Success Beneath the Surface

Success Beneath the Surface: Leadership Insights from Q1 2025 Welcome to our curated collection of the most impactful conversations from the first quarter of 2025. This playlist features transformative discussions with leaders who have mastered the art of building thriving organizations through unconventional wisdom and authentic leadership. Join us as we explore the hidden dynamics of successful...

Welcome to the 100th episode of Success Beneath the Surface. This is a podcast where we dig into what lies beneath the surface of a CEO's success, your success, and insights deeply rooted at times in family, beliefs, or a drive that's just always been there. Our top downloaded episodes include Lessons from Navy Seal Kyle Buckett, number 57, who challenges the notion of leadership from the top, and...

This commentary features Carl Satterwhite, President and Owner of RCF Group. This segment focuses on the evolving workplace landscape. Carl shares his unique observations on post-pandemic challenges, multigenerational workforces, and the often-overlooked phenomenon of "culture creep." His remarkable business philosophy—Making Others Realize Extra (MORE)—has powered RCF Group's expansion to 50 stat...

Deborah welcomes Carl Satterwhite, President and Owner of RCF Group, a unique commercial furniture, architectural interiors, and facility services company operating in all 50 states and over 20 countries. Carl shares his remarkable journey from managing "all the other stuff" at Procter & Gamble to building a continuously evolving business by listening deeply to client needs. His story is of fa...

In a world obsessed with ROI and KPIs, the most valuable asset might be sitting across from you at lunch. This bonus conversation between Deborah Fell and Harold Green reveals something we often overlook in our digital-first world. What stands out in this conversation is the genuine human connection that developed between two professionals who met by chance at a networking event. What started as a...

In our conversation with Harold Green, one theme resonated particularly strongly: business evolution requires building on past experience while constantly looking forward. After nearly five decades in the paving and recycling industries, Harold has turned his attention to helping companies measure and monetize their carbon reductions. In this segment, he explains how his past work prepared him for...

In today's business landscape, environmental consciousness isn't just about doing good—it's becoming a business imperative. Deborah Fell interviews Harold Green, CEO of Global Emissionairy, a business leader who has blended entrepreneurship with environmental stewardship throughout his career. Starting from humble beginnings working at a country club at age seven, Harold built multiple successful...

In today's volatile business landscape, the alignment between Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and Chief Sales Officers (CSOs) isn't just a nice-to-have—it's critical for sustainable growth. Deborah Fell dives deep into why this partnership is more crucial than ever for mid-market companies. Drawing from Chief Outsiders' experience across 5,000+ engagements, she explains why the most successful lea...

Leadership is a craft—refined through experience, challenge, and continuous growth. This past quarter, Success Beneath the Surface brought together some of the most dynamic CEOs and business minds to explore what it takes to lead with impact. From James Hyman’s masterclass on corporate turnarounds to Ryan Clark’s formula for urgency-driven culture, these episodes aren’t just conversations—they’re...

Deborah Fell recounts a chance meeting with J. Nicole Martin-Lawton, CEO of Phoenix Language Services, during an Amtrak service disruption. What started as strangers standing together in a crowded café car turned into an enlightening conversation about leadership and resilience. Nicole had stepped into the CEO role following her father's sudden death, successfully leading an all-women team while h...

When J. Nicole Martin Lawton suddenly became CEO of Phoenix Language Services in May 2020, it was under extraordinary circumstances. Not only was the world grappling with a global pandemic, but she had just returned from maternity leave with her second child when her father, company founder Bill Martin, passed away. In that moment, Nicole stepped into leadership of the company he had built from th...

What happens when a hard-charging CEO realizes their leadership style is holding back their organization's potential? In this commentary on last week's conversation with Scott Jackson of Global Impact, we explore the counterintuitive truth about scaling impact. Sometimes, the fastest path forward is creating space for others to lead. Full episode is here . About Scott Jackson Scott Jackson is the...

When Scott Jackson says his role as CEO of Global Impact is to be a 'follower of leaders,' he challenges conventional thinking about executive leadership. In our conversation, he explains how this counterintuitive approach—empowering others while providing crucial behind-the-scenes support—has helped his organization channel over $2.5 billion to global causes. Scott's practical insights on trust-b...

In this commentary, Deborah Fell examines the psychology of entrepreneurship, drawing from her conversation with Net at Work Co-Founder and Co-CEO Eddie Solomon. Through stories of infrastructure pioneers, transformational leaders, and second-generation successors, she reveals how true entrepreneurs share an unshakeable mindset – they may pivot, but failure is never an option. Listen to the full e...

In this episode, we sit down with Eddie Solomon, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Net at Work, a technology services company he started with his brother in 1996. From their humble beginnings as Russian-Ukrainian immigrants in Brooklyn to building a thriving enterprise serving over 5,000 businesses, Eddie shares insights about true entrepreneurship versus business ownership, the delicate balance of working...

A lot of CEOs talk about humility, but it's rare to meet one who truly embodies it. Last week, I spoke with Ray Hatch, CEO of Quest Resources Holding Corporation, and what struck me most wasn't his impressive track record - it was his genuine humility in action. His philosophy that "I have limitations and I don't want my limitations to be the limitation of the company" speaks volumes about his lea...

Trust versus faith — it's a distinction that Ray Hatch, Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director of Quest Resource Holding Corporation, explores with a refreshing candor in this conversation with Deborah Fell. Drawing from his unique journey from food distribution to waste management and lessons learned as a basketball coach's son, Ray shares how he transformed a struggling public company...

In healthcare, some of the most impactful organizations work quietly behind the scenes, touching countless lives without widespread recognition. MTF Biologics, led by CEO Joe Yaccarino, is one such organization. Their work in tissue donation and medical biologics represents a profound cycle of hope - where end-of-life decisions become new beginnings for others. As someone who has witnessed the fra...

In healthcare innovation, success isn't just about breakthrough technology or market leadership - sometimes, it requires heroes at every level. Today's conversation with Joe Yaccarino, CEO of MTF Biologics, reveals how one of the world's largest tissue banks has built an organization where heroic acts happen daily - from donor families making selfless decisions in moments of tragedy to engineers d...

Deborah Fell reflects on her powerful conversation with Jeff Ostenso, CEO of Ironmark, and her chance encounter with another second-generation CEO during an extended train delay. These interactions highlight a crucial reality: family-owned businesses form the backbone of the American economy, representing 87% of U.S. businesses and employing 60% of American workers. From Jeff's transparent leaders...

From delivery truck driver at 18 to CEO of an $80M company - Jeff Ostenso shares how he transformed his father's printing business into a modern marketing powerhouse. After 38 years and 16 acquisitions, he reveals the unconventional leadership approach that helped him retain employees and acquire company owners. Learn how sharing P&Ls with every employee and treating the CEO title as secondary...

Last week marked the conclusion of our three-part series featuring Clay Spitz, recently retired Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner at Chief Outsiders. Over my nine years with the firm, I've had the privilege of watching Clay in action – he's always been a class act, the kind of leader who earns trust naturally. Clay's perspective is particularly valuable because he is willing to share tr...

At this conclusion of our three-part conversation, we join Clay Spitz and Deborah Fell as they reflect on Clay's remarkable journey with Chief Outsiders and his transition into the next chapter of his career. What begins as a discussion about business lessons learned evolves into a heartfelt exploration of wisdom gained, relationships built, and the lasting impact one leader can have on an organiz...

This is a quarterly recap of our top episodes. You'll hear some of the highlights from several guests. From Bob Rhoda, CEO of Hemisonics, a medical device technology company, to Colleen Vassalette, CEO of landscape design firm Intrigue Design, Ryan P. Clark, co-founder and CEO of staffing and recruitment firm PeopleShare, and Will Bowie, founder and CEO of Empower Construction, a utility construct...

This episode delves into the critical career decisions that shaped these business leaders' paths. Clay candidly shares his experience of leaving Telecheck after 9/11 and buying a business - a decision he calls his "biggest failure" and "most costly mistake." He opens up about the financial devastation and valuable lessons learned from this setback. Deborah reflects on her bold move to leave Marrio...