Leadership Quotient

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Robbie Tyrie, Founder and Managing Director of Torridon Cyber, about the evolving role of cybersecurity in business leadership. Drawing on his experience across financial services, technology, and entrepreneurship, Robbie shares why cybersecurity should be considered a business enabler rather than simply a...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Billy Goldberg , Founding Partners of The Buckeye Group, about the complexities of leadership transitions in middle-market and investor-backed companies. Drawing on his experience advising founders and executive teams, Billy shares why succession planning requires more than identifying the next leader, how...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Seth Garber , CEO of Pest Daily, about what it takes to lead through growth and investment. Drawing on his experience building and exiting businesses across multiple industries, Seth shares how adaptability, pattern recognition, and a willingness to keep learning shaped his approach to leadership. He and Li...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Sarah Jakle , founder of DemocraShe, about developing the next generation of leaders and why leadership development may need to begin much earlier than we think. Sarah shares how DemocraShe works with young women to build the confidence, resilience, and practical tools required to navigate self-doubt, failu...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Larry and Cheri Salazar of NestSTEPS about the connection between leadership, employee well-being, and retention. Larry and Cheri share why they built NestSTEPS to turn homeownership into an employee benefit and how investing in employees beyond the workplace can strengthen loyalty, productivity, and financ...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Heather Barber , co-founder of Buy-Scale-Sell, about building, scaling, and ultimately selling a business to private equity. Heather shares the lessons she learned growing Queen of Wraps from an emerging concept into a highly recognizable brand, including why developing talent from within became critical to...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Dr. Kelly Kinnebrew , Lead Assessor and Team Coach at K2 Organizational Psychology, about what effective leadership assessment actually requires. Drawing on her work across organizational psychology, executive assessment, and cross-cultural leadership, Kelly explores the balance between confidence and humil...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Alex Garcia-Ingrisano , Co-founder & Managing Partner at Avantgard Group, about leadership, team construction, and navigating complexity across private equity, venture capital, and cross-border M&A. Drawing on his experience as a founder, investor, and M&A advisor, Alex explores why venture capi...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Cassandra Shea , founder of GSCG.AI, about developing leaders for where a company is going rather than where it has been. Cassandra shares how leaders can shorten time to value by connecting individual growth with business strategy, why identity and capacity shape a person’s ability to change, and how great...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Robert Garcia Checchia , CFO at Benzinga, about the evolving role of the CFO in private equity-backed companies and why financial expertise alone is not enough to drive value. Drawing on a career spanning operations, investment banking, M&A, and private equity-backed businesses, Robert discusses the imp...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient, Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Andrew Henry , Managing Partner at JM Search, about executive talent as a critical lever for value creation in private equity-backed companies. Andrew shares why cultural fit can matter more than direct experience, how the operating demands of PE-backed businesses differ from those of public companies, and w...

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, we're sharing a recent conversation between Lindsay Guzowski and Dave Trueira from the GrowthLogic Podcast. Lindsay discusses why she founded The Crucible after seeing traditional leadership assessments repeatedly miss the mark in investor-backed companies. The conversation explores why leadership success is contextual, how team dynamics inf...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski sits down with Mike Magliochetti , Operating Partner at RS2 Healthcare Partners, to discuss what separates exceptional operating partners from the rest. Drawing on decades of experience as both a CEO and private equity operating partner, Mike explains why trust between sponsors and management teams matters, how operating partners can create...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Paul Visokey , President and Founder of Stony Hill Advisors, about preparing businesses for successful transitions, the coming wave of business-owner retirements, and the leadership decisions that maximize long-term value. Paul shares lessons from decades of entrepreneurship, commercial lending, and M&A...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Tony Medrano, CEO and Founder of LongevityPlan. AI, about the realities of entrepreneurship, leadership, and building resilient organizations. Drawing from decades of experience as a founder, executive, and AI entrepreneur, Tony shares lessons on navigating failure, aligning incentives with investors, prior...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Ellen Chang , Managing Director at CapZone Impact Investments, about why long-term value creation depends on building ecosystems, not just individual companies. Drawing on leadership experience from the U.S. Navy, Northrop Grumman, and impact investing, Ellen shares why great leaders make people feel heard...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient, Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Gregg Blake , Managing Director at CapM Advisors and Managing Partner at Brocair Partners, about the leadership dynamics behind successful mergers and acquisitions. Drawing on decades of experience advising healthcare and life sciences companies, Greg explains why the right buyer is often more important than...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, Founder and CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Shelby Faubion , Founder and Managing Partner of Vector Advisory, about the leadership disciplines that enable companies to scale successfully through growth and acquisition. Shelby shares lessons from his experience in post-merger integration and CFO advisory work, including why intellectual cu...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient, Lindsay Guzowski speaks with Leticia Souza , CFO at SAVii and angel investor with Epic Angels and GVAngels, about the leadership lessons learned from building a bootstrapped startup into a venture-backed business and ultimately through acquisition. Leticia shares why early wins are critical for developing confidence, how scarcity mindsets shape decision-maki...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient, Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with John Sirianni , owner of Deep Tech Strategies, about leadership, organizational resilience, and the human factors that drive performance in investor-backed companies. Drawing on nearly four decades of experience across aerospace, cybersecurity, venture-backed startups, turnarounds, and M&A, John shares l...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient, Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Rishad Usmani, physician, angel investor, and serial entrepreneur, about the realities of building companies in environments where outcomes are uncertain and success is never guaranteed. Drawing from his experiences as both a practicing physician and startup founder, Rishad explores the fundamental differenc...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient, Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Uzair Bawany , CEO at Oii.ai, about leadership, entrepreneurial mindset, and why great businesses are ultimately built around people. Drawing from a career spanning executive search, fintech, and AI-driven supply chain innovation, Uzair shares lessons on hiring for entrepreneurial thinking, building cultures...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of The Crucible, speaks with Aian Guanzon , Chief Marketing Officer at Global Dominion Financing, about leadership, long-term vision, and why relationships remain at the center of value creation. Drawing from a career path that spans nursing, tech support, advertising, insurance, fintech, and finance, Aian shares how systems thinking a...

In this episode of Leadership Quotient , Lindsay Guzowski, CEO of the Crucible, speaks with Heath Naquin, Senior Vice President of Innovation and New Ventures at University City Science Center, about the realities of venture investing, the importance of pattern recognition, and why leadership today requires continuous learning and adaptability. Drawing from a nonlinear career path spanning startup...

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, Giacomo Sonnino , Advisory Director at Charlesbank Capital Partners, joins The Crucible CEO Lindsay Guzowski to discuss how private equity firms can create more value, faster, by building leadership teams with intention. Drawing on a career that spans engineering, strategy, McKinsey, and operating roles inside growth businesses, Giacomo explains...