What happens when the dream job turns into a corporate casualty? Benedikt Oehmen spent nearly two decades at Blizzard—first as a support staffer, then a beloved team leader—only to watch the company’s gamer-first culture erode after its merger with Activision. When layoffs came, it wasn’t just a paycheck he lost. It was identity, community, and certainty. But Benedikt didn’t stay stuck. He pivoted from game development to career redevelopment—first coaching his own team through grief and transit...
May 06, 2025•30 min•Ep. 349
Ian Myers isn’t here to give you startup hacks—he’s here to tell the truth. At just 26, he became a CEO. By 30, he’d built Oceans, a $10 million agency connecting skilled professionals in Sri Lanka with U.S. startups. But his story isn’t a straight line—it’s an open map. From literature to venture capital, Japan to New York, success and failure, Ian has treated life like a Tintin adventure: follow the clues, embrace the chaos, and keep going. In this conversation, we dig into what really fuels a...
May 06, 2025•40 min•Ep. 348
For the first time, the Chief Change Officer podcast returns to its birthplace—Hong Kong—to spotlight local artist and community builder May Yeung. From doodling on walls at age two to sculpting giant dim sum steamers for public exhibitions, May’s journey is anything but typical. She swapped Goldman Sachs for gallery spaces, battled cancer with faith (and clay), and now leads Art of My Family , a charity that brings art, healing, and heritage to underprivileged youth across Hong Kong. Whether it...
May 05, 2025•34 min•Ep. 347
Vince Jeong isn’t your typical edtech founder—and this isn’t your typical training conversation. After immigrating to Canada at 12 and learning English from scratch, Vince chased uncertainty across five continents and a dozen careers—from McKinsey to NGOs in Tanzania to Latin American startups. That winding path led him to one insight: real learning happens when real people engage together, not alone. Now as CEO of Sparkwise, he’s scaling live group learning in ways that mirror the best of Harva...
May 05, 2025•37 min•Ep. 346
Sienna Jackson, the CEO of Nortera.io, walks us through her unexpected shift from entertainment executive to impact strategist. Rather than chasing a title, she followed a thread—registering an LLC, collecting ideas, and finally stepping into work that aligned with her values. Now, she’s helping professionalize the field of social impact by focusing on measurable outcomes, not slogans. From impact modeling to cross-sector coalitions, Sienna shows how complex change starts behind the scenes—with ...
May 05, 2025•23 min•Ep. 345
From film sets to SaaS, Sienna Jackson has lived through more than one reinvention. A two-time founder, former entertainment executive, and current tech CEO, she joins Chief Change Officer to break down what it means to build, to create, and to change—on your own terms. In Part 1, she shares what it was really like working in the music and production trenches at the Weinstein Company, how she navigated a high-glamour industry with clear-eyed curiosity, and why she never let a job title define he...
May 04, 2025•31 min•Ep. 344
Brian Sims, the CEO of Agenda PAC, walks us through what it was really like inside the halls of power—getting his mic cut on the House floor, confronting closeted anti-LGBTQ colleagues, and learning the limits of both strategy and ego. Now in the private sector, he’s using data to fight back—not with louder voices, but with smarter ones. Key Highlights of Our Interview: When the Mic Goes Dead “I got half a word out. Then it cut. They didn’t even pretend it was technical.” No Friends Across the A...
May 04, 2025•33 min•Ep. 343
From a military childhood to a college football captain, Brian Sims didn’t exactly grow up in activist circles. But a fiercely independent mother and a slow-burning coming-out story set the stage for something bigger. In Part One, Brian, the CEO of Agenda PAC, opens up about finding his voice, leaving law for civil rights work, and eventually winning his first election—becoming the first out gay man elected to Pennsylvania’s state legislature. Key Highlights of Our Interview: Raised by Leaders “...
May 04, 2025•26 min•Ep. 342
In this final installment, Gen X executive coach Jennifer Selby Long goes deep on the real decision behind office politics: should you stay or should you go? Drawing from decades of experience guiding leaders through complex change, she lays out the subtle dynamics that determine whether a culture is salvageable—or just stuck. From the hidden toll of hybrid models to bosses who subtly push out high performers, Jennifer offers tools for cutting through confusion. And with a memorable framework in...
May 03, 2025•26 min•Ep. 341
In this third installment with Gen X executive coach Jennifer Selby Long, we zoom in on one of the messiest, most misunderstood realities of modern work: office politics. Jennifer breaks down why politics often stem less from individual egos and more from structural dysfunction, emotional disconnection, and leadership blind spots—especially in hybrid teams. She explains how outdated views of leadership, chronic misalignment, and even cost-cutting decisions like slashed T&E budgets can quietly po...
May 03, 2025•26 min•Ep. 340
Jennifer Selby Long is no stranger to messy transformations. With three decades of experience in executive coaching, digital change, and tech leadership, she helps seasoned professionals navigate the personal minefield that comes with professional change. In this second installment, Jennifer dives deep into neuroscience-backed insights on why we sabotage ourselves—and how to stop. She breaks down how our brains are wired for fear, how to spot the voice of the “judge,” and how misplaced loyalty t...
May 03, 2025•46 min•Ep. 339
Jennifer Selby Long has spent 30 years helping leaders navigate change—long before “change management” became a buzzword. In this episode, the Gen X executive coach reflects on how she stumbled into her calling during the early days of IT transformation, and why emotional intelligence—not just operational efficiency—is what drives successful digital change. Drawing from her own career pivots and coaching experiences, Jennifer explains how change must be mastered on a personal level before it can...
May 03, 2025•28 min•Ep. 338
In Part 3, Waverly Deutsch steps into her latest role: founder of Wyseheart, a coaching firm designed to help the most overlooked founders build ventures that last. Focused on meaningful business, not unicorn exits, she brings her full career of coaching, teaching, and hard-won insight to early-stage leaders across age, gender, race, and identity. For Gen Xers who aren’t ready to “retire,” this is a playbook for doing your best work—on your terms, with your values, and no need for external appro...
May 02, 2025•30 min•Ep. 337
In Part 2, Waverly Deutsch opens up about her decades at Chicago Booth, where she helped founders refine not just their business models but their ability to lead. She discusses how emotional connection strengthens logic, why confident delivery isn’t enough, and how AI is changing but not replacing human insight. For Gen Xers mentoring across generations or rethinking their own leadership, this episode is a reminder: great guidance begins with deep listening. >>Coaching Across the Confidence Spec...
May 01, 2025•37 min•Ep. 336
We meet Waverly Deutsch not as a Chicago Booth professor or coach for entrepreneurs, but as a real human navigating career decisions in a world that often asks us to pick between passion and practicality. From falling in love with theater to entering computer science as one of only three women in a class of 30, Waverly’s story is one of blending head and heart across every career twist. She shares the real story behind leaving academia for Forrester Research, breaking down in a meeting and still...
May 01, 2025•43 min•Ep. 335
Dominic Carter, CEO of the Carter Group, shares how a personal frustration with his aging parents’ care became a long-term mission: building real, user-driven aging tech in one of the world’s oldest—and most demanding—markets. From human-centric research to venture studio development, Dominic shows how Gen Xers can lead the future of aging by solving the problems we’re all going to face. This isn’t just eldercare innovation—it’s preemptive, practical system design. For those over 50 building wha...
May 01, 2025•33 min•Ep. 334
Dominic Carter, the CEO of the Carter Group, didn’t become an aging tech founder by chasing trends—he got there by building slowly, listening deeply, and surviving the kind of early burnout that forces reinvention. In Part 1, he shares how moving to Japan, launching businesses, and failing hard shaped the systems-thinking approach that now powers his work on aging innovation. This isn’t a startup story—it’s a Gen X blueprint: steady, lived, built from purpose long before it had a name. >>Leaving...
Apr 30, 2025•29 min•Ep. 333
This episode offers you $79 worth of value—completely free. Read till the end for the gift. In Part 2, Kevin introduces the core ideas behind his latest book, Flexible Leadership . He explains why leading isn’t about finding the perfect style—it’s about flexing based on the situation without abandoning your principles. We break down how intention, context, and flexors all work together, why rigid leadership labels backfire, and why the best leaders never stop adjusting how they show up. Key High...
Apr 30, 2025•33 min•Ep. 332
Kevin Eikenberry didn’t start in a leadership lab—he started on a farm where animals had to be fed no matter what else was happening. In Part 1, he shares how early lessons in discipline and systems thinking carried into his leadership work decades later. From his unexpected pivot from fertilizer sales to corporate training, to founding the Kevin Eikenberry Group, Kevin talks about the mistakes, pivots, and realities that shaped his approach to helping others lead better. Key Highlights of Our I...
Apr 29, 2025•26 min•Ep. 331
In Part 2 of his conversation, Tokyo-based American Gary Bremermann moves beyond his own story to share the frameworks and realities that shape career reinvention today. From his Seven Steps to Career Clarity to his candid views on Japan’s ageist hiring market, Gary offers a Gen X blueprint for change: slow, thoughtful, grounded in values, and fiercely human. For anyone tired of chasing titles and ready to build a career worth living on their own terms, this episode delivers both the hard truths...
Apr 29, 2025•24 min•Ep. 330
Tokyo-based American Gary Bremermann didn’t stumble into career clarity—he fought for it across countries, careers, and crises. From hitchhiking North America to building and burning out of his first company, Gary’s story is a blueprint for real Gen X reinvention: practical, nonlinear, and painfully honest. In this first of a two-part series, he shares how early travel, entrepreneurial scars, and the brutal experience of misaligned success shaped the recruiter and career coach he is today. For G...
Apr 29, 2025•31 min•Ep. 329
In the second half of his conversation, Collin Plume moves beyond financial products into financial legacy—sharing how Gen Xers can teach resilience, ownership, and critical thinking to the next generation. From diversifying income streams to protecting family futures with real assets, Collin reveals why wealth isn’t about a flashy portfolio—it’s about building something that lasts, even when systems shift. For Gen Xers tired of flashy advice and ready to raise wiser, stronger humans, this episo...
Apr 27, 2025•37 min•Ep. 328
Collin Plume didn’t build Noble Gold to chase hype—he built it to restore trust in a system Gen X knows can break. In this first of a two-part series, Collin shares how early lessons from insurance sales, real estate, and recession-era survival shaped his people-first approach to wealth building. He explains why real assets like gold and silver aren’t just investments—they’re anchors of ownership in a world increasingly built on debt and paper. For Gen Xers who value resilience over rhetoric, an...
Apr 27, 2025•33 min•Ep. 327
In Part 2 of her conversation, Nina Sossamon-Pogue moves from storytelling to strategy—offering real-world tools for navigating change, resilience, and reinvention. From building a reverse resume to mapping your own success timeline, she shares frameworks that help Gen Xers (and anyone feeling stuck) turn lived experience into a launchpad. Instead of chasing corporate validation or viral moments, Nina reminds us that real success is slow-built, self-defined, and deeply human. For those designing...
Apr 27, 2025•21 min•Ep. 326
Nina Sossamon-Pogue didn’t build a personal brand around change—she built a life out of it. In this first of a two-part series, she shares how elite gymnastics hardwired her resilience, how journalism sharpened her communication instincts, and how a strategic leap into tech proved that reinvention is less about following trends—and more about knowing who you are at the core. For Gen Xers who’ve quietly navigated identity loss, layoffs, industry shifts, and market crashes, Nina’s story is a maste...
Apr 26, 2025•28 min•Ep. 325
In Part 2 of her conversation, Erica Sosna bridges personal resilience and professional wisdom—sharing how The Career Equation helps both individuals and organizations build careers that actually fit. Instead of offering empty advice, Erica gives a practical, human-centered model that empowers people to align their skills, passions, impact, and environment into a sustainable career path. For Gen Xers tired of ad-hoc career advice and vague empowerment slogans, this episode offers a grounded, act...
Apr 26, 2025•20 min•Ep. 324
Erica Sosna was already a respected career strategist, author of The Career Equation , and founder of a successful consultancy. But when a near-fatal accident left her paralyzed in 2022, everything changed. In this first of a two-part series, Erica shares how she rebuilt her life—and her career—on new terms. From learning to walk again to rethinking the purpose of work itself, she offers a blueprint for reinvention that doesn’t rely on hype or hashtags. For Gen Xers who know real change isn’t a ...
Apr 26, 2025•26 min•Ep. 323
In Part 2, Adaira shares how she and Resa shaped Micro Skills into a fast-impact, high-utility guide for early career professionals—and why it intentionally skips fluff in favor of action. She opens up about saying yes too often, burning out from “non-potable work,” and how she finally embraced what she calls JOMO—the joy of missing out. We also hear how they trimmed the book’s original title (“Chisel”) and why ambition without discernment leads to a flat career, not a rising one. Key Highlights...
Apr 25, 2025•19 min•Ep. 322
Dr. Adaira Landry grew up in an under-resourced city, entered Berkeley at 16, and faced early career confusion without access to mentors or professional networks. In Part 1, she shares the formative life moments that led her into emergency medicine—from stepping in to help save a man’s life on campus to surviving a painful burn injury alone. She also reflects on how mentorship found her late, how her master’s in education shaped her communication style, and why she chose to build a practical, in...
Apr 25, 2025•27 min•Ep. 321
In Part 2, Resa explains why she and Adaira started their book MicroSkills with the most overlooked chapter: self-care. From emotional and civic health to better rest and boundaries, she unpacks how showing up well starts before you speak. She also shares practical tools for navigating hard moments—like having a failure buddy—and reveals why thoughtful email etiquette isn’t just about manners, but about professional respect. This episode is about what sustains you—before, during, and after the w...
Apr 24, 2025•29 min•Ep. 320
