VOE Podcast from the Daniels College of Business

Randy Greenberg can remember his first movie experience like it was yesterday. He watched James Bond's Goldfinger at a drive-in movie theater from the back of his family's car, imagining that he too was floating down a canal in Venice. It opened his eyes to the power of film and set him on his own winding journey. But the executive producer is concerned that this in-person experience will disappear with the availability of at-home streaming. Greenberg is a Daniels alumnus and accomplished Hollywood executive, working on films like the Meg and Cowboys and Aliens, among many others. He now runs the Greenberg Group and teaches college courses on the business of film. On this episode, Greenberg shares how he picks the projects he works on, the impact of AI on the film industry and why it's crucial you get off the couch and go to the movie theater. Table of contents • Falling in love with film • Producer vs. Executive Producer vs. Director • Why business school led to a film career • Why the first 10 pages of a script are everything • Managing creative egos on set • AI as both a threat and opportunity in Hollywood production • The business importance of going to the theater • Try it, fail fast, and pivot

Consumer preferences and buying behaviors in the alcoholic beverage space are changing faster than you can pour a pint and say ‘cheers.' So, how do companies keep up? Erin Engels, Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy, is helping lead those efforts with Breakthru Beverage Group. Breakthru is a leading North American beverage wholesaler, meaning they help thousands of brands land on store shelves, on restaurant menus and on the tap list at your favorite bars. In her role, Engels leads the development and implementation of Breakthru's commercial strategy. She creates short- and long-term initiatives that support both innovation and growth. In this episode, Engels shares how Breakthru stays nimble in the face of changing consumer demand, how a special team at her company identifies the next big brands, plus how you can gain employee and executive buy-in for effective long-term strategy. Table of contents • 1:15 Adapting to consumers drinking less • 4:20 Identifying winning brands and the Trident team • 5:59 What to do if a brand flops • 9:06 Developing effective long-term strategies • 12:23 Bringing an engineering background to business • 17:09 How AI is being used in the beverage space • 18:27 Doing business internationally • 19:21 "Be curious"

In celebration of Women's History Month, the Voices of Experience podcast team took a look through its history, and picked four of its favorite interviews with female leaders. On this episode, hear insights on leadership, mentorship, work-life balance, gathered from the first four seasons of the VOE podcast. Table of Contents • 0:00 Intro • 0:21 Jodie Antypas's management advice • 7:09 Andrea Wescott Passman on the "glass cliff" • 12:56 Leigh Hitz on the qualities of a strong mentor and mentee • 17:55 Lesson's from Kirsten Benefiel's notebook • 22:14 Show notes and credits

Monica Williams (MBA 2013) is a people-centric strategist that has spent the last 15 years designing both equitable and high-performing workplaces. But her work didn't start there. She made the transition to the people side of the business from, of all places, the accounting field. Monica's career has taken her from spreadsheets to organizational heartbeats, as she's led large-scale people efforts at both CenturyLink and the Denver Airport. In this episode, Monica shares more about what makes people-centric strategies successful, how transferable skills helped her discover her passion and how to stay centered in challenging times. Table of contents • 1:03 Designing equitable workplace cultures • 2:03 How non-managers can create inclusive cultures • 3:01 Monica's path from accounting to diversity • 5:47 How inclusive cultures lead to better business outcomes • 7:12 Monica's decision to pursue an Executive MBA • 9:09 Challenges and strategies at Denver International Airport • 12:26 Identifying and addressing performative equity efforts • 18:32 Staying centered in challenging times

The most successful executives, Debbie Brown says, have a few things in common. Through meetings with the governor, Congresspeople, diplomats and even the White House, the president of the Colorado Business Roundtable has an up-close look at how some of the most respected businesspeople carry themselves. In her role, Brown advocates locally and nationally on the issues she sees as most important for a thriving economy. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Brown shares some of her top priorities for the year ahead and explains what it takes to build relationships that bridge ideological differences. Plus, she shares the traits she needed to develop to get to where she is today. Table of contents • 1:12 "Business as a force for good" • 2:04 Local vs. national advocacy • 3:43 Navigating politics in business • 5:21 The influence of immigration • 6:40 Optimism in 2025 • 10:10 Lessons in leadership and communication • 12:09 What successful CEOs have in common • 13:27 How to build a relationship • 13:27 Advocating for yourself in the office • 16:27 Dealing with disruption • 18:38 Growing as a leader • 21:03 Show notes and credits

On the Daniels College of Business podcast, John Swieringa shares his thoughts on what makes large-scale change successful, what he does to motivate his team and how a strategy paper from his time at the Daniels College of Business set up the next decade of his career. Table of contents • 1:00 How he became the "accidental CIO" • 2:50 Breakfast burritos for software releases • 4:48 Being your best self • 6:00 Preparing to learn new skills • 6:57 How Daniels prepared him for a fruitful career • 9:00 What EchoStar is up to • 11:16 Supporting employees through change • 14:15 Blocking out the noise • 15:45 "Surround yourself with the right people"

On the Daniels College of Business podcast, Jandel Allen-Davis dispenses key leadership lessons she's gained from her patients, shares how to champion diversity in the health care space and offers ways to buck that pesky imposter syndrome. Table of contents • 1:13 Ball Arena redevelopment in a nutshell • 2:19 Why arenas make vibrant neighborhoods • 3:52 Building a (literal) bridge between communities • 5:10 What about overdevelopment? • 6:58 Make or break factors for a district • 8:30 The growth of sports ownership empires • 10:08 Planning a 20-year project • 12:25 Will Ball Arena be replaced? • 15:06 From a history to degree to a development career • 17:04 "It may not be a perfect role but just get it" • 19:36 Getting people to like you • 20:54 Show notes and credits

The heart of the Mile High City could get a major jolt of electricity. If all goes according to plan, the Ball Arena Redevelopment Project will pave the way for new buildings, parks, housing and litany of retail spaces that are estimated to expand downtown by 40%. For Matt Mahoney, senior vice president of development at Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE), scoping the massive project is as much an exercise in architecture as it is in building relationships—especially in a place like Denver, where "development" can be a dirty word. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Mahoney explains KSE's vision for a new entertainment district, the key to getting the community on board, and how to plan for a project that won't wrap up for at least 20 years. Table of contents • 1:13 Ball Arena redevelopment in a nutshell • 2:19 Why arenas make vibrant neighborhoods • 3:52 Building a (literal) bridge between communities • 5:10 What about overdevelopment? • 6:58 Make or break factors for a district • 8:30 The growth of sports ownership empires • 10:08 Planning a 20-year project • 12:25 Will Ball Arena be replaced? • 15:06 From a history to degree to a development career • 17:04 "It may not be a perfect role but just get it" • 19:36 Getting people to like you • 20:54 Show notes and credits

It's a word that can send a shiver down the spine of an organization. But "disruption" happens every day, Naomi Boyd says, and that isn't a bad thing. As she takes the helm of the Daniels College of Business, the new dean says higher education is due for a shakeup. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Boyd outlines what it takes to create an environment that sparks innovation—a quality that is key to her vision for Daniels. Plus, she explains how a leader should listen to a diverse group stakeholders—and how to know when it's time to stop listening and take action. Table of contents • 2:13 Transitioning from arts to academia • 3:43 The aftermath of breaking glass ceilings • 5:51 Servant leadership in higher ed • 6:58 Keeping everyone happy • 8:55 How much listening is too much? • 10:20 Goals for Daniels • 12:24 "Disrupting" in a supportive way • 14:21 Teaching students to deal with disruption • 15:23 What should people expect from you as dean? • 16:45 Life outside the office • 17:58 "This is where I am." • 19:38 Show notes and credits

Through his 30 years of experience in the cable industry, Shane Portfolio has come to realize that the "C" in C-suite stands for "culture." After serving in the U.S. Army, Portfolio rose through the corporate ranks—from the Comcast call center to senior-level leadership. Along the way, he discovered that winning teams are diverse teams. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Portfolio lists the soft skills needed to support a team that is bought in and ready to produce high-quality work. He also discusses his commitment to lifelong learning, the future of the cable industry and his new role as chief technology officer at Congruex. Table of contents • 1:03 The key to climbing the org chart • 3:17 Enabling your organization to thrive • 4:24 The moment that changed Shane's leadership journey • 6:29 A dissertation on diversity • 9:25 "Culture is defined by the worst behavior you're willing to accept." • 10:55 "The best leaders are lifetime learners" • 13:01 Knowing when it's time to leave • 15:17 Leaving your professional comfort zone • 16:38 The next frontier of the cable industry • 19:30 Be vulnerable, build trust • 20:32 Show notes and credits

This is a special edition of the VOE Podcast, recapping the Daniels College of Business signature speaker event: "Voices of Experience: Denver's AI Future." That discussion explored the future of AI in Denver, where city and county leaders shared how emerging technologies are already aiding residents in the Mile High City. They discussed includes things like immigration and asylum, housing, permitting, infrastructure, workforce development and the economy. It took place on Monday, May 20, on the University of Denver's campus and was moderated by Dean Vivek Choudhury. Table of contents • 1:05 Why is Denver using AI? • 3:13 Data vs. Information • 3:45 How the city is already using AI • 5:18 Time saving in permitting • 6:27 Meet Sunny, the AI chatbot • 8:17 Dream big about the future • 10:33 AI in healthcare • 11:07 Denver's predictive analytics • 12:31 Preparing for an AI future • 15:18 Show notes and credits

This is a special edition of the VOE Podcast, designed to serve as a primer for our next in-person speaker series: "Voices of Experience: Denver's AI Future." That discussion will cover the future of AI through a Denver-centric lens. City and county leaders will share how they're using emerging technologies to address the most pressing issues in the Mile High City. That includes things like immigration, housing, infrastructure, workforce development and the economy. Register now for that free event, which takes place on Monday, May 20, at 6 p.m. in Community Commons on the University of Denver's campus. Table of contents • 1:24 The early days of AI • 2:17 Star Trek holograms and a computer being • 2:45 The expansion of AI • 4:52 Assist, augment and automate • 6:39 Uncommon AI applications • 8:02 "A different way of computing" • 9:34 Predicting the AI future • 11:33 ChatGPT asks a question • 14:24 How to learn more about AI • 15:19 Show notes and credits

In just their second season, the NHL's Seattle Kraken put together a solid record, made the playoffs and even won their first-round playoff series. But during an 82-game pro hockey season, losses are inevitable—which means teams need to find ways to send their fans home happy, even when the customer may not be satisfied with the on-ice result. Sam Holloway (MA 2007, MBA 2012), the co-owner and co-chair of the Kraken, is working to build a fanbase, create a winning culture and center the team's off-ice values. Holloway joined the Voices of Experience podcast to talk about building a brand, whether winning cures all and how to separate the emotions of being a fan from the pragmatism of being a business owner. Table of contents • 1:42 The sports industry vs. others • 2:30 Building a fanbase in Seattle • 4:09 What it means to be "customer obsessed" • 5:33 Delivering a good experience during a loss • 7:48 "Stick to sports?" • 9:42 From psychology to business • 11:12 Using "context switching" to balance priorities • 14:11 Returning for an MBA • 16:29 Separating emotions from business decisions • 17:55 Tactics for hard conversations • 19:00 Are you on the hot seat? • 19:45 Advice from other owners • 20:57 "Your career is a journey" • 21:56 Show notes and credits

If you're distilling Mary Beth Cote-Jenssen's career into three words, they'd be sustainability, water and partnership. As a global water stewardship executive at PepsiCo, she knows the importance of bringing people together to tackle a global issue. Her career North Star has been creating access for water, and that has followed her to roles at Keurig, global non-profit Water for People, and now PepsiCo. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, the Daniels alumna shares how water access is being addressed on the global stage, gives a few keys to build strong partnerships and details how your personal and professional lives are more intertwined than you might realize. Table of contents • 1:21 An entryway into sustainability and water • 3:20 How PepsiCo approaches water stewardship • 6:42 Partnering with your competition • 8:33 Bringing the public and private sector together • 10:41 "We bought a motorhome" • 15:16 Lifelong friendships at Daniels • 17:50 How to conduct business globally • 22:20 An intertwined personal and professional life • 24:44 Show notes and credits

Artificial intelligence is entering the business world, welcome or not. Binh Diep (MBA 2012), general manager at Slalom, a consulting firm, is doing his best to prepare his company and his clients for the future. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Diep explains how Slalom is taking a "human-centered approach" to the new technology and discusses how he sees AI shaping the consulting business. Plus, he offers his top piece of advice for building a relationship while networking. Table of contents • 1:09 Aligning values and organization • 3:16 Creating a culture like Slalom's • 6:01 "Let's thrive in turbulence together" • 7:42 Maintaining culture through layoffs • 10:22 What's next at Slalom? • 11:58 "Human-machine collaboration" and AI • 14:02 How AI might change consulting • 15:30 The most important skills for an AI workplace • 16:13 From engineering to business • 21:02 How to build a relationship • 21:02 Show notes and credits

After spending time at Amazon and Meta (formerly Facebook), Stephen Newton knows what a visionary leader looks like. Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg certainly fit the bill. Now, Newton is looking to back the next generation of these leaders at his technology-focused investment firm Occipital Ventures. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Newton shares how he helped Amazon and Facebook stay in compliance with data protection and privacy laws, and out of the news. We also talked about what makes a visionary leader, the future of AI in business and why you should rock the boat at your job. 1:12 Making an impact at a big company 5:08 Staying in compliance and out of the news 7:45 Trust and science in tech 8:38 Switching to the investor side of the table 10:15 Investing in the visionary and what defines one 14:04 Why AI is crucial to Stephen's investments and personal life 16:58 Using AI for good 20:35 "Rock the boat" 24:02 Show notes and credits

It's 2008. The economy is taking a nosedive. The government is bailing out the country's top mortgage lenders. And Doug Duncan walks into a new job at Fannie Mae. The ship has steadied over the past 15 years and Duncan, the senior vice president and chief economist, has kept his core values intact: good communication, a commitment to the truth, and a willingness to make decisions. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Duncan relays how he makes predictions (knowing full well he could get it wrong), his best advice for clear communication and the "big breaks" that put him where he is today. Table of contents • 1:04 From dairy farm to chief economist • 2:55 Joining Fannie Mae in 2008 • 6:24 Getting to "The Truth" • 9:48 Making predictions and getting it wrong • 10:59 Most important lesson in leadership • 12:29 What to expect from the housing market • 16:09 "Big breaks" in Doug's career • 19:13 The importance of communication • 21:02 Show notes and credits

Staring down a surprise $26,000 bill after his first semester in college, Terrence Cummings was certain his dream of higher education was dashed. He persevered, using that experience as his career North Star. Now his goal is to ensure that money alone isn't the reason people can't return to school. Cummings is the chief opportunity officer at Denver educational technology unicorn Guild, a career opportunity platform that is building a "future of work that works for everyone." On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Cummings details the journey that took him from dreaming about film production to helping millions of Americans progress in their jobs. He also shares how a chance encounter involving burgers and fries helped flip his own career. Table of Contents 0:59: A fake scholarship and a real $26,000 bill 3:16: Ensuring that others don't face that same nightmare 4:10: How to create a "culture of mobility" 6:27: The role of storytelling in career progression 7:36: Hamburgers and leadership lessons 12:50: How to remove luck from career and personal growth 17:21: Attributes of a good coach 18:27: "I would break the cycle of poverty in my family" 21:20: Show notes and credits

Chris Dawson says he's always been attracted to big challenges—and he certainly found one when he became CEO of Arcimoto earlier this year. The Oregon-based electric vehicle company was floundering: its worth had plummeted, production was at a halt and the staff was reeling from layoffs. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Dawson describes his approach to turning around a struggling organization, including his decisions to make deep cuts and how he regained the trust of those who kept their jobs. Plus, he explains how his leadership style shifted to one of implicit trust and weighs in on the future of the electric vehicle industry. Table of contents • 1:01 "Right-sized" electric vehicles • 3:37 Using "fun" to sell a greener future • 8:22 The future of the electric vehicle industry • 10:53 Taking the helm at a challenging time • 13:31 Cutting staff and regaining trust • Leading with "implicit trust" • 21:11 "Decide it is possible. Make it so." • Show notes and credits

In a thick, well-loved, black sketchbook, Kirsten Benefiel keeps the lessons she's learned over her career as an executive. Benefiel's resume includes stops at Accenture, Newmont Mining, ViaWest and HSS, where she recently served as CEO. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Benefiel cracks open her notebook and shares her advice for stepping off the corporate ladder, communicating and selling a vision, navigating an unfamiliar industry, and the importance of the word "and" in leadership. Table of contents • 1:14 Using PR in a non-PR career • 3:02 Selling your ideas to your employees • 5:24 Becoming CEO in an unfamiliar industry • 9:05 It's lonely at the top • 11:14 The future of manned security • 12:26 Creating equity through Colorado Inclusive Economy • 14:49 Stepping off the corporate ladder • The power of "and" • 18:09 The entrepreneurial mindset—and what people forget about it • 23:08 Inside Kirsten's notebook • 26:13 "You can choose your own career" • 27:40 Show notes and credits

Lauren Guthrie wasn't much of a trekker or backpacker, but there she was, climbing 9,000 feet to reach the base camp at Mount Everest. The opportunity to join an all-Black team of climbers was too good to pass up—plus, it taught her valuable lessons about diversity in the corporate space. Guthrie is the vice president of global inclusion, diversity, equity and action (IDEA) and talent development at VF Corporation, the company behind big-name outdoor brands like The North Face and Smartwool. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, she explains what it takes to create DEI initiatives that work and how to practice DEI on a global scale. 1:16 Adding "action" to DEI • 4:26 From merchandising to the IDEA sphere • 10:24 DEI work at home • 12:19 "Global" DEI work vs. domestic DEI work • 15:50 What makes a DEI initiative work? • 19:04 Climbing Mount Everest • 22:06 Extending an "invitation to participate" • 26:06 The power of partner dancing • 28:36 "Don't be fearful of being expansive" • 30:00 Show notes and credits

Leigh Hitz is a strategic advisor in the hospitality industry that retired as CEO of Stout Street Hospitality in 2016. Hitz worked at Stout Street for nearly three decades, learning to manage all aspects of the hotel space, from the front of the house to the penthouse. In 2008, Hitz and her husband, James, established a scholarship fund for female students pursuing a hospitality degree at the University of Denver's School Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management. Table of Contents 1:04 How growing up in Aspen led to a hotel career 2:25 The changing tides of the hospitality industry 4:45 Building relationships first 8:48 Learning to become a leader 9:44 Differentiation in a competitive market 11:48 Rebranding a historic hotel 13:43 "If I had a crystal ball" 16:15 Scholarship for female students in the hospitality industry 18:21 Becoming one of the first female GMs 24:39 Show notes and credits

It was once the stuff of sci-fi stories, but in 2023 the metaverse is very real. Virtual reality, mixed reality and extended reality come together for an immersive experience that an increasing number of businesses are dipping their toes into. Colleen Reilly, senior vice president of business development for ImmersiveWorlds, explains how the metaverse works, how companies are putting it to use and what it means for the future. Table of Contents 1:10 What the heck is the metaverse? 2:16 "You could be wherever you want" 6:11 VR vs. AR vs. MR vs. XR 7:26 Metaverse in business 11:06 Trouble in (virtual) paradise? 12:23 The future of metaverse technology 15:43 Show notes and credits

Jodie Antypas (MBA 2005) didn't grow up playing video games. They weren't expressly forbidden in her house, but they also weren't encouraged. So, how does a non-gamer end up leading large teams at Nintendo and Electronic Arts (EA) in the consumer marketing space? Antypas isn't quite sure, but she's quickly become an expert in the field, using player data and consumer opinions to drive the past, present and future of the video game industry. Now, Antypas is walking down a new path that she couldn't predict. She's a newly published children's book author, taking an adapted bedtime story she told her daughters and repackaging it for the world to enjoy. The Daniels alumna joined the Voices of Experience Podcast to share how she ended up leading 100 person teams in the video game industry, what drove her to write her new book and why she's taking a leave from her current role. Table of Contents 1:10 A non-gamers journey to gaming 3:16 Deciding against law school for an MBA 8:03 "Games are constantly evolving" 12:54 From Pong to the modern era 15:06 Key management skills for large teams 17:35 Leveraging your objective mindset to lead 18:52 "I finally gave myself permission that I could take a break" 21:44 Pivoting to children's books 25:29 Be open to twists and turns 26:47 Show notes and credits

Watching George Floyd's murder on TV shook Rob Cohen to his core. He was well aware of racial injustices and inequities; he had already implemented diversity, equity and inclusion policies at IMA Financial Group, where he serves as chairman and CEO. But he realized he needed to step up to create even greater change. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Cohen explains the "listen, learn, then lead" approach he used in response, the best way for a company to build a healthy culture, how he juggles competing priorities and how he keeps things interesting, 34 years into a job. Table of Contents 1:14 "No Way in Hell" 3:02 Keeping it interesting after 34 years 6:15 Reacting to George Floyd's murder 8:59 Approaching DEI as a white person 12:34 What's next for DEI at IMA 14:47 Creating a good culture 20:34 Balancing life's "platter" 24:08 Attracting today's new, talented workers 27:54 "Write your dreams down" 29:54 Show notes and credits

When people think of philanthropy, they often think of wealth—but it doesn't have to be that way. Alan Frosh (BA 2005, JD 2011, MBA 2020) calls himself a “next-generation philanthropist,” and he's spreading the word about how to make an impact on a smaller budget. Frosh is co-owner of Denver's Tattered Cover Book Store and the Denver market director at Notley Ventures, where he supports people, businesses and nonprofits striving for social change. On the Voices of Experience podcast, Frosh explains his philanthropic philosophy and how he's rebuilding the community's trust in Tattered Cover. Table of Contents 0:59 Three tours of DU-ty 2:57 A not-dirty or not-flirty 30th birthday 4:34 What is a "next generation philanthropist?" 6:28 Where to start your philanthropic journey 7:03 "American-style" philanthropy 8:42 Taking over at Tattered Cover 11:28 Rebuilding trust in Tattered Cover 15:27 How to support social change 16:57 Serving communities as an "outsider" 19:26 Keys to career success 22:18 Show notes and credits

With a lifetime spent in real estate and development, Chris Frampton has seen and built it all. From a bustling transit hub like Denver's Union Station to a village at an internationally known ski resort like Steamboat, Frampton has managed a variety of projects in his career as CEO of East West Partners. On the Voices of Experience podcast, Frampton shares the path that led him to a top Denver-based developer, his thoughts on the current state of the city and what the future of development may hold. Table of Contents: 0:57 Finding a solution 3:55 A commitment to quality 5:00 The changing real estate world, or not? 6:29 Creating a "pedestrian paradise" 8:10 A return to Denver's Downtown 11:25 Developing without gentrifying 13:27 The current state of Union Station 17:38 How East West thinks bigger 19:20 Maintaining employee trust 21:20 Sustainability and design trends 25:56 "Do great work" 27:20 Show notes and credits

She had a comfortable job with a six-figure salary in a familiar industry, but Taylor Iascone (MS 2017) wasn't happy with where she was. Her gut told her she needed to do more for herself—and for the environment. So Iascone changed course, moving to Denver to pursue a degree from the Burns School of Construction Management and a career in sustainability. As the senior ESG manager at Verdani Partners, she works with companies, investors to decarbonize the built environment. On the Voices of Experience podcast, Iascone reflects on the politicization of ESG, the future of sustainable building and finding the courage to change course. Table of Contents 1:14 What is ESG? 3:02 Changing careers 7:30 Refusing to settle 10:19 Working at Verdani Partners 11:31 The future of sustainable building 14:10 SEC regulations, preventing greenwashing 18:09 The politicization of ESG 20:45 Advice for starting over 23:13 Finding the right career 27:11 "Follow your instincts" 27:52 Show notes and credits

The first time the spotlight found Arjun Murti, he didn't like it very much. An analyst at Goldman Sachs, Murti (BSBA 1992) had made a bold—but ultimately correct—prediction about a "super spike" in the price of oil, and his career would never be the same. He shied from the limelight and finished his career in mostly private-facing roles. But now, he's raising his voice, hoping it can change the way the country talks about a transition away from fossil fuels. On the Voices of Experience podcast, Murti explains what the labels "clean" and "green" energy overlook, dissects the Inflation Reduction Act, and offers advice on starting a career and finding a mentor in the business world. Table of Contents: 1:47 From Cornell to DU 2:19 The "Super-Spiked" prediction and its aftermath 9:34 What's wrong with the energy transition discussion? 13:43 "Nothing is clean, green or brown." 15:45 Evaluating the Inflation Reduction Act 19:27 The importance of mentorship 21:14 Picking your career path 25:29 Choosing work-life balance 28:24 Show notes and credits

Steve Lucas Korn Ferry estimates that by 2030, 80 million high-skilled jobs will go unfilled globally. This means companies will have to compete for talent—more than they already are. Yet, the CEO of ICIMS says there's currently a lack of qualified employers. What does CEO Steve Lucas mean? And, what does he think companies should do to attract high-quality talent?  Steve Lucas joined the VOE Podcast to talk about talent acquisition and retention, and what ICIMS has to offer. With 25 years of leadership experience, Lucas has a strong message for fellow leaders, employees and students: Be curious.  The VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Transcript: Kristal Griffith: Hello and welcome to the VOE Podcast, Nick Greenhalgh: An extension of Voices of Experience, Lorne Fultonberg: The signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Kristal Griffith: We're your hosts, Kristal Griffith, Nick Greenhalgh: Nick Greenhalgh,  Lorne Fultonberg: And I'm Lorne Fultonberg from the Daniels Office of Communications and Marketing. Kristal Griffith: We'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community.­ Let's dive in. Joining me today is Steve Lucas, CEO of iCIMS. Steve has extensive leadership experience in companies like Adobe, SAP and Salesforce. Before iCIMS, he was the CEO of Marketo. In his many leadership roles, he's been a great partner to the Daniels College of Business, consistently recruiting our students, providing feedback on curriculum and sponsoring student projects. If you're not familiar with iCIMS, it's a recruiting software, so we look forward to visiting with Steve about his perspectives on the labor crisis. Steve, welcome to the VOE Podcast. Steve Lucas: Oh, thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Kristal Griffith: Let's start with your background. You have more than 25 years of leadership experience with cutting-edge software companies. Tell us about your journey to become the CEO of iCIMS. Steve Lucas: Every time I hear I've got more than 25 years of experience, I'm genuinely terrified. I don't recognize myself anymore. But yes, it's been fantastic, journey-wise. I started my career working for Microsoft and my title, which was a big deal, was demo rep. And so it was kind of the "Let's name the job, exactly what it is. Demo rep." And I demoed the heck out of software, but actually I demonstrated compelling Microsoft titles, like Microsoft Dogs and Encarta, which was a CD-based encyclopedia before the internet. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so all these years later, now you're probably thinking, "How is this guy, a CEO." But I've always wanted to be a CEO. And I love software. I feel like I get paid to play baseball. It's just so fun. And for me, I'm a naturally curious per person and anytime I've been thrown into a situation, I've always wanted to understand more than just, "What's my job? How does it work? Why is it this way?" These are just the innate things that well up within me. And it turns out there is a really good job for that. It's called CEO. Kristal Griffith: That's terrific. Steve Lucas: And so my journey's been Microsoft. And then I worked with an amazing company, Crystal, which made Crystal Reports and then Business Objects, Salesforce, SAP. I jumped in as CEO of Marketo back in 2016. And I worked with a private equity firm, Vista Equity Partners, to take Marketo private, which we did for $1.6 billion. My job was to grow the company, improve it, build the software. And Adobe acquired the company 24 months after I started for about $5 billion. So we did a good job in terms of growing the company and returning equity to our shareholders.

Bryan Leach took an unorthodox path to becoming the founder and CEO of Denver-based Ibotta, beginning his career as a lawyer. After a lightbulb moment and swift career change, Leach has led the cashback technology company for a decade, guiding it to more than 40 million downloads and delivering over $1.1 billion in cash rewards to its users. And, with nearly 750 total employees, Ibotta has been named one of the fastest-growing companies in America by Inc. Magazine in each of the past four years. Leach joined the VOE Podcast to chat about his unique career path, what he's learned at the helm of Ibotta and where Denver stands as a technology hub. The VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Transcript Nick Greenhalgh: Hello and welcome to the VOE Podcast, Kristal Griffith: An extension of Voices of Experience, Lorne Fultonberg: The signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Nick Greenhalgh: We're your hosts, Nick Greenhalgh Kristal Griffith: Kristal Griffith Lorne Fultonberg: And I'm Lorne Fultonberg from the Daniels Office of Communications and Marketing. Nick Greenhalgh: We'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community.­ Let's dive in. Nick Greenhalgh: As the founder and CEO of one Denver's fastest-growing technology companies, the last two years have been a whirlwind for Bryan Leach. When Covid-19 struck, the longtime Ibotta leader organized weekly calls with area business leaders to discuss how they were navigating the choppy waters of a never before experienced pandemic. Now, after a decade at the helm of the cashback technology company, Leach joined the VOE podcast to share his wisdom on building culture at a fast-growing firm, how Ibotta attracts and retains key employees and what Denver needs to do to remain relevant as a tech hub. Welcome, Bryan, to the VOE Podcast. Bryan Leach: Thanks for having me. Nick Greenhalgh: Great to have you here. Before we sort of get into where Ibotta is today, I want to take a step back and talk a little bit about your background. You sort of have an unorthodox path to tech founder and CEO, with a full-fledged career in law, prior to landing at Ibotta. What led you away from law and into tech? Bryan Leach: I loved many aspects of being a lawyer. I thought it would be just like it was on television, like it was in A Few Good Men. It turned out that there were fewer fence line shootings in Cuba that I got to investigate and fewer cross examinations in swashbuckling form, and a little bit more research and writing. And I enjoy research and writing, but I'm really an extrovert, and I like interacting with people more often. And the trials were great, but they weren't very frequent, compared to the writing portion. So I started to sort of find entrepreneurial things to do within the law. So I started by helping to build an international arbitration practice at my firm, which meant dreaming up our different approach to international arbitration, going and learning about it, getting the credentials, traveling to conferences. And I realized that I was not super well suited for international arbitration when I went to a conference in Rio and I was the only person there who was monolingual. I was from a city that no one had really heard of in the international arbitration world, and a firm that really didn't do any of this work. I also realized that I was enjoying pitching my business so much more than practicing the actual business. So I would win the business, and then what I won was a chance to write 250 pages of briefs. So I realized that the sales element was actually what I loved, and that being a trial lawyer is really telling stories and s...

The practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has come a long way during Helen Drexler's career. What started as some charitable donations and the occasional volunteer project has become a nonstop, comprehensive commitment to the community and its people—including a company's own employees. It's an expectation. Drexler, the CEO of Delta Dental of Colorado and managing director of Ensemble Innovation Ventures, joined the VOE Podcast to discuss the ways CSR is changing the corporate landscape and how the principle led to a pledge: Drexler vowed she would not lay off employees during COVID-19, nor profit off of the pandemic. The VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Transcript Lorne Fultonberg: Hello and welcome to the VOE Podcast, Kristal Griffith: An extension of Voices of Experience, Nick Greenhalgh: The signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Lorne Fultonberg: We're your hosts, Lorne Fultonberg Kristal Griffith: Kristal Griffith Nick Greenhalgh: And I'm Nick Greenhalgh from the Daniels Office of Communications and Marketing. Lorne Fultonberg: We'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community.­ Let's dive in. Lorne Fultonberg: When COVID-19 first shuttered and hampered businesses across the country, Helen Drexler made a bold statement. She vowed that her company—Delta Dental of Colorado—would not lay off a single employee during the throes of the pandemic. And, she pledged to return tens of millions of dollars to the insurance company's stakeholders. We invited Drexler to join the VOE Podcast to tell us the thinking behind that decision and how these sorts of actions are redefining corporate social responsibility. Plus, we asked her how she's practicing CSR as the managing director of a new venture capital platform, Ensemble Innovation Ventures. Lorne Fultonberg: Helen, thank you so much for joining us. Helen Drexler: Glad to be here. Lorne Fultonberg: I want to start by talking a little bit about how you see yourself and see your role at Delta Dental of Colorado. I've heard you call yourself a community champion and an advocate for oral health equity. So, what does that term mean, oral health equity, and why is it important? Helen Drexler: Yeah. So, the word equity has come into our dialogue a lot more often in the last few years, I think. And when I first got to Delta Dental Colorado, our foundation had a mission to eradicate caries in children. Caries is the clinical diagnosis for tooth decay. Helen Drexler: After about a year, we decided to shift our focus to oral health equity, and what that means is that we know there are certain populations and certain segments of our community that do not have the same or equal access to oral healthcare as others. Helen Drexler: So, for instance, there are more children of color who don't see a dentist at their first year of life or within their first couple of years of life than their counterparts. And so, oral health equity is really about making sure that everyone, regardless of background or life circumstances, or social demographics, that everyone has access to affordable and quality oral healthcare, so that everyone can have a healthy smile. Lorne Fultonberg: Yeah. What do strong healthy teeth have to do with strong local communities? Helen Drexler: Oh, that's a great question. Actually, I think strong, healthy teeth lead to healthy smiles, which lead to overall wellbeing. And it's a little bit of a two way street in my mind. We know that oral health and overall health are connected. There's a lot of systemic diseases that have a strong correlation to good oral health. So,

The VOE Podcast is focusing on Earth Day, Friday, April 22. We're talking to a leader in the sustainability arena, to someone who is really hoping to drive results in this space. That person is Kathleen Pitre, president of Beverage Packaging in North and Central America for Ball Corporation. The Daniels College of Business has had a great relationship with Ball Corporation, hosting CEO John Hayes for Voice of Experience in 2016, providing student consulting projects, guest speaking in classrooms. Kathleen has been with Ball for 18 years, much of it working on their sustainability efforts.  The VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Transcript Kristal Griffith: Kathleen, we're delighted to host you. Welcome to the VOE Podcast. Kathleen Pitre: Thanks Kristal. Great to be with you. Kristal Griffith: So before we get to our big topic of the day, I'd like people to, to know you. I know you went to Colorado state university for your bachelor's and masters in technical and speech communications. You started your career at ball aerospace in communications, and then moved over to ball core in 2014. Can you share a little bit about your background, your career journey? Kathleen Pitre: Sure. As you mentioned I started in ball aerospace. I worked in our aerospace business for 11 years doing a variety of things, whether it was marketing, business development, government relations, customer relations, et cetera. And then in 2014, I moved over to the corporate side where I did corporate relations. That's when I really got involved in sustainability and became our head of sustainability, which I did until, 2019, where I became the chief commercial officer, which is basically our head of sales for our global organization, as well as our chief sustainability officer. That was the first time that we formally put ability in sales together. And in September I started the job that I'm in now, which is president of our north and central America beverage packaging business. Kristal Griffith: Kathleen, I was gonna lead right into that. I'm curious what that means. I'm thinking specifically for our listeners, maybe our students, you, what does your job entail? What does that look like? Kathleen Pitre: We are the largest beverage canned manufacturer in the world. Ball's North and Central America business that I run is, is the largest division within Ball. So if you live in the United States or you live in Canada or Mexico, Central America, almost half of the beverage cans made in those regions are made by Ball. This year our goal is to make and sell 60 billion aluminum beverage cans. So we make a lot of cans and, we fill them with energy drinks and Selzer and sparkling water and soda and, whatever you can think to put in a can, we will sell the can for it. Kristal Griffith: I love it. I love it. Yeah. I've seen cans all over the place. And I think at one point maybe there was some kind of crisis or something. And so you ended up putting water in them for a country that would a need. So I've seen you do all sorts of things like that for kind of a social good mission as well. Kathleen Pitre: Yes, our, we have several of our, uh, large customers like Molson Coors and Anheuser Bush and Beverage as well as, a craft brew customer, Oscar Blue. And we have disaster relief water programs where we donate the cans and they fill the cans and distribute them to people in need. It's it is a great partnership. Kristal Griffith: Let's get to our big topic of the day. Um, earth day, all corporation has put forth some ambitious sustainability goals in the past year. The company is calling it toward a perfect circle. It's really emphasizing products being fully recyclable. So talk a little bit about that vision and where it came from. Kathleen Pitre:

We're looking ahead to International Women's Day which is Tuesday, March 8 as we discuss the glass cliff, a phenomenon where women often get promoted during times of crisis. That very thing has happened to Chief Operating Officer Andrea Westcott Passman. Passman joins the VOE Podcast to discuss how she's navigated the glass cliff, advice she has for women and we learn about her career in oil and gas. She is currently the COO of Caerus Oil and Gas.  The VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Hello and welcome to the VOE Podcast, an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. I'm your host, Kristal Griffith from the Daniels Office of Communications and Marketing. We'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community.­ Let's dive in. Joining me today is Andrea Westcott Passman, Chief Operating Officer of Caerus Oil and Gas. Caerus is a privately held natural gas producer, the largest in the Western U.S. Andrea leads operations, engineering and environmental, health and safety for the organization. She's been with Caerus for three years and in the oil and gas industry for more than 20 years. She received her bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and is a graduate of the Daniels College of Business, receiving her MBA in 2008. While we'll talk to Andrea about her industry, we've also asked her here as a guest for International Women's Day, which is coming up March 8. Andrea is an advocate for women in leadership and has some great insight into the glass cliff phenomenon and women needing sponsors, not mentors. Kristal Griffith: Andrea. Welcome to the VOE Podcast. Andrea Westcott Passman: Thank you for having me. Kristal Griffith: You are most welcome. So, before we get to our big topic of the day, I'd like to get people to know you. So, you were raised in a gold mine in Alaska, which sounds super interesting. And now you're a COO. So, talk a little bit about your background. How on earth did you get where you are today?  Andrea Westcott Passman: It's because I love dirt. I've spent my entire life in the dirt. And I'll say so I'm a pioneer, not just from the Daniels DU perspective, but my grandparent's homesteaded the land that we lived on up in Alaska. So, I grew up on a gravel pit that ended up providing a lot of the gravel for the Alyeska Pipeline up there. Kristal Griffith: Wow. Andrea Westcott Passman: And then my dad was a Vietnam vet, and he got transferred into Alaska because he was an Army guy. And then he fell in love with gold mining. So, we had a family mine that was about 100 miles south of the Arctic circle. And this is really the beginning. In Alaska, people just do. There is no women don't do this and men do that because you're just trying to survive and not freeze to death in the dirt. And so, it was actually... I think back to like one of the beginning things that really drove me into operations and really the industrial world was my mom taught me how to drive a loader before I learned how to drive a car. And it was my mom. My dad could have, but my mom because there was a need. And it was like, "Get your tail up on that loader, we got work to do." And I was like, "I can't reach the brake." But that was really the beginning of it. And so, because my grandparents had pioneering mindset, my mother and father had a pioneering mindset. And the gravel business from my grandparents, the gold mine from my parents, really started all of that. And then I never got the message that women don't do certain things and that women make less money. Nobody ever told me any of this,

The COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on the airline industry as travel advisories and bans grounded planes across the globe. As travel opened up, airlines took on new challenges with health and safety concerns. And, today, airlines, like other industries struggle to hire the full workforce needed for success. Jon Roitman, chief operating officer of United Airlines, is in a unique position to discuss all of this as a guest of the VOE Podcast. Roitman is responsible for all airports flight operations, technical operations and network operations. He is also responsible for safety across United's global network. The VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Transcript: Kristal Griffith: Hello, and welcome to the VOE Podcast, an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. I'm your host Kristal Griffith from the Daniels office of communications and marketing. We'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community. Let's dive in. Joining me today is Jon Roitman, chief operating officer of United Airlines. In this position Jon is responsible for all airports flight operations, technical operations, and network operations. He is also responsible for safety across United's global network. Imagine those responsibilities during a pandemic. Jon has been in the airline industry for 25 years working for United and Continental Airlines. He served in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1992 and he happens to be a graduate of the Daniels College of Business receiving a masters in real estate and construction management in 1997. What an interesting background. Jon, welcome to the VOE Podcast. Jon Roitman: Thank you, Kristal. I appreciate the invitation. Kristal Griffith: Absolutely. We're honored to have you. So kind of I think the first thing we've got to ask you is how on earth you've gotten to where you are, right? You have such an interesting background. You have a bachelor's degree in engineering from West Point. You have a master's degree from the Daniels College of Business in real estate and construction management. So to me that seems so different than a COO of United Airlines, but I'm guessing you can make some sense of it for us. So how did you get where you are? Jon Roitman: Thanks, Kristal, and thanks for that first question. So first of all yes, I went to West Point and sort of time in the military as well. And when I got out of the military I decided I wanted to be a real estate developer and was fortunate enough to attend the Daniel's College of Business, which I really enjoyed. And at that time this sort of tells you that you never know what's going to happen in life because at that time I was recruited by Continental Airlines, which was based in Houston at the time, to come into their construction and design group to build airports and for a youngster, a young adult back then that sounded really exciting. And I knew there were flight benefits and all those cool things. So I pursued that opportunity after getting my degree at Daniels and started out doing really exciting things and designing construction around the world specifically to building airports. At the time Continental was really growing in Latin America so I spent a ton of time in Latin America and it was a lot of fun. But I only really did that short period of time because of the background I had in the military there were some leaders at Continental at the time that thought maybe I had an operational mindset because I had experience in that. So they drew me into the operation side of the business pretty quickly and 25 years later I've progressed up to operations to the chief operations officer r...

Welcome back to the VOE Podcast! In our latest episode, we dive into the importance of human capital investment and effective human resources management with Amy Blair (MBA 1998)—senior vice president and chief people officer for Liberty Global, a world leader in converged broadband, video and mobile communications services. Blair shares the interconnectedness of her human resources career in the cable and telecommunications industry with the Daniels College of Business's emphasis on ethics and values-based business education. The VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Transcript Kristal Griffith: Hello, and welcome to the VOE Podcast. Jake Jensen: An extension of Voices of Experience. Amber D'Angelo: The signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. We're your hosts. Kristal Griffith: Kristal Griffith. Jake Jensen: Jake Jensen. Amber D'Angelo: And I'm Amber D'Angelo from the Daniels office of communications and marketing. We'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community. Let's dive in. Hi everyone, we're back this month to continue our discussion on labor, employment and people management with Amy Blair. Amy is the senior vice president and chief people officer for Liberty Global, one of the world's leading converged video, broadband and communications companies. Liberty Global's consolidated businesses generate annual revenue of more than seven billion dollars and its joint ventures in the U.K. and the Netherlands have a combined annual revenue of more than 17 billion dollars. Amy graduated from the Daniels College of Business in 1998 with her MBA. Welcome to the VOE Podcast, Amy, thanks for joining us today. Amy Blair: Yes, thank you very much for having me. Amber D'Angelo: So, Amy, I was looking at Liberty Global's statistics and they're quite impressive. Your 36,000 employees connect over 85 million subscribers across Europe and the U.K. with next generation services over advanced fiber and 5G networks. And over the last 10 years, Liberty Global has done approximately 300 deals valued at an aggregate of 130 billion euros. That's a lot of work and a lot of people to pull together into one cohesive workforce. Leading such a large global human resources function, can you tell us about some of the highlights and in particular, the challenges? Amy Blair: So, I guess if I step back for context, for those that are listening to this, the industry in which we operate has gone through incredible transformation over the last 30 years that I've worked at Liberty Global. Just look at how far the cable industry has come since the days of the Cable Cowboys to where we are now, which are real leaders in our industry. And if I look at Liberty Global, our own growth has mirrored that transformation, evolving many, many times, and it continues to do so. Amy Blair: Over the last three decades, we've grown from a small startup cable company to now a world leader in converged broadband, video and mobile communication services like you just said. We've operated all over the world, all over the Asia Pacific region and Latin America and throughout Europe, over the years. Today, we operate in eight countries and most of our workforce is in Europe. Amy Blair: So for me personally, it's been amazing to have a front row seat and witness such innovation and transformation. So to your question about the highlights and the challenges of leading an HR function. First, I can start by saying that there have been many highlights and there have been many challenges in the last three decades. I can tell you without hesitation that leading an HR function is difficult in a business that never changes,

In our latest episode about the ongoing labor and employment crisis, we sit down with Mischa Fisher—chief economist at Angi, the digital home-services marketplace—to discuss the current state of the skilled trades industry. Fisher's latest research found that the industry, like many others, is experiencing a labor shortage, but it's not due to the "great resignation." Rather, Fisher explains, the stories we tell about the skilled trades do not generally reflect the abundance of opportunity and entrepreneurship that can be found within the industry. The VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Transcript Kristal Griffith: Hello, and welcome to the VOE Podcast. Jake Jensen: An extension of Voices of Experience. Amber D'Angelo: The signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Jake Jensen: We're your hosts. Kristal Griffith: Kristal Griffith. Amber D'Angelo: Amber D'Angelo. Jake Jensen: And I'm Jake Jensen from the Daniels Office of Communications and Marketing. We'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community. Let's dive in. Two of the dominant narratives that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic revolved around the discussion of employment, or lack thereof, and the fact that so many of us were spending large amounts of time at home. Mischa Fisher examined both of these topics well before any of us were quarantined inside our living rooms. As the chief economist at Angi, the digital home-services marketplace, Mischa evaluates the industry's current climate, from consumer and stakeholder behaviors to prices and market size, then communicates those findings to a broader public audience. His latest research explores how the current labor and employment crisis is manifesting as an opportunity for growth and entrepreneurship in the skilled trades industry. Angi has partnered with Daniels on several projects over the years, and Mischa has been involved with student case competitions at Daniels as well. Mischa, welcome to the VOE Podcast. We're happy to have you here with us. Mischa Fisher: Thanks for having me. This is fun. Jake Jensen: Just to start, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your professional journey to how you got to where you are now, and then maybe just a little bit about what you do at Angi? Mischa Fisher: Absolutely. I'm the chief economist at Angi, which people may know as Angie's List or particularly for Denver-based listeners, HomeAdvisor, which were the two big brands that we rolled together. We're now Angi, the home for everything home. We are a marketplace for home services in particular that can range from everything like seasonal maintenance upkeep, all the way to remodeling and getting your kitchen replaced. On a business level, we run the full stack of what you can provide to the marketplace. That's lead generation and providing that demand for pros. It's also marketing and customer reviews, and then it's also pre-booked or pre-priced services, so people can go in and actually book a job to be completed right from their phone, and we take care of the whole thing. That is the company. As chief economist, my role is thinking specifically about what's going on with the market, consumer behavior, pro behavior, which we'll talk about, prices, the overall size of the market, is it growing, is it shrinking, what's going on with the overall dynamics of what drives it. And then making sure we're communicating those to the public industry, popular press, researchers, academics, that sort of thing. And then in terms of a professional journey, before this I was the chief economist for the state of Illinois, which is the exact same title,

The way people work was changing long before the COVID-19 pandemic. But, the pandemic accelerated many changes including the employees wanting more flexibility and variety in their work. We continue our episode series on the labor and employment crisis with a conversation with John Winsor (MBA 1986). Winsor is the CEO of Open Assembly and an executive-in-resident at Harvard Business School's Laboratory for Innovation Science. He is working on a new book about the future of work. Winsor believes open talent is the way of the future.  The VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Transcript Kristal Griffith:                Hello, and welcome to the VOE podcast. Jake Jensen:                     An extension of Voices of Experience. Amber D'Angelo:            The Signature Speaker Series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Kristal Griffith:                We are your hosts. Amber D'Angelo:            Amber D'Angelo. Jake Jensen:                     Jake Jensen. Kristal Griffith:                And I'm Kristal Griffith from the Daniels Office of Communications and Marketing. We'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community. Let's dive in. Joining me today is John Winsor, CEO of Open Assembly and an executive in residence at Harvard Business School's Laboratory for Innovation Science. While we'll ask John about both of those titles, we are eager to hear about his thoughts on the future of work, since he's writing a book on the topic right now. John is a 1986 graduate of the Daniels College of Business receiving his MBA. John, welcome to the VOE podcast. John Winsor:                   Super excited to be here. Love to you. It was definitely formative in my years, especially as an entrepreneur. Kristal Griffith:                John, let's start with your background. You have more than 30 years of experience in entrepreneurship and leadership. You've been in charge of innovation strategy, marketing, advertising in the fitness space. Your background is very intriguing and very diverse. So talk a little bit about your journey becoming CEO of Open Assembly and what Open Assembly is. John Winsor:                    Open Assembly is essentially the commercial side of the laboratory. Based on the work, the lab's previous name was the NASA tournament lab. So we were focused on solving hard problems for NASA using open talent as a solution. And then I'm writing a new book with the guys at the lab. I'm not sure of the title. I think we're going to call it Open, Agile and Network, kind of the idea of open talent, agile process, and a networked organizations. Kristal Griffith:                Let's talk a little bit about this current labor and employment crisis as you know, right? John Winsor:                   Right. Kristal Griffith:               It's, people cannot find workers, but then workers also seem like they can't find jobs. So it's like a unique situation I feel in time. So talk about I guess, what's going on. What do you see happening in the world? And then it sounds like you and Harvard has some interesting ideas about solving it. John Winsor:                    Maybe, we'll see. We'll see if they're relevant. I mean, the world is changing so fast I think we have to think about how we build organizations, right? And so when you think about the movement from agricultural age to industrial age, it was for a while, it was very much apparent that there were new things that needed to be built, let's just say cars, right? But yet the way work got done, the organizational structure was very firmly rooted in kind of a communal agricultural point of view.

This episode of the VOE Podcast features Daniels alumna Megan Smith (BSBA 2006), CEO of Symbia Logistics, for a conversation about the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on labor and employment--especially for women in the workforce. She comments on the findings from the National Women's Law Center that 2.3 million women left the workplace since February 2020 and that women's participation in the workforce fell to 57%--the lowest it's been since 1988. Smith also shares what it means to be an ethical employer and a responsible business, as Symbia was named one of the top green supply chain partners in 2021 by Inbound Logistics Magazine. The VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Transcript   Kristal Griffith:              Hello, and welcome to the VOE Podcast. Jake Jensen:                  An extension of Voices of Experience. Amber D'Angelo:           The signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. We're your hosts. Kristal Griffith:              Kristal Griffith. Jake Jensen:                  Jake Jensen. Amber D'Angelo:           And I'm Amber D'Angelo from the Daniels Office of Communications and Marketing. We'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community. Let's dive in. Welcome to our first episode of the VOE Podcast. Today, we're speaking with Megan Smith, a Daniels alumna who graduated with her BSBA in management in 2006. Megan is the CEO and majority owner of Symbia Logistics, a supply chain management and warehousing provider and Certified Women's Business Enterprise. Symbia is a competitor to Amazon and is based out of Edwards, Colorado. Hi, Megan. Thanks for joining us today. Megan Smith:               Thanks for having me, Amber. Amber D'Angelo:           Absolutely. Can you give us a brief overview of what Symbia offers and who are some of your clients? Megan Smith:               Yeah, Symbia Logistics is a third-party logistics company. We're a warehousing provider, and specifically and most notably moving into the e-commerce, e-fulfillment space. And we do distribution and fulfillment for companies of global proportion all the way down to your Colorado startup. Some of our most notable clients are Canopy. Canopy Growth is a CBD company, and we do small parcel fulfillment for them. So we ship out their Martha Stewart gummies and anything fun like that. And then we do fulfillment for a company called Tone It Up, and they're kind of a big influencer on Instagram, workout gear, apparel, and all kinds of fun, little things for your health and beauty. We've got 22 warehouses from coast to coast, so we're a national company. We have one up in Canada in Calgary. And we kind of run the gamut of services in terms of fulfillment and distribution, going everywhere from the end consumer to a business like I had said. So we call that omni-channel fulfillment and that's kind of our bread and butter and that's what we're great at. Amber D'Angelo:           So things like the epic toilet paper shortage of 2020 come to mind. Can you give us a sense of what the last two years have been like in your industry? Megan Smith:               Yeah. The supply chain industry in general has just been blossoming and exploding over the last two years in terms of new entrants into this space, the technology that is now being leveraged to get the job done, the explosion of e-commerce in general because of the pandemic. We saw record growth with that channel of sales and that impacted our industry heavily and that's just the tip of the iceberg is the growth of the supply chain industry in general. Because what ended up happening is supply chains have been completely disrupted and dismantl...

The NEW VOE Podcast is an extension of Voices of Experience, the signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Hosted by Kristal Griffith, Jake Jensen and Amber D'Angelo from the Daniels Office of Communications and Marketing, we'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community.­ Join us for our first episode on Sept. 13, featuring Daniels alumna Megan Smith, CEO of Symbia Logistics, for a conversation about the labor and employment crisis. And, keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Transcript Kristal Griffith: Hello and welcome to the NEW VOE Podcast Jake Jensen: An extension of Voices of Experience Amber D'Angelo: The signature speaker series at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Amber D'Angelo: We're your hosts Kristal Griffith: Kristal Griffith Jake Jensen: Jake Jensen Amber D'Angelo: And I'm Amber D'Angelo from the Daniels Office of Communications and Marketing. We'll be unpacking topics at the intersection of business and the public good with CEOs and other business leaders from the Daniels community.­ The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on women in the workforce is a central topic within the current labor and employment crisis, so this is where we'll start the conversation. Megan Smith: You're seeing a massive amount of women leaving the workforce. Amber D'Angelo: Our first episode will feature Megan Smith, a 2006 Daniels graduate and CEO of Symbia Logistics, a certified women's business enterprise. Megan Smith: We're living in not only this crazy pandemic where supply chains are just like being flipped up on their heads, you've got, you know, frozen ice roads in Texas, the Suez Canal. All of these storms happening and then at the perfect time you have the worst job market in history. Amber D'Angelo: Nevermind navigating the operational challenges of running a logistics company with 10 fulfillment centers nationwide during a pandemic that spurred international supply chain issues. Megan says human resources management was her biggest COVID-19-related challenge. Megan Smith: We've had to change strategies in terms of recruiting, benefits, flexible scheduling. One of the really cool things that's kind of come out of this is the opportunity for women. Amber D'Angelo: Join us for this important conversation, and keep tuning in each month for more business insights from Daniels' alumni voices of experience. Kristal Griffith: The VOE Podcast is produced by the Daniels College of Business and sponsored by U.S. Bank. Amber D'Angelo: Music by Joshua Muetzel, music composition graduate student at the Lamont School of Music. Jake Jensen: Visit daniels.du.edu/voe-podcast, and please remember to like, follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.