In this episode of the Strategic Financial Leadership Podcast, host Steve Coughran sits down with Kurt Stein, President of DCT Strategy, Inc, to explore the power of leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in driving better and faster decisions at scale. Join Steve and Kurt as they delve into the world of AI and its transformative potential for strategic financial leadership. Steve and Kurt begin by discussing how AI technologies can augment decision-making processes within organizations. They e...
Jul 31, 2023•40 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Get ready for an insightful conversation on the latest episode of Strategic Financial Leadership, as host Steve Coughran sits down with Ben Fraser, Chief Investing Officer at Aspen Funds, to explore how alternative assets can benefit investors, particularly the ultrawealthy. In this exciting episode, Ben shares his expert insights on investing in real estate, a popular choice among high-net-worth individuals. Steve and Ben delve into the specifics of alternative investments and how they differ f...
Jul 24, 2023•54 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Tune in to the latest episode of Strategic Financial Leadership, where host Steve Coughran talks with Aneal Vallurupalli, CFO of Airbase , to discuss how technology and data analytics are empowering CFOs and their finops teams to make more informed strategic decisions. In this engaging conversation, you'll learn from an experienced finance leader about how leveraging the right tools and insights can help organizations enhance cash flow, manage costs, and improve efficiencies. Aneal shares his in...
Jul 17, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Welcome to the Strategic Financial Leadership podcast! In this episode, host Steve Coughran chats with Vadim Verkhoglyad, Vice President and Head of Research Publication at dv01. Together, they dive into a thought-provoking summary that challenges common media narratives about American households. The summary suggests that many media narratives focus on the constant struggles of American households and miss the substantial income gains and wealth effects experienced by a wide variety of househol...
Jul 11, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 49
We’ve all been there, listening to a presentation that just doesn’t drive your interest, or seem to deliver the tools that you need in order to take action. What’s even worse is when you are the person giving that presentation. Our guest today, Nancy Duarte, helps us expound on the idea that the role of a presenter is to mentor, with the main purpose of transferring information to your audience that they did not have before. In order to deliver, she discusses the Duarte Method, where communicati...
Dec 07, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 48
When you come from a hard-working family, your ambitions are expected to be high. Though many obstacles and struggles will present themselves, you have to remember that where there is determination, there is hope. We must keep persevering and strategically fighting, and in the words of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, 'Keep hope alive.'" Our guest today, J. Derek Penn, author of Diary of a Black Man on Wall St., uses his personal experiences to break down for people of all colors the systemic inequal...
Nov 30, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Kids soak up information like sponges. With most schools not teaching financial literacy, our young generations are left to their own devices to filter through all they see and hear, with the majority of it stemming from what they witness at home. Kids see their parents argue over and tiptoe around money, as well as base their expectations and sometimes limitations of their own futures off their parents lives. This all culminates into young adults having little to no knowledge on how to manage t...
Nov 23, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Globally, there is currently about a half of trillion dollars in dry powder, or capital that has been committed by investors but has not been invested or allocated, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. This means there is a tremendous amount of opportunity for business leaders who are looking to grow their business portfolio or sell their company via the private equity asset class. However, to be effective at maximizing value in the private equity space, business leaders need to have...
Nov 16, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 45
When it comes to shaking old habits, we quickly remember the reasons why they became habits in the first place. Whether it’s always been done this way or the risk is low and it leads to a shortcut, marketing is truly it’s own dimension of truths and fallacies. Our guest today, Atul Minocha, author of Lies, Damned Lies and Marketing , backs the notion that while marketing data will certainly show the disappointments of oversold performances, the quality of finesse at which you conduct your market...
Nov 09, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Taking risks, especially when it involves money, is not for the faint of heart. As a society, we are taught to save up our money dollar by dollar until we need it for a rainy day or retirement. However, our guest today, Yusef Alexander, disproves this notion. With inflation and the constant of change, sitting on money is only a disservice to your future self. Rather, that money should be working for you to further invest in yourself by diversifying your assets, feeding into your curiosities and ...
Nov 02, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 43
In this day and age, we are bombarded with to do’s, to haves, and a ton of noise that distracts us from what truly matters most. In life, it's not that we don't know what's good for us to pursue, rather it’s knowing what to cut in order to focus on the most essential activities. However, once we strip our lives down to the most essential things, the demands on our time and energy can still be overwhelming. That’s why I’m excited to have today's guest on the show, Greg McKeown. What you’ll learn ...
Oct 26, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 42
We hear it time and time again: having the right attitude will take you far. Definitely an easy lesson to roll your eyes at when times get tough, but when you find yourself starting a new business or looking for a new career or job, having the right mindset is what sets apart the successful from the missed opportunities. Our guest today, Bryan Cressey, discusses how he has wired his brain after years of experience in the world of investing. He’ll delve into the times he uses intuition versus ana...
Oct 19, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Unlike 30 years ago, business today doesn’t take place behind closed doors. Or at least it shouldn’t. As the workplace becomes more of a community rather than a monetized entity, your team and customers are becoming your most important attributes as a leader. Our guest today, Jeff Cobourn, tells us how the company he works with, Gusto, takes this idea and goes all in. Setting the playing field straight with no titles, running extensive peer reviews twice a year and operating in full transparency...
Oct 12, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Life is becoming a lot less predictable, meaning businesses need to start evolving their preparation for the future by turning unforeseen circumstances into something they already saw coming. However, with Excel spreadsheets really requiring a master of both the program and finance to undertake such a project, many are deterred away from including uncertainty in their number crunching. Our guest today, Taimur Abdaal, introduces his product, Causal, a clearer way to tackle those frustrating sprea...
Oct 05, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Technology and business over the past 20 years have seen such a quantum leap in innovation, that it’s about time we changed our strategies to match the present and future. No longer can we just focus on mastering one discipline, but rather find a way to weave topics like technology, science and finance, together. Dr. Vinay Nair discusses with us today how through complex and creative contemplation, putting the customers needs and your employees growth ahead of the product is the new wave of thou...
Sep 28, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 38
One could argue that entrepreneurship is the purest form of business: Building the idea, team and strategy from the ground up, all while having the freedom of being your own boss and setting your own expectations. But this freedom doesn’t come without major roadblocks. The odds of a start up getting past the early stages is slim, and maneuvering around all the unforeseen tribulations makes the odds of a long-term success story slimmer. That’s why today’s guest, Tom Eisenmann, is a much needed vo...
Sep 21, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 37
We are all given 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But when it comes to leadership, how we prioritize that time is what separates the innovative from the disoriented. With each decision triggering a domino effect, everyone, from your team behind you, all the way to your customers, feels the aftershocks. Our guest today, Aaron Sallade, tells us how by looking through the windshield, rather than the rear view mirror, your choices will prove both strategic and constructive to your employees, mission, ...
Sep 14, 2021•49 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Be it the cost of living continuing to climb while salaries remain stagnant, or the hope of owning a house and retiring becoming more far fetched, managing our personal finances feels like an incredibly daunting task. We are told we need to prepare for the future with its abundance of confusing options while trying to also account for unforeseen circumstances. But with the lack of early education, few of us actually come into this system knowing anything about it. That’s why our guest today is h...
Sep 07, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Nothing in life is strictly black and white, and the same goes for the world of business. No more are profits just ‘good’ and loss is ‘bad’, or does higher salary equal a happy employee. Our guest today, Ragu Bhargava, explains how success can reach a higher magnitude in your organization AND personal life by practicing empathy and balancing your focus on quality rather than just quantity. Ragu is an experienced, award-winning entrepreneur, financial executive, and leader. He helps clients succe...
Aug 31, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 34
In the past 10 years, the work place and expected ‘work ethic’ has seen many alterations from what our parents had ingrained in them. No more is it the norm to grin and bear it in an unhealthy work environment in order to rack up the years, nor is it acceptable for leadership to cut corners. With Millennials and Generation Z entering the workforce, they don’t care about title and office size, but rather who you are and what makes you credible as a manager. Our guest today, Vince Molinaro, discus...
Aug 24, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Brand isn't just a catchy name and a pretty looking logo. In fact, those two aspects should be positioned at the back of the list when coming up with a brand strategy. Going deeper than just aesthetics, your brand needs to be defined both internally with your staff as well as externally to your customers what you stand for and how you plan to accomplish that mission. Our guest today, Kyle Duford, helps us understand how differentiating between listening to the market, your competitors, internal ...
Aug 17, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 32
When it comes to building a strategy for our organization, we tend to base it off of the fact that history repeats itself. But stopping there can still leave many of us blindsided. Because let’s face it, if we’ve learned anything from this past year, it's that planning for the totally unexpected is what separates the ill-prepared from the truly innovative and resilient. But how do you plan and pivot for these surprise trials and tribulations? Our guest today, Jonathan Brill, is an innovation exe...
Aug 10, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 31
I think it’s safe to say that a lot of us, when asked about our ideal career, would say it is one where our efforts play into a grander cause, giving back to society while also paying the bills. Seeing the news roll in everyday with reports and footage of injustice and inequality around the world, we want to do something about it, beyond throwing money at the problem in hopes that it will be put to good use. When looking to volunteer though, we often get stuck finding the time or the right oppor...
Aug 03, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 30
If there was ever a year that had us asking those overarching, existential questions at an accelerated rate, it was 2020. But over the past 20 years, the answers to those questions have seemingly become more complicated. As the paradigm of modern society shifts rapidly with the introduction of technology and new ideas, life here in the Western Hemisphere feels, in a way, simplified, compared to what our ancestors dealt with. So much so that ways of finding purpose, work life balance, and examini...
Jul 27, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Reputation is everything, seemingly now more than ever. With cancel culture in full swing, your brand, personal and professional, needs constant care and direction. Be it fact or even just speculation, one wrong turn can have you backed up against the wall when trying to further you and your business’s goals. This is where Lida Citroen comes in. As an award-winning branding and reputation management expert who designs and enhances the identities of executives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders ...
Jul 20, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 28
In the past year, the stock market has made headlines with its unexpected ebbs and flows, signaling to people who otherwise had their money elsewhere to try their hand at investing, while setting off alarms of panic in others. With the feeling of so much riding on each decision you make with your money, ‘weathering the storm’ that is the stock market certainly tests the resilience of the investor and their funds. Natural responses of fight or flight, risk versus reward and confirmation biases al...
Jul 13, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 27
A few months ago Steve was researching the topic of bias in the workplace when he came across an incredible TED Talk -- “How to Outsmart Your Own Unconscious Bias”. Not only was it well delivered, but it also inspired him to look deep within himself and to take action to become a more empathetic person. Although Steve is far from perfect, and will never claim to be, he has learned that by small and simple things, he can harness greater happiness in both his life and in the lives of others. This ...
Jul 05, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 26
When it comes to managing one’s money, it is easy to fall into a myopic approach based on returns and growth, without considering the broader view of life. Of course, there is a balance in all things and this is true with wealth management—live recklessly without saving for the future and there may be major consequences or pinch every penny and delay spending the money, and one may not see the future to fully benefit from it. That is why a comprehensive approach that includes the most important ...
Jun 28, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 25
We have enjoyed having 24 wonderful guests on the show, ranging from senior advisors, faculty at the nation’s top universities, national TED speakers, authors, and c-suite level executives. Tune in this week to hear our host, Steve Coughran, discuss his own personal experiences (good and bad) as a strategic financial leader. Steve Coughran is founder of Coltivar, a business strategy platform that helps companies grow profitably. Through years of working as a CFO, management consultant, and entre...
Jun 21, 2021•36 min•Season 1Ep. 24
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) initiatives and metrics are fast becoming a business imperative as the majority of leaders and investors believe that companies pursuing these things have better opportunities for long-term returns than companies that do not. Ashish Arora is one of the leading experts on the topic of common purpose and integrated strategy in business. Ashish is the Senior Associate Dean for Strategy and Rex D. Adams Professor of Business Administration at the...
Jun 14, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 23
