After serving as a ranger and jumping out of perfectly sound airplanes, Tim got into marketing and sales. He worked for companies such as Siemens, SunGard, and Genesis10 and after Fujitsu, he joined Perficient and became interim CTP for a division that turned into a full-time gig: Autoweb.   GET IN TOUCH WITH ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Timothy Branham and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself — Tim is a third-degree black belt and teaches Moo Duk Kwan, a form of Taekwondo.   He explains who Autoweb are and what they do — as well as what car he drives!   BENEFITS FOR ALL CAREER PATHS [7:55] Tim shares what people on different career paths can take away from this conversation.   CIO VS CTO [10:07] From simple to more complex differences, Tim shares his definition of a CTO and a CIO and how they diverge.   WHY A CTO [11:38] Tim’s non-traditional career path had a huge impact on why — and how — he came to be interested in the CIO/CTO position.   FUJITSU DAYS [14:18] Coming in as VP CTO Application Services, to SVP CIO, Tim walks us through his progression at Fujitsu. He also breaks down how he came to underscore and overcome the company’s shortcomings and empowered his teams to bridge the technological gaps.   WHY LEAVE FUJITSU [23:54] Tim breaks down how he came to take the decision to leave the company, both on the professional and personal side. He also shares how the conversation went with the executives.   BEST CTO PREP [28:41] Consulting has contributed a great deal to Tim reaching the CTO role, he shares what aspects of it come into play. He also touches on the importance of adapting to the needs of your company.   [33:59] Tim shares what experience he wishes he had had before getting the role.   BIG AND SMALL [36:54] From being a small fish in a big pond to a big fish in a small pond, Tim details how breaking away from the industry giants also helped him break the ceiling on his career progression. Tim touches on how the different sized companies each helped build his experience and pave the way for a CTO role.   ASPIRING CTOs AND CIOs [41:16] Look for opportunities to build trust within a company, keep pushing and remember that there is no passive path to the C-suite; Tim shares these and other critical pieces of advice.   [44:36] Tim shares a mentorship story from his Siemens days.   EXECUTIVE HIRING [47:26] Hire people that don’t suck as people is a piece of advice Tim got years ago and that still sticks, he shares some of the other qualities he looks for.   BEST WORST JOB TIMOTHY EVER HAD [49:44] Fujitsu — it’s a good thing! Tim explains why.   FINAL THOUGHTS AND READING RECOMMENDATIONS [55:26] Be a voracious reader: Tim shares his reading list.   [58:08] Michael thanks Timothy for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Moo Duk Kwan Books: 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You, by John C. Maxwell The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, by Patrick Lencioni Never Split The Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It, by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Bill Wosilius joins the show to discuss matters ranging from declaring your role and how to obtain it, assessing the situation and making hard executive changes, why become a CEO, and how to prepare for it. He has a wealth of advice to share and the experience to back it up; don’t miss this episode.   ABOUT OUR GUEST After graduating from the U.S. Airforce Academy and serving for eight years, Bill worked for companies such as InFlow, Sunguard, Healthgrades, CoreSite, Optiv, and now NexusTek.   GET IN TOUCH WITH BILL WOSILIUS ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Bill and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself — Bill made a promise to himself that he would run one adventure race a year, every year until he couldn’t.   Bill talks about what NexusTek does and who they are.   ACCIDENTAL CEO [5:55] Bill shares how he came to be a CEO at NexusTek, and shares a few pieces of advice for reaching the C-suite, including avoiding target fixation!   ALL OF IT IS IMPORTANT [9:35] Looking back on what led him to where he is today, Bill shares that every single experience in the last 10 years has contributed to him being an accidental CEO and IT guy.   FIVE FROGS [12:24] Bill shares the story of how he led his first integration and what cascaded from it, including the challenges of merging and integrating the Hatfields and the McCoys!   M&A BACK OFFICE [19:02] Although he wasn’t directly responsible for the back-office functions, Bill did get a chance to see how an M&A affects them. He touches on how important it is to hire strong, competent leaders for each of the functions.   NEWLY MINTED CEO [21:36] Bill describes his first 30, 60, and 120 days at NexusTek. He shares the first four questions he asks: What’s working? What’s not working? What should we start now? What should we stop now?   H.A.C. G.A.S. N.A. [24:54] Bill breaks down the acronyms he used to keep himself on track in choosing a team.   HUGE CHESS MOVES [27:36] Within his first 120 days, Bill had brought in — among others — a new CFO, COO, VP of Professional Services and a VP of Integration; he speaks to those decisions.   MANAGEMENT STYLE [30:22] Bill describes his management style, which he’s been both praised and criticized for!   ADVICE FOR ASPIRING CXO’s [32:32] Quit focusing on it! Just do a good job — the best job you ever had is the one you have right now.   HIRING EXECUTIVES [38:34] Bill shares the qualities he looks for when hiring for executive positions. He shares the use of the FORMS acronym.   FINAL THOUGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS [44:38] Bill shares his final advice: every job prepares you in some way; all of them are important. Michael shares his best worst job for the first time!   BEST WORST JOB BILL EVER HAD [46:52] All of them were good: except two where he worked for authoritative micro-managers.   Michael shares his own best worst job for the first time!   MORE FINAL THOUGHTS (as the music plays Bill off the stage!) [49:18] Bill has more invaluable advice to offer.   [50:35] Michael thanks Bill for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE NexusTek Five Frogs on a Log: A CEO's Field Guide to Accelerating the Transition in Mergers, Acquisitions & Gut Wrenching Change, by Mark L Feldman and Michael F. Spratt Top Grading Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, by Jocko Willink and Lief Babin Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe the World, by Admiral William H. McRaven   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Today, Mary Beth Loesch joins the show to talk about how she knew she wanted to be a CEO when she grew up, how she hit the fast track when she was in her 20s, and how her experience in sales, operations, and finance prepared her for the CEO chair. We can’t wait to see what Mary Beth accomplishes when she grows up!   ABOUT OUR GUEST CEO, Board member, and current Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network Advisor Mary Beth Loesch started presenting in front of the US West Board before she was 30 years old and opened up operations in the Philippines and Central America. She has extensive M&A experience, is a CEO, Board Member, and Advisor and recently, she took up golf. Mary Beth graduated from Creighton University with both an undergrad and an MBA; her board experience has ranged from Women on Boards to Regis University and many in between.   GET IN TOUCH WITH MARY BETH LOESCH ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Mary Beth and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself — before she became pregnant 21 years ago, she used to ride motorcycles!   She explains what her firm CGE Strategic Consulting does.   A CEO AT 5 YEARS OLD [4:02] Mary Beth shares how her father’s entrepreneurship influenced what she aspired to be as a child. She explains what skills she picked up on her way to the C-suite starting with being fearless when it comes to the roles you take on in your early career.   [7:25] Because Mary Beth was so fearless jumping from one role to the next, she gets a wide array to pick a favorite from.   FROM CONSULTANT TO CEO [7:46] Mary Beth touches on the interesting experience of coming in as a consultant and exiting as the CEO for Medical Simulation Corporation.   OPERATIONS OVERSEAS [10:38] Travelling to India, the Philippines, and Central America was an enriching experience.   THE US WEST DAYS [12:06] Mary Beth shares a few pivotal stories — including one fearless flight for her career — from her US West days, starting as the Supervisor, Payroll Accounting and leaving as Division President.   TURNAROUND SITUATIONS [20:00] Turning situations around is one of Mary Beth’s great career loves; she shares a story from her days at Activant Solutions, from doubling the $220 million a year to a $900 million exit in two years.   BEST CEO PREPARATION [23:04] Mary Beth lists the breadth of varied experiences she attributes to helping her succeed as a CEO.   ADVICE FOR ASPIRING CEOS [25:02] Mary Beth shares the most important thing she believes people should be doing who aspire to the CEO position: seize opportunities to pick up new skill sets.   MANAGEMENT STYLE [25:41] Mary Beth’s management style.   B.E.N. [26:12] What is the Blackstone Entrepreneurial Network and why does Mary Beth donate her time?   AHA MOMENTS AND ADVICE [27:20] Mary Beth touches on a big aha moment she had while doing M&A. Leave it better than you found it is a piece of advice that Mary Beth still uses today. She shares the advice she gives to young up-and-comers.   BEST WORST JOB MARY BETH EVER HAD [33:47] All roads lead to US West!   FINAL THOUGHTS AND READING RECOMMENDATIONS [35:09] Mary Beth shares her final thoughts and invites listeners to read the Wall Street Journal.   [36:35] Michael thanks Mary Beth for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE CGE Strategic Consulting The Wall Street Journal   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Today’s guest served as a Marine for seven years before making his way from plant manager to VP of Sales within four years in the manufacturing industry and making the jump towards technology.   Ben and Michael will be discussing how to make the jump into the tech field, the impact of military service on his professional life, and how founding the Denver Startup Week has affected his career.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Ben Deda has a professional path that includes seven years of service in the Marines. He started his civilian career as the Plant Manager for TruStile Doors becoming the VP of commercial sales in four years. He then made the jump into tech and was the VP of Sales at FullContact, the COO at Galvanize, VP of Marketing for Vertafore and is currently the CEO of Foodmaven. Ben also co-founded the hugely successful Denver Startup Week.   Ben graduated from the University of Notre-Dame with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Denver.   GET IN TOUCH WITH BEN ON LINKEDIN AND TWITTER   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:50] Michael introduces Ben and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself — Ben grew up in a town small enough that it didn’t require a stoplight and out of which came the founders of two businesses that were sold for over nine figures apiece! He shares what Foodmaven does.   [3:15] 40% of the food produced in the country is wasted, for an estimated 200 billion dollar loss annually. Ben explains Foodmaven’s mission in this landscape as well as how some of the varied industries he’s worked in have similarities that he was able to use and be more adaptable and sometimes even innovative.   CEO EXPECTATIONS [8:45] Being newly minted, Ben touches on what he expected being a CEO would be as well as the people, preparation and path it took to get him there. He also touches on the great board he can count on to help him navigate the learning curves.   CRITICAL EXPERIENCE [12:59] Ben breaks down the different ways you can get the critical pieces of experience you need in order to get to a CEO position as well as the importance of surrounding yourself well while still being knowledgeable.   THE MOST IMPACTFUL ROLE [15:43] While there wasn’t one role that made him the CEO he is today, Ben does highlight a few of the key positions he’s held and how they drove his management style and general business knowledge — and that includes his military service.   FOR THE AMBITIOUS VP OUT THERE [18:52] Ben’s advice is about figuring yourself out, picking your opportunities and planning your path.   WHEN THINGS DON'T GO AS PLANNED [20:40] Without singling out one specific moment or decision, Ben touches on his broader tendency to make decisions that seem not to follow a straight line and what may have helped him land the CEO position.   DENVER STARTUP WEEK [23:40] Ben shares how it started, with whom, and why — today, it’s the largest free entrepreneurial event in North America. He also takes a moment to reflect on the possibilities for the future.   [31:47] Ben speaks to the great network the Denver Startup Week has facilitated for him.   [33:20] Organizing Denver Startup Week has taught Ben a lot about community and that giving up a measure of control is both hard and necessary. He shares how he has now begun to move away from the frontlines and into a board position.   SO YOU WANT TO BUILD AN EVENT? [36:44] Ben shares his best advice for people who may be interested in building an event of their own. He also gives the three rules he uses with new teams: Get stuff done. Don’t screw your team. Always assume positive intent.   MILITARY SERVICE [39:59] Ben breaks down how his military career informs who he is as a person and as a leader.   BEST WORST JOB BEN EVER HAD [41:47] Working on a plastic injection molding factory floor gives you some perspective on what a lot of people’s lives are like.   BOOKS AND FINAL THOUGHTS [43:59] Ben shares his reading list and a few final thoughts for emerging CXOs.   [46:57] Michael thanks Ben for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Foodmaven Foodmaven board T-Shaped skills Denver Startup Week (Denver Startup Bash) The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, by Ben Horowitz Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card

Irma Lockridge joins the podcast today from the CoorsTek Headquarters in Golden Colorado to discuss what it’s like working for three CEOs simultaneously, what HR and company culture have to do with one another, and the critical importance of mentors in your career path.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Irma Lockridge has an impressive background and has worked with some of the biggest companies that touch our everyday lives — Accenture, Archstone, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Western Union, Rubbermaid, and for the last four years, CoorsTek.   She earned her Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Wharton School and completed executive leadership development training from Harvard Business School.   GET IN TOUCH WITH IRMA LOCKRIDGE ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Irma and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself — Irma was born in Mexico and is a first-generation high school and college graduate and she is married to her high school sweetheart. She introduces CoorsTek.   WHY HR? [4:30] HR has an impact on every aspect of a business: it deals with people — and if you don’t have the right people in the right roles, you simply can’t get anywhere. Irma shares the path that led her to choose Human Resources even if she says it chose her!   AN UNUSUAL TITLE [6:33] Chief People and Systems Officer… Irma explains what the unusual ‘systems’ part is, and how it can be applied more broadly to CPOs and CHROs.   NEVER AN AVERAGE DAY [11:00] With CoorsTek being such a large company and Irma reporting to three CEOs, ‘average’ isn’t something that happens. She touches on that dynamic and some of her daily activities.   LANDING THE ROLE AND CREATING LEGACY [14:20] Irma tries her hand at answering an aspirational question in terms of her legacy at CoorsTek. She also talks us through the recruiting process, what she believes got her the job, and what makes the company a uniquely good fit for her.   CPO PHILOSOPHY [17:30] Irma shares her thoughts on leadership and management style as well as how she developed the philosophy that HR is not a support role, in the course of her career and some business experience.   [20:39] Irma shares her advice for mid-level managers trying to get ahead. Don’t ask for permission and have your ducks in a row.   INFLUENCING CULTURE [21:14] A CPO or a CHRO is in a prime position to influence culture and Irma touches on how this is operationalized in her own role.   GLOBAL EXPERIENCE [24:11] Working for a global business in one of the things Irma loves; it helps her remain agile and keeps her challenged. She touches on the advantages of having international experience under your belt.   GETTING TO THE C-LEVEL [26:45] Irma’s progression was organic and though she didn’t have the C-suite in sight right out of the gate, a key mentor helped nudge her forward in a very specific way.   FINDING A MENTOR [29:21] Irma shares the story of how she met and developed her mentor relationships and shares her advice for mid-level managers looking to find mentors as well as what she would have liked to be more prepared for going into the C-suite.   PREPARING FOR THE C-LEVEL [32:24] Irma offers her thoughts and advice for people who want to get to the C-suite, starting with asking yourself why you want it. Because she currently sits on the Denver Scholarship Foundation, she also shares advice for mid-level managers and first-generation graduates.   HARVARD [36:40] Irma shares from her experience at Harvard and the key teachings she took from it.   BEST WORST JOB IRMA EVER HAD [38:02] Aside from Fast Food and telemarketing, Irma’s very first managerial job takes the learning cake.   FINAL THOUGHTS AND READING RECOMMENDATIONS [41:15] Irma shares her current ‘reads’ and final thoughts.   [44:07] Michael thanks Irma for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE CoorsTek Denver Scholarship Foundation   BOOKS The Connector Manager: Why Some Leaders Build Exceptional Talent — and Others Don't, by Jaime Roca and Sari Wilde   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Today we’re going to discuss the pros and cons of staying with the same company for an extended period, creating an HR organization from scratch, and the lessons that Michelle Anastasi has learned throughout her career.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Michelle is an outgoing CPO who has worked at CompSych, GiveForward, Dell and ASAP Software. She earned her Business Administration degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.   GET IN TOUCH WITH ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Michelle Anastasi and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself — She has had a bear visit her kitchen while she was home!   [4:00] Michelle touches on the roles she embodied and the mentors that guided her during her 16-year stint at the same software company, from the accounting department to building an HR department from scratch.   BUILDING HR FROM THE GROUND UP [6:18] Michelle breaks down how she went about tackling the HR department build with very little experience from establishing priority lists to finding the right mentors.   REGRETS? [11:50] Michelle admits to having made her share of mistakes, but she wouldn’t trade any of them — she does share the one thing she would have done differently: networks and relationships.   STARTING FROM SCRATCH [12:36] Michelle packs so much advice in a minute, you won’t believe it — we counted 11 really important and insightful tips.   SHAKING ASSUMPTIONS [15:30] Behaviors can help in preventing people from pigeonholing you — think about your executive presence and be strategic.   WHY SO LONG? [18:46] Michelle opens up on the reasons why she stayed so long at ASAP, the first of which is that she kept having opportunities to learn and be challenged. She touches on the increasingly short windows companies get to show how engaging they can be to new hires.   THE DELL MERGER [22:21] She did work through a few mergers, but Dell was at a different scale! She talks us through the ups and downs of the experience.   C-SUITE, CPO VS CHRO [25:38] Though there seems to be a push away from the human resources terminology, Michelle sees very little difference between the roles themselves. She delves into what best prepared her for the C-Suite, including a tough boss that knows how to push you outside your comfort zone.   GETTING TO THE C-SUITE [30:04] Michelle hands out fistfuls of advice for aspiring CPOs.   SURPRISES AND REWARDS [33:22] Michelle shares the aspects of being a CPO that she finds surprising and rewarding — even if a lot of the work is covered by NDA!   OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE [33:50] Michelle’s approach to HR is influenced by having lived overseas and being culturally aware.   A BAD CALL [35:18] Michelle shares the time she joined a company led by a narcissist.   MBA [36:56] Michelle touches on the value her MBA has had in her career.   CANDIDATE ATTRIBUTES [38:15] What are the things Michelle looks for in a successful candidate to hire.   BEST WORST JOB MICHELLE EVER HAD [39:19] Waitressing is such a good background for everything in life!   FINAL THOUGHTS AND GOOD READS [42:02] Michelle shares a very generous amount of titles to read and a recap of her tips for emerging CXOs.   [44:20] Michael thanks Michelle for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Mersive Technologies Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin Tribes: We need you to lead us, by Seth Godin Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders, by L. David Marquet Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, by Simon Sinek The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, by Ben Horowitz   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

Al Rosabal joins the show to share his thoughts on leadership, bettering yourself and overcoming C-suite challenges. Join us for an in depth on the working a the C-level in a variety of industries and how a skillset can really be agnostic.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Al Rosabal is an accomplished CXO who has served in 4 distinct sectors moving up with each change. CTO for a joint venture with Ford Europe, CTO for the city of Denver, CTO and COO for National Cinemedia and COO for Galvanize.   GET IN TOUCH WITH AL ROSABAL ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Al Rosabal and asks his to share an interesting tidbit about himself — a month off riding his bike in Patagonia!   TAKING CHANCES [4:44] Al shares his experience diving into an opportunity at Ford in europe and chalks this opportunity up to good relationships, good timing, taking chances and a bit of luck. He touches on having maybe gone rogue to drive change and make some exciting things happen!   SOLUTIONS AND CHALLENGES [9:09] The Jaguar X Type launch is one of the use cases that Al looks back to in terms of  finding gaps and establishing agile solutions to fill them. Al also speaks to some of the challenges he faced dealing with such a complex organisation in a different culture (not only in a new country but in a new company!).   A GOOD LEADER IS A GOOD FOLLOWER [13:22] Al’s work in the C-suite has taught him that even at the highest levels, you always are accountable to someone. He shares his experience COO and CTO at National Cinemedia, and touches on what it takes to be a strong leader as well as how important it is to be surrounded with people whose values align with yours.   CORPORATE VS PUBLIC [19:08] Al has worked at the C-level in corporations but also for a municipality and he details the similarities and differences you’ll  find between both as well as the primary drivers that propel them into the future. both have legacy technology which competes with innovations in the space. The municipal level enables you to plan and think really long term as opposed to a more quarterly schedule.   ANY SECTOR WORKS [24:02] Having worked in a multitude of sectors ranging from media to automotive, Al speaks to the importance of choosing a job for the role and opportunity for growth, learning and developing your intellectual flexibility. Additionally, he highlights that there is a core set of skills to any c-level job, independent of sector.   PREPARING FOR A CEO ROLE [25:54] Al’s attraction to the CEO role is intimately linked to wanting to have a deeper impact on the company and putting his skills to good use. He also touches on the preparation for a CEO role: it is not a finite endeavour, no one is ever fully prepared — it’s a difficult role. Al shares how he studies success and tries to palliate his weaknesses as well as the importance of the people that surround you.   PIVOTAL MOMENTS [30:07] Al shares a few key moments — or stretch roles — in his career that marked a substantial change in how he perceived his role and helped him grow.    CHALLENGES AND REWARDS [33:14] Al speaks of his experience as a CEO, the challenges, rewards and things he’s proud of. He also touches on his management style: accountability, transparency, integrity, people.   TIPS FOR ASPIRING C’S [40:49] Al shares key tips for people looking to reach the C-level: get exposure, find and grab opportunities and find a coach.   BEST WORST JOB AL EVER HAD [44:02] Al doesn’t find he ever had a ‘worst’ job, only more or less challenging roles. He shares how each of them have contributed to him learning more about himself and bettering his skillset.   [48:49] Michael thanks Al Rosabal for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please gives us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari Extreme Survival, by JG Press DisneyWar, by James B. Stewart   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

This is Part 2 of the interview with General Kevin Patrick ‘Chilli’ Chilton. Tune in for discussion filled with advice on reaching the C-Suite, sitting on good boards , role of the Board, interacting with CEO and more.    A note to those who have not served in the Armed Forces: I will be referring to our guest as either General or by his call sign of ‘Chilli’ out of respect for his rank and his service to our country.   ABOUT OUR GUEST General Kevin Patrick ‘Chilli’ Chilton graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and has flown pretty much every aircraft in the Air Force inventory including the RF4, F15, U2, and the B52. He attended test-pilot school, served around the world and was selected as an astronaut that included three shuttle missions. He was also the Deputy Program Manager of Operations for the International Space Station. He then returned to the Air Force for key postings such as the Commander of the Ninth Recon Wing, Commander of the Eighth Air Force, and Commander of the Air Force Space Command and the United States Strategic Command. He is currently the only astronaut to obtain the rank of 4-star General. Chilli has served on the boards of Anadarko, Orbital, Aerospace Corporation and both level three and post-merger with Centurylink today as well as with Aerojet Rocketdyne.   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS   FINDING C-LEVEL CANDIDATES [1:50] The General explains how the search process goes from the public, private, and non-profit board’s perspective. He also shares some tips on how to be considered for C-Level in an organization.   [4:15] Chilli touches on how many boards are too many boards.   GOOD BOARD, BAD BOARD [6:32] The General has never been on a bad board, so we take the time to ask him how to build a good one. He shares what first surprised him about being on a board as well as the difference between sitting on a Fortune 500 company board and small private ones.   [10:52] Chilli explains how he keeps himself up-to-date on board trends.   A CEO ON THE BOARD [11:39] Chilli shares his thoughts on having the CEO sit on the board, even chair, and what the really important success factor really is as well as what the number one purpose of the board is.   DIFFERENT STROKES [14:00] Having served on boards in so many different sectors, Chilli shares the similarities and differences in the roles he held, he shares his insights on one experience.   LISTENER QUESTION! [17:43] The General answers: ‘How can public companies better leverage their boards?’   ASPIRING CXO’s [20:52] Chilli shares his advice for aspiring CXO’s — no one does anything on their own.   HIS BEST DECISION [21:59] General Kevin Patrick ‘Chilli’ Chilton shares his wife’s military service.   AN ASTRONAUT’S WORK-LIFE BALANCE [24:25] The General touches on how he and his wife managed impressive military careers and four children. He makes a point about leadership.   CHILI’S ADVICE FOR HIS YOUNGER SELF [27:20] Keep your options open and don’t burn any bridges.   BEST WORST JOB CHILI EVER HAD [29:35] Can you believe Chilli’s never had a bad job?   READ, LISTEN AND GET IN TOUCH [31:10] Right now, the General is reading on History.   [33:08] Michael thanks Chili for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE NACD   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

The impressively humble General Kevin Patrick ‘Chilli’ Chilton joins the show today to share his 34-½ years of experience in the Air Force as well as the successful transition he then navigated into corporate America.   A note to those who have not served in the Armed Forces: I will be referring to our guest as either General or by his call sign of ‘Chilli’ out of respect for his rank and his service to our country.   ABOUT OUR GUEST General Kevin Patrick ‘Chilli’ Chilton graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and has flown pretty much every aircraft in the Air Force inventory including the RF4, F15, U2, and the B52. He attended test-pilot school, served around the world and was selected as an astronaut that included three shuttle missions. He was also the Deputy Program Manager of Operations for the International Space Station. He then returned to the Air Force for key postings such as the Commander of the Ninth Recon Wing, Commander of the Eighth Air Force, and Commander of the Air Force Space Command and the United States Strategic Command. He is currently the only astronaut to obtain the rank of 4-star General. Chilli has served on boards of the Anadarko, Orbital, Aerospace Corporation and both level three and post-merger with Centurylink today as well as with Aerojet Rocketdyne.   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:50] Michael introduces General Kevin Patrick ‘Chilli’ Chilton and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself — Chilli is a proud family man, husband, and father to four very successful daughters — he also played in the MaxQ all-astronaut rock band!   GETTING CALLED TO THE AIR [5:21] Chilli shares the childhood exposure that shaped his interest in flight and explains how he got about getting himself some flying lessons!   GRACE UNDER PRESSURE [7:59] The General shares how he got his call sign while flying the F-15. He also touches on how the ability to stay cool under pressure, tackle problems, and exemplify leadership can be trained but requires operational terrain experience.   NASA [10:20] Chilli breaks down what qualities NASA looks for in their hires and how executives can strive for those traits even without military training. We also get a peek into the General’s space shuttle flight experience (Endeavour — with its tense and joyful maiden voyage — and Atlantis).   PICKING TEAMS [17:37] There are more astronauts than missions, Chilli shares how teams were built for missions during his service. He recalls his first call to pilot the Endeavour and how easy the ‘yes’ came.   THROWING YOUR HAT IN THE RING [19:45] The one person and the two reasons Chilli eventually applied at NASA.   MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE CAREERS? [21:33] It used to be a general Air Force policy that if you left for NASA, you didn’t come back… but in 1996 ‘Chilli’ was invited to volunteer to help the Air Force operationalize space.   LEADERSHIP STRUCTURES [24:07] The Air Force Hierarchy is built in a moving up/moving out fashion, which generates turnover and forces focus on the importance of next-generation leaders. Chilli touches on mentorship, sponsors and the value of a good boss.   COMMANDER VS CEO [30:15] The General breaks down the primary differences between civilian and military work. A commander isn’t just a boss.   ADVICE FOR CEOs [32:40] Chilli shares what he believes CEOs can learn from flag officers — listen in for advice on what strength the military can teach you — and he shares his personal advice on what CEOs should do today to properly plan for tomorrow.   POLITICS [35:22] The General makes a statement on politics in the military and offers his perspective on how and why a CEO might be more affected by politics. He also touches on how the military/political/civilian relationships need to be maintained in order to ensure smooth operations.   FIRST BOARD [39:00] Getting his first board appointment came through an acquaintance and it was a learning experience that Chilli appreciated. He shares his view on managing board members with all the individual egos and existing relationships and baggage that this entails, as well as what the role of the Chair is.   A DAY IN THE LIFE [42:35] Chilli shares a day in his life as a board member, and what best practices are important to keep in place.   The General shares what the role of a board is — and isn’t — for the benefit of an emerging executive and how to best recruit a new CEO.   [46:37] Michael closes out Part 1 of this interview with General Kevin Patrick ‘Chilli’ Chilton and invites listeners to tune into Part 2.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

Today we will discuss how to successfully transition between different verticals while continuing to move up the executive ladder. Jean Landsverk shares her best advice on writing for the job you want and planning out a future of pivots without getting dizzy!   ABOUT OUR GUEST Jean is enjoying a remarkable career that began with a hospitality services company and transitioned industries multiple times while ascending to the C-suite. Jean graduated from Iowa State University and holds an MBA from the University of Denver. She started her career at Aramark having sold for their healthcare division, then Coca Cola, returned back to Aramark and after six years, left as the VP of Sales for the first of several industry pivots. As the VP of Sales for C2 Media, she cultivated her five accounts to 72 million dollars and then joined Western Union. While at First Data, Jean served as SVP and she joined Affiliated Computer Services for the Federal and State sector followed by healthcare-focused TriZetto Group. In 2016, Jean became the CRO of Connecture and at the time of this interview, she is the CRO for Zelis Payments.   GET IN TOUCH WITH JEAN LANDSVERK ON LINKEDIN OR AT JEAN.LANDSVERK@GMAIL.COM   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Jean Landsverk and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself — She grew up on a farm!   FIRST POST-COLLEGE JOB [3:30] Jean graduated in December after the market crash of 1987 and took a job in an organization that would invest in her.   BECOMING A VP [7:10] Jean details her own journey to her first VP title and both the work and the luck that played a role in getting her there.   WAIT OR VOLUNTEER? [9:32] Jean speaks to the importance of participating on special projects and gives tips on who to seek out to find them — the busiest person!   LEAVING AN INDUSTRY [11:03] Jean explains why her division being sold at Aramark led to her looking for a new opportunity. She touches on how she went about finding this new opportunity and what her first steps in a brand new industry were like— from quick growth and acquisition at C2 to a well-established brand like Western Union.   SPEED BUMPS [18:09] Building a team, hiring the right people, and growing a business come with a set of learning experiences; Jean shares her journey at Western Union growing from 20 to over 100 million.   MENTORS AND SPONSORS [20:04] Jean speaks to the important role that great mentors played in her career path. She shares some of the great advice she’s received over the years.   SVP AND CRO PREP [21:43] Jean touches on how her previous experiences prepared for her coming roles and what about going higher up attracted her. She also shares the story of what happened when Western Union was acquired by First Data.   CHALLENGES AND PERKS [29:00] Jean touches on how leaving may have been her biggest challenge! She shares what experience from First Data she now shares as a mentor.   PIVOTAL MOMENTS [30:12] Jean shares a story on finding balance that was absolutely critical in her CRO career. She explains what her role was as a CRO and what all of those responsibilities entailed and who the people were that best guided her in her capacity as Chief Revenue Officer.   FINDING ASSETS [34:08] Looking for managers and VPs as a CRO is all about finding balance.   WRITING OUT YOUR GOALS [35:34] Jean explains how she planned out her path for the future after First Data, how she formatted her CV to fit the role she was looking for and where it took her — the pivots are almost dizzying!   FROM SVP TO CRO [39:12] Jean tells the story of how she grew her health company division for acquisition from 115 to over 350 million in five years, which prompted Connecture to headhunt her for their needs. She shares what questions she should have asked and what deeper studies you should do on a company before accepting a C-level role.   ADVICE FOR ACCEPTING A JOB [41:15] Jeane shares her tips on moving into a new company: Study the organization Understand trends Talk to some customers Interview more than two to three times   PRIDE AND CHANGES [42:23] TriZetto is a point of pride for Jean; she talks about what her most notable accomplishments were in that company. She shares the story of what happened to profoundly change her life both personally and professionally — get ready for the most unlikely bucket list item you’ve ever heard!   ASPIRING CRO [49:40] Jean breaks down the important to-dos for someone aiming at a CRO position.   BEST WORST JOB JEAN EVER HAD [50:58] Jean worked in a factory in high school and it inspired her to keep aiming for more. She shares her final thoughts.   [52:33] Michael thanks Jean for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

Welcome to Part 2 of this discussion with CEO Ray Schiavone. During this episode, we dive into what drives CEO turnover, what working for PE-owned companies is like, where good ideas come from, and the importance of doing whatever it takes. Ray also shares a heap of tips for aspiring CEOs and current C-level professionals.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Ray Schiavone started his career at G.E., during the then-CEO Jack Welch’s tenure. He then moved on to act as a tech company CEO twice over and has since settled into running his own firm.   Ray is a graduate of Syracuse University and subsequently earned an MBA from the University of Maryland where he serves as a board member for the A. James Clark School of Engineering. He has been recognized for his accomplishments with numerous awards including the Michigan Venture Capital Association’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Crain’s Detroit Business 40 Under 40 and the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.   GET IN TOUCH WITH RAY ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:50] Michael opens up Part 2 of this discussion with Ray Schiavone with a question on CEO departures.   KING-CEO [5:22] Ray speaks to working with larger-than-life people and what a company needs to build around such big personalities in order to foster the best out of their people and protect their assets.   SO YOUR FIRM’S BEEN BOUGHT? [8:51] Ray shares his experience with being bought out by a private equity firm, the first discussions he had with the new owners, the relationship before, during, and after the transaction as well as the factors that made them keep him onboard. Ray shares his advice for CEOs who may be going into this kind of situation and the type of work structure they can expect.   WHEN OUTCOMES DON’T MEET EXPECTATIONS [14:50] Admitting failure is the toughest part of life. Ray shares a professional story of failure.   LEARNING FROM JACK WELCH AND GE [17:16] Good ideas come from everywhere is what Ray remembers first, he gives a few examples and explains how he integrated what he learned from Jack into his own management style. He also speaks to the influence Jack had on corporate America.   [21:22] Ray unpacks the toolkit he inherited from GE and explains what he still uses and what he had to change.   MENTORSHIP [24:18] Ray gives tips on how to be mentored.   REWARDS, SURPRISES, AND CULTURE [26:27] Setting a company culture starts with leading by example; Ray also shares what surprised him about being in a leading position.   LEGACY [30:23] Learning and being a good human is the legacy Ray hopes he has. He shares the aspects he enjoyed the most and the least about being a CEO — they’re the same!   IS THE OLD STILL NEW? [33:11] Giving people the power to make decisions is something Ray saw at GE and still sees today. However, decentralization and the increase in remote work make it harder to stand out.   DIVERSITY [36:51] Corporate America still has a long way to go, but diversity has increased; Ray speaks to simple things that can be done to improve flexibility.   [39:30] Motivating younger generations is a challenge that Ray thinks can be tackled with empowerment, ownership, and flexibility; he details why.   MILITARY SPOUSE [40:48] Ray speaks to his wife having been on active duty in the Air Force and the challenges related to juggling two careers, a military commitment, a family, and multiple deployments and countries!   WORK HABITS [45:20] Ray breaks down his usual routine.   RAY’S ADVICE FOR HIS YOUNGER SELF [47:12] Don’t worry, it’ll all work out.   BEST WORST JOB RAY EVER HAD [48:37] Ray shares his experience working at a circus and what it taught him!   [52:47] Michael thanks Ray for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us five stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Book: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't, by Jim Collins Six Sigma ROTC   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

CEO Ray Schiavone comes on the podcast for a special two-part interview where he shares his thoughts, experiences, and advice on a broad range of subjects ranging from leadership and management to the importance of listening and learning, coaching and building good teams. Ray is one of the most talented and well-rounded CEOs I’ve ever met.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Ray Schiavone started his career at G.E. during the then-CEO Jack Welch’s tenure. He then moved on to act as a tech company CEO twice over and has since settled into running his own firm.   Ray is a graduate of Syracuse University and subsequently earned an MBA from the University of Maryland where he serves as a board member for the A. James Clark School of Engineering. He has been recognized for his accomplishments with numerous awards including the Michigan Venture Capital Association’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Crain’s Detroit Business 40 Under 40 and the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.   GET IN TOUCH WITH RAY ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Ray Schiavone and asks him to share an interesting fact about himself — from a formal living room to a music studio: piano, drums, and guitar.   [3:31] What does Ray do now? Business is his passion and he now helps entrepreneurs move their business along towards successful exits. He touches on the start of his career.   CROSS-FUNCTIONALITY [5:40] Becoming a jack of all trades and a master of none can be scary, but on the road to CEO, it can be a blessing: every skill and insight was invaluable in higher roles. David shares the way he approaches new opportunities: always say yes and make sure to position yourself so that when the opportunity comes, you are ready for it and start by listening, learning, and then trying something new.   14 YEARS AT G.E. [11:45] In the late ’80s and early ’90s, G.E. was one of the most revered companies in the world. Why did Ray decide to change? An opportunity showed up!   THE FIRST DAY AS CEO AT ARBORTEXT [15:29] Terrifying! Ray recounts his experience from not knowing what to expect in terms of employee perspective to defaulting to himself. For Ray, that meant listening and learning. He shares the first few weeks of interviewing employees, working with them to build an assessment and getting their support.   IT SHOULD’VE BEEN ME! [20:34] Ray gives his tips on managing people who bid for but didn’t get the position you now hold. He also shares two pieces of advice on when you should engage the board on an issue: Bad news doesn’t get better with age What’s your solution   CHALLENGES [23:48] A CEO works for all the employees; in that regard, Ray shares some missteps to avoid: Don’t think you have all the answers — you don’t Don’t be a bully Rally the team   WHY BECOME A CEO [27:32] Ray asks why not to do it instead: power, you really don’t have as many decisional levers as you might think! Ray and I discuss leadership and management which leads to a story about what Ray’s employees had to say to his wife!   CEO INTERVIEWS [32:52] The interview process for the CEO position is mostly about assessing character and evaluating trust. Ray shares a funny anecdote on his personal experience with the interview process at Arbortext!   EXPERIENCE [35:22] Ray describes the kinds of experience you should aim to get if you are an aspiring CEO. From taking chances to making sure you are visible.   MANAGEMENT STYLE [36:35] Ray speaks to his management style of empowerment, driving and demanding excellence and his mantra: “Have fun, make a buck, and win.” He also touches on how he rewards excellence and shares the actual organizational concept and work routine he uses — quick market intelligence.   VPs AND SVPs [42:22] What does Ray look for in a VP or SVP? He explains what sets people apart that manage to break into the c-suite: how they tackle ambiguity! Can you come up with a vision without any directive?   GUT HIRES [44:57] Ray shares the story of a persistent applicant and how he hired one of his CFOs.   [47:38] Michael invites Ray Schiavone for a Part 2 and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us five stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Jack Welch   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

Today we welcome Kate Hyatt — and engaging CHRO — to discuss matters ranging from how to reach the C-suite to emerging trends in talent management and thoughts for the next leaders in HR.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Kate Hyatt is an engaging CHRO who has served many roles in and around talent management including organizational development with the University of Notre-Dame, Google, Corporate Express and talent management for Staples, Probuild and currently the CPO and CHRO here at Healthgrades. Kate earned a Psychology degree from Cornell University and a Masters degree in Human Resources and Public Administration. She serves on several boards including Insight and Smithville Fiber. She is the current chair and Founding Board member for the Colorado Technology Recruiting Coalition.   GET IN TOUCH WITH KATE ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:50] Michael introduces Kate Hyatt and asks her to share an interesting fact about herself — Kate played ice Hockey! She dives into what Healthgrades does.   BIG OR SMALL? [3:56] Having worked with both well known brands and smaller companies, Kate touches on what each kind of structure has taught her and shares an innovation example from Healthgrades.   SOCIAL MEDIA [5:15] LinkedIn has changed the playing field of talent acquisition, but has created a bit of noise for one type of candidate in particular.   GETTING TO THE C-SUITE[6:55] Kate shares the pivotal moment that helped her scale into the C-Suite, breaks down how it all played out and explains how she overcame the hurdles that came with her European journey.   Kate shares the biggest influence in getting to the C level: variety of experience.   GOALS [11:50] If the C-level was not a verbalized goal, Kate was always looking for the next step: she walks us through her path from Notre-Dame to a 3 years hiatus in Italy and finally, to the C-suite.   CHANGES IN TALENT MANAGEMENT [13:39] What drew Kate to talent management? She speaks to the changes she’s seen over the years, both good and bad.   HR FOCUSSED TRACK [21:06] If you have an HR track in mind, analytics is key. Kate speaks to the increase of measurement interest from boards and C-level as well as how and why it is such a helpful tool.   FOR ASPIRING CHROs [23:07] Kate explains what kind of experience and roles you should be looking to have in order to reach the C-suite and she shares her best advice: Understand the business Make our intentions known Ask for help to grow Foster solid relationships Look for development opportunities outside your company   CERTIFICATION [26:52] Kate speaks to the importance of assessment tools in the human capital field, as well as the benefits in getting certified.   MnAs [29:17] Kate shares the most difficult, and educational professional experience she ever had: when Staples acquired Corporate Express.   EMPLOYEE BENEFITS [30:10] Kate speaks to the legacy she is setting as an HR executive at Healthgrades, as well as the surprising survey statistics she found out about the company’s employees.   ADVICE FOR NEW VPs [34:08] Kate reiterates how important it is for you to understand your business, and find ways to foster initiatives. Also, take advantage of webinars!   CTRC [35:51] What is the Colorado Technology Recruiting Coalition?   BEST WORST JOB KATE EVER HAD [38:20] Kate’s time in public welfare was both heartbreaking and extremely formative.   BOOKS AND PARTING THOUGHTS [40:29] Kate shares her final thoughts on the critical importance of mental health issues in the human capital field. Find Kate’s reading list in the show notes links!   FOR LAST QUESTION [43:30] Kate shares what she looks for in candidates.   [46:13] Michael thanks Kate for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Colorado Technology Recruiting Coalition Textio GreenHouse GlassDoor Hogan assessments Myers Briggs Profilor 360   Kate’s reading list: Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs, by John Doerr    SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

This episode is Part 2 of the interview with Mary-Margaret Henke. Today we discuss her insight on aiming for and reaching the C-suite.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Mary-Margaret graduated from the University of Denver and is a Certified Public Accountant. She is a member of the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business executive advisory board. She started her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC as a consultant, then CoBank followed by Janus Henderson Investors as their Chief Audit Executive. She then joined Western Union and pursued several roles including CAE.   Mary-Margaret recently served as Chair of the Audit Advisory Committee on the Supervisory Board for the Western Union International Bank out of Vienna, Austria. Mary-Margaret volunteers with the learning source and was recognized as an emergent leader by the Colorado Certified Public Accountant organization in 2014.   GET IN TOUCH WITH MARY-MARGARET ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [2:16] Michael opens up part 2 with a question on palace intrigue as well as how her own path to the C-suite unfolded. She shares a tip about being verbal with your ambition.   RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY YES [5:57] Mary-Margaret shares specific examples of how she nurtured the relationships that propelled her along the way.   MENTORS AND SPONSORS [8:55] Mentors and sponsors are very different, Mary-Margaret details how. She touches on how to develop those relationships and shares her own experience mentoring junior executives and even further, teenagers!   REACHING THE C-LEVEL [11:55] Reaching the C-level isn’t a simple endeavor, Mary-Margaret reiterates the 80/20 rule she shared earlier but adds a caveat: is the C-suite your end-all goal?   WORK/LIFE [13:38] Balancing family and the C-level is hard, and it’s done over time. Mary-Margaret shares her advice for managing stress and getting it all done: reach out to your support systems!   INFLUENCE [17:35] Mary-Margaret shares aspects of businesses where a CAE is not required but ultimately beneficial.   SURPRISE, WE’RE ALL HUMAN! [19:44] The most surprising aspect of being at the C-level for Mary-Margaret was the deconstruction of the ideal: they’re human too!   GLOBAL INFLUENCE [21:15] The global aspect of Western-Union was the most influential in shaping Mary-Margaret as an executive, she shares why.   LINEAR OR OPPORTUNISTIC? [22:44] Mary-Margaret takes a look back at her career journey. She opens up about the three qualities that have served her best.   PRESSURE [24:22] Pressure points in head of audit roles are common, Mary-Margaret shares a personal experience to highlight how she handles them.   BANKS [28:49] The differences between farm and consumer banking?   INITIATIVE [31:33] Mary-Margaret shares and initiative she spearheaded as well as how she set it up. She also invites people who see an opportunity for solving a problem to raise their hand to solve it!   MARY-MARGARET’S ADVICE FOR HER YOUNGER SELF [34:09] When you lose, don’t lose the learning.   BEST WORST JOB MARY-MARGARET EVER HAD [35:27] Working for an unpleasant, emotionally unstable, volcanic basketcase — twice — sometimes, it’s ok to walk away.   READ, LISTEN AND GET IN TOUCH [37:17] Mary-Margaret shares her reading and listening list, find all the links below.   [38:54] Michael thanks Mary-Margaret for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Book: QBQ! Be Outstanding, by John G. Miller   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

This episode is Part 1 of 2 of a fascinating interview with Mary-Margaret Henke, a trailblazer executive with a wealth of knowledge gained from a multi-faceted career.   Today we will discuss building an internal coalition and support network for both personal and professional growth and promotions as well as managing the international responsibilities and relationships for a Fortune 500 company with 12,000 employees and 5.6 billion dollars in revenue.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Mary-Margaret graduated from the University of Denver and is a Certified Public Accountant. She is a member of the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business executive advisory board. She started her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC as a consultant, then CoBank followed by Janus Henderson Investors as their Chief Audit Executive. She then joined Western Union and pursued several roles including CAE.   Mary-Margaret recently served as Chair of the Audit Advisory Committee on the Supervisory Board for the Western Union International Bank out of Vienna, Austria. Mary-Margaret volunteers with the learning source and was recognized as an emergent leader by the Colorado Certified Public Accountant organization in 2014.   GET IN TOUCH WITH MARY-MARGARET ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Mary-Margaret and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself — she has visited 27 different countries!   THE AUDIT WORLD [4:29] Mary-Margaret shares three surprising aspects of the audit world as it relates to executives: Having access to the entire executive team Having a broad view of the organization Becoming skilled with uncomfortable conversations   REPORTING [7:19] The head of Audit in a public company is required to report to the board. Mary-Margaret touches on how that affects the relationship with the CEO.   WHAT IS A CAE? [10:36] What exactly does the Chief Audit Executive do? Mary-Margaret explains when the CAE is brought in: is it for corporate espionage? embezzlement? or even note-sliding under doors?   CAREER PATH [16:00] Mary-Margaret touches on how, and why, the head of audit position often leads to other CXO positions. She also dives into what her career path unfolded and how it brought her to where she is today.   200+ COUNTRIES [20:48] Mary-Margaret details her relationship with 50 direct reports across the globe, as well as how she kept abreast of different foreign news and laws.   [23:10] Mary-Margaret shares how Western Union works with law enforcement to thwart terrorism, drug cartel, and human trafficking cases.   SALES [26:29] Sales is the only part of the business the Chief Audit Executive doesn’t touch.   INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS [27:24] Mary-Margaret explains why it’s so important to work on your relationships one-on-one, whether within the company, B2B, or with regulatory bodies. She shares a personal story of working with challenging personalities as well as how she turned the situation around.   FILLING A CXO CHAIR [31:24] Western Union is a $5 billion-plus company; Mary-Margaret talks about the recruiting process as well as how her position was involved.   PROFESSIONAL GROWTH [33:26] Mary-Margaret shares her three keys pieces of advice for scaling within a company: Hard work (all aspects of it!) Champion Luck   [37:06] Michael closes out Part 1 of this interview with Mary-Margaret Henke and invites listeners to tune into Part 2.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Western Union   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

Todd Siegler joins the show today to shed some light on the differences in C-suite roles depending on the organization, C-suite interactions, management of direct reports and aiming at having an impact, above all else.   Join us today for an in-depth discussion about the inner-workings of the C-suite.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Todd Siegler graduated from Princeton University and Tulane Law School — talk about a well rounded CXO! He has been a CFO, a COO, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Development Officer, General Counsel and saved the CEO title for his own company.   GET IN TOUCH WITH TODD ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Todd Siegler and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself.   [3:05] Todd talks about the two things his firm currently does and the one product he is poised to launch in the next quarter.   ACCIDENTALLY INTENTIONAL CAREER PATHS [3:54] Todd and Michael discuss the often convoluted paths that take you on your professional journey.   SO, WHAT’S A CAO? [6:28] Todd touches on the nature of the CAO role, from human resources to legal counsel, with a stopover on infrastructures, as well as the differences in how companies tackle this role with regards to the importance they place on HR.   Todd also shares his takeaways from nine years of experience wearing and stacking different hats from Corporate Development, General Counsel, to finance and even technology.   MULTI-BILLION TRANSACTIONS [10:25] Having been privy to 100+ mergers and acquisition deals, Todd speaks of his involvement in two major transactions and shares a war story!   PREPPING FOR CEO/COO [13:50] Todd highlights the two principal ways being a CAO prepared him for higher positions: Hiring —  it offers you an opportunity to get a first-hand understanding of what it takes to build a successful team. Multiple facets of business — being a CAO lets you stick your fingers in many aspects of the business; you can learn a lot.   Todd shares tips and best practices for building great teams as well as the importance of clear expectations and building good structures.   FOR INFLUENCE: CFO OR COO? [17:32] Todd speaks to the wide span of company structures, and how a variety of C-suite structures can fit into each according to their primary needs and goals. This makes it harder to determine which has the most strategic influence and overall impact since from one company to the next, their effective reach may differ.   Todd’s advice? When looking for new opportunities, you should really focus on people as opposed to title.   [21:45] Why aim for a COO position? It’s a question of impact in mentoring and growing people, as well as on the business and the strategy. Todd shares a story from his time at Marketforce that emphasizes the importance of building people — and companies — up to the point where they don’t need you.   [24:30] What’s your legacy? Is a question I like to ask prospective candidates. Todd shares his view on the importance of the impact you have   ADVICE FOR A VP [25:39] You’re aiming for C-suite? Stretch yourself. Feel uncomfortable.   C-LEVEL SURPRISES [26:41] Todd opens up about what surprised him when he made the C-suite. Impact first, but also the titles may be the same but the job is different according to the company.   This last one leads him to underscore the important questions to ask when moving into a role: What does it mean to be Cxx here? What decisions can you make? What role can you have?   THE REWARDS [28:01] The rewards are all about people for Todd: mentoring, seeing people grow, seeing your teams do well and having an overall positive impact on the company.   MANAGING DIRECT REPORTS [28:53] Todd discusses best practices when it comes to managing your direct reports. It’s about them.   But really, hire great people and let them do their job, and lead by example.   BOARD EXPERIENCE (IS IT A BLESSING OR A CURSE?) [31:02] Todd breaks down the steps to getting a good balance on your board — it’s really about relationships — as well as how to properly prepare for meetings.   MAKING BAD DECISIONS [34:51] You will never have perfect information; don’t be afraid to make a mistake: it’s a chance to learn. Todd can tell you every detail of the three to four bad mergers and acquisitions he was a part of, he learned.   Making mistakes is par for the course to becoming CXO.   TODD’S ADVICE FOR HIS YOUNGER SELF [37:40] Continue to push on the opportunities that deliver experience, not money. Stay you, and if it doesn’t fit with you, you can say no. Finally, live below your means.   BEST WORST JOB TODD’S EVER HAD [39:55] Todd shares his worst job but really, all his jobs have had some bad.   [42:23] Michael thanks Todd for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please gives us five stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Malcolm Gladwell Freakonomics Lean startup   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

David McDougall joins the show to share his 20 year plus expertise on what it takes to make a good Chief Sales Officer (CSO), what sales management professionals need to foster in themselves in order to run better teams.   Ever wonder how big game deals pursuit prepare a future CSO? Tune in to hear some seriously insightful advice on what it takes to take on the C-Suite.   ABOUT OUR GUEST David McDougall is Vice President Cloud and Managed Services at ConvergeOne. His career spans over 2 decades and he has held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer at CSS Corporation, as well as senior positions at firms including Capgemini, T-Systems, Siemens and Inacom Corporation.   GET IN TOUCH WITH DAVID ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS OC Executive Search: OCExecutivesearch.com  Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org   KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:51] Michael introduces David McDougall and asks his to share an interesting tidbit about himself. [3:03] David touches on the multiple ways in which sales skills translate to different roles and even transcend the professional sphere.   ON MENTORING [5:25] There are people who play a seminal role in shaping our professional futures, David shares the impact one of his superiors had on him as well as the organic nature of this mentoring relationship as opposed to formal. He also shares what being a mentor himself has taught him. [9:11] David and Michael discuss the importance of mentoring at the C-Level in terms of promoting company culture.   ADVICE FOR CSOs [10:11] Listening may be the one most important sales skill according to David, he breaks down the ways its consultative aspects can impact your interactions. David shares what it takes to become a Chief Sales Officer, from getting the numbers to being perceptive with your human resources — as well as some important KPIs to track performance. He opens up about the things he’s learned in his 2 sojourns as CSO: People are everything so build a great team Take the time to understand your organisation Set very clear timelines and makes sure everyone is on the same page Don’t move away from what you know works [21:17] David explains how the CSO leads the charge to get deals done, and touches on all of the working parts that need to work together for it to happen. This means that you team has to trust you and you have to be the head cheerleader for the overall organization!   RAPID FIRE CSO QUESTIONS [23:24] The surprising, the rewarding and the overlooked.   SALES MANAGERS [26:18] David dives deep into what teams working well together look like and the opposite while weaving in necessary attributes of a good sales manager and how they affect a team’s performance: Be in the trenches — don’t micromanage Get to know your people and keep up to date with them Find, palliate and improve on your team’s weaknesses Showcase your team’s strengths Be ready and willing to make difficult decisions When the vibe is off, start probing yout team! Build trust Ask for and be open to feedback, you can always get better [35:51] If you’ve exhausted every possible option — repurposing, new talent, multiples — to resolve performance issues, it may be time to rebuild your team from scratch. If you’re there, you’ll want to over-communicate why you need to do this; what’s working, what’s not working, what you tried, so as to not negatively impact your recruiting process. [38:12] How do you manage your top primadonna?! David shares his advice on this prickly beast.    CSO AND C-SUITE [41:14] The relationship you build with the CEO and the CFO is critical and it starts at the interview process. Everyone needs to be on the same page, understand the go to market strategy and the strategic plan to get there. David touches on the slight differences between being a newly hired CSO and a long time CSO in the company. [45:13] David talks about what you should be doing and the skills you should be building if you aim to become a VP or a CSO. Go read! Learn!   BIG DEALS [46:34] David and Michael discuss how big game deals are unique and different from normal sized deals and how they contribute to the ability to run a sales organization.   DAVID’S ADVICE FOR HIS YOUNGER SELF [51:34] Continue being positive, stay on your vision, work hard, be grateful and there will be setbacks.   BEST WORST JOB DAVID’S EVER HAD [52:13] David goes back to his help desk days, getting unhappy customers with problems... It taught him a few lessons! [55:09] Michael thanks David for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please gives us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Leaders Eat Last, by Simon Sinek Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy Grit: The Power of Passion, by Angela Duckworth TEDtalks Sales hacker podcast   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10.   Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Exploring Talent interviews all functions of C Level executives ranging from CEO, COO, CHRO, CFO, CSO to Board Members in their profession to share their insights and advice for the benefit you, regardless of your profession