BriteVibe Podcast: Live Brite, Live Bold, and Share BriteVibes

Download Episode Here Business is chaotic.  Even in organizations that fully embrace decentralized decision making, the figurative "grenade" is thrown by good intentioned leaders. How we respond to these perceived "grenades" being thrown is worthy of intentional focus. What do you do when these figurative grenades are thrown? Do you run for your life? Do you deflect and give it to somebody else be...

Dr. Sheree Utash has served as president of Wichita Area Technical College (WATC) since 2015 and has overseen the transition of the college to the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech). Prior to that she served eight years at the college as vice president of academic affairs. With 6,500 students, WSU Tech is the largest technical college in Kansas and acts as managing partner fo...

Jeff Lange embodies the spirit of the Kansas Entrepreneur. A native Kansan, Jeff first learned the excitement and perils of owning a business by growing up with a family farm business. Jeff's next experience came when he pursued a career in real estate and eventually opened Lange Real Estate. In 1998, he and a partner entered the storage business. A ... Read More

Allen Fee serves as President of Fee Insurance Group. Mr. Fee also serves as Director at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center, Inc. He has served as chairman for several organizations including the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, United Way, Rotary and the Chamber of Commerce. He began his career with the family business upon graduating from KU in 1984. Fee Insurance ... Read More

Patty McCord brings the Silicon Valley concepts of fresh ideas and innovation and applies them to rethink the way we work. She challenges norms and invites us to reconsider the idea of "best practices." From her many years working with companies that range from very large global tech companies to small very small innovative start-ups, Patty saw first-hand how companies ... Read More

Michelle Becker is the Founder & CEO of Profit Builders Inc.  Founded in 1994, Profit Builders is an industry leader in Outsource Accounting specializing in a full platform of accounting services. Profit Builders is proud to support leading Small to Mid-Size businesses across 40 states. Their areas of specialty include Restaurant, Health Care, Construction and Agriculture. Profit Builders is known...

Trevor is a proven, results-oriented entrepreneur with a passion for innovation & empowering others. His extensive background in sales and marketing provideshim with the experience to develop products and implement his strategic vision in innovative ways. Trevor is currently President of Buddy Brands, a vertically integrated pet products company he founded in 2011.  Buddy Brands makes solution bas...

Karyn Page is recognized at the local, state, and national level for her expertise on export promotion and export ecosystem development in both private and public sectors. She consults small businesses and communities across multiple industries on trade strategy, advocacy, compliance, market entry, and identifying global opportunities. Ms. Page currently serves as President and CEO of Kansas Globa...

Dan Schawbel is a New York Times bestselling author, Partner and Research Director at Future Workplace, and the Founder of both Millennial Branding and WorkplaceTrends.com. He is the bestselling author of two career books: Promote Yourselfand Me 2.0. His third book, Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation, was released by Hachette on November 13th, 2018. Through...

Dan McKenzie is the CEO of Ensignal Inc as well as CFO of Golden Wheat Inc. Ensignal began in 2000, with an acquisition of a 14 store operation headquartered in Steamboat Springs Colorado. Over the ensuing time frame, Ensignal has grown into sizeable regional Verizon Premium agent, with 94 locations in eight states. The company's primary market focus has always ... Read More

Ronnie Leonard is the President and CEO of Balco, Inc., a local manufacturing company. She has been with Balco for 22 years-16 years as the CFO and the past 6 years as CEO. Ronnie graduated from Wichita State University in 1987 and worked for Baird, Kurtz & Dobson as a CPA for 5 years and as a controller for NPC, ... Read More

Teresa Lovelady joined the HealthCore Clinic (formerly Center for Health and Wellness) as President and Chief Executive Officer in March 2011. Teresa has been a medical patient at the Center since 2003 and served as a consumer board member since May 2009. She brought a wealth of experience to the board as a patient and as a professional in the ... Read More

RSM Marketing provides an Outsourced Marketing Department where clients receive a marketing director and all the resources they need under a flat fee monthly subscription. RSM employs dozens of specialists and experienced marketing directors to assist entrepreneurially-minded companies ranging from startups to market leaders with thousands of employees. Companies across the country from all catego...

Jon Rolph was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. After graduating from Baylor University, he worked for the National Student Leadership Forum in Washington D.C. In 2002, he moved back to Wichita to work in his family's business, Sasnak Management, where he is now the President. Sasnak owns and operates over 60 Carlos O'Kelly's and Applebee's across 10 states, along ... Read More

Bud Gates has served as Chairman and CEO of Easygates, LLC, from March 2007 to present. In addition, he serves as President and CEO of Gates Enterprises, Inc., 1985 to present. Gates was owner and operator of Rent-A-Center and ColorTyme franchises from 1996 to 2006 and Pizza Hut franchises from 1985 to 2007. The company owned and operated Heroes Sports ... Read More

Syndeo is Kansas-based, independently owned human resources company. The Syndeo family of companies is made up of Syndeo Outsourcing — a full-service human resources outsourcing (HRO) provider, Syndeo Payroll Solutions — a full-service payroll services provider, and Syndeo Staffing — a full-service recruiting and staffing services provider. While all of these options are available to companies, th...

Victor Lukic joined GPI as president in November of 2012 following the unexpected death of Grant Nutter. Vic has extensive experience in companies which manufacture proprietary products. He has work in companies of varied sizes and in diverse industries from truck bodies to cabinets to pumps. Vic has degrees in both Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering. Since arriving at GPI ... Read...

Jared Peterson began working at Vermillion in 2009 as a Sales Associate, specializing in sales of wire harness and custom cable for the aerospace and defense industries. He quickly rose through the ranks and became Director of Manufacturing Operations in 2014.  During that time, Jared worked closely with the former president and in 2017, the president retired, leaving Jared at ... Read More

Chris Voss is the CEO & Founder of the Black Swan Group Ltd and author of Never Split The Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It. He has used his many years of experience in international crisis and high-stakes negotiations to develop a unique program and team that applies these globally proven techniques to the business world. Prior to ... Read More

Nathan Neblett served for 24 years as an officer of the United States Marine Corps, during which time he observed leaders as they oversaw units comprising between 2 and 25,000 people across the four military branches and the United States Coast Guard. He was assigned as a liaison and advisor to foreign militaries in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, ... Read More

Leadership is easy to understand…difficult to implement because of the courage, authenticity, & vulnerability that is required. Stop trying to be something that you're not. Stop wearing masks Stop focusing on false charisma Stop focusing on position & title Dedicate your life to learning what it takes (in every aspect of your life) to be: Composed Confident Consistent Courageous

The definition of "Serial Entrepreneur", Devin Walker is passionate about mentoring, coaching and volunteering his time and resources to help small businesses, inventors and entrepreneurs realize their dreams. An extreme altruist and philanthropist. In 2002 Devin conceived and launched Printpop.com, first to market internet company providing art prints to consumers through digital uploads. Devin i...

Chris Callen, CEO of Builders Plus Construction and Grit Virtual, grew up inside the family construction company. Obviously, this meant he had zero interest in making a career in construction. After all, who wants to do what dad does? Chris ran from construction to pursue a career in technology. Soon after he realized construction was in his blood, he gave ... Read More

Mike McGuire is the chief executive officer of Grant Thornton LLP. McGuire has more than 30 years of experience working closely with high-growth, startup and middle-market companies in a variety of industries, including technology, services, construction, manufacturing, venture capital, distribution, retail and franchising. He has significant experience in capital markets transactions ranging from...

Are you doing what you were born to do right now? Most people will say, no. Everyone finds their path on their own time but those who seek it will arrive sooner. According to Adam Force, Founder of Change Creator, we all have the entrepreneurial fire in our belly but we are the ones that have to light the fire. ... Read More