Office Hours with David Meltzer

Anne Grady, a resilience and adaptability expert, bestselling author, speaker, and entrepreneur, shares how to grow forward when life goes sideways. Known for blending neuroscience, humor, and practical wisdom, Anne teaches individuals and organizations how to navigate change with clarity and confidence. Her approach to resilience is deeply personal, shaped by her son’s early diagnosis of severe m...

Aden Bahadori and Brett Granstaff—Co-Founders of TACHI AI—share how they are transforming film and television post-production with a groundbreaking utility-driven AI video editor. Fresh out of stealth and recently featured in Deadline, TACHI AI is designed to reduce post-production time by up to 95% while preserving full creative control for editors. Aden and Brett unpack why utility AI, not gener...

Jared Pearman is a multidisciplinary writer and producer whose creative work spans film, animation, video games, publishing, and education. As one half of the Pearman Brothers, he is co-creating Sky of Tides, a sci-fi fantasy video game and animated series launching in March 2026, and previously contributed to Eternal Spring, the most awarded animated film in Canadian history and Canada’s official...

Dr. Jason W. Piefer brings a rare perspective at the intersection of health, performance, and leadership. A board-certified orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, Dr. Piefer is known for his precision-driven approach to joint preservation, trauma care, and arthroscopy. A top graduate of Baylor College of Medicine and a Professor at Texas A&M College of Medicine, he works closely wi...

Julie Colombino-Billingham is a first-generation Italian American entrepreneur whose journey spans professional dance, aerial arts, and an MBA focused on international disaster response. Her path into fashion was shaped by her time volunteering in Haiti, where a powerful lesson from local women—“I don’t need water, I need a job”—inspired her to build a different kind of fashion business rooted in...

Stephanie Pimentel, a Dominican-American executive and founder of Lumena Global Advisory, brings deep expertise in cross-border leadership, people strategy, and operational clarity. Drawing from her journey as a first-generation professional and working mother, Steph shares how resilience and values-driven leadership have shaped her career across industries including telecommunications, entertainm...

Devon Millington is the founder and CEO of multiple ventures serving the HCBS/IDD space, where he combines behavioral science, operations, and software to help care organizations scale without losing their mission. A licensed behavior analyst with a master’s degree, Devon is known for building practical systems that create real accountability—focused on performance, meaningful metrics, and leaders...

Hayk Chakyan is the son of Armenian immigrants who fled the Soviet Union to build a better life in California. After attending UC Berkeley and gaining experience in software sales and applied AI at Silicon Valley companies, his entrepreneurial journey began with a personal frustration over what he believed was an unfair traffic ticket. As he researched the system, Hayk uncovered how billions in tr...

Martha Montoya, CEO of Agtools and a globally recognized expert in commodities and supply chains. With over 35 years of experience spanning agriculture, telecommunications, electronics, and global trade, Martha brings unparalleled insight into the journey of food, from farm to final delivery. She has worked with farmers, governments, and major buyers worldwide, moving crops such as lettuce, banana...

Marc Zionts is an executive, athlete, and environmentalist who focuses on building technology and software companies in high-growth markets. As CEO of SundaySky, a Clearhaven Partners portfolio company, he brings a disciplined, forward-looking approach to leadership while balancing business growth with social and environmental responsibility. A Georgia Tech graduate with both bachelor’s and master...

Corinne Goble, CEO of the Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC), shares how she has led national expansion and strengthened advocacy for women entrepreneurs across the U.S. Drawing from her personal journey and policy leadership, Corinne explains why access to capital, strong networks, and modernized funding structures aren’t just equity issues—they’re economic imperatives that drive jobs...

Adel Saad, Founder and CEO of sKora.ai, shares how AI is transforming football talent discovery by democratizing access for overlooked athletes around the world. Drawing from his background in data analytics, systems engineering, and professional sports representation, Adel reveals how purpose-driven technology can open doors where traditional systems fall short. Bart Berkey, bestselling author, k...

Johny Duval, co-founder of Sudden, shares how his years at Amazon and in startups revealed a broken economics model in streaming. After watching media companies spend more to deliver video than to create it, Johny left AWS to build a simpler edge network that cuts cloud costs by up to 80% without sacrificing quality. He discusses discipline, clarity, and building infrastructure that allows creator...

Tarun Kamath, founder of Arcady Media, shares his journey from launching an email and CRM agency in high school to scaling it into a $2M+ operation before age 25. He breaks down how e-commerce brands can drive real, lasting growth through smarter lifecycle marketing, automation, and retention—focusing on increasing customer lifetime value without relying on ever-higher ad spend. Transformational t...

Three thought leaders explore how power is being reshaped across technology, economics, and digital rights—and what it means for the future of work, privacy, and human impact. Paul Mackiewicz, Founder of Honorable Marketing and a third-generation Army veteran, shares how his experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, combined with executive leadership at two Inc. 500 fastest-growing companies, led him to...

Three leaders from vastly different worlds come together to explore resilience, discipline, and purposeful creation across military service, entrepreneurship, and business mastery. Remi Adeleke shares his powerful journey of transformation. Born into wealth in Nigeria, his life changed after his father’s death and the loss of his family’s assets, forcing a move to the Bronx. After a turbulent yout...

We explored how technology, innovation, and personal discipline intersect to create meaningful, sustainable impact in business and life. Jack Watkinson, Vice President of Sales at Outsource My IT, shares how more than 20 years in technology shaped his belief that IT should be a growth driver—not just a support function. From early programming roots to helping businesses scale with confidence, Jack...

We explored how leadership, storytelling, and values-driven decision-making can shape a more balanced and sustainable world. Our guest Shenali Rajaratnam, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Power of Women, leads a global initiative empowering women and youth while advancing peace, wellbeing, and inclusive leadership. Power of Women brings together leaders, activists, academics, and civil society fr...

We sit down with three remarkable leaders who are redefining courage, resilience, and impact in their fields. Tai Emery is a professional combat sports athlete, model, and entrepreneur known for her fearless presence in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), Power Slap, and Misfits Boxing. A former electrical engineer turned global fighter, Tai blends discipline, strategy, and authenticity—emp...

Craig Palmer is a results-driven Chief Revenue Officer and sales leader known for building and scaling high-performing teams in the medical device and life sciences space. From starting as a sales representative to helping take a medical device company public, growing its sales organization from zero to 150. Craig’s career reflects bold leadership, disciplined execution, and resilience. His journe...

We explore the important topics of environmental resilience, branding, and career development with three inspiring guests. Travis Dean is the founder of the Jackson Earth Restoration & Research Center, a nonprofit in Arizona focused on ecological resilience and land restoration amid climate change. With degrees in Anthropology and History, Travis combines his knowledge of human systems and nat...

The Human Experience brings together two worlds rarely explored side by side—global finance and elite human performance. In this episode, James St. Clair, Co-Founder and President of ViewTrade, draws on more than 36 years in financial services to reveal how 24/7 trading and cross-border investing are transforming access to global markets. He shares behind-the-scenes insight into building a self-fu...

In Episode 824 of Office Hours, David Meltzer sits down with four visionary leaders shaping innovation, entrepreneurship, finance, and global business. Roy Zwahlen and Ashlie Thomas bring a unique mix of global strategy and grassroots advocacy. Roy’s international upbringing and work advising biotech leaders inform his role as Chief Strategy Officer at Eshelman Innovation, while Ashlie, known as T...

Noelle Russell Noelle Russell is a multi-award-winning TEDx speaker, best-selling author, and pioneering AI executive known for delivering responsible, scalable AI solutions that transform organizations. Recognized as the #1 Agentic AI Leader of 2025 and a 5x Microsoft AI MVP, she is a sought-after expert in revenue growth, cost optimization, and human-centered innovation. Her work has reached mil...

David Lee Vanka AI was founded by David Lee, John Lagerling, and Satoshi Kataoka—serial entrepreneurs and technologists whose previous companies have been acquired five times, including two sales to Google, one to a top Meta Business Partner, and one to a NASDAQ-listed company. Collectively, they’ve built zero-to-one ventures serving global customers such as Amazon, Alibaba, and Lazada; led high-i...