The Career Evangelist

What if the very experiences that make you feel different in the workplace are actually your greatest competitive advantages? For many professionals, especially those who are the first in their families to enter corporate environments, career advancement can feel like navigating a system without a playbook. In this episode of  The Career Evangelist Podcast, host Bola Alabi sits down with  Joaquin...

Your Story Is Your Greatest Career Asset: From Homeless at 15 to Successful Entrepreneur | Mel Carr What if the experiences you've been hiding are actually the ones that could make you stand out in your career? At just 15 years old, Mel Carr found herself homeless and struggling to survive. By 16, she had left high school to work more hours and support herself. Years later, she built a success...

What if the fear you feel about change isn't a warning to stop, but a signal pointing you toward your next opportunity? Whether you're navigating a corporate restructuring, considering a career pivot, dealing with an unexpected leadership change, or wondering how AI will reshape your industry, uncertainty can be overwhelming. But what if you could learn to use that uncertainty to your adva...

What does it really take to climb the corporate ladder without losing who you are along the way? In this episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, Bola Alabi sits down with Ashwini, a seasoned executive, VP of R&D, and author of  Map Your Ascent , to explore the principles that have shaped her more than two decades of leadership across major organizations including Toyota, ZF, Harley-Davidson,...

What does it mean to be mission-ready in your career and leadership? In this episode of  The Career Evangelist Podcast , Bola Alabi sits down with Tim Madden, CEO and co-founder of Executive Career Upgrades, a former U.S. Army leader who spent 22 years leading soldiers before transitioning into corporate America and becoming a nationally recognized recruiting and retention leader. Tim shares power...

What separates a great individual contributor from a great leader? And how do you grow your career without burning yourself out along the way? In this episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, Bola Alabi sits down with Elena Arecco Bridgmon, MBA, PCC, co-founder and COO of Lumo Leadership, for a practical conversation about leadership, burnout, boundaries, trust, and career growth. After years in...

What happens when you achieve the career you thought you wanted, only to realize it isn't giving you the meaning you expected? In this episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, Bola Alabi sits down with Perry Atwal, author, educator, and former investment banking professional who worked with leading global financial institutions including Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and Barcl...

Artificial intelligence is transforming the hiring process, but is it making it easier or harder for qualified professionals to land their next opportunity? AI-generated resumes, automated job applications, fake candidate profiles, and AI-powered interviews are changing how employers evaluate talent. For genuine job seekers, standing out in an increasingly crowded applicant pool has become a major...

What if the career you’ve spent years building isn’t actually aligned with who you are? In this episode of  The Career Evangelist Podcast , Bola Alabi sits down with  Leon Morales, President and CEO of DNA Behavior International , to explore how understanding your natural behavioral strengths can transform the way you approach your career, leadership, and workplace relationships. Leon shares his o...

What happens when the formula that made you successful no longer works? After three decades in technology leadership, including serving as a Field CTO at Dell Technologies, Tony Dina reached a point many accomplished professionals eventually encounter: everything looked successful from the outside, but something no longer felt right. In this episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, Bola Alabi sit...

What if becoming a better leader isn't about becoming more impressive—but becoming more yourself? In this episode of  The Career Evangelist Podcast , Bola Alabi sits down with leadership coach  Ruth Andermatt , founder of Ace Inc., who brings nearly three decades of experience helping senior leaders and executives reconnect with their authentic power. Ruth shares her unconventional career jour...

What happens when the career you've built is no longer the career you want? In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Marty Snyder, author of  The Pinball Theory of Business and Life , to explore career reinvention, leadership, risk, crisis management, and the unpredictable nature of life and business. Marty shares the story of leaving a successful 20+ year legal career to pursue internat...

In this episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, host I sat down with author, entrepreneur, and business strategist Glenn Poulos. Glenn shares hard-won lessons from 40+ years in sales and business, including why every impression after the first one still counts, how consistency beats flashy charisma, and why sales remains one of the fastest ways to accelerate both income and career trajectory. He...

Most career advice tells you to "just be authentic." Dr. Andrea Wojnicki, executive communication coach, Harvard Business School doctorate, and author of one of HBR's most downloaded articles ever, says that's not enough. In this episode, Andrea shares her practical Present-Past-Future framework for introducing yourself with confidence in interviews, networking, and negotiations,...

Most professionals accept the first offer they receive. That mistake could cost them tens—or even hundreds—of thousands of dollars over the course of their careers. In this episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, I sit down with John Gates, executive salary negotiation coach and former Fortune 500 recruiting executive, to uncover what really happens behind closed doors during compensation negoti...

Millions of experienced professionals are being overlooked, not because they lack talent, but because the hiring system wasn't designed for today's workforce. In this episode, I sit down with psychologist, workplace researcher, and  Age Against the Machine  co-author  Lucy Standing  to discuss one of the biggest yet least talked about challenges in today's job market: ageism. Lucy shar...

After nearly 30 years building a powerhouse career in communications — including serving as a Chief Communications Officer — Geoff Curtis lost the professional identity that had defined much of his life when his role became redundant following an acquisition. In this candid conversation, Geoff joins host Bola Alabi to unpack what he calls "professional identity purgatory": the uncomforta...

What happens after you finally get the promotion? Many professionals spend years preparing to get the opportunity but fail to prepare for the leadership expectations that come with it. In this episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, Bola sits down with Navid Nazemian, executive transition coach, bestselling author of  Mastering Executive Transitions , and former multinational executive with 26 y...

How do you become a better leader when every person, challenge, and situation is different? In this episode of  The Career Evangelist Podcast , Bola Alabi sits down with Sam Schriver, Executive Vice President at the Center for Leadership Studies, for a powerful conversation on the principles of situational leadership. With more than 45 years of experience studying and teaching leadership, Sam shar...

What happens when military discipline meets modern business leadership? In this episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, I sit down with Chris Hallberg, a leadership expert, original Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) implementer, entrepreneur, and founder of Business Sergeant. Chris shares how lessons learned from the battlefield can transform the boardroom — from building resilient teams to...

In this inspiring episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, Bola Alabi sits down with leadership expert, executive coach, author, and corporate executive Jennifer Doty. After spending more than two decades leading teams inside Fortune 100 companies, Jennifer shares the mindset shifts, leadership principles, and career strategies that helped her transition from a traditional executive career to bui...

Most professionals aren't held back by a lack of skills or ambition; they're held back by conversations they're not having. In this episode, Bola sits down with culture strategist and author Gustavo Razzetti to unpack one of the most expensive problems in the modern workplace: conversational debt. Drawing on 25 years of facilitating high-stakes conversations with Fortune 500 leaders at...

The future of work is changing faster than ever, and the rules for career success are evolving with it. In this episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, Bola Alabi sits down with workforce futurist, bestselling author, and former advisor to the U.S. Department of Labor, Alexandra Levit, to discuss how professionals can future-proof their careers in the age of AI. Alexandra shares powerful insight...

What does it take to stay relevant in your career for nearly three decades in a constantly evolving industry? In this episode of  The Career Evangelist Podcast , Bola speaks with digital marketing veteran and co-founder of 415 Digital, Borja Cuan, who has spent over 27 years navigating disruption, competition, client loss, AI transformation, and leadership challenges in the world of performance ad...

On this episode of The Career Evangelist Podcast, Bola sits down with Nikki, an entrepreneur, bestselling author, board director, and global keynote speaker, to discuss how professionals can thrive in the rapidly changing world of work. With over 25 years of experience helping Fortune 1000 leaders and entrepreneurs navigate transformation, Nikki shares practical insights on career reinvention, lea...