The Bob Johnston Podcast

Evan Burfield and Miles Taylor discuss the dynamic interplay between technology, policy, and leadership in Washington, DC. They offer distinct but complementary perspectives on the intersection of technology and policy. Evan, a startup enthusiast turned policy advocate, shares his journey from founding tech companies to fostering collaboration between technologists and policymakers through initiat...

In this episode, we welcome Dov Seidman, founder of LRN and one of the leading thinkers on moral leadership, organizational culture, and ethics in business. Dov shares his insights on the role of inspired leadership in shaping behavior, navigating challenges with values, and how businesses can thrive by focusing on humanity. From lessons on patience and trust to the future implications of AI, this...

 In this episode, Ann Dunkin, Chief Information Officer at the Department of Energy, shares her inspiring journey across the corporate and government sectors. Ann discusses her leadership philosophy, the critical role of AI in reshaping energy and infrastructure, and the importance of diversity and collaboration. Whether you're a leader, tech enthusiast, or advocate for change, this episode o...

In today’s episode, futurist David Mattin, co-founder of The Exponentialist, discusses the evolving role of technology in shaping human behavior. From AI to robotics, David shares insights into how these innovations fulfill timeless human desires and the ethical challenges they bring. Whether you’re leading a business or exploring future trends, David offers practical advice on harnessing technolo...

The intricacies of entrepreneurship and scaling a startup are massive – from hiring talent to raising capital to securing customers, the clock is often the enemy. Today, we dive into the life of launching and running a startup with Eleonore Crespo, CEO of Pigment, a fast-growth company based in Paris. Eleonore and I discuss the rewards of leadership and taking care of your teams (and yourself and...

Has your approach to leadership and organizational culture evolved? Navigating these areas can be challenging—especially with the rapid changes in today’s workforce and work environments. In this episode, I sit down with Wonzie Gardner to explore the complexities of modern leadership and organizational dynamics. Together, we dive into critical areas that are reshaping the work culture landscape, a...

How's your nutrition discipline and exercise routine going this Summer? If you're anything like me, it's been up and down due to loads of travel and too many restaurant meals. So...in today’s episode, Dr. Joey Mattina and I go down the rabbit hole to cover our current exercise, nutrition and supplement strategies and see where we can get optimized. Of note, we dive into the followin...

Philip Rowley, CFO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, might just win the award for The Most Interesting CFO in the World.  Aside from having amassed decades of knowledge about his industry and craft, he's also extremely well-read and and has an incredible knack for leadership, based in part, at least, on his breadth of reading (Side note on reading: Mark Twain once said, " The man who does...

Everybody is talking about longevity nowadays…such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink, supplements such as NAD to Rapamycin, and various blood tests and full body MRI scans.  How does one sift through the noise and make sense of what’s what?  Dr. Bill Kapp, CEO of Fountainlife, lays it out for us in layman’s terms. We discuss: Fountain Life's plans to make advanced health screening technologies more ac...

Summary Have you ever wondered what kind of companies are being created in the Space industry, outside of the one or two that you've heard about such as SpaceX? It's a $500Bn market today (and trillions over the next couple of decades). You're invited to listen and absorb the knowledge of Space Capital's founder, Chad Anderson, as he takes us on the journey and provides a roadm...

Summary CHROs are having a special moment right now – and rightfully earned, given that HR is arguably the most important role in an organization. As such, I'm excited to share my conversation with Michael Fraccaro, who currently serves as Mastercard's Chief People Officer. We discuss Michael's early career, which began as a high school teacher in Sydney as well as where his interes...

Summary One of the most important roles in the C-suite is ownership of company ethics, culture, and policy. Who better to give us insights than someone who spearheads this role at a company that’s navigated these waters for over 123 years?! Enter Beth Rose, Chief Compliance, Ethics, & Integrity Officer at Ford Motor Company.  Beth and I sit down to discuss the career and personal path – and, i...

Summary In the course of this in-depth conversation, Larry McDonald – author of How to Listen When Markets Speak and CEO of Bear Traps Report – delves deep into the financial insights acquired from his global network, discussing the major economic shifts and their impact on financial markets, as captured in his latest book. His intention is to democratize financial information, moving away from tr...

Barak Turovsky is Executive in Residence at Scale Venture Partners, a leading Enterprise venture capital firm. Barak spent 10 years at Google as Head of Product and User Experience for Languages AI and the Google Translate teams, focused on applying cutting edge Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies to deliver experiences across Google Search, Assistant, Cloud, Chrome, Ads and...

My guest today is Lara Abrash, Chair and CEO of Deloitte.  She is a true leader and I really enjoyed our time together. We discussed her personal journey and path, particularly an impressive trajectory in her career and how she has navigated it from a perspective of constantly evolving. Curiosity is a driver for being willing to evolve and an important tenet for any leader. 

My guest today is Alan Patricof, founding father of venture capital and author of a new book entitled, "No Red Lights: Reflections on Life, 50 Years in Venture Capital, and Never Driving Alone." Alan and I dig into the book and we also cover a potpourri of topics that had me feeling inspired for many days after our conversation.

Amir Hemmat is Co-Founder and CEO of Welcome Technologies (Welcome), the “digital Ellis Island '' and future operating system for immigration. Welcome is a venture funded technology platform that is building innovative financial solutions for this cohort, including a digital wallet, to ensure access to previously elusive opportunities and to propel this consumer sector, and our society,...

Donato J. Tramuto is the author of The Double Bottom Line, How Compassionate Leaders Captivate Hearts and Deliver Results .  Donato joins Bob to discuss his new book along with a superstar panel including Kurt Small, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer for the Government Business Division at Anthem, Inc., Tom Riley, Chairman of the Board of Seniorlink, Laurie Cameron, Founder of Pu...

My second guest of the new season is Ken Goldman, who currently serves as President of Hillspire, which is Eric and Wendy Schmidt’s family office. Eric, of course, being the former executive chairman of Google and its parent company, Alphabet. Ken is widely known in Silicon Valley and the broader business world, as well, having served as CFO of Yahoo, Fortinet, Siebel, and currently sits on a numb...

Mark Hawkins is an award-winning executive who, for four decades, has led finance organizations at global software and technology companies including Salesforce, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard . Raised in Michigan, Mark attended Michigan State where he studied operations management. His first job was at Hewlett-Packard where, at just 21, he was a buyer for the supply chain by day and getting his MBA in...

Hi Gang, we’re kicking off the Fall podcast season with a deep dive discussion around longevity and anti-aging with Elysium Health’s Co-founder and CEO, Eric Marcotulli. I interviewed Eric at the Executive Council’s annual Health & Biotech Summit in 2017, which feels like forever ago, particularly given all of the buzz around anti-aging regimens and the popularization of the space from various...

Nimit Sawhney is Co-Founder and CEO of Voatz , Inc, an elections platform that uses identity proofing, biometrics, and blockchain technology to enable end-to-end verifiable and accessible remote voting via smartphones and tablets. Voatz has run more than 76 elections in partnership with both major political parties at the state level, as well as with state/county governments, towns, cities, univer...

Donato Tramuto is CEO & Founder of Health eVillages. Founded in 2011, Health eVillages bridges that gap in health education with mobile technology. Our lifesaving resources include medical reference and clinical decision support tools for medical and public health professionals in the most challenging clinical environments in the U.S. and abroad. It is our belief that by delivering technology,...

It’s no easy feat starting a business. Are entrepreneurs born fearless or can this mindset be tapped into and developed through life experiences?  Today’s guest, Erica Liu Williams, founder of Gr8nola, is a driven founder, yet it took her a few steps to get there from A to B. Erica attended Stanford on a swimming scholarship and, upon graduation, wasn’t particularly career-driven. Instead, her amb...

In Part II of my conversation with Dr. Barry Morguelan, we provide you with a short, instructional video that has a number of simple exercises you can do at home to increase your energy levels (using me as the guinea pig). With demanding schedules and hectic lives, we all want more energy. In this podcast, Dr. Barry Morguelan explains how we can tap into Source Energy and increase our awareness an...