What CEOs Talk About
Impacts of Insecurity in the Workplace
Melanie Pump is an accomplished CFO, Director and business leader. She is also the author of 'Detox: Managing Insecurity in the Workplace'. In the book, she shares her learnings and experiences on the impacts of toxic work environments. Melanie has appeared on CTV, FOX, ABC and Sirius XM. Her website, melaniepump.com, includes more helpful insight on how businesses and employees can reach their full potential.In this episode….Melanie Pump rose from receptionist to CFO, her current position with Brane Inc, but the journey that sets her apart is the one she traveled through and out of personal setbacks, childhood trauma, and grief. Throughout her struggles she experienced insecurity and doubt as well as the positive potential that a healthy workplace could inject into her situation. It is the combination of her life experiences and personal understanding of both healthy and toxic workplaces that led her to write her book, 'Detox: Managing Insecurity in the Workplace' during the pandemic.Melanie understands the great impact a healthy workplace can have on employees from within the structure itself. While she followed the finance path in her career journey, she always had a keen interest in the people and HR side of things. She has experienced and observed how insecurity can be bred in the workplace through a variety of overt and subtle ways and, in contrast, how a workplace can instead uplift and support employees and bring them to a place where they feel safe both physically and psychologically.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Melanie Pump discuss the insights and lessons her book imparts. Melanie explains how low transparency in a job setting can lead to employees feeling insecure both in the role they play and in their overall job security. She advocates for clear and consistent communication as well as setting the "tone from the top" of positivity and inclusivity. She and Martin examine how C-Suite leaders can truly encourage staff and lead by creating healthy and productive workplaces.
Serving The Underserved Charities
Shamil Hargovan is an entrepreneur, CEO, and brand leader who has built award-winning products and services, consumer devices, B2B platforms, and applications generating over $4B in direct revenues. As STS Managing Director, Shamil leads sell-side M&A deals, supporting business owners and founders on their journey to a strategic exit.Shamil also co-chairs the STS Capital Success to Significance™ pillar focusing on social impact and legacy potential. He serves as CEO of Altruvest Charitable Services, an affiliated foundation of STS and a global not-for-profit organization that provides training and tools to improve the governance of community-based charities. Prior to STS, Shamil co-founded Wiivv Wearables, and as CEO, grew the company 68x in three years to become the largest supplier of custom 3D printed footwear worldwide.In this episode….Shamil Hargovan was born in Australia and spent his formative childhood years in Tanzania, before the family moved to Cupertino, California when he was a teenager. He laughs about what culture shock it was to go from sometimes not having reliable power supplies to the heart of Silicon Valley in a single move. Now a resident of Seattle, he has forged a successful career as an entrepreneur, CEO, and brand manager who currently works for STS Capital Partners and Altruvest Charitable Services. The idea of using his success and skills to give back to communities and those in need is one of his passions.Shamil notes that 85% of charities are underserved, unknown, or working as pillars in communities but without necessary visibility and that during the pandemic 66% of these small charities either went under or entered financial difficulties. Altruvest started with having heavy hitter consultants and executives going into charities to help with governance to improve process and assist in the ability to run in a sustainable manner. He now works to bring entrepreneurs, corporations, and individuals into Altruvest to pair them with charities of their choice as board members to facilitate stable growth and sound practices.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter talks with Shamil Hargovan about their shared passion for investing in the business of nonprofits with time, energy, and support as well as money. They discuss how there is a perception that people don't believe they have the skills to offer to a charity but that non-profit businesses are exactly that - businesses who still need finance experts, IT and marketing professionals, and leadership just as any other business does.
Creating the Foundation to Have the Best Legacy Possible
Jodi-Tatiana Charles is the founder and "Brandographer™" of LCG Brands, a unique brand and marketing consulting firm dedicated to educating entrepreneurs, small/medium businesses (SMB/SMEs), and international professionals on the importance of growing their personal and corporate brands.She brings 30+ years of executive leadership in marketing, branding and communication successes with high profile organizations, including the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, MassChallenge Inc., Massachusetts Governor's Office, Massachusetts Conference for Women, NBC Universal/Comcast TV, and Clear Channel Communications/iHeart Radio. When not absorbed with all things marketing, Jodi-Tatiana dedicates her time to children, elderly and cancer causes, through road races, mentoring and volunteering.In this episode….Jodi-Tatiana Charles is a Marketing Strategist, Global Speaker, Podcast Host, and Author. She founded LCG Brands and is passionate about educating entrepreneurs and business owners about growing their brands and thinking about their legacies, both personal and professional. Born in Haiti to Haitian parents, she is immensely proud of both her Haitian heritage and the endless sense of curiosity she was born with that matched the devotion to seeking knowledge and learning instilled in her by her parents.When Jodi-Tatiana was a child and wanted new clothes, her tailor father brought home sewing machines. He maintained that every day you wake up and learn something. This thirst for knowledge and profound sense of needing to learn and share what she's learned has driven her from a young age. She has earned nine degrees and pushed for success not just for her own career but so she can pass on what she knows to share her growing legacy with others. This is the message she stresses, as well: to learn and share what you know.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, Martin Hunter and Jodi-Tatiana Charles talk about what a legacy truly means, how to expand your legacy by sharing what you know based on what your passions are, and how to design your own path on your own terms. Jodi-Tatiana encourages the pursuit of personal legacy and Martin relates how every inspiring thing she says can be applied directly to your business as a CEO.
An Executive Whisperer
Didi Dayton is a partner at Wing Venture Capital responsible for Customer Network and Business Development. Prior to Wing, Didi spent 20 years in the Cyber Security field specializing in building Go-To-Market and routes to market for hyper-growth organizations such as Websense, FireEye, Tanium and Cylance.She successfully led sales and channel teams at various Companies like Symantec, Arrow and Cylance (now Blackberry) through 12 M&A and integration activities. Her focus and execution on Alliances and Managed Service Providers directly assisted FireEye with a successful IPO. She has been awarded the prestigious Channel Chief award 4 years running, the 50 most Influential Channel Chiefs and in 2019 Didi made it to the Power 100 Women of the Channel. More recently, Didi has acted as advisor to the board of JASK and 1011 Ventures.In this episode….Didi Dayton grew up in Europe and after schooling in France, worked her way through sales to leadership. She has always been fascinated with "human behavior, psychology, and what motivates people" which she says is what led her to sales. Her specialty is operationalizing a business: keeping things moving forward and in understanding the psychology of that business. She is currently a partner at Wing Venture Capital where she says she runs community for the firm, in effect matchmaking between IT buyers, advisors, and portfolio companies. Didi's work in venture capital requires a gaze set to the future and she says Wing's very name indicates that they operate as a co-pilot with their companies and, like her, are passionate about innovation. She understands the vast amount of data, research, and analysis required to be effective and uses this informational ability to assist people in solving problems. The ability to compute on the fly, catalog and analyze data, and defend a position are key skills in the job. Yet both Didi and Martin stress that attitude matters most.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Didi Dayton break down what venture capital actually is and what it does, why every successful executive or leader needs a "whisperer", and the innate value in learning how to tell a good story. They discuss the prevalent concern of burnout within the industry and draw comparisons between the intricacies of teenage sports teamwork to early stage business dynamics.
Making Extraordinary Exits Possible
A successful entrepreneur in his twenties, Rob Follows sold his marketing and strategy business in 1992 for 27x EBITDA. He was thrilled with that — until he found out the buyer would have paid 300% more for it. That started his journey to create STS Capital Partners, a unique M&A advisor firm focused on making extraordinary exits possible.As well as being CEO and Founder of STS Capital Partners, Rob is also the founding Chairman of Altruvest Charitable Services, a Canadian charity that provides training and tools to improve the performance of charitable organizations so they can give more to their causes. In 1998, Rob received the Top 40 Under 40 leadership award for the work he had done in creating 1,000 new jobs in Canada, as well as founding and growing Altruvest Charitable Services which has now contributed over $10 million since its establishment.Shamil Hargovan is an entrepreneur, CEO, and brand leader who has built award-winning products and services, consumer devices, B2B platforms, and applications generating over $4B in direct revenues. As STS Managing Director, Shamil leads sell-side M&A deals, supporting business owners and founders on their journey to a strategic exit.Prior to STS, Shamil co-founded Wiivv Wearables, and as CEO, grew the company 68x in three years to become the largest supplier of custom 3D printed footwear worldwide. He drove an award-winning e-commerce experience and led commercial partnerships with international governments and sports, athleisure, and wellness brands, including Dr. Scholl's and Lululemon.In this episode….Rob Follows is Founder and Chairman of STS Capital. As a skilled young entrepreneur he sold his business for great profit in 1992 only to learn the buyer would have paid much more: Rob is now driven to help other entrepreneurs achieve full value for their business. Shamil Hargovan works at STS Capital as Managing Director, North America. Like Rob, Shamil is an entrepreneur who grew his business into great success and only recently exited, in 2020, to a private strategic capital group. He is inspired by Rob's massively transformative purpose of creating billions of dollars of new philanthropic capital.Rob and Shamil explain how STS Capital fills a need in the business world by employing entrepreneurs who have all sold businesses, who understand the entrepreneurial spirit and emotional needs of their clients and want to provide real valuable exit strategies for them. While Rob focuses a lot of energy on finding the best people for STS and developing those people, Shamil leads sell-side deals and works to ensure business owners are heard and advised soundly without focusing solely on the financial end of things.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, Martin Hunter talks with Rob Follows and Shamil Hargovan about the many things entrepreneurs should consider while on the journey towards selling their business. Rob explains how they are really "sell-side advisors" more than M&A, Shamil details how collaborative the process is between STS and both buyer and seller, and both have a desire for business owners to be able to trust the process with STS.
The Heart Is Where It's At
Isabelle Mercier-Turcotte, CO-Founder LeapZone Strategies, is a brand builder, business performance catalyst, and one of the best-selling authors of the business and marketing book titled, The Next Big Thing: Top Trends From Today's Leading Experts to Help You Dominate the New Economy. She has a relentless passion for helping entrepreneurs and small business owners raise the bar and expand their comfort zone to create outstanding brand experiences.Margarita Romano, CO-Founder LeapZone Strategies, is an Equine-Guided Strategist. She is Isabelle's partner not only in business but in life. A "super greek" processor helping passionate entrepreneurs connect the dots to lead fulfilling lives driven by heart and soul. She partners with horses to help CEOs and business leaders to overcome obstacles in the way of success. She is also the author of Sitting On The Fence - How To Love Without Limits available on Amazon.In this episode….Isabelle Mercier-Turcotte and Margarita Romano met at Concordia University in Montreal. After watching French-speaking Isabelle struggle with an English conversation on the first day of school Margarita stepped in as a bilingual speaker to assist. They founded their business together in their teens and have been business and life partners for 30 years.Isabelle and Margarita talk about energy and connecting the heart and mind. Using their own story and experiences to articulate the journey to success and happiness, they go into detail about how emotions play a very large part in business and the customer experience. They talk about how we can take our business and connect the heart and mind of the customer. Also how we need to understand what type of experience we want to give and be able to communicate it through our efforts.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, Martin Hunter welcomes back Isabelle Mercier-Turcotte this time with her partner in business and in life Margarita Romano (Maggie). The three discuss the importance of the journey from your head to your heart in life, business, and with customers. Isabelle and Margarita founded LeapZone Strategies, dedicated to helping people build extraordinary businesses and brands.
Revisited: Catching Up
Dominic Rubino is a successful entrepreneur, business coach, and podcaster. With his companies, Profit Tool Belt and Cabinet Makers Profit System, Dominic helps business owners and contractors who want more—more time, more money, more team, and more strategy. He has built, grown, and sold a number of businesses over the past 20 years, and now he wants to help other entrepreneurs do the same. Dominic is also an active speaker and the author of the book, Construction Millionaire Secrets.In this episode….(NSFW) Dominic Rubino, author of Construction Millionaire Secrets and Martin Hunter's very first podcast guest, returns to visit with Martin and discuss family, career, and podcast successes. According to Dominic, this is the year of "more": more family, fishing, faith, and whatever you need more of in your life.Dominic reflects on past jobs he's had and what he learned from them, and he and Martin discuss the business challenges he's faced. They share stories from their long friendship and from their leisure times spent together as well as focusing on how CEOs should look for balance in their lives and not simply get swept up in working non-stop.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Dominic Rubino, Martin's first-ever podcast guest, address business and personal challenges, work/life balance, share stories from their friendship, and delve into what matters. They share concern for the environment and highlight companies doing good work in ecological solutions. And they explore their individual podcast successes: the hard word that pays off and the interesting people they get to meet.
Food: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Damien Eftekhar is an experienced and versatile Executive Chef. He has a proven history of revenue-generating product development, R&D, Quality Assurance and customer relations in the food production industry. Damien got into the industry because he truly enjoys it and is skilled in a wide array of aspects therein from Product Development and Project Management through to Menu Engineering and cooking. He is a strong, customer-focused professional with a Bachelor of Science focused in Business/Management from University of Phoenix and an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts from Kendall College, Chicago, Illinois.In this episode….Damien Eftekhar grew up with a multi-cultural background courtesy of a grandfather who was ambassador to the Shah of Iran. His grandfather took Damien's father with him to places like Baghdad, Madrid, Rome, and Paris so when his father met and married his mother, a Michigan farm girl, he infused the family with a love of culture, food, and learning. Damien studied liberal arts in college but found he didn't love it so he took a few years off then started working in restaurants as server and bartender before moving on to work in "busy nasty brutal kitchen" where he discovered he loved every minute of it. So he went to Culinary School and, quote, "I've found my calling".Damien doesn't work in the food industry for money or even a love of food, though he does love food: instead his primary drive is making people happy and he believes that food can make the most people happy. He has actively sought out any and all kitchen experiences he could have, from French and Italian to seafood restaurants, and all manner of fine dining kitchens. It was when he married and became a stepfather that he moved from restaurants to a corporate chef career so he could have more time to spend with his family.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and chef Damien Eftekhar discuss how much he enjoyed learning in difficult kitchen environments and relate many of his stressful chef experiences and fifteen hour days to the same highs and lows of entrepreneurship. They dive into why Damien believes restaurants will bounce back after COVID, how there's beauty even in fast food, and Damien's hope that hospitality industry workers will get both more respect and better pay going forward.
No Such Thing As Failure
Tim and Su-Mari Hill are Co-CEOs of iLola Teas. Together they started their CEO journey with the opening of Nineteen02 Stores and Teahouse and now operate Pure+ Kombucha and the newly opened iLola. Tim and Su-Mari believe that tea is used as a starting point between two friends. A safe place found in the tradition of the convergence of moments.Tim and Su-Mari work as a family, together in their business. They have survived the sleepless nights, raising twins and overcoming close losses. Staying healthy and becoming stronger, together, is at the foundation of all of their choices. Tim is also the Co-Founder and 'Out of the Box' thinker who brought the Tea Disc Humidor to life and loves bold ideas and innovation. Su-Mari is the Co-Founder and Chief Disrupter who invented Tea Discs and is actively involved in product innovation.In this episode….Tim and Su-Mari Hill have worked together as business partners for over ten years now in addition to being marriage partners and raising five children together. They credit their success in togetherness partly to long-distance dating early on which taught them the value of talking things out and knowing when to let things go and move on. They don't stay mad for long and have learned through evaluating what is truly of consequence to have a lot of grace.Kombucha and tea weren't always on their radar, however. In fact Tim started out as an accountant until one day Su-Mari came to him and said they should open up a shop. Six weeks later they did. From a tea shop on the Sunshine Coast through Pure+ Kombucha, Pick Me, and now iLOLA, Tim and Su-Mari do not regard anything tried and stopped as a failure but merely part of an overall learning curve. Everything is part of the greater journey.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter talks with Tim and Su-Mari about their close partnerships both in life and business and how they actively disregard failure in favor of viewing things as being prepared to learn on a daily basis. They share how they pass this lesson on to their children as well. Su-Mari explains the importance of knowing your why in business and Tim talks about innovation and creativity, all factors that led them to iLOLA and their current success.
Do The Opposite
Neil Krauter Sr. currently works as part of the Executive Committee at Risk Strategies, the 11th largest insurance broker in operation. Earlier in his career he worked as Vice Chairman of Aon Risk Services in New York and Global Practice Leader of AMAG, the Aon Merger & Acquisition Group. After a short retirement at age 40, Neil Krauter re-entered the brokerage world with The Krauter Group in 2004.Neil Krauter Sr. graduated from Franklin & Marshall College where he earned a BA in economics.In this episode….Neil Krauter Sr. grew up in Rumson, New Jersey and was the first male Krauter to graduate from college. He was always a competitive person and even in his youth was determined to succeed. During his time in Cub Scouts he won the peanut brittle fundraising sales contest in his first year with a sales total nobody in the country had ever reached. The second year he sold ten times as much. His secret was to sell the brittle two towns away where there were no Cub Scouts.This sense of ambition and of doing things his own way served him well throughout his career. As Neil tells Martin, he found that adopting a strategy of doing the opposite of what was expected was the best way to compete. He explains how he structured his company so he wouldn't have to manage people. He prefers to work with no org chart so there are no assigned titles or hierarchy.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Neil Krauter Sr. discuss Neil's lengthy career and how he leveraged his experience in launching his own brokerage. Neil shares his thoughts on HR, on creating a forum for conversation within an organization, and how success requires both planning and full commitment. Neil gives examples of how he achieved innovative breakthroughs in business by doing the opposite of what might be expected.
It Takes Intentional Solutions For Intentional Problems
Jason Mercer is a part of Cleveland Avenue's Finance Team, focusing on financial diligence for investment opportunities. Jason has over ten years of work experience in strategy, finance and mergers and acquisitions-related roles within large, multi-national organizations in the Food & Beverage sector. Most recently, Jason was the Business Manager Consumer for Fonterra USA, where he was responsible for growing volume, profitability and brand awareness.Earlier in his career Jason was a Senior Financial Analyst for Warner Music Group and an Investment Banking Analyst at Lehman Brothers. Jason earned his Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Morehouse College and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.In this episode….Jason Mercer is proud to have been born and raised in Metro Detroit. His family worked hard to send his mother to college and she graduated from the University of Michigan. When it came time for Jason to choose post-secondary education, he decided on Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Upon graduating, he worked on Wall Street at Lehman Brothers, then in the finance division of Warner Music Group before ending up at Stanford's Graduate School of Business where he earned his MBA and got to see what he calls "the venture capital vibe".Jason is currently in venture capital with Cleveland Avenue, leading due diligence for a fund that supports investments, especially for Black and women entrepreneurs with a further focus on the Chicago area. He is passionate about promoting and supporting Black and Brown communities and growing leadership for representation. The title of his episode refers in part to asking the question "if you want to be an agent of change, how are you going to be intentional about doing that?"In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Jason Mercer discuss racial inequality and being a proactive agent of change. Jason explains how leaders must set intentional goals, driving for change in set plans, and make their intentions public to leadership and the organization. They talk about Jason's experiences as a Black man in his career and what must be done to get a talent pool that's diverse. As Jason says, "small decisions played out thousands of times creates change."
Stick to the Fundamentals in a Competitive Game
Kathleen Steffey is the Founder of Naviga Recruiting & Executive Search. She has a career background in corporate recruiting and corporate recruiting leadership that she brings to Naviga. She's a talent finder who directs a team that lives and breathes recruiting talented people for Naviga's clientele. The team starts with asking insightful questions to uncover client requirements and don't rest until the job is done. Kathleen also provides expertise for guest podcast interviews, PR thought leadership articles for local and major publications, and round table and panel events. She lives in the Greater Tampa Bay area with her husband and three daughters.In this episode:Kathleen Steffey started out believing she would be a legal secretary, back when they were still called "secretaries". However she diverted into HR and then into recruiting and never looked back. Her corporate recruitment career took her overseas to Amsterdam where she lived and worked until 9/11 forced a shutdown and her return to America. But she recalls her time in Europe with fondness and has retained a love of the European lifestyle with a focus on enjoying self and career.She gradually started consulting, helping executives she'd met through the years, and it ultimately led to founding Naviga. She has had triumphant highlights and educational failures but one thing she's never lost with Naviga is her love of the work. She truly enjoys recruiting and keenly understands how the fundamentals and a grounding in basics can greatly assist clients when it comes time to bring new talent onboard.In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Kathleen Steffey discuss how the pandemic has altered current recruiting styles and why fundamentals are now so vital to successful talent acquisition. Kathleen shares insights on tactics all employers should have in their playbooks as well as time-and-money wasting ideas to avoid. She and Martin explore gender disparity in pay and how to combat it as well as how to successfully navigate salary demands.
Innovate Everything
Tim Hill is CEO of iLola Teas, a title he shares with his wife, Su-Mari. Together they started their CEO journey with the opening of Nineteen02 Stores and Teahouse and now operate Pure+ Kombucha and the newly opened iLola. Tim and Su-Mari believe that tea is used as a starting point between two friends; a safe place found in the tradition of the convergence of moments. Tim started his career as a financial auditor and worked in accounting for ten years to understand how business and finance worked. After that he set out to fulfill the entrepreneurial spirit he'd always harbored. Together with Su-Mari and their five children, they have created a world of innovation around tea. iLOLA products specifically are made locally by Canadian artisans, handcrafted and curated with premium ingredients from all over the world, and housed in a unique tea disc format. In this episode…. Tim Hill is passionate about tea. A good cup of tea is the introduction to friendship, business, and creative space. Though Tim started his career in the world of accounting, after ten years of immersion into business and finance he decided it was time to leave and pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. From the tea shop he and his co-founder/wife Su-Mari first opened on the Sunshine Coast of BC to the most recent business they launched in 2020, iLola Teas, Tim truly understands innovation and the steady build towards success required of all entrepreneurs. Regarding innovation, Tim says we need to "take pressure off ourselves to think you just wake up and suddenly there is this idea - it's actually a huge amount of data collection that your brain has brought you up to this very moment in time". He details how early failures in their tea shop led to a greater understanding of their true focus and calling in the tea business and how Su-Mari's inspired idea in 2020 became the unique tea disc at the heart of iLola's innovative offerings. In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Tim Hill dive deep into innovation, how it's cultivated, and why it's so necessary. They explore not only Tim's passion for tea but how he draws inspiration and motivation from business structures as varied as the military and architecture to considering how climate change will impact tea in the future. Tim and Martin discuss pricing for innovation and how to view redoing ideas for better potential in an episode full of insight.
How To Not F*** Your Business and How To Un-F*** It If You Did
William Madden has worked in the food industry for the past 20 years. He specializes in big-picture operations and supply chain management, and contract negotiation between food companies and contract manufacturers. He is currently Senior Partner in Whole Brain Consulting. William Madden has helped everything from start-ups to multimillion-dollar businesses find perfect-match contract manufacturers, setting them up for long term success. He is also the author of 'Separating the Con Man From the Co Man – A Guide to Contract Manufacturing' In this episode…. William Madden has worked in the food industry for the past 20 years and is author of a book called 'Separating the Con Man From the Co Man - A Guide to Contract Manufacturing' but his start in the food industry came about in college because of a $20 cotton candy bet made with his roommates. From those auspicious beginnings, he became a young million-dollar business owner who made and lost his company all by the age of 21. After cotton candy, he moved on to Nestle and ran their alternative markets for the US. From there he gathered a wealth of operational knowledge all from various businesses where he held high-level positions but always forged relationships with the folks on the operational line. He understands how to leverage attitude and experience and apply it to hard work and smart decision making, using the knowledge of the people making the product to get things working right. In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and William Madden explore the "cotton candy king's" storied resume and what valuable and practical insights William gained at every step of the way. He remained true to himself - personable and honest - and always willing to roll up his sleeves, walk the floor, and learn fast. They discuss how to treat the people in operations, the most common mistakes William encounters in industry, and the importance of always doing a line trial.
It's Your Pool, Don't Pee In It
Janice Otremba is Owner and Founder of her self-named consultancy firm. As a Certified Executive Coach and People & Performance Catalyst with over 20 years of experience, she supports leaders in mastering relationship intelligence to better their life, organization, and community by providing tools and strategies to confidently manifest desired and strategic outcomes. Through assessments, interviews, and real conversations, she gets at the root cause that may be leading to a lack of productivity, low morale, and a sense of apathy or burnout. In this episode…. Janice Otremba has a background in counseling, specifically in front line trauma work. When individuals she counselled started returning and asking her to speak to their front-line teams and organizations with the strategies she'd taught them, her speaking career was born. From there she transitioned into consultancy, so she brings over 20 years of experience to her work. The title of this episode comes from a very motivational and quite funny personal story in her life but the general phrase stuck with her and became a metaphor for everything she does and works to help others achieve. Janice shares incredible insights about how to achieve the clean and balanced environment we all need in order to thrive. She and Martin discuss the ways in which communication, action, and intention must be balanced to achieve success in so many areas of life. In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Janice Otremba discuss anxiety, stress, and imposter syndrome, how to differentiate and communicate action versus intention, and how to combat unmet expectations from both leadership and employee viewpoints. Janice explores how "a lack of confidence impedes growth and success", how to find that confidence, and shares insights on the importance of cultivating intuition.
When Business Doesn't Make Money
Rev. Matthew Smedley is the Executive Director and CEO of Mission Possible. Over the past 10+ years, Matt has helped Mission Possible transition its programming from offering basic street-level care to being a leading community economic development organization in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Though his role at Mission Possible is varied and complex, his favourite part about his job has stayed consistent - the people. He loves both the Mission Possible team that works alongside him, as well as the community of amazing people who offer every-day inspiration. Matt has served as a pastor in the inner city and has over five years of experience working in the trades. He holds a graduate certificate from SFU in Community Economic Development, has done coursework in theology and sociology, and has a B.S. from Cairn University. Outside of his work, Matt spends time walking with his wife, playing games with his daughter and three sons, and tinkering with his motorcycle. In this episode…. Matthew Smedley came to Mission Possible after accepting a volunteer opportunity from his friend, the then-Executive Director. When he ventured back into part-time work after staying home with his sons for two years, he went back to Mission Possible and eventually stayed on full-time. Now as the Executive Director and CEO, he explains that the work greatly affected him and how he thought; it challenged assumptions he held about why people are homeless or in poverty. Matthew has a real clarity about what a non-profit organization can do in terms of a social enterprise endeavor, which is how Mission Possible functions. He is very clear that financial profit is only a goal in terms of breaking even and that the true goal is social profit. He prides Mission Possible on running high quality and professional social enterprises which in turn elevates a sense of dignity and purpose in the work for the downtown eastside Vancouver community he serves. In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Matthew Smedley explore the truths about why people experience challenges in life; the traumas, abuses, addictions, and transactional employment mentalities that drive them to homelessness and poverty. They break down exactly what Mission Possible is about and how they operate positive change in the downtown eastside. Matthew explains the difference between Executive Director and CEO, how non-profit enterprises have a different view of success than a for profit company, and how he loves his job but wishes people could be instilled with a sense of value and worth after setbacks and struggle without its intervention.
How To Become the First, the Best, and the Only to Be and Stay Undisruptable
Isabelle Mercier-Turcotte, Founder of Build To Rock by LeapZone, is a brand builder, business performance catalyst, and one of the best-selling authors of the business and marketing book titled, The Next Big Thing: Top Trends From Today's Leading Experts to Help You Dominate the New Economy. She has a relentless passion for helping entrepreneurs and small business owners raise the bar and expand their comfort zone to create outstanding brand experiences. Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to help hundreds of small business owners, as well as some influential brands such as A&W, Robeez Footwear, Earls Restaurants, IMAX Corporation, and HSBC Investments. With over two decades of hands-on experience in branding & business growth, as well as extensive learnings from traveling the globe, Isabelle is determined more than ever to help small business owners all over the world catapult their way to massive success. In this episode…. Isabelle Mercier-Turcotte, a self-described "no-nonsense dynamo", was raised in a family of entrepreneurs. Her mother was a hair stylist, her father was a radio talk show host, and she started contributing earnings towards her schooling at the tender age of nine. She founded her first business in her teens with her to-be life and business partner of 30 years. Isabelle talks about being disruptive and she is, in the sense that she understands what it takes for a business to stand apart and be different. She explains to Martin that when an organization is being disruptive, they know what their customers really need and know how to create something that is irresistible to people. She has been teaching similar fundamentals to entrepreneurs and business leaders for years to much acclaim. In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Isabelle Mercier-Turcotte discuss their shared dyslexia and how what was difficult about being dyslexic growing up has turned into a part of their genius in business. They dive into how Isabelle founded LeapZone Strategies, what her definition of being disruptive is, and the Big Four foundational ideas that she leads businesses into embracing on their paths to disruptive success.
How To Be Ready To Powerfully Lead Through Change You Did Not Ask For
Esther Weinberg is a business growth accelerator that equips executives in high-growth media and technology industries to create game-changing breakthroughs, increase profitability in declining markets and create successful and sustainable "portable" virtual cultures with executives, leaders and teams. As Founder & Chief Leadership Development Officer of The Ready Zone, Esther is a respected thought-leader with first-hand experience. She moves leaders through change with proven systems to create big pivots, big impact and big returns. With over 20-years experience, her innovative strategies have assisted clients to grow, scale and thrive during the worst and best of times including Netflix, NBCUniversal, Microsoft, ESPN, WarnerMedia, Warner Bros., CNN, DreamWorks Animation, Discovery Communications, Adobe, Disney, IMAX, National Geographic, and Nickelodeon. In this episode…. Esther Weinberg was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, a heritage she is very proud of, like most New Yorkers. She is a graduate of New York University and came up, after university, in the marketing and PR side of business, working in magazines and publishing before transitioning to PR for an agency doing entertainment work. It was after working in Uganda that she had an "a-ha moment" about what all people in any business really want: human dignity. People from all walks of life in a vast array of company settings told her essentially the same thing using different terms and language for it. And from that discovery The Ready Zone was born. Esther founded the concept of ZPIs (Zone Performance Indicators) and six foundational strategies that assist corporations in working through change. She wrote a book on the subject called Better Leaders. Better People. Better Results. 6 Eye-Opening Strategies to Thrive Through Change You Didn't Ask For. As a renowned speaker, she is articulate about exactly how these ideas work and discusses them with clarity and encouraging candor. In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Esther Weinberg discuss the lessons and revelations they both had during separate times in Africa, how COVID forced many companies into reorganizations they hadn't planned for, why relationships with people are more valuable than people's performance, and strategies for approaching difficult conversations.
Business As A Spiritual Journey
Boris Maganic founded 360Pros through his innate sense of curiosity, adventure and passion for continuous learning. Often taking the road less traveled, he focuses on the pathways which interest him the most. Self-taught in many avenues, Boris obsessively dedicates his actions with intent, reflecting his experience of the world in how he makes important business decisions. Boris designed 360Pros to, quote, "offer immersive media solutions that allow businesses to market, maintain or sell their space to potential customers on a global scale". He works to embody a spirit of learning and spiritual growth in all his endeavors, in and outside of business. In this episode…. There were three thought seeds that planted the idea of 360Pros in Boris Maganic's mind; three revelations that started him on his journey. With four and a half years of the business now behind him, Boris understands very much that business is a kind of spiritual journey that works in concert with his company's core values. Boris Maganic is largely self-taught and in that vein is always learning. He understood early on that virtual reality and immersive experience would define the future and now he's working in that very medium as a way of expanding learning for clients and their end-user customers. He details a lot of what motivates him to create experience through his work. In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Boris Maganic break down exactly what it is that 360Pros does and offers in terms of service. They discuss how aspects of chaos (the unknown) and order (the known) are necessary for the spiritual journey of business, how to look for balance, what a gift feedback and critique can be, and who their various corporate, creative, and podcast influences are.
As Level5's Director of Enterprise and Brand Strategy, Sean Pavlidis works closely with clients to identify and articulate their most significant growth opportunities and build a clear and accountable plan that turns those opportunities into a reality. Sean has had the pleasure of working with a broad range of clients across private and public sectors – from startups experiencing growing pains to established multinationals facing unprecedented changes in their business environment. He is hands-on when it comes to contributing his time to community causes. He sits on the board of a Toronto-based not-for-profit and acts as an industry lead on Queens' University-based consulting organizations. He's also an active speaker, panelist and judge in various industry and post-secondary events. Prior to joining Level5, Sean conducted equities research focused on the natural resource sector in Canada and across the globe. In this episode…. Sean Pavlidis received his BComm from Queen's University in Toronto. From there he went right into consulting at Level5 Strategy. Though he had initially planned to stay only around five years in consultancy, he discovered that he loved the work, the company, and loved client services. So he remained onboard and is now a Principal; Director of Enterprise and Brand Strategy. Sean describes himself as having a one-track mind but he is also very open to learning new skills from the ground up, including carpentry which he dove into upon moving into his house and deciding things needed fixing and upgrading. He translates this thirst for knowledge into lessons that apply to his work and business in general. Everything can be instruction for better and more flexible leadership. In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and Sean Pavlidis discuss what makes a great, and flexible, leader and what should be avoided. They share stories of influential leaders from their own lives, discuss Sean's top three behaviors of a flexible leader, and break down why COVID has been so hard on the industry. Martin and Sean provide insight into leadership traits that can help you break free of inflexibility and share practical and useful advice to implement right away.