Lion 40 Podcast

This week on the Lion40 Podcast, I talk to Aanchal Higorani, a 24-year-old professional who was born in Mumbai, India, grew up in a suburb of Atlanta, and is a graduate of the University of Georgia. She lives in New York City currently and works at Pangea Resourcing. She came into this job with two years of people operations experience at a growing startup called Peopleift. In her free time, she loves to travel, cook and meditate.

In this episode on The Lion40 Podcast, I talk to Kate Dramis, an Atlanta-based writer and former copywriting agency owner whose obsession with fantasy worlds and escaping into a good love story eventually drove her to chase her dreams of being an author.

 In this episode on The Lion40 Podcast I talk to BJ Ganem, who was raised in Savannah Georgia within a close-knit Lebanese family that has owned and operated a local store since 1939. After a year at Georgia Southern, BJ joined the Marine Corps and served until he sustained combat injuries suffered in Iraq. After struggling upon his return, he used his experiences growing up and skills from the Marines to continue his leadership journey. He built Sierra Delta in 2017 with the goal of helping veterans while also rescuing dogs. BJ has run marathons, climbed mountains, been painted by President GW Bush, been a guest on Letterman, Drew Barrymore, and so much more.   

 In this episode on The Lion40 Podcast, I talk again to Laurie Curtis who grew up feeling like she didn't quite fit in even within her own family and that something was missing. It wasn't until later that she found what she was looking for, which would forever impact her future and shape her leadership journey. Building on her experience of how she felt growing up, teaching, and ministry, Laurie now leads a dynamic team by empowering others to discover their gifts and utilize them for maximum impact.  

Today on the Lion40 Podcast I talk to Dr. Jerome Lubbe, a South African-born Congolese immigrant who came to the States on asylum status as a refugee with a hundred bucks, two suitcases, a bipolar grandmother, and a parrot. He tells us tells how coming from nothing and his own health issues, has shaped his leadership journey as patient, provider, parent, and partner. Dr. Jerome is now a practicing clinician, CEO and founder of Thrive Neuro Health, and creator of The Brain-Based Enneagram. As a clinician, brain coach, teacher, trainer, and mentor he is often referred to as “The Personal Trainer for Your Brain” and “An Identity Rehab Specialist”. 

Today on the Lion 40 Podcast I interview Brandy Simula. From a young age, Brandy grew up with many kinds of differences that she wasn't quite sure how to handle. Not just in her upbringing but in how she felt as a person, greatly impacting her leadership journey. Using her skills from growing up with differences and knowledge from her four degrees including sociology, Brandy learned what it truly meant to be a leader and what is so often overlooked but needed for company success.  

This week on the Lion 40 Podcast and our discussions on leadership, I speak to Marcella Genut, who at a young age was diagnosed with Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. She learned at a young age that life wasn't going to be easy but being different really changed how she decided she was going to live her life. She knew she was meant to do more and didn't let others' opinions keep her from striving toward her goals of becoming a spokesperson for Muscular dystrophy with a variety of organizations and non profits, graduated with a degree in Public Relations from the University of Georgia where she now is an academic advisor, and running her own business.

This week on the Lion 40 Podcast, I speak to Chris Sims, who is a Christian, husband, father, entrepreneur, and a Marietta, GA business owner with ClearVue Glass and Mirror Company. Chris spent 23 years in the Army on active duty and in the national guard. The majority of his time was spent as a green beret.

Celeste Headlee, an author, speaker, journalist, and visionary recognized and noted by her intensive work with NPR, PBS, and the TED speaker stage. Celeste goes on in this session to talk about how asking meaningful questions, and how active listening, and how follow-up questions can actually make or break a person who wants to emerge as an inspiring leader. Wow. The golden nuggets of wisdom she shares here are so inspirational.

This week on the LION40 podcast we are welcoming Altovise Pelzer, an author, speaker, podcaster, and visionary speaking up for INTROVERTED LEADERS. Yes, indeed, introverts have a powerful leadership voice, and in this episode, she unpacks exactly what that can look like. No doubt you will feel empowered not only to make your YES a true YES through listening, you will also feel empowered to say NO, to receive a NO, and to change your mind with confidence. This is one you're are going to want to listen to time and time again.  

Diagnosed with a heart condition in his teenage years, Dr. Jason Young wasn't 100% certain he would make it through each day. Because of this, his mindset leads him to embrace each day with unique enthusiasm.

Recently I interviewed Rennie Curran for the LION 40 Podcast. Rennie is the son of Liberian immigrants and, indeed, he has seen his share of ups and downs. Even though Rennie was considered by most coaches and television announcers to be undersized for his position in football, the first half of Rennie's life was dedicated to a highly successful career in the SEC and NFL. The public's characterization and pressure over his size shaped his mindset and dedication to exceed beyond what anybody expected. Now, in the second half of his career, Rennie uses his experience and God-given talents to speak to audiences about how to lead well, persevere, and be resilient when life gets challenging.

Dr. Ben Levy is a physician, musician, and public health advocate who grew up at times feeling like an outsider. He has since used his skills and love of music to create an innovative way of organizing concerts to raise awareness for critical health issues. As someone who has known Ben for 40 years, in this episode you hear us reminiscing and chuckling and reframing our history together and shared memories.

Brandy has continually demonstrated exceptional versatility and a sincere desire to be of service to people who struggle with substance abuse disorders. What's more, as someone who has faced her own addiction battles head on and emerged victorious, she is specially equipped with insight and understanding to lead others into the light.

Randy Walton spent most of his life standing out from the crowd because he lived the first 40 years of his life with ADD but didn't know it. On the outside, everything seemed fine but on the inside, he was endlessly frustrated, and like other great leaders he then had his turning point.

Erika Page spent much of her life visibly standing out from the crowd because she lived the majority of her adolescence and young adulthood, as she so gracefully calls it, “dappled.” Others call it living life with spots. Doctors call the skin condition – vitiligo. And like other great leaders that we will interview in this season of the LION 40, she had her turning point.   

In this Lion 40 Podcast episode Courtney Hodges-Lanius, Head of People & Culture at The XD Agency talks to us about how to inspire coworkers and direct reports. Doing things like intentionally connecting with people and using your own experiences to help relate to others. Leaning into emotional intelligence, creating new leadership examples, and how all leaders at all levels need to freshen up their toolkits.

In this episode of the Lion 40 podcast, Brandon Checketts, founder of Seller Labs, Roundsphere, and MouseDining, talks to us about his experience in Parallel Entrepreneurship. You can not do everything yourself so what is the best way to be able to handle multiple kinds of business all at the same time? 

In this episode of the Lion 40 podcast, Tanya Osensky, an attorney at law at Osensky Law, LLC,  talks to us about everything needed when preparing a company for sale such as experts you need like business brokers, CFO's, accountants, and a business consultant. She also discusses topics like succession planning, ESOP's, estate planning, and who to get referrals from for quality work.

In this episode of the Lion 40 podcast, Retta Gardner, EVP of Wholesale, A Mortgage Boutique, talks to us today about getting through company mergers. Mergers are a stressful time, especially if company cultures are different. If you have someone that is already thinking of leaving, this is likely the time they will do it. Here is what you need to retain people and lower stress levels.

In this LION 40 Podcast episode, Kimeran Johnson, Chief People Officer at Studer Family of Companies, talks today about onboarding new employees with intention, making sure people feel like they belong early on, and building a trusting relationship, that is the foundation of all functioning teams.

In this LION 40 Podcast episode, Michelle Morgan, The Executive Vice President, Culture and Brand Experience has been with Zaxby's for 23 years and talks to us about managing teams and guiding them through various changes over the years, sometimes when it wasn't always agreed with. 

In this LION 40 Podcast episode, Jason Moore, VP of Global Operations at Salesloft, gives advice on how to avoid poor culture fits through the interview process, emphasizing alignment with company core values.

In this LION 40 Podcast episode, Becca Zoller Stone, the Vice President and Head of Strategic Partnerships at SoFi, talks to us today about how to design meaningful relationships at work and how they have helped her throughout her career. 

In this LION 40 Podcast episode, Derek Paganini, the managing partner at Roam, talks about the great work culture he's experienced, how important the health of your team is, why meetings really are necessary and getting the most from them, and a mindset shift of giving opportunities to employees.

Cindy Snow, from FinTech Strategy Consultant, MX Technologies, talks about how her non-linear career path has taught her to clarify by separating the voices of frustration, anger, and fear. Then following that thread to be able to trust intuition for success at work.

Codie Haddon the Director of Projects & Experiences at Orchestrate, talks about navigating ambiguity and taking a kernel of an idea from a client and leading first for his team to a successful project.

Laurie Curtis, the Director of Children's Ministries at Athen's Church, talks to us today about the leadership skills she uses for a better work/life balance, looking at people as a whole, managing yourself first, and how no one likes to be micro-managed.

I interview Jason Manous, Director Of Technology at FormFree, a mortgage industry market-leading technology company. He talks to us today about what it's like being the leader of his team, how he has honed his communication skills, and being the voice and lightning rod for his people within the company. 

In this episode, I interview Will Walker, the youngest senior manager at the quickly growing delivery start-up Roadie. We discuss imperative leadership that has been transformative in his own growth and advice on getting promoted over your peers.

Today I'm interviewing Tara Blythe the Chief People Officer at Infotech. It used to be the essential characteristic that you could have was to be emotionally intelligent. Today Tara tells us that to be successful, you need something different.