Podcasts about CCO

During the Arc of Evolution, we have been surprised so many times by both the new and the old of the most popular legends of all time. Come see how Selesnya's past and present do not buck that trend on CCO Episode 545.Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast

133 million learners. 100% of the Fortune 100. And the woman steering go-to-market behind those numbers will tell you to stop chasing churn. Monika Saha, CCO of Articulate, doesn't trade in best-practice platitudes. In this episode she takes the sacred cows out back: why "customer education is a cost center" is half-wrong instead of all-wrong, when fighting retention is a flat waste of energy, and why PLG companies are quietly light-years ahead while everyone else optimizes the wrong thing. Host Josh Schachter pokes the bear. Co-host Samantha Murray pushes back. Monika doesn't blink. If you run customer success, education, or GTM and you're tired of being told what you already know, this one's built to make you uncomfortable in the good way.Josh is writing a book on building customer relationships. Follow his journey and insights at www.joshschachter.com---What You'll Learn- Why "customer education is a cost center" is partly true- How to standardize and modularize content so you stop reinventing the wheel- When improving churn is actually a waste of energy- How to segment a long tail so you invest where returns are real- Why PLG companies dominate in-app and digital motion- A simple QBR exercise to find AI-ready process bottlenecks- How to structure a number across a core product plus early cross-sells---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview and Meet Mac, Monika's dog1:08 - Meet Sam Murray, Gainsight & Monika Saha, Articulate2:11 - Articulate's Overview4:20 - Monika's remit as Chief Commercial Officer: trial to renewal5:37 - Lessons from her Gainsight CMO days9:00 - Customer education & internal enablement14:53 - Debate: is customer education a cost center?20:30 - Controversial take: when fixing churn is pointless23:43 - Why digital motion is foundational at a PLG company26:56 - Can non-PLG B2B companies experiment like this?28:48 - Embracing efficiency with AI32:30 - Hitting the number: core product vs cross-sell---Where to Find the GuestSamantha Murray: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/Monika Saha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monikasaha/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

AI investing is often focused on the obvious names: Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and the rest of the hyperscalers. But the AI buildout is creating massive demand across the entire infrastructure stack, from electricity and grid upgrades to cooling, data centers, semiconductors, uranium, industrial automation, and specialized software. In this episode, we unveil the TCI Podcast Index: Hidden AI Winners, built in partnership with Questrade’s new custom indexing feature. We explain how custom indexing works, why we chose this AI infrastructure theme, and then break down the 21 companies selected for the index. This episode also looks at why AI demand may benefit companies far beyond the usual tech giants, especially businesses tied to power generation, electrical equipment, liquid cooling, semiconductor manufacturing, data center construction, and nuclear energy. Tickers of stocks discussed: PWR, GEV, STN, TT, NET, VRT, NEE, GLW, FIX, CCO.TO / CCJ, ASML, ROK, ECL, CLS.TO / CLS, HUBB, QXO, SNPS, GNRC, ETN, CEG Questrade custom indexing contest: This information is for educational purposes only. Not intended to be financial advice. Paid partnership with Questrade. Not financial/investment advice. The creator is not a registered adviser. Views and experience shown are the creator's own; results are not representative. Custom Indexing is a self-directed product; Questrade does not recommend securities or assess suitability. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. FX and other fees may apply. Past performance is not indicative of future results. No purchase necessary. Open to Canada (age of majority). Skill testing question required. One Prize: 3-night Nimmo Bay (BC) retreat for 2 + 10 annual payouts of $7,000 CAD to winner's non-registered or TFSA account. ARV: $100,000 CAD. Odds depend on entries. Terms apply. See full rules: https://www.questrade.com/disclosure/remix-your-life-contest---terms-and-condition Subscribe to our Our New Youtube Channel! Check out our portfolio by going to Jointci.com Our Website Our New Youtube Channel! Canadian Investor Podcast Network Twitter: @cdn_investing Simon’s twitter: @Fiat_Iceberg Braden’s twitter: @BradoCapital Dan’s Twitter: @stocktrades_ca Want to learn more about Real Estate Investing? Check out the Canadian Real Estate Investor Podcast! Apple Podcast - The Canadian Real Estate Investor Spotify - The Canadian Real Estate Investor Web player - The Canadian Real Estate Investor Asset Allocation ETFs | BMO Global Asset Management Sign up for Fiscal.ai for free to get easy access to global stock coverage and powerful AI investing tools. Register for EQ Bank, the seamless digital banking experience with better rates and no nonsense. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Arc of Evolution reaches its zenith with Uncle Brando's favorite color combo: GRUUL. Come hear all about what he has to say about the evolution of Gruul in Commander on CCO Episode 544.Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast

In 2025, Cannes Lions was dampened by controversy after three awards were withdrawn over fabrication of case studies and concerns around their legitimacy.DM9's “Efficient way to pay” was retracted after the DDB agency was caught using AI to fabricate news coverage and misleading the jury. Two others Lions were also removed from the agency. In response, Cannes Lions updated the entry process and introduced a set of "integrity standards" to ban agencies for up to three years that submit "wilfully false" campaigns.Campaign's UK editor Maisie McCabe recently spoke to Cannes Lions on the new awards process and "necessary" reset to the standards. In this episode, Campaign's editorial team discuss how the awards will be different this year, both for those that have entered and the juries that are judging them, and what the industry makes of the changes. Plus, the team reveal how the Cannes Lions is making efforts to reduce bias in the judging rooms. Hosted by tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley, this episode includes McCabe, creativity and culture editor Gurjit Degun and reporter Eszter Gurbicz. It was edited by Haymarket's producer Inga Marsden.Further reading:Cannes Lions retires Creative Company of the Year AwardDecade-old Sainsbury's ad used in Gut's 2024 Media Grand Prix-winning case studyCannes Lions entries rise 'reflecting strong global participation'Icaro Doria steps down as co-president and CCO of DM9 following Cannes controversyAdland's ‘New Year's' resolution should be to revive its integrity at Cannes LionsMaybe Cannes Lions isn't capable of picking all of the best work Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EPISODE DESCRIPTION I sat down with Lux, Chief Commercial Officer at OpenPayd, and this conversation genuinely surprised me. Lux started out as an FX trader at JP Morgan , the guy who once typed 'Bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme' into a Bloomberg chat , and now he's helping build one of the most quietly impressive fintech infrastructure companies out there. We got into how OpenPayd has grown to over 1,200 institutional clients, processed over $200 billion in volume annually, stayed cash flow positive for five years, and never taken a single round of funding. We talked about why financial institutions are now OpenPayd's fastest growing vertical, what the stablecoin sandwich actually means for cross-border payments, and whether crypto is really dead or just maturing. Lux also shared his contrarian take on why the era of 150% Ethereum weeks is probably behind us , and why that's actually a good sign. If you're in fintech, payments, or crypto infrastructure, this one is worth your time. DISCLAIMERNothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/ CONNECT OpenPayd Website: https://www.openpayd.com/OpenPayd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/openpayd/Web3 with Sam Kamani: https://www.web3pod.xyz/ KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS • [00:06] Sam introduces Lux from OpenPayd , a bootstrapped fintech with 200+ employees and $200B+ annual volume• [01:30] Lux's origin story: FX trader at JP Morgan who called Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme in 2009, then missed it, then got into Ethereum• [03:20] How joining a payments firm opened Lux's eyes to the real problem crypto companies face with banking access• [05:09] The divergence between crypto and stablecoins , and why stablecoin market cap is no longer correlated to Bitcoin price• [06:06] What OpenPayd is built on: providing financial infrastructure to underserved industries and incorporating blockchain into payments rails• [09:35] The Innovator's Dilemma in banking , why incumbents like HSBC still charge 1.7% on FX when the actual spread is near zero• [11:00] How Revolut and Nubank disrupted banking without reinventing the wheel , and what that means for crypto adoption by banks• [13:18] How OpenPayd differentiates: speed, product, tech, licensing, and becoming a one-stop-shop across fiat and blockchain rails• [18:03] The biggest trend at OpenPayd: financial institutions have become the number one vertical in under 15 months, driven by stablecoin adoption• [20:50] Running a bootstrapped company: the nice headache of keeping up with growth while staying compliant across 1,300+ institutional clients• [22:19] Lux's contrarian take: crypto isn't dead , the market has just matured because institutional money behaves differently than retail• [27:19] Why AI investment and geopolitical uncertainty have pulled capital away from crypto , and why that rotation will eventually reverse• [31:05] Lux's biggest challenge as CCO: reducing churn, staying relevant, and keeping one eye on short-term revenue and one on scalable growth• [32:49] OpenPayd's 2-3 year roadmap: US expansion later this year, then Latam and Asia , building both sides of the stablecoin sandwich• [34:41] On fundraising: profitable for five years, no need to raise, but never ruling it out

Thi Lam is founder and CCO at Garnish studios, a branding and production agency behind a number of emerging CPG brands across food, beverage, and wellness. On this episode of ITS, Thi and Ali talk content in the age of AI, and what emerging brands should focus on when it comes to creative assets, answering the bigger question: What actually creates brand value now?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of The Unconventional Path: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Stories and Ideas, hosts Bela Musits and Mike Wasserman dive deep into a powerful yet often overlooked strategy for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs): fractional communications. While many entrepreneurs are familiar with the concept of a fractional CFO or HR firm, the idea of a fractional Chief Communications Officer (CCO) is a game-changer for companies looking to scale efficiently and manage their reputation with precision.Our guest, Joshua Altman, shares his journey of starting and running a fractional communications business designed specifically for SMBs. For businesses that may not have the budget or the need for a full-time marketing executive, a fractional CCO provides high-level expertise to shape perception and build long-term trust with stakeholders. Joshua explains that his role goes beyond traditional branding or marketing; he takes an integrated, big-picture view of how a company's messaging impacts its growth and stakeholder confidence.Throughout the interview, we explore:The Fractional Advantage: Joshua discusses how hiring a part-time expert can be significantly more cost-effective than a full-time marketing hire while delivering measurable, high-level results.The Story-Narrative-Brand Framework: Learn Joshua's specific process for helping businesses discover what they truly want to communicate. He breaks down the critical differences between a company's story (the facts), its narrative (how it answers market questions), and its brand (the tangible elements like websites and marketing materials).Innovating with Novel Products: For companies launching entirely new products that the public doesn't yet understand, Joshua stresses the importance of involving a communications team early in the product development roadmap. He discusses how to lay the groundwork months in advance to educate potential customers and shape their purchasing decisions.Offloading Communication Tasks: Many SMB presidents or VPs of operations find themselves handling communication by "happenstance" because there is no dedicated staff. Joshua explains how his firm steps in to take these critical tasks off their hands, allowing leadership to focus on their primary roles of running the business.If you are a business owner looking for innovative ways to manage your messaging and improve your communication process in a measurable way, this conversation is packed with actionable advice on how to use communications as a strategic tool for success.Connect with The Unconventional Path:Our podcast is now available on YouTube. Simply search for "The Unconventional Path" to subscribe and never miss an episode.We're always on the lookout for interesting guests to feature on our show. If you know someone who has an inspiring story, unique perspective, or valuable expertise to share, please let us know. We're eager to connect with potential guests who can bring fresh insights and engaging conversations to our audience.We also love hearing from our listeners! Your questions, comments, and suggestions are incredibly valuable to us. Send us an email at bela.and.mike@gmail.com with your thoughts, and we'll do our best to address them in a future episode. Whether you have a question about a specific topic, feedback on a recent episode, or ideas for future content, we want to hear from you. Your engagement helps us shape the show and deliver content that resonates with our listeners.Thanks for listening,Bela and MikeSEO Search Terms: Fractional Chief Communications Officer, SMB growth strategies, entrepreneurship podcast, fractional CCO vs CMO, small business branding, communications strategy for startups, market penetration for SMBs, cost-effective marketing, building stakeholder trust, business narrative framework, product development roadmap, Bela Musits, Mike Wasserman, Joshua Altman, The Unconventional Path podcast.

Think fresh-out-of-welding-school means starting at the bottom? Landon Earlywine (19) and Jackson Settler (18) are about to change your mind. Six months after graduating from the Kentucky Welding Institute, these two are working 60-hour weeks doing TIG stainless pipe fab for data center infrastructure up in Logansport, Indiana — earning $38/hr plus $120/day per diem. In less than seven months, they've pulled in $95,000 combined, started Roth IRAs, bought reliable trucks with big down payments, and are on track to blow past $150K in their first year. Jason sits down with both of them to find out how they got here — from a high school ag teacher who flashed some money at them sophomore year, to grinding the third shift at KWI, earning their golden arm certifications, and landing a stainless schedule 10 TIG test in Indianapolis the morning after getting the call. They talk about the real curriculum at KWI beyond the booth — financial management, CCO rigging, CPR, and OSHA 30 — and what actually separates the students who land good jobs from the ones who don't. Plus: a totaled '92 Sonoma, a story about driving from Kentucky to Texas at 82 mph at 6 AM, a job box that survived a crash, and why they're not going anywhere until they hit the $100K wall at school. Topics covered: • TIG stainless pipe fab for data center infrastructure — the new pipeline boom • Working 5x12s and 6x10s fresh out of welding school • $95K in 7 months at 18 and 19 years old • The golden arm at KWI — what it takes and what it means • Financial literacy in trade school: Roth IRAs, principal payments, and smart money moves • CCO rigging, OSHA 30, CPR, and the full KWI curriculum • How a wrecked '92 Sonoma led to the job of a lifetime • Why 7 KWI classmates are all on track to hit $100K in year one • The $100K wall — and what you have to prove to get your hood on it.

Each week during the Arc of Evolution, we are surprised. Not only by the lists themselves, but also how the most popular commanders of all time have changed... or stayed the same. Come see how we were surprised this week on CCO 543 where we cover RAKDOS.Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast

What does it actually take to become an industry leader when you never planned to be one? Charli Rogers, Chief Customer Officer at Botify, joins Toni for a conversation that covers the full arc of her leadership journey — from an accidental start in tech to leading customer success teams of 150-200 people across multiple continents, to taking her first CCO seat at a company sitting right at the intersection of search, AI discoverability, and the future of how brands get found. This conversation covers all things great leadership from quiet confidence, allyship in executive teams, what holding space for women in a boardroom actually looks like in practice, and the language shift — "and" versus "but" — that Charli teaches every woman she mentors. Charli also gets honest about the biggest challenge she's navigating right now: how do you lead an AI-forward customer experience function while keeping the team delivering, changing everything about how you operate, and nobody really knows what the next two years look like? If you're figuring out what kind of leader you want to be, how to back yourself at the next level, or how to build allies in rooms that weren't always built for you — this is the episode. What we cover: ◾ The serendipitous career path from accidental tech foray to Chief Customer Officer ◾ Why Charli put her hand up for people leadership before she felt ready — and what happened next ◾ Quiet confidence: what it really looks like at the executive level and why it's different from the performative kind ◾ The "and" vs "but" language shift and why words matter more than most leaders realize vAllyship in the exec room — what it looks like when it becomes second nature rather than a conscious act ◾ Holding space for women in a male-dominated executive team: practical, not theoretical ◾ AI in customer experience — leading an AI-forward function while the team keeps delivering today ◾ Building a virtual board of directors and why network investment is a long-term leadership strategy ◾ The worst piece of advice Charli was ever given: "dial it down, Charli" ◾ Confidence plus capacity: why both are non-negotiable and how to know when it's time to speak up   **Useful links** ◾ Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Charli Rogers and Botify:           ◾ Charli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlirogers/            ◾ Botify: https://www.botify.com/    This episode was sponsored by our guest, Charli Rogers at Botify. Thank you Charli for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!  

In this episode of ‘From the Editor's Desk,' Tom Fox visits with Aaron Nicodemus to discuss highlights from Compliance Week in May, review the National Conference, which concluded in May and take a look at what is coming down the pike in June in Compliance Week. They report that federal enforcement is not receding but shifting, with heightened risk from Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designations affecting companies operating in Mexico, Latin America, and Brazil; increased and novel use of the False Claims Act, including actions targeting DEI programs, referencing IBM and PayPal settlements; and growing enforcement roles for states, FINRA, and divergent ESG regimes in the UK and Europe. Guidance to compliance leaders is to “stay the course,” strengthen third-party risk management, and document enhanced due diligence around potential FTO ties. They note AI discussions moving from governance frameworks toward scaling practical compliance use cases. June will feature “Inside the Mind of the CCO” survey results, DEI-related findings, and two webcasts. They also recognize former Compliance Week journalist Allie McDevitt's ASBE national Gold Award for her Lafarge series, which is cited as a roadmap for FTO-related risk, alongside DOJ messaging on self-reporting to seek declination. Resources: Aaron Nicodemus on LinkedIn Compliance Week

Losing a client is never fun, even when you saw the writing on the wall. The only question is how you choose to handle it. In this episode, Chip and Gini cover the practical and emotional side of client departures, from the moment you get the news to the lessons you take away. Gini points out that there are plenty of reasons a client could terminate the relationship, which may have nothing to do with your work. Strategy changes, budget cuts, and leadership turnover all end client relationships that were otherwise going fine. Chip’s advice is to not react immediately. Ask for a couple of days to review the agreement and put together a transition plan. That space lets you get the emotion out before you say something you’ll regret. Once you have your bearings, focus on making the exit clean. Read your actual contract, confirm the notice terms, and hand over everything the client needs: documents, passwords, contacts, work in progress. Chip is blunt about agencies that fight clients on the way out — it accomplishes nothing and just guarantees a bad final impression. Don't burn any bridges and you just might see those clients come back or send you referrals. Finally, be honest with your team about what the loss means for the business. If there are financial implications, say so before people start drawing their own conclusions. Key takeaways Chip Griffin: “You never want to react immediately to the news in such a way that you perhaps compound a difficult situation, or at the very least you don’t make it as easy as it should be.” Gini Dietrich: “I always say that you’re remembered by how you left an organization versus the work that you did. And so you never want to burn a bridge, even if you’re caught by surprise, even if you wanted to fire the client and you’re happy about it.” Chip Griffin: “If the client is coming to you and canceling because they’re having financial issues, you’re probably not going to get the money anyway. So rather than fighting for something that probably isn’t there, why don’t you try to make it as painless as possible and get whatever you can so that you’ve built some goodwill potentially for the future?” Gini Dietrich: “Be honest and open with your team because I think they will come with solutions that you may not have thought of or that you may have assumed they’re not willing to do.” Related Why do agencies lose clients? Agency client cancellation policies Agency owners need to put themselves in other people's shoes How to protect yourself from an unexpected client breakup View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And Gini, as a famous American once said, “You’re fired.” Gini Dietrich: Oh, no. Chip Griffin: Okay. Maybe … pack your knives and go. Um- Oh … what would you like to go with instead? Gini Dietrich: Yeah, let’s, maybe we’ll do that one. I like that. Chip Griffin: Pack your knives and go. Top Chef is a great show. Gini Dietrich: I love Top Chef. Chip Griffin: Not as good as it was in the early days, but- Gini Dietrich: Yeah, I agree. Yeah … Chip Griffin: it’s still, it’s still kind of fun occasionally, and I, I still- Yeah … do watch part of each season. Yeah. From Restaurant Wars on. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, I did love, I did love a little Top Chef. I agree. Chip Griffin:  Jen and one of my kids watch it up until Restaurant Wars, then they let me know, and I come in and I watch Restaurant Wars through the end. Gini Dietrich: That’s funny. They’re like, “Okay, your turn.” Chip Griffin: Yeah. I mean, that’s where it starts to get interesting, so. Gini Dietrich: That’s funny. Yeah. Chip Griffin: Anyway, no, we are gonna talk about getting fired. Not fired as an owner. We’re, we’re not at that point yet. We don’t have boards that are gonna fire us, most of us at least. Gini Dietrich: Right, right. Chip Griffin: But clients do fire us from time to time, and we’ve had conversations in the past about firing clients ourselves and, and those sorts of things. But, what happens, what do you do when a client calls you up or, worse, sends you an email and says, “We’re done. We’re out”? Yeah, you know, it’s- What are things you should be thinking about at that point? Gini Dietrich: I think so. The, I think there’s a couple of things here. One is that the word, using the word “fired” makes it sound so bad. Sometimes it’s because there’s been a strategy change, there’s been a budget reallocation, maybe leadership has changed, maybe there’s a new VP of marketing or a CCO. Like, there are lots of reasons, right, that have nothing to do with you or the agency or your work. And so saying that you got fired is, I, I just don’t like that term. Now that I have that off my chest, I’ll step down off my soapbox and say, like, there, I think we should always be prepared for the eventual loss of a client. And because we don’t know, right? We don’t- Uh-huh … we can kind of guess, you know, if there are big changes at a leadership level, or if there’s been a reorg, or if the company has sold or things like that, we can guess. Like, we’re probably not gonna be working with that client much longer. We could also sort of read the tea leaves from the perspective of they’ve been ghosting us, and we haven’t been able to get any work done. They’ve been declining meetings or not showing up for meetings. Like, there are lots of reasons that you can kind of read those tea leaves. And so I always think it’s, it’s really good to be prepared. It should never come as a surprise when you lose a client, and you should be prepared. You should have, you should know what you’re going to say, you should know how, what a transition looks like, and you should have a full pipeline that will replace that client fairly quickly, even in a chaotic world that we’re living in right now, so that you’re not caught off guard. Chip Griffin: Yeah. I mean, I think the, you know, the first step when you get this news is, probably 95% of the time you’re gonna be annoyed, upset, unhappy. Gini Dietrich: Sure. Absolutely. Chip Griffin: Some negative emotion. A small percentage of the time you’ll be like, “Oh, thank God, I just- … I, I really wanted to get rid of them anyway.” Yeah. You know? So. Gini Dietrich: Blessing in disguise, yep. Right. Chip Griffin: So, so sometimes that’ll be your reaction, but most of the time it’s not gonna be a happy reaction that you have. And so I think the, the first thing is to just, whether it’s on a call with them or you get it by email or, you know, carrier pigeon or whatever, take a deep breath. Yes. Right? Yes … you, you don’t ever want to react immediately to the news in such a way that you perhaps compound a difficult situation, or at the very least you don’t make it as easy as it could or should be. And I think your advice to, to be prepared for this, certainly if you see the signs on the wall you need to be even more prepared. But sometimes these things are, you know, in retrospect they won’t be a surprise, but you might feel surprised in the moment because you didn’t pick up on all of the little signals along the way and, and that then becomes a learning experience. And I think that’s… to me, that’s one of the most valuable things when you lose a client for whatever reason, is taking advantage of that to learn for the future. Learn the signs to look for. Yep. Learn what you could do differently potentially to maintain the relationship, retain the client. Learn to target better ideal clients, whatever it is. But I, I always like to turn these things into a learning experience as much as possible. But you also have the logistics to actually handle the end of the client relationship, so why don’t we talk about that for a little bit. What, you know, it, it’s not just about the learnings that you can take for the future, it’s how do you handle that immediately? How do you transition the client out? Gini Dietrich: Yeah. I think, you know, I always say that you’re always remembered by how you left an organization versus the work that you did. And so you never wanna burn a bridge, even if you’re caught by surprise, even if you wanted to fire the client and you’re happy about it, you should never burn a bridge because you just never know, right? So understanding what contract they signed and what the terms of agreement are, you know? We had a situation where I was working with a girlfriend and, she lost a big, big, big, big client. It came out of the blue, that she was not expecting it because she’d had a conversation a week prior that everything was fine. And so she works with several contractors, and we had to say like, “We’re really sorry. We know that we thought you were gonna be doing work in May and June,” and, like, we go, “The client’s gone.” So, and she had one person come back to her and say, like, “We have a 30-day agreement,” blah, blah, blah. They didn’t have a 30-day agreement, but in her mind they had a 30-day agreement. Sure. In the paperwork, there was no 30-day agreement. So I use that as an example because in your mind you may have a 30 or 60 or 90-day termination clause that may not have made it to the final piece. Maybe you have it for some clients and not others. Like, you have to really do your research to, and go back and read the executed agreement so you know what those terms are. And then spend that time ensuring that there’s a seamless transition, that they’re getting all the documents that you’ve created, that they understand where things are, that they understand where the passwords are, where you, what you have access to, all of those kinds of things. ‘Cause I will tell you, there have been situations where we’ve lost a client and we’re still in their Google Analytics. We’re still the admin on their Facebook page. Like, stuff like that, I’m like, “You guys, we’re not gonna do anything bad, but you really need to take us off.” Chip Griffin: Right, right. I mean, I’ve had former clients where, where I have had admin level access to a lot of their stuff- Yes … for as much as a decade afterwards. Gini Dietrich: Yes, yes. Chip Griffin: Even when I flag it for them and say, “Hey, guys- Gini Dietrich: Yes … Chip Griffin: you might wanna take me out.” Gini Dietrich: Yes, yes. Chip Griffin: It, it’s kind of amazing at times that- It, it is, yeah … the things that, that people don’t pay attention to. But, I mean, I think that that’s great advice to, you know, to understand what your agreements say, and to really just focus on how do you make it as smooth a transition as possible. No matter how frustrated you are, you need to try to think through how do we make this as pain-free for everybody? Because you can make it difficult for them, but that’s really just gonna make it difficult for you. Yep. And to your point, that’s how you’re gonna be remembered, as the person who made it difficult. And so, you know, if you get it on a, if you get the information on a call, you know, certainly say, “Hey, look, you know, let’s, let’s put together a wind-down plan or transition plan,” or however you wanna frame it. Part of that will depend on how sudden it is. You know, are, are they saying, “We’re not gonna renew in, you know, three months,” or is it, you know, “We’re giving you as short a notice as possible”? That will affect the timelines- Sure … and those sorts of things. Yep, yep. But, but it doesn’t affect the fact that you want to try to make sure that you are making it smooth and clean and painless. And don’t hesitate to say, “Hey, let me, let me think about this and come back to you with a plan-” Right “for how we do it.” Right, right. You don’t have to have every answer in the moment, and, and giving yourself that time to step back and absorb it may allow you to come forward with a more productive plan all the way around. Because your goal has to be to make sure that you’re fulfilling your contract, while at the same time trying to get them to fulfill their end of it. Right. And, and the more that you fight, the less likely you are to even get what you are due under the agreement. And so, you know, you wanna try to make it as, as friendly as possible in, in how you wind it down to make sure that you do get those payments that you are still owed. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, and I think, you know, if it comes as a surprise, I think you’re absolutely right that saying things like, “You know, gosh, I’m really sorry to hear this. I’ve really enjoyed working with you. Let me take a couple of days to craft a transition plan.” That gives you time. They, from their perspective, they’re like, “Okay, they’re being thoughtful about this and, you know, strategic about it, and they’re gonna be helpful.” And that gives you time to settle yourself and, you know, be, get all the emotion out of it and actually create something productive. Chip Griffin: Right. And it can be a, particularly if it’s done over the phone, it gives you that opportunity to sit down and take a look at the contract and see- Yeah … what it says. Yeah. Because then you can, you can go back to them and say, “Okay, you know, in order to make sure we do this the right way, you know, we’ll need the notification in writing so that, you know, we can memorialize this properly to protect both of us.” And I think you always wanna use that kind of language when you’re dealing with contract stuff. This is for both of our benefit, even if really maybe it’s more for you- Yeah … than for them, but you wanna stress the, the for both of us. And that’s also your opportunity to then look at other clauses in there that, that maybe are to your benefit, like the notification period, that maybe you didn’t bring up on the call. You know, you can say, “Hey, you know, we need to make sure we get this in writing, and of course, as, as you know from this agreement, you have 30, 60, 90, whatever the notification period is. So, you know, we’ll work to that, as we wind this down.” Gini Dietrich: Yeah. And I think, you know, there are, we, and we’ve talked about this before too, like our contracts say 90 days, and there are some clients where I’m like, “I don’t need to hold you to that. We’re good.” Like some- Right. Right? And then there are situations- Chip Griffin: How about, how about 90 minutes? How about 90 minutes? Can we, can we just be- 90 seconds? 90 seconds? We can be done now. We’re just, I’m out. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, I’m good. Yep. Good. Yep. See ya. Yep. But then there are also situations, you know, we had the Great Recession, we had COVID. There are some situations where you’re just like, you just be, you can be understanding and be like, “Gosh, I’m really, yeah, I’m really sorry to hear business sucks, and we have a 90-day termination clause, but let me, let me waive that for you, and let’s do this instead.” And you’re always seen in good light when you do those things. Yep. And in fact, every time I have done that, either that business has come back or they’ve referred business to us. So you don’t wanna do that in every situation, and you don’t wanna hurt your cash flow, you know, if it’s, if it’s gonna be detrimental. But there are situations where you can be a little more understanding and use, use that kind of language so that they understand that you’re doing them a favor, ’cause you’re, you really are doing them a favor in some cases. Chip Griffin: Well, more to the point, if the client is coming to you and canceling because they’re having financial issues, whether it’s because of a global pandemic or there’s just something specific to their business, you’re probably not gonna get the money anyway. Gini Dietrich: Fair. Chip Griffin: Right? So, so rather than fighting for something that probably isn’t there anyway, why don’t you try to make it as painless as possible and get whatever you can so that you’ve built some goodwill potentially for the future? Because you also have to keep in mind that most of the time we’re not working with the actual owner of the business. Most of the time, even in a mid-sized business, we’re working with someone at least a step or two removed from that level. And so why are we making their life more difficult when it’s not, you know, it may not even be their ability to make a decision, particularly if it’s financially related. So, you know, think about that, and put yourself in their shoes if you were in a position. If you’ve got contractors, think about, you know, you want to react to them the same way you want your contractors to react to you. Gini Dietrich: Right. Yep. Chip Griffin: And, you don’t want your contractors coming at you, right? Yeah, yep. And you wanna try to work something out amicably. You should be doing the same thing upstream from you in the relationship as well. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. I just, I think your earlier point about taking some time, and just, you know, it’s, it usually comes as a shock. Even if, even if we’ve read the tea leaves, it still is surprising. It still is stressful. It still has some risk involved. And so just take a beat and use the language of, you know, “Give me a couple of days to put together a transition plan.” And I think that helps you process it all, get the emotion out, and then start to salvage the relationship as best you can so that there is referral business later, or maybe they do come back later, or whatever happens to be. Chip Griffin: Right. I mean, time is your friend on these things in order to, you know, to formulate a better response. And most of the time when we react too quickly, it’s when we end up regretting it somewhere down the road. So- you know, buy yourself the time to avoid that future regret. Gini Dietrich: I will, I will tell you that 100 years ago when I started my agency, the first client I lost, I cried. And the client felt really, really bad, and I was mortified, but I cried. Chip Griffin: Oh, you, you cried when the client told you? Oh, wow. Gini Dietrich: I did. Uh-huh. Okay. So I will say that, you know, you learn and you grow, and you understand that sometimes it’s just not personal. I took it very personally because it was the first time it had ever happened. Like, I’d, I’d never been fired from a job. I’d never like … it was the first time it had ever happened. So I, I did. I’ve matured since then, but there are, you know, there are things that you’re just like, it’s an emotional time. Chip Griffin: Sure. I mean, nobody would ever enjoy that kind of- Gini Dietrich: Yeah Chip Griffin: experience. Mm-mm. Yeah. I, I mean, certainly any time I’ve ever had a contract end, I, I haven’t been like, “Yay!” Gini Dietrich: Right? Chip Griffin: I mean- Gini Dietrich: Woo-hoo! … Chip Griffin: it, it sucks. Yeah. I can’t say that I’ve ever cried when I’ve gotten that news, but may have hung up the phone and had a few choice words for the atmosphere around me or something like that. But, you know, it is what it is. So okay, so, you know, we’re, we’re thinking through the actual communications with the client who has fired us. Sorry, terminated the agreement- Let us go … or shared the decision. Mm, right. Whatever. Yeah. Whatever language you wanna use. I’m, I’m still a fan of firing because that’s kinda what it is. So now we need to think about two things, I think immediately. One is how do we communicate it to our team, whether that’s contractors or employees, and as a corollary to that, how are we going to act as a client for the remainder of the relationship that we have? So not the technical details of working out the trip, but the, you know, how do we continue to service them in that moment? And those two are related because as soon as you tell your team, you know, “Hey, this, this agreement is ending,” they’re probably gonna start mentally checking out of that relationship just as you have. Gini Dietrich: Of course. Yep. Chip Griffin: And I think we need to really fight that urge. Yep. Because, because it, uh, as you say, it is how you exit that people remember you, and a lot of that comes down to if you had, particularly if you have a longer notice period, right? If you’ve got a, you know, say a 60 or 90-day notice period, you can’t just, you know, put pens down unless they, the client is like, “No, we just, we’re, we’re done. We’ll just keep paying you, but we’re not.” Sometimes that does happen- It sure does, yep … where they treat it as sort of severance for the agency. It’s not super common, but it does happen. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: But it needs to be on them to reduce your workload, not on you to say, “Eh, we don’t care anymore.” Gini Dietrich: Right. And I think, you know, if you’re doing things like media relations, it’s ensuring that those, the stories that are in progress or the things that are in progress, the pitches that are in progress, those get transferred over. If you, like we said, if you hold the keys to anything, you have to make sure that those are transferred over. All of the things that you have in progress, understand, you know, to your point, that it may be like they just want you to stop work immediately and hand everything over, or they may want you to continue, finish, they want you to finish things that are in progress. But understand what that is so that you can ensure that. And one of the things I always say to my team, and I repeat that, repeat what I said at the beginning, which is, you know, you’re always remembered how, by how you left. It is our job to transition smoothly and make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. Yep. And I understand that you’re checked out. I’m checked out. I’m surprised by this. It’s not, you know, this, this is gonna be a little bit of a painful process, but we have to be professional, and we have to ensure that we’re transitioning cleanly. Chip Griffin: Yeah, and please do not fight them. It’s, I mean, ’cause that’s even worse than-you know, we, we just kinda give up. But I’ve seen many agencies where they basically fight clients on the way out the door, and the client will say, “Can I have this? Can I have the latest draft of this even though it’s not finished?” And they’ll be like, “Well, no, because, you know, we’re not gonna be working with you anymore, and so, you know, you don’t get the draft. You only get the final version.” No. Gini Dietrich: Absolutely not. No. No. Yeah. Chip Griffin: If you’re doing media relations and they wanna know who you’ve reached out to about a press release- Yes … just tell them. Gini Dietrich: Just tell them, yes. Chip Griffin: Do not fight them on this. I agree. I, I, for the life of me, I do not understand- Gini Dietrich: Yep. I totally agree with that Chip Griffin: the, the way, particularly the PR agencies seem to be particularly guilty of this in my view, where they just will not share with the client anything that they’re doing in terms of detail around outreach or those kinds of things because, well, then they can do it on their own. Okay, fine. Let them, right? They’ll figure out it’s not that easy. It’s not just having the spreadsheet of what contacts you’ve made. Yeah. I’m not saying you need to give them your whole database with all of your personal notations about, you know, stuff that you do across other clients. But if it’s pitch work that you’ve done for this client, give them the information. Come on, man. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, yeah. I mean, especially if it’s in progress and there’s, like- Yes … something’s happening, like, there’s no reason on Earth not to give them that information. Chip Griffin: No, no reason. And, look, if all you’re good for is, is a spreadsheet, it probably wasn’t worth hiring you anyway. Yeah. So, you know, you, you’ve got to be realistic about these kinds of things. But as you’re communicating with your team, you want them to understand that, that they need to have this same mentality of being helpful and making sure they finish strong. I think the other thing is to, to make sure that, that you’re communicating clearly with your contractors and employees about what this means. Hopefully, what it means is you’ve got a strong pipeline, and so, you know, it’s a bump in the road, but it’s not a big deal. But if it is a big deal, don’t try to hide that fact, right? I mean, you don’t have to like terrify them. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: But, but if it does, if you’ve got a contractor and it’s probably gonna mean that you’re gonna have to cut them altogether or partially, if you think it’s, you know, a giant client and it might lead to layoffs, be honest with people sooner rather than later. Because the more you put this off, the harder it is to deal with. Yeah. And again, it’s a balancing act, ’cause you can’t, you can’t just be, you know, like panicking them, which is again another argument for taking a deep breath, absorbing the information, figuring out your plan. You don’t have to hang up the phone and then immediately call up all your team and say, “Oh my God, we just lost Acme Pharmaceuticals,” right? I mean, that doesn’t help anybody. Take the time, think it through, think through the questions you’re likely to get so that you can communicate confidently, but also honestly. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, and I would say If you have access to an HR team or person, if you have access to a legal team or an attorney, reach out to them as well because as you’re crafting this plan because they’re gonna have a different… They’re gonna look at it through a different lens. They’re gonna have a different perspective, especially if you have a team, getting HR involved in that to say, “Okay, here’s scenarios A, B, and C” to help you plan so that when an employee asks, you have a response, and it’s not just shot from the hip a little bit. Right. And I, I know I’ve told this story before, but during the Great Recession, you know, we had 95% of our clients left between Christmas and New Year’s of 2008, 2009, and I had to go back to the office and lay everybody off. And the biggest mistake I made, I made two big mistakes in that. One is that everybody was talking about the economy and the Great Recession and all this stuff for a year, but I didn’t pay any attention. I didn’t… Like, I wouldn’t, I wasn’t mature enough. I wasn’t experienced enough, and so I just kind of put my blinders on and was like, “Everything’s great. We’re growing.” You know? Yeah. And so I didn’t plan. And the second thing I did, mistake I made is I didn’t let the team know ahead of time, and I didn’t think I could. And I’ll never forget this as long as I live. One of my employees came up to me after I let everybody know, and she said, “I wish you had told us because I would’ve been happy to go part-time.” And I was like, ohhh. Chip Griffin: Right. Gini Dietrich: You know? Like, yeah. Chip Griffin: Yeah. Gini Dietrich: So be honest and open because I think they will come with solutions too that you may not have thought of or that you may have assumed they’re not willing to do when they are. Chip Griffin: Right. Absolutely. So then I think that takes us to that, that final piece, as we’re wrapping up here, and, and that is to take lessons away from it. Because there’s something to be learned from the end of every relationship, whether it’s because it was a project and it just, it naturally ran its course, or because you were on a retainer and they decided to end it or what have you. Yep. There are always lessons to be learned, and I think it’s, it’s really helpful to sit down with your team, not just at the end, but at key milestone points as well and say, “Okay, you know, what, what have we learned from this? What could we have done differently? What should we do differently, not just with this client but with others in the future?” And make sure that you treat as much of what you’re doing as a learning experience as possible because that’s how you really grow- both individually and as a business. If you just keep doing the same old, same old, you might do okay, but you’re not gonna do as well as you could if you’re actually studying what you’ve done in the past. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. I mean, that’s the example I just gave is a great example of that. Yeah. Now I know. Chip Griffin: Yeah. Gini Dietrich: That’s a great lesson. Chip Griffin: It’s why, again, I watch all of these episodes back so that I can sit there and say, “Okay, you know, what would I do differently next time?” Maybe I’ll lower the microphone a little bit, raise my voice a little bit, talk a little bit less so that we can actually hear from Gini, and I don’t just monopolize all the time. You don’t monopolize the time. And have Jen tell me what percentage of time I’ve spoken versus… I do talk a lot. I understand that. But it’s, it’s something I consciously work on every podcast that I’m on because I know that I have a tendency to talk a lot. Gini Dietrich: Okay. I don’t think you monopolize the time here. No. Chip Griffin: Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Gini Dietrich: You’re welcome. Chip Griffin: So, I guess we’re not gonna monopolize any more of your time as a listener, so we will wrap up today’s episode, but hopefully we’ve given you a few things to think about the next time that you get that dreaded call or email from a client who is not firing you, but ending the relationship in whatever fashion we wanna call it, so. Gini Dietrich: It’s not always being fired. Chip Griffin: Okay. Gini Dietrich: Fired, fired means that you did a bad job. Chip Griffin: Okay. On that note, I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And it depends.

A pro's pro is what Denny Long is called in the business. His smooth voice will say goodbye on Saturday morning after nearly 55 years on WCCO Radio. He joined Vineeta on Thursday to discuss his amazing career.

The Arc of Evolution continues this week with Dimir. Come hear how Ryan loves everything the color combination does. Also, come hear about how Brando un-loves everything the color combination does.... And boy howdy, did we laugh!Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast

In this episode, Eric Chow interviews Tim Glemkowski about the core beliefs necessary for the renewal of the church, emphasizing evangelization, the role of the parish, and leadership. They explore how these principles can inspire and guide missionary disciples in a changing cultural landscape. You can learn more about Amazing Parish and their core beliefs for renewal at https://amazingparish.org/rebuild/ Key Topics: -Church exists to evangelize -Renewal driven by secularism and post-Christian society -The parish as the primary place for renewal -Leadership as a team sport in parish renewal -Building a culture of discipleship and active prayer Proclaim is a movement of the Archdiocese of Vancouver inspiring disciples to proclaim Jesus in their homes and communities. The Proclaim podcast is a space where you listen to inspiring disciples talk all things around sharing Jesus with others, and learn how to step into your own missionary identity. To learn more about Proclaim, you can visit weareproclaim.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @weareproclaim

AJ Jones is CCO of Monumental Sports   

We sit down with Henry Vaage Iversen, Co-Founder and CCO at boost.ai, to explore why voice AI is finally reaching mainstream deployment across banks, insurers, telcos and other regulated industries.We dig into what's changed in the technology, why phone volumes continue to rise and how large language models are reshaping what's possible on the voice channel. Henry shares practical lessons from deploying conversational AI at scale, including how some customers are now achieving 60-75% voice automation. We also discuss why the gap between chat and voice experiences still catches companies off guard, and what it really takes to get voice AI right in terms of testing, latency, and conversation design.We explore why layering AI onto legacy channels only gets you so far, and why the real opportunity lies in rethinking customer journeys from scratch. The conversation wraps with a story about what happens when AI agents start calling other AI agents, something our team recently experienced firsthand.Show notesFind out more about boost.aiFollow Henry on LinkedInTake our updated AI Maturity AssessmentSubscribe to our newsletterSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack

As AI moves from experimentation into daily enterprise workflows, companies are confronting a harder question than whether to adopt new tools: how to redesign work around them. The shift is already changing what employers need from technical talent, from task-based coding skills to systems thinking, judgment and the ability to guide AI-enabled platforms. According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025, 59% of workers will need reskilling or upskilling by 2030. For software engineering teams, that means the future may not be about replacing people outright, but rethinking the roles people play as AI accelerates more of the development lifecycle.So what should companies, educators and workers do when AI does not simply automate tasks, but changes the very definition of technical talent?That's the question at the heart of the latest episode of DisruptED. In the first installment of this special two-part series, host Ron J. Stefanski and Arun Varadarajan, chief commercial officer and co-founder of Ascendion, talk about retooling the workforce for an AI-accelerated economy. Their conversation explores how AI is reshaping software engineering, why speed and predictable outcomes matter in enterprise technology, and why the future of talent may depend less on narrow skills and more on first-principles thinking, systems judgment and human oversight.Top insights from the talk…AI is changing the role of engineers. Varadarajan explains that Ascendion's platform can generate engineering artifacts such as design documents, roadmaps, requirements, epics and user stories, shifting engineers from creators of every artifact to reviewers, validators and systems thinkers.Software engineering needs a systems-level rethink. Drawing a parallel to lean manufacturing, Varadarajan argues that the software development lifecycle has been too disconnected, slow and unpredictable — and that AI can help create a more frictionless engineering process.The future of employability is about competencies, not just skills. Rather than declaring computer science “dead,” Varadarajan says workers and students should focus on aptitude, logical reasoning, programming concepts and first principles, because AI-enabled systems will ask different things of talent.Arun Varadarajan is the CCO and co-founder of Ascendion, where he helps clients build AI-native products and platforms through agentic AI, engineering discipline and an outcomes-first delivery model. He has more than 30 years of experience across technology, consulting and business transformation, with leadership roles at Cognizant, Oracle, Capgemini, Collabera and multiple startups. His career highlights include building Cognizant's $1.1 billion data practice, launching AI and data modernization offerings, opening new markets and leading high-performance teams focused on client impact.

AI's next workforce challenge is not adoption; it is trust, governance and role redesign. Recent PwC research found that most U.S. executives expected AI agents to drastically transform existing roles, even as fewer than half of companies using agents had fundamentally rethought their operating models or redesigned processes around them. For enterprise technology leaders, the stakes are no longer just whether AI can speed up delivery, but whether companies can rebuild work itself around disciplined, secure and human-guided systems.So if AI can write code, build agents and accelerate delivery, what should tomorrow's engineers actually be trained to do?In the final episode of this two-part series on DisruptED, host Ron J. Stefanski speaks with Arun Varadarajan, CCO and co-founder of Ascendion, and Wesley Pullen, CTO, about retooling the workforce for an AI-native era. The conversation explores why Ascendion believes the next phase of software engineering is not simply about coding faster, but about democratizing engineering, rebuilding operating models, and shifting talent development from narrow skills to deeper competencies such as reasoning, design, problem-solving and outcome ownership.What you'll learn…Why AI changes the engineering job description. Varadarajan argues that as building software becomes easier, the more valuable work becomes deciding what to build, why it matters, who it serves and how it should be designed.Why enterprises need a new operating model, not just new tools. The discussion centers on Ascendion's view that AI transformation requires changes to processes, talent models and platforms, especially in regulated, security-sensitive enterprise environments.Why the future may reward deeper thinking. Stefanski frames AI-era engineering as a potential return to critical thinking and liberal arts-style reasoning, while Varadarajan and Pullen emphasize curiosity, structured problem-solving, reasoning and disciplined human judgment over technical fluency alone.Arun Varadarajan is the co-founder of Ascendion, where he helps lead the company's growth strategy and its AI-powered engineering platform work. Across more than 30 years in technology and business leadership, he has opened new markets, built high-performing organizations and led transformation work at companies including Cognizant, Oracle, Capgemini and startups. His career has focused on connecting emerging technologies with measurable client outcomes, from enterprise data modernization to AI-enabled engineering.Wesley Pullen is a senior technology executive and Ascendion's Global Field CTO, with more than 30 years of experience helping enterprises scale AI-driven software delivery, DevSecOps modernization and platform engineering. He has advised Fortune 1000 leaders on agentic AI, governance, product strategy and go-to-market execution, with prior leadership roles at CloudBees, Electric Cloud, CollabNet, Automic Software and BMC Software. His career highlights include scaling global teams, driving major revenue growth, shaping enterprise software delivery strategy and advising startups and industry boards on emerging technology adoption.

We are back to the Arc of Evolution. This week, Azorius. It didn't go how we thought, either. What do we mean? Tune in to CCO 541 to find out.Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast

As drug development grows increasingly complex, CDMOs are exploring new ways to streamline the path from early-stage formulation through commercial manufacturing. Rather than operating in isolated segments of the development lifecycle, some outsourcing partners are beginning to form more integrated collaborations designed to reduce handoffs, improve coordination, and simplify the client experience across multiple stages of manufacturing. In this episode of Off Script, we spoke with David Leroux-Petersen, CEO of Corealis Pharma, and Jean-Baptiste (JB) Agnus, CCO of the CDMO division at Bora Pharmaceuticals, about the emerging role of CDMO-to-CDMO collaboration through the lens of a new partnership between their companies. The conversation explores how integrated outsourcing models can help reduce development risk and accelerate timelines, what operational alignment looks like across organizations with complementary capabilities, and why client-centricity, governance, and transparent communication are essential in complex manufacturing partnerships.

In this episode, Simon and Dan answer listener questions covering Canada’s new sovereign wealth fund, speculative space ETFs, real economy stocks, and how younger investors can get started. They start by discussing where the new Canada Strong Fund could potentially invest, including critical minerals, uranium, energy infrastructure, pipelines, and companies tied to national sovereignty. They also look at why a West-to-East pipeline could become a much bigger political and economic issue as Canada thinks more seriously about energy security. The conversation then shifts to the new Canadian-listed space ETF, the risks of niche thematic funds, and why space investing remains a high-risk, high-reward area. Simon and Dan also compare the recent strength in technology and semiconductor stocks with more traditional “real economy” companies like railways, waste collection, infrastructure, and industrial businesses. They wrap up by discussing some of the most surprising Canadian stock performers of 2026, including Aritzia and Bombardier, before answering a listener question on how young Canadians can start investing using accounts like the FHSA and TFSA, as well as broad-based ETF options. Tickers of stocks discussed: CCO, NMG, TECK, MDA, SOBO, ENB, TRP, ORBX, RKLB, PL, ASTS, TOY, CLS, CP, WCN, QQQ, SPY, DIA, RSP, L, BDGI, BRK.B, ATZ, LULU, NKE, BBD.B, ZEQT, XEQT, VEQT, FGRO, FEQT, XIU Subscribe to our Our New Youtube Channel! Check out our portfolio by going to Jointci.com Our Website Our New Youtube Channel! Canadian Investor Podcast Network Twitter: @cdn_investing Simon’s twitter: @Fiat_Iceberg Braden’s twitter: @BradoCapital Dan’s Twitter: @stocktrades_ca Want to learn more about Real Estate Investing? Check out the Canadian Real Estate Investor Podcast! Apple Podcast - The Canadian Real Estate Investor Spotify - The Canadian Real Estate Investor Web player - The Canadian Real Estate Investor Asset Allocation ETFs | BMO Global Asset Management Sign up for Fiscal.ai for free to get easy access to global stock coverage and powerful AI investing tools. Register for EQ Bank, the seamless digital banking experience with better rates and no nonsense. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 225 with Ernestine Van Rappard, CCO  at Workpay, a Kenyan founded, Y Combinator backed payroll, HR, and Employer of Record platform helping companies hire, pay, and manage employees across Africa without setting up local entities. Ernestine joins us to unpack one of the biggest hidden barriers to doing business in Africa: compliant hiring, payroll, and workforce management across multiple African countries.In this episode, we explore how global companies are expanding into Africa faster by using Employer of Record (EOR) solutions to hire employees legally and compliantly without establishing subsidiaries. Ernestine explains why setting up entities across Africa can take months, the complexity of navigating labour laws and payroll regulations across different jurisdictions, and why payroll infrastructure is becoming a critical part of Africa's digital economy.We also discuss the rise of remote work and distributed teams across Africa, the growing global demand for African talent, and why international businesses are increasingly looking towards African markets for both expansion and recruitment. Ernestine shares how Workpay evolved from a HR software platform into one of Africa's leading payroll and EOR providers, now supporting companies hiring across multiple African markets.What We Discuss With ErnestineWhy hiring and payroll compliance remain major barriers to business expansion across Africa.How Employer of Record (EOR) services allow companies to hire in Africa without setting up local entities.The realities of managing payroll, tax, and labour law compliance across multiple African countries.Why global companies are increasingly hiring African talent and building distributed teams across the continent.How Workpay is helping businesses scale faster across Africa through payroll technology, HR management, and compliant workforce solutions.Did you miss my previous episode where I discus The Future of Ecommerce in Africa and Why Speed and Reliability Is Everything? Make sure to check it out!Connect with Terser:LinkedIn - Terser AdamuInstagram - unlockingafricaTwitter (X) - @TerserAdamuConnect with ErnestineLinkedIn - Ernestine Catz - van Rappard and WorkpayMany of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don't do it alone. If you'd like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group:www.etkgroup.co.ukinfo@etkgroup.co.uk

Welcome to the Hyperspace Heroes Podcast, where 3 Gen 1 Star Wars fans are just trying to make their way in the Star Wars podcast universe. HHP EP 173 features Warren Proulx. Warren is an actor, Second Unit Stunts and Stand In for the Main Unit. We have seen his work in Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Book of Boba Fett and Obi Wan Kenobi where he was the stand in for Ewan McGregor! We wrap up with Collection Corner and SW Dad Joke of the Week.You can follow Warren on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/wrproulxHyperspace Heroes Podcast does weekly livestreams on Thursday nights at 8pm eastern. Audio versions are posted on all the pod catchers the following Mondays. You can find all of our links for livestreams, podcasts and social media athttps://beacons.ai/brownsquadronIntro/Outro Music: Strange Signal (Instrumental) HoliznaCCO/ Licensed under CCO 1.0 Universal License https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcodeSource: Free Music Archive https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/straight-to-vhs/strange-signal/Support HoliznaCCO via hisPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/HoliznaBandcamp: https://holiznaroyaltyfree.bandcamp.com/Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HoliznaVoice Over Work in Intro/Outro Performed by Milz Bowden & Henri GageYou can find Milz & Henri at https://youtube.com/@video4humans

What a trip! Join Brando and Producer Gary as they recount all that was epic at MacicCon Las Vegas and the CCO Experience. Never heard of the CCO Experience? Today is your lucky day! Friends, parties, beers, friends, tacos and the best damn way to experience a MagicCon. Join us.Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast

Send us Fan MailEpisode Summary: Erika Mantallana shares insights on organizational intelligence, trust, and the strategic role of communication in organizations. Discover how internal trust impacts external reputation and how leaders can better connect with their teams.Erika's BIO: Erika Mantallana is the founder of Threadwell Studio, a strategic communications consultancy built on a simple but hard-won idea: external trust is an inside job. After more than 20 years leading communications at Fortune 100 companies, national nonprofits, and publicly traded organizations, she made the leap from the executive suite to entrepreneurship. Now, she works with CMO and CCO-level leaders to reposition communications from a reactive delivery function to a driver of organizational intelligence.Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, culture, and credibility. And because she knows not every team has the budget for a consulting engagement, she's built a growing library of practitioner tools and resources designed to make that same strategic thinking accessible to communications leaders at every level.Connect with Erika on LinkedIn. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikamatallana/] or visit https://threadwellstudio.com/Support the showOur premiere sponsor, Social News Desk, has an exclusive offer for PIO Podcast listeners. Head over to socialnewsdesk.com/pio to get three months free when a qualifying agency signs up.

Welcome to the Hyperspace Heroes Podcast, where 3 Gen 1 Star Wars fans are just trying to make their way in the Star Wars podcast universe. HHP EP 172 features special guest Rory Ross. Rory is an actor and producer who has appeared in The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett. He has also created, produced and stars in a Star Wars fan film, The Path of the Lost. We wrap up with Collection Corner and SW Dad Joke of the Week.You can follow Rory on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/theroryrossHyperspace Heroes Podcast does weekly livestreams on Thursday nights at 8pm eastern. Audio versions are posted on all the pod catchers the following Mondays. You can find all of our links for livestreams, podcasts and social media athttps://beacons.ai/brownsquadronIntro/Outro Music: Strange Signal (Instrumental) HoliznaCCO/ Licensed under CCO 1.0 Universal License https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcodeSource: Free Music Archive https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/straight-to-vhs/strange-signal/Support HoliznaCCO via hisPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/HoliznaBandcamp: https://holiznaroyaltyfree.bandcamp.com/Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HoliznaVoice Over Work in Intro/Outro Performed by Milz Bowden & Henri GageYou can find Milz & Henri at https://youtube.com/@video4humans

David Nichtern, Duncan's meditation teacher, founder & CEO of Dharma Moon, and co-founder and CCO of Strawberry Moons Media, re-joins the DTFH!Interested in getting certified to teach meditation? The Dharma Moon Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training begins on June 12th, 2026. Click here for more info about the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training. Click here to register now!On Tuesday, May 26th, join David and Professor Robert Thurman for a FREE live online event exploring the profound practices of mindfulness and the journey of becoming a meditation teacher. Click here for more info and to reserve your spot.Ohio family! Duncan is coming to Hilarities in Cleveland, May 8 & 9. Click here to get your tickets now. Thank you, and we love you!!This episode is brought to you by: Get 10% off your first month of BlueChew Gold with code DUNCAN. Visit BlueChew.com for more details and important safety information, and we thank BlueChew for sponsoring the podcast. If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at MintMobile.com/Duncan.

Most Christians struggle to share their faith naturally — but what if evangelization could feel genuine, relatable, and even fun? In this episode Krista talks with Alyssa and Nicole as they share candid insights from their journey, revealing how authentic relationships and simple acts of kindness open hearts more powerfully than sermons or scripts. Alyssa recounts her transformation from skepticism to faith, highlighting the subtle wins — small gestures, genuine listening, and the importance of patience. Nicole shares how meeting people where they're at, rather than pushing beliefs, creates trust and opens the door for real dialogue. You'll discover practical tips on avoiding the “weird” factor, using social media effectively, and turning everyday moments into opportunities for witness — all rooted in love rather than obligation. We break down the power of community and normalcy in young adult outreach, emphasizing how joy, camaraderie, and authentic friendship make faith appealing rather than intimidating. Alyssa and Nicole reveal how ‘living life on mission' isn't about grand gestures but about weaving faith into ordinary interactions — from a shared cup of coffee to a kind word, from social media posts to spontaneous acts of kindness. Why does this matter? Because many feel disconnected from church and faith, not because they're opposed, but because they've encountered a church that's “weird” or judgmental. This episode shows how a simple, genuine approach can create an inviting space where people want to ask questions, seek truth, and come home. Perfect for church leaders, youth ministers, or any believer who wants to foster authentic evangelism — this episode offers clear, actionable advice that transforms fear into confidence. Whether you're shy or outspoken, the keys are the same: love first, meet at the level of trust, and don't be afraid to be yourself. Because when you live out your faith with authenticity, you become a powerful witness in a noisy world that desperately needs kindness and truth. Join us to learn how everyday interactions can turn strangers into friends, and friends into disciples — and how you can be part of the harvest today. The world needs your voice, your kindness, and your witness. Are you ready to step out and make faith relatable again? Proclaim is a movement of the Archdiocese of Vancouver inspiring disciples to proclaim Jesus in their homes and communities. The Proclaim podcast is a space where you listen to inspiring disciples talk all things around sharing Jesus with others, and learn how to step into your own missionary identity. To learn more about Proclaim, you can visit weareproclaim.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @weareproclaim

Unlock the Secrets of Global Storytelling with Author Nova McBee!  How do you turn real-world adventures into an international bestselling series? In this episode of Continuing Conversations, we sit down with Nova McBee, the powerhouse author and screenwriter behind the hit young adult thriller series, Calculated. Drawing from over 20 years of living in China, Asia, and the Middle East, Nova reveals how her cross-cultural life shaped her "oak tree" stories—books designed to last for generations. Whether you're an aspiring writer, a Star Trek fan, or curious about the future of media, this interview is packed with actionable insights on the publishing industry and the creative process. In this episode, we dive into:     • The "Calculated" Journey: Nova shares the 13-year path of bringing her math-prodigy thriller to life and the news about the upcoming film adaptation.     • The Future of Entertainment: As the CCO of Y Plus X Entertainment, Nova explains the $15 billion vertical film industry and why storytelling for mobile phones is the next big frontier.     • Writing for Crossover Audiences: How she intentionally crafts stories that resonate with everyone from 12-year-olds to 80-year-old book clubs and a massive male demographic.     • The "Contender" Mindset: Why Nova spent years perfecting her craft and studying the publishing business before ever trying to get published.     • Star Trek Inspiration: How the partnership of Kirk and Spock influenced her views on cross-cultural collaboration and massive adventure. ABOUT OUR GUEST Nova McBee is a multi-talented author, screenwriter, and Chief Creative Officer. Her Calculated series is described as The Count of Monte Cristo meets Mission Impossible, featuring math prodigies, international smugglers, and high-stakes redemption. ORDER NOVA MCBEE'S BOOKS FROM ADVENTURE INK https://adventureink.xyz/browse/filter/t/%20Nova%20McBee/k/keyword CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS:     • Michael Dismuke: Freelance writer for Star Trek Adventures RPG. Visit him at MichaelDismuke.com.     • Jim Johnson: Project manager for Star Trek Adventures and Fallout RPGs at Modiphius. PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY OF STAR TREK TIMELINES TODAY https://adventureink.xyz/item/hB2UM6Mk2YEpRS8_RBqmkg FIND MORE FROM STUDIO TEMBO https://linktr.ee/StudioTembo CHAPTERS 00:00 – Intro: Infinite Stories and Infinite Combinations    02:00 – Star Trek Roots: Kirk, Spock, and the Pioneer Spirit    04:30 – Behind the Scenes: Chief Creative Officer at Y Plus X Entertainment    05:55 – The Rise of Vertical Film: A $15 Billion Industry    08:50 – Writing "Oak Tree" Stories vs. "Flower" Stories    09:40 – The Calculated Series: Mission Impossible meets Count of Monte Cristo    11:50 – International Living as a Foundation for Authentic YA    13:30 – Becoming a "Contender": Perfecting the Craft and the Business #NovaMcBee #CalculatedSeries #WritingCommunity #VerticalFilm #AuthorInterview #StarTrekFans #YAFiction #PublishingTips #Screenwriting #ContinuingConversations

Heading to Vegas this May? Join Josh at Pulse 2026 and come say hi—your oversized fluorescent daiquiri is on him. No catch.Grab your ticket at gainsightpulse.com and use code UNCHURNED for a special rate.Rob Edmondson, CCO at Ironclad - an AI contracting platform - brings a military-grade operating philosophy to customer outcomes: mission first, people always.In this episode, he breaks down what happened when his team used AI to predict churn — and why the results blew up their assumptions about what "good adoption" actually looks like.Rob reveals how down-market customers who adopted AI features too early actually churned more, why enterprise renewal patterns look nothing like daily usage. He also gets honest about the governance-vs-freedom tension every leader is navigating with AI tools right now.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & introduction1:40 - Meet Rob Edmondson, CCO of Ironclad4:01 - Rob's career origin story5:03 - "Mission first, people always" - leadership from the military9:15 - How Rob enables a people-first culture across his teams11:05 - Using AI internally to predict churn & the surprising findings14:22 - Building a four-stage maturity model from churn prediction data16:35 - The AI vibe check: governance vs. freedom balancing act20:20 - Can you mandate AI usage? 21:57 - Tying every AI agent to an OKR22:40 - Ironclad's OKRs & Driving AI feature adoption---What You'll Learn- How Ironclad built an AI model that predicts churn six months out- The difference between enterprise and SMB "digital signatures" of healthy customers- How to build a four-stage customer maturity model with measurable adoption gates- Why Rob ties CSM compensation to stage-progression KPIs, not activity metrics- What "mission first, people always" means when translated from the military to SaaS- How Ironclad balances AI governance with giving teams freedom to experiment- What an AI roadmap looks like when every agent is tied to an OKR---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Where to Find the GuestRob Edmondson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/redmondson/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

As of the start of the 2026 Giro d'Italia this weekend, the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team will be known as Netcompany-INEOS.Last week, the team - one of the most successful in elite road cycling - announced a new sponsorship deal with Danish tech and AI firm Netcompany.INEOS, team owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's giant chemicals company, had yielded the main naming position for a deal reported as worth €100m over five years.At the centre of deal - one of the biggest in the pro peloton - is Tom Hill. He joined the team as CCO in 2024 having previously held commercial leadership positions at World Rugby and Manchester United amongst others.Hill joins us on the podcast this week to detail the work that went into signing Netcompany; to articulate the valuable USPs - and unique challenges - that cycling has as a sponsorship proposition; and to evaluate the cycling ecosystem as a whole and ask ‘is there a better way?'

Harris Wilkinson is an award-winning creative leader in advertising and entertainment, currently serving as Chief Creative Officer at TMA, a global experiential and branded entertainment agency (with offices in LA, Chicago, NYC, Dallas). He oversees all creative output, blending storytelling across film, TV, advertising, activations, and sponsorships for clients like Die Hard, State Farm, Bet Rivers, Gatorade, Morgan Stanley, Six Flags, Buffalo Wild Wings, and more. Starting his career writing and producing commercials in Chicago agencies, he progressed through roles including Creative Director at TBWAChiatDay LA and Senior VP/Group Creative Director at Omnicom before joining TMA (promoted to CCO in 2021 from SVP Creative).

Sloane Payne and Dave Joerger are the COO and CCO of WCM Investment Management, a firm chronicled over the years for its remarkable culture and growth to $120 billion in assets under management. This special conversation was hosted by Scott MacDonald on our affiliate Investment Management Operations podcast. Their conversation describes WCM's culture in practice that includes hiring for character over credentials, trust as an operating principle, overtrusting before proof exists, generous compensation and shared equity, values as a daily practice, connection through relational investment, making mistakes feel survivable, scaling culture by modeling behavior, accountability alongside kindness, and succession planning without financial burden. Sloane and Dave believe the atypical human blend of these disciplines has been the primary driver of the firm's success. Although not the origin of its name, it's perhaps not surprising that WCM also stands for Why Culture Matters. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership   Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠)

Welcome to the Hyperspace Heroes Podcast, where 3 Gen 1 Star Wars fans are just trying to make their way in the Star Wars podcast universe. HHP EP 171 has guest host Brown 85 Teva (Adelphi Rangers) join us to talk about the Maul series, the Mando & Grogu movie AND the history on screen of our favorite New Republic group, the Adelphi Rangers. We wrap up with Collection Corner and SW Dad Joke of the Week.You can follow Adelphi Rangers on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/adelphi_rangersHyperspace Heroes Podcast does weekly livestreams on Thursday nights at 8pm eastern. Audio versions are posted on all the pod catchers the following Mondays. You can find all of our links for livestreams, podcasts and social media athttps://beacons.ai/brownsquadronIntro/Outro Music: Strange Signal (Instrumental) HoliznaCCO/ Licensed under CCO 1.0 Universal License https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcodeSource: Free Music Archive https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/straight-to-vhs/strange-signal/Support HoliznaCCO via hisPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/HoliznaBandcamp: https://holiznaroyaltyfree.bandcamp.com/Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HoliznaVoice Over Work in Intro/Outro Performed by Milz Bowden & Henri GageYou can find Milz & Henri at https://youtube.com/@video4humans

The last of our mono-colors during the Arc of Evolution is Green. How has the popularity of green commanders changed over time? Come find out right now on Commander Cookout Episode 539. Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast

Joe Shelerud welcomes Will Fisher, CCO and co-founder of Amerge, fresh off the announcement that Amerge is joining Podean, the same group that acquired Ad Advance just weeks earlier. In this episode, Joe and Will pull back the curtain on what it really takes to build a world-class Amazon agency, and what joining a global group means for their teams, clients, and the future of retail media.Key Takeaways:The Amerge origin story — Three ex-Amazon employees (spread across London, Bratislava, and beyond) who saw a gap.Tech-first DNA — Both Amerge and Ad Advance independently built proprietary technology before scaling their agencies.Cracking international markets — How Amerge expanded from the EU into the US by finding local leaders with boots-on-the-ground expertise.Non-endemic advertising as a DSP differentiator — Why working with non-endemic brands pushed Amerge to develop some of the most sophisticated DSP setups in the industry.Culture as a deal-breaker — Will and Joe both share how cultural alignment outweighed deal structure in their decisions to join Podean.Podean's emerging global model — With Ad Advance (North America), Amerge (EU/UK), Commerce Canal (retail analytics), and now eight combined founders, what the group is building is something the industry hasn't seen before.Advice for agency founders — Understand your clients' gaps before you go looking for partners, and never underestimate the importance of values fit.

Welcome to the Hyperspace Heroes Podcast, where 3 Gen 1 Star Wars fans are just trying to make their way in the Star Wars podcast universe. HHP EP 169 features Actor Marti Matulis! Marti has appeared in several Trek shows and movies, along with some of BL's favorites like Z-Nation, MIB, Smile and was even a Sleestak in Land of the Lost! We best know Marti as the space pirate Vane in The Mandalorian and Skeleton Crew. We wrap up with Collection Corner and SW Dad Joke of the Week.You can follow Marti on Instagram and his new YouTube channel athttps://www.instagram.com/martimatulishttps://www.youtube.com/@MartiMatulisHyperspace Heroes Podcast does weekly livestreams on Thursday nights at 8pm eastern. Audio versions are posted on all the pod catchers the following Mondays. You can find all of our links for livestreams, podcasts and social media athttps://beacons.ai/brownsquadronIntro/Outro Music: Strange Signal (Instrumental) HoliznaCCO/ Licensed under CCO 1.0 Universal License https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcodeSource: Free Music Archive https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/straight-to-vhs/strange-signal/Support HoliznaCCO via hisPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/HoliznaBandcamp: https://holiznaroyaltyfree.bandcamp.com/Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HoliznaVoice Over Work in Intro/Outro Performed by Milz Bowden & Henri GageYou can find Milz & Henri at https://youtube.com/@video4humans

Welcome to the Hyperspace Heroes Podcast, where 3 Gen 1 Star Wars fans are just trying to make their way in the Star Wars podcast universe. HHP EP 169 features Actor and Stuntman Kevin Mangold. Kevin has a long career in Hollywood and spent a few years as a professional jockey. His biggest role has been as the lovable ghost Slimer in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. We wrap up with Collection Corner and SW Dad Joke of the Week.You can follow Kevin on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/horacestuntsHyperspace Heroes Podcast does weekly livestreams on Thursday nights at 8pm eastern. Audio versions are posted on all the pod catchers the following Mondays. You can find all of our links for livestreams, podcasts and social media athttps://beacons.ai/brownsquadronIntro/Outro Music: Strange Signal (Instrumental) HoliznaCCO/ Licensed under CCO 1.0 Universal License https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcodeSource: Free Music Archive https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/straight-to-vhs/strange-signal/Support HoliznaCCO via hisPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/HoliznaBandcamp: https://holiznaroyaltyfree.bandcamp.com/Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HoliznaVoice Over Work in Intro/Outro Performed by Milz Bowden & Henri GageYou can find Milz & Henri at https://youtube.com/@video4humans

Heading to Vegas this May? Join Josh at Pulse 2026 and come say hi—your oversized fluorescent daiquiri is on him. No catch.Grab your ticket at gainsightpulse.com and use code UNCHURNED for a special rate.When healthcare equipment goes down, healthcare goes down. That's the world Brad Casemore operates in — where a broken MRI or a failed sterilization unit isn't an inconvenience, it's a crisis.In this episode, Brad, Chief Customer & Growth Officer at PartsSource breaks down why merging the CCO and CGO roles actually makes sense. He makes the case that customer value and revenue growth are the same motion, not separate departments, and walks through exactly how he's built his org to reflect that. If you're a CS leader wondering whether you should own more of the business, this is the episode.Brad also shares how he's plugging AI agents directly into the RACI model — not as a gimmick, but as a deliberate workforce strategy. Humans accountable, agents responsible. The result? One part of his business went from low-90s retention to 99.6%. This is what the future of CS operations actually looks like in practice.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & introduction1:24 - Meet Brad Casemore & overview of PartsSource4:17 - The marketplace, service network, training, and predictive monitoring explained10:46 - Post-sales inside a 750-person company with a surprisingly complex portfolio13:17 - The CCO + CGO role; why Brad took it and what changed15:55 - Key learnings from stepping into the growth seat17:57 - The attribution model CS leaders need to steal from sales19:45 - Putting AI in the RACI: how Brad's team went from low-90s to 99.6% retention25:15 - Systems thinking, curiosity, and getting comfortable being uncomfortable28:02 - Pulse 2025 and what Brad's watching in AI---What You'll Learn- When CCO and CGO roles merge and the org structure to make it work- How to map the full customer lifecycle so pre-sales and post-sales are pulling in the same direction- The attribution lesson CS leaders are missing that sales and marketing figured out years ago- How to build a consistent customer experience across a long-tail of thousands of accounts without burning out your team- Why Brad puts AI agents directly into the RACI model — and what that means for team design- The proactive CS shift that moved retention from the low-90s to 99.6%- What aspiring CS leaders need to develop to grow into an executive seat ---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Where to Find the GuestBrad's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradocasemore/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 16th Annual Meeting features Phil Sobol, CCO, CereCore. Here, he explores how the right IT partnerships can stabilize operations, reduce administrative burden, and enable rural and community hospital leaders to focus on modernization, strategy, and improving patient care outcomes.This episode is sponsored by CereCore.

It's time to RED 'til you're DEAD! This week on the Arc of Evolution, we are looking at Brando's favorite color: Red. Join us to see how red commanders have changed in popularity and design over the years. It's all right here on CCO 538.Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast

Sloane Payne and Dave Joerger are the COO and CCO respectively at WCM Investment Management, an independent investment firm managing $120 billion in assets.    WCM has built something unique – a firm culture that actually gets stronger as it grows.    Sloane and Dave share the team's simple, trust-first approach to building organizations. They've stripped away unnecessary layers to create a repeatable process for scaling culture.    In our conversation, we unpack the lessons from the founder's past that shaped WCM's philosophy of hiring for character over credentials. They share what it really takes to lead through growth without losing the essence of what made the firm special.    We then turn to the mechanics – how modeling behavior, candid feedback, “honoring the absent in a meeting” and accountability have made WCM what it is today and how that mindset influences the leadership's approach to compensation, ownership, and succession.    Finally, Sloane and Dave explain how WCM's anti-corporate ethos guides everything from product design to talent decisions – and what that means in an industry drifting toward more systematized management cultures.    Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@tseides⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mailing list⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Access transcript with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Premium Membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

Today on Comic Crusaders, Al Mega sits down with Alok Sharma, CCO of Mugafi & Co Creator of Moksh Studios, to dive deep into their upcoming Kickstarter project MOKSH: ORIGIN – THE QUEST. This conversation goes beyond comics exploring mythology, purpose-driven storytelling, creative leadership, and the challenges of building a meaningful universe in today's industry. If you love indie comics, visionary creators, and stories with soul this episode is for YOU. Sign up for the pre-launch at Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mugafi/moksh-origin-i-the-quest Visit the Website: https://www.mokshstudios.com/ Follow on Socialat: X: @MokshStudios Reddit: r/mokshstudios Thank you for Watching / Listening! We appreciate your support! Host: Al Mega Follow on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook: @TheRealAlMega / @ComicCrusaders Make sure to Like/Share/Subscribe if you haven't yet Rumble/Twitch: ComicCrusaders YouTube: / comiccrusadersworld Visit the official Comic Crusaders Comic Book Shop: comiccrusaders.shop Visit the OFFICIAL Comic Crusaders Swag Shop at: comiccrusaders.us Main Site: https://www.comiccrusaders.com/​​​​ Edited/Produced/Directed by Al Mega

In this episode of UNSCRIPTED, host Sarah Nicastro recaps the key insights, standout sessions, and pivotal conversations from Field Service Next West 2026 in San Diego.From balancing globalization and localization to redefining the service value proposition, this episode explores how industry leaders are navigating the intersection of technology innovation, talent transformation, and culture-driven leadership. Sarah shares her personal reflections from the event, highlighting the themes that will shape the future of field service.

The Arc of Evolution continues! This week we look at what is maybe the most surprising and least surprising color at the same time: Black. Join us for another doozy, right here on Commander Cookout Podcast 537! Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast

Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online.You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast?Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumInterested in MTG/Commander History? Check out Commander History Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mtg-commander-history--6128728You can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodca

We continue the Arc of Evolution on Commander Cookout Episode 536. This week, the evolution of blue commanders. What was good, popular, powerful back in the day? Was it the same commanders or styles of decks you see today? Join us and find out.Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast

Join us for everyone's favorite thing: A new arc of episodes on Commander Cookout Podcast. This week, we kick off the Arc of Evolution where we dive deep into the THEN vs. NOW of every color's most popular commanders. We're kicking things off with the color white and boy howdy! It's a blast from the past.  Huge thank you to our sponsors, Fusion Gaming Online. They're your source for all of your gaming needs. You can find them here: www.FusionGamingOnline.com. You want a 5% discount off all of your MTG order? Head over to Fusion Gaming Online and use exclusive promo code: CCONATION at checkout.Want your deck or topic featured on Commander Cookout Podcast? Check out the reward tiers at Patreon.com/CCOPodcast. There are a lot of fun and unique benefits to pledging. Like the CCO Discord or getting your deck featured on the show.Ryan's solo podcast, Commander ad Populum:https://www.spreaker.com/show/commander-ad-populumYou can listen to CCO Podcast anywhere better podcasts are found as well as on CommanderCookout.com.Now, Hit our Theme Song!Social media:https://www.CommanderCookout.comhttps://www.Instagram.com/CommanderCookouthttps://www.Facebook.com/CCOPodcast@CCOPodcast and @CCOBrando on Twitterhttps://www.Patreon.com/CCOPodcast