Today's conversation is with Courtney Klein, co-founder and CEO of SEED SPOT. This year, Arizona State University honored Courtney as the “Young Alumni of the Year” and Arizona Economic News named her “One of Arizona’s most Influential Millennials.” In 2015, the Phoenix Business Journal named Courtney as one of the “Top 10 Business People of the Year” and in 2013 as one of the “25 Most Dynamic Women in Business.” She has also been recognized by media outlets as one of the nation’s “Top 30 Civic Leaders Under the Age of 30,” one of Arizona’s “35 Entrepreneurs Under 35,” one of “20 Women to Change Arizona by 2020,” and one of “Arizona’s Most Intriguing Chief Executives.”
In the podcast, Courtney shares her passion for people, entrepreneurship, mentoring, and dreaming. Among other topics, she tells the story of how she discovered her passion, how she chose to cultivate relationships instead of going for the quick dollar, and how having a mentor and being a mentor to others has shaped her professionally and personally.
In today's podcast, we talk to Clate Mask - co-founder and CEO of Infusionsoft. Clate was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, a Top 100 Small Business Influencer by Small Business Trends, one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2013 by Goldman Sachs, and Business Leader of the Year by the Arizona Technology Council.
In our conversation, Clate talks about the early years at Infusionsoft and how they developed their focus and clear vision to help small businesses. He discusses how he approaches personal and professional growth, and how he studies the characteristics of the CEOs of billion dollar companies and uses determined discipline to grow as a leader and grow his company. These topics, among others, will provide you with inspiration and motivation.
Today's podcast features Chris Callahan, the founding dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He also serves as the vice provost of ASU's Downtown Phoenix Campus, and is the CEO of Arizona PBS.
In our conversation, Chris shares from his experiences growing up the son of a New York City cop, studying journalism and working for the Associated Press, and then transitioning into higher education. Among other topics, he discusses the value of internships, the discipline of critical thinking, the critical impact a clear vision has on an organization, and how to clearly define and carry out culture in an organization.
This week we talk with John Solheim - the Chairman and CEO of PING. For over five decades, this family-owned manufacturing company has called Arizona home, and John recounts both their history and his path to leading the company.
In this podcast, John discusses many subjects, including:
This week's podcast features Win Holden who has been the publisher of Arizona Highways magazine since 2000. Win has an extensive background in advertising, communications and publishing and had a distinguished career at a variety of firms including Moses Anshell (now Moses Inc.), MAC America Communications, Phillips-Ramsey Advertising and Public Relations, and Tatham-Laird and Kudner Advertising.
While we did not have the opportunity to discuss it on the podcast, Win has a passion for giving back to the community and has served in over 30 volunteer organizations in various capacities. These include, the Phoenix Pride Commission, the Fiesta Bowl, the Phoenix Citizens Transit Commission, and the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitor's Bureau, just to name a few.
In our conversation, Win discusses his journey from advertising to publishing, building a multi-generational team at Arizona Highways to meet the demands of its subscribers and readers of all ages from around the world while staying true to the decades-old mission and vision of this iconic magazine. We also get a great story and lessons learned from Win's involvement in developing the original concept for "Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean" with Linda Cobb, and much more.
This week's podcast features the Chairman and CEO of AMERCO, Joe Shoen. While AMERCO may not be a household name, it is the parent company to one of the most familiar brands in America - U-Haul. For the past 30 years, Joe has served as CEO and remains one of the most hands-on chief executives anywhere.
In our conversation, Joe discusses how his leadership style differs from the stereotypical Harvard MBA graduate, how he engages with customers to meet their needs, how owning a small business and working closely with small business has contributed to U-Haul's success, how he leverages his exhaustive travel schedule to improve internal and external relationships, and much more.
Gary Bender, who began his network sportscasting career in 1975 for the NFL on CBS doing play-by-play, shares his thoughts on hard work, the power of listening, the value of preparation, and explores the similarities between the qualities leaders share with sportscasters. Plus, he tells some amazing stories from his years covering some of the greatest athletes in the world.
Gary had an amazing career covering the NFL, college basketball, Major League Baseball, the Olympics, the NBA, and nearly 25 more sports on network television. Over the years, he worked alongside other notable sportscasters such as Johnny Unitas, Hank Stram, John Madden, Lynn Swann, Al Michaels, Bill Russell, and Bob Costas.
Dr. Michael Berens from TGen shares his story and provides insight into leading a world-class genetics research team. He speaks of the importance of mentoring, the value of family, the latest cutting edge genetics research going on at TGen, and much more.
Glenn Hamer is President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Here he discusses the mission of the Arizona Originals podcast and shares his story taking him from the Bronx to Arizona. He also shares his thoughts about leadership, management, building an organization, the value of internships and letting good people go from your organization.