Our guest today has been called a “soothing gut punch.” Rachel Druckenmiller brings the perfect mix of warmth and wake-up call that sticks with you long after the mic drops. She’s a TEDx speaker, singer-songwriter, and award-winning entrepreneur who spent 13 years as a corporate HR leader before founding UNMUTED in 2019. Rachel’s worked with leaders at Deloitte, Citizens Bank, and Sherwin-Williams, helping thousands of people step up, say YES, and show up fully at work and in the world. Named on...
Jul 23, 2025•31 min
Paul Ollinger quit his job at Facebook to chase his comedy dream. (Don’t ever do that.) This highly unprofitable decision has allowed him to headline major clubs like Carolines on Broadway, Cobbs (SF), and Zanies (Nashville and Chicago). He has performed at the Hollywood Improv and Comedy Cellar, and headlined his own show in the 2024 New York Comedy Festival. Paul is the host of the Reasonably Happy podcast, on which he explores the connection between money, happiness, work, and meaning in conv...
Jul 16, 2025•38 min
Joe served as MD and Senior Partner at BCG. In The Generous Leader, Joe shares a performance review: He was told he was not the best at problem-solving solo; but with others, he could solve any challenge. His manager identified his key strength - a person who could connect. Joe spent 37 years with BCG, co-founded the Washington DC office, led office systems, started BCG’s NA Public Sector business, led BCG North America, founded and chaired BCG’s Center for Inclusion and Equity. Joe earned his B...
Jul 09, 2025•34 min
Jenner Marcucci is the founder of Summit Leadership Group. He has extensive expertise in the areas of leadership development, sales training, communication skills, and executive team development. Most recently, Jenner served as Vice President, Learning & Development for Catalina Marketing – $600M company specializing in personalized digital media. Prior to that, Jenner worked for16 years at Pfizer Inc. in sales, key accounts, sales training, sales management, operations and leadership develo...
Jul 02, 2025•30 min
In this two-part series, we sit down with the man behind the rise of Destiny’s Child, and the father of global icon Beyoncé, to unpack the business decisions, leadership principles, and unapologetic boldness that took a dream from Houston, Texas to the world stage. Dr. Mathew Knowles is a powerhouse in both the boardroom and the classroom. Before the music, he was shattering records at Xerox, consistently ranked in the top 5% of sales professionals nationwide. That high-performance mindset laid ...
Jun 25, 2025•32 min
In this two-part series, we sit down with the man behind the rise of Destiny’s Child, and the father of global icon Beyoncé, to unpack the business decisions, leadership principles, and unapologetic boldness that took a dream from Houston, Texas to the world stage. Dr. Mathew Knowles is a powerhouse in both the boardroom and the classroom. Before the music, he was shattering records at Xerox, consistently ranked in the top 5% of sales professionals nationwide. That high-performance mindset laid ...
Jun 18, 2025•35 min
Moe “The Closer” Allen—a firestarter, a disruptor, and the powerhouse founder & CEO of UpStatus Logistics LLC. Moe is on a mission to close the wealth gap for entrepreneurs—especially those underestimated by traditional lenders and underrepresented in rooms where decisions (and deals) are made. Through her work, she helps founders tap into non-personal capital, rewire their beliefs about money, and build businesses with true staying power. She’s not here to coddle. She’s here to change the g...
Jun 11, 2025•37 min
Michael Stutts is the Chief Brand Officer at Dollar Shave Club, the OG viral direct-to-consumer razor company that changed an entire industry. Michael’s job is to keep the fire of the brand, grow the omnichannel customer base, and drive innovation to bring new products and categories to market. Before Dollar Shave Club, Michael held executive roles in Marketing, Digital, and Information Technology at Azamara Cruises and Bloomin Brands, Inc. Prior to his industry roles, Michael was a Managing Dir...
Jun 04, 2025•33 min
Adam House Sr. is the visionary founder of the House of Bricks, a comprehensive platform for entrepreneurs that integrates Advisory, Community, and Academy. As a 7x entrepreneur with three high-multiple exits,a podcast host, and former pro basketball player, Adam leverages over 25 years of experience to empower entrepreneurs. His mission is to significantly reduce the failure rate of startups and small businesses by providing the tools, support, and strategic guidance necessary for sustainable s...
May 28, 2025•23 min
Mickey Bergman is a two time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, a fringe diplomat, CEO of Global Reach, a best selling Author, regular contributor to the NY Times, the Washington Post, Huff Post, The Boston Globe and numerous other well known publications. He is a gentleman, an outlier and an influencing force in some of the most well known hostage negotiations which you will hear about today. Mickey Bergman is the CEO of Global Reach, a non-governmental, non-profit organization that negotiates ...
May 21, 2025•42 min
Kathy Love is a certified self-care coach, 2x TEDx speaker, and bestselling author of My Self-Care Sh*t: The Workbook*. With over a decade of experience in wellness, leadership, and coaching, she helps —stop the people-pleasing and start reclaiming energy, time, and peace. Known for her bold yet compassionate approach, Kathy combines practical tools with deep mindset work to help clients break patterns of burnout, codependency, and chronic overgiving. She brings clarity, humor, and hard-won wisd...
May 14, 2025•28 min
Shola Richards is the CEO and Founder of Go Together Global®, the best-selling author of the award-winning book Civil Unity, and he is leading a worldwide movement to change the world based on how we treat each other at work. His tireless international efforts to make the world a kinder place from San Juan to Singapore have earned him the well-deserved nickname, “Brother Teresa”. As a speaker, Shola has shared his transformative leadership message with major media outlets such as the TODAY Show ...
May 07, 2025•35 min
Steve is a globally renowned talent strategist and advisor, sought after by leaders and organizations around the world. His client roster includes innovative organizations such as Airbnb, Salesforce, the Country Music Association, Manchester United Football Club, the BBC, and the City of Lisbon Portugal. Additionally, Steve is frequently retained by top VC firms and top consulting firms like Deloitte and McKinsey for his expertise. A dynamic speaker and educator, Steve presents at global confere...
Apr 30, 2025•24 min
Over the last decade, Madeleine has built 3 successful companies and a community of over 2 million people.She is the founder of MHM Luxury Properties, Madeleine Raiford-Holland (MRH) Education, and Moderately High Maintenance Luxury Properties.Her mission is to inspire anyone who feels chained by golden handcuffs to step out of their comfort zone and build their own massively profitable short term rental business.Madeleine helps aspiring short term rental investors and established operators, sta...
Apr 23, 2025•26 min
Jim Fielding is a respected leader and C-Suite veteran in brand strategy, consumer products and experiences, and storytelling. He has worked at some of the world’s largest media and retail companies, including Disney, Dreamworks, and 20th Century Fox. He is a passionate advocate and philanthropist for the Queer Community, higher education, and diversity, equity and inclusion. As author of All Pride, No Ego (Wiley, Aug. 15, 2023), he is committed to safe and authentic spaces for all individuals a...
Apr 16, 2025•30 min
Enrique “Ric” Prado is a 24-year veteran of the CIA’s operations directorate, playing a pivotal role in counterterrorism and clandestine operations. As a co-founder of the Osama bin Laden task force, Alec Station, and later Chief of Operations for the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center, he was instrumental in the agency’s post-9/11 counterterrorism expansion. Prado led high-stakes intelligence and kinetic operations worldwide, earning recognition for his leadership in some of the most challenging mis...
Apr 09, 2025•33 min•Ep. 145
What do you get when you combine a national touring DJ, a weight-loss transformation story, a 3 time game show contestant, an extroverted entertainer and a highly interactive keynote speaker? You get Rich Bracken. Rich is a phenomenal combo of heart, wit, smarts and experience and when he delivers a keynote- you won’t forget it. Rich is an award-winning global keynote speaker, thought leader, television and media contributor, and consultant focusing on emotional intelligence, leadership, motivat...
Apr 02, 2025•35 min
Sam McKenna, has spent her 15+ year career in Enterprise sales doing two things: breaking over 13 sales records and doing so by leading with a manners-first and buyers-first approach to sales that shuns the status quo of the profession.In addition to sharing her practical and actionable sales, leadership, and entrepreneurial tips, Sam holds an unparalleled amount of distinctions as a LinkedIn expert, including being one of few people to be a LinkedIn brand ambassador and LinkedIn Sales [In]sider...
Mar 26, 2025•29 min
Command Sergeant Major Gretchen Evans, (U.S. Army, ret.) was at the height of a three-decade career in service to the country when she lost it all. Reaching the rank of Command Sergeant Major, the highest rank a non-commissioned officer may achieve. While overseeing 30,000+ ground troops in Afghanistan, CSM Evans was injured by a mortar blast from insurgents at a forward operating base. She woke up in a hospital in Germany and was deaf in both ears, suffered internal and external injuries, and h...
Mar 19, 2025•30 min
Jacquie has spent over 30 years in mainstream consumer media. Working on iconic brands ranging from Country Life to FHM, and Grazia to The Sun and The Times. Jacquie’s expertise has covered trading, creative partnerships, sponsorship and affiliate deals. Jacquie has worked across different platforms – with the majority of her experience nestled in mainstream press, digital and events. Jacquie co-founded Visible Inc with Jane Evans in 2019. Their mission is simple – to unleash the power of midlif...
Mar 12, 2025•33 min
Melanie Borden is the Founder & CEO of The Borden Group, where she helps Founders, C-suites, and Executives align their real-life expertise with impactful strategies to unlock opportunities and build meaningful relationships at scale. With a strong foundation as a marketing executive, Melanie has leveraged extensive expertise to bridge the gap between online marketing strategies and brand-building for both corporate and personal brands.Melanie's approach combines proven strategies, tools, an...
Mar 05, 2025•35 min
With over two decades of experience founding and scaling 3 global companies to $50M+ in revenue, Garrett Delph is the Founder/CEO of Clarity Ops, LLC, the first choice operating partner to Founders, CEO's, and C-Suite Leadership Teams. He specializes in reorganizing business operations for scale and growth through his proprietary The FASTT Solutions System. Think of Garrett as the Marie Kondo of business-eliminating clutter and creating clarity-freeing leaders to focus on growth and innovation.T...
Feb 26, 2025•33 min
It is said life is a tough teacher. We get the test first and then learn the lesson.Perhaps no one knows that better than Kristen Christy.As a world-class athlete at 15, she experienced a massive stroke from a brainhemorrhage that left her physically and mentally broken with her identity inquestion.The suicide of her first husband after a deployment devastated her family andleft Kristen feeling shame and guilt.Both of her sons’ attempted suicides and the later disappearance of her oldestdue to m...
Feb 19, 2025•36 min
Chris Hare uses Atomic Storytelling™ and strategic narrative design to help visionary leaders and their teams make a more meaningful dent in the universe. Chris a veteran of Amazon and Microsoft and is founder and principal of The Storied Future, where he helps clients—ranging from startups and midmarket companies to trillion-dollar titans—to build narratives that shift the future. He is also a keynote speaker and the host of The Storied Future Podcast, where he highlights leaders who have put n...
Feb 12, 2025•26 min
Courtney Turich is a bold risk-taker, seasoned sales leader, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the medical device and healthcare industries. From securing a deal on Shark Tank with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner, to helping cancer patients minimize hair loss as Global VP of Sales and Marketing at Cooler Heads, Courtney’s career is defined by innovation and impact. She is passionate about empowering others to make bold moves and confident choices. Courtney’s adventurous spirit has...
Feb 05, 2025•21 min
Christine is a dynamic C-level executive, transformational leader, and leadership coach, celebrated for blending business innovation with human-centered leadership. With expertise spanning healthcare, technology, biotech, and consumer packaged goods (CPG), she drives commercialization, scalability, and growth by uniting people around shared visions and creating empowered, collaborative cultures. As the Founder and CEO of Cofinity Consulting, LLC, Christine integrates pragmatic strategies with in...
Jan 29, 2025•30 min
Jackie Summers is a James Beard Finalist, seasoned public speaker, and serial entrepreneur. Summers is the founder of JackFromBrooklyn Inc. and the creator of the award-winning Sorel Liqueur. His accolades include: Being named among the inaugural “Drink Innovators of the Year by Food & Wine Magazine, being named among the inaugural “Wine Enthusiast Future 40“, being ranked among the world’s “100 Most Influential Bar Industry Figures” by Drinks International Magazine (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, ...
Jan 22, 2025•30 min
Maggie Brady is a progressive leader with 20 years of global HR leadership experience spanning Fortune 500, private equity, and venture capital backed companies. She started her career journey at Arthur Andersen as part of their Change Enablement consulting practice and then pivoted to HR, earning her stripes as a graduate of GE’s HR Leadership Program. Since then, Maggie has gained experience leading all aspects of the HR/People function globally at companies such as HD Supply, Fiserv and Convo...
Jan 14, 2025•27 min
Rashmi Airan is a captivating and motivational speaker, consultant, and catalyst for transformation with a mission to foster organizational cultures centered around authenticity. Her powerful story transcends the pitfalls of making a life-altering decision; it's a tale of leadership, core values, and decision-making, capable of creating a safe haven for courageous and often challenging conversations. As a first-generation immigrant of Indian descent raised with lofty expectations, Rashmi excelle...
Jan 08, 2025•31 min
Ryan Lavarnway, a former Major League Baseball catcher, is now a sought-after leadership coach and keynote speaker. With a 15-year MLB career that included winning the 2013 World Series with the Boston Red Sox, Ryan also represented Israel in the World Baseball Classic and Olympics. A Yale standout, he set records and earned MVP honors internationally. Today, Ryan inspires audiences with his dynamic approach to unlocking leadership potential and fostering a winning mindset. To know more about Ry...
Jan 01, 2025•28 min
