Building Excellence

#269: Andy Andrews is a New York Times bestselling author, internationally recognized speaker, and leadership expert whose books, including The Traveler's Gift and The Noticer, have sold millions of copies worldwide.  Known for blending timeless wisdom with engaging storytelling, Andy has spoken to Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, military organizations, and audiences around...

#268: Justin Roethlingshoefer is a performance scientist, former NHL strength and conditioning coach, and the founder of OWN IT—an elite health coaching ecosystem trusted by Stanley Cup champions, Olympians, and mission driven leaders such as Brandon Lake & Phil Wickham.  His life’s work lives at the intersection of data-driven performance and Spirit-led transformation. Holy Health is the most...

#267: Mark Miller is a bestselling leadership author, speaker, and the co-founder of Lead Every Day. His books have sold more than 1.5 million copies in 32 languages. Mark’s career at Chick-fil-A spans over 40 years, starting as an hourly team member and becoming the company’s 16th corporate employee. He recently retired as Vice President of High-Performance Leadership, where he was instrumental i...

#266: Austen Allred is a technology entrepreneur, education innovator, and Y Combinator founder whose work has influenced the national conversation around workforce development, skills-based hiring, and alternative pathways to technology careers. He is the founder and CEO of Gauntlet AI an intensive AI engineering talent platform that partners with employers to identify and develop elite AI-native...

#265: Lieutenant General (Retired) Mark Hertling served 38 years in the United States Army as a tanker and cavalry officer, culminating as Commander of U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army.  During his military career, Hertling spent 38 months in combat. He served as a major and operations officer of a cavalry squadron during Operation Desert Storm, as Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Armored...

#264: Chris Garner is a veteran SEC football official, leadership speaker, and author with more than two decades of experience officiating at the highest levels of college football. A graduate of The Ohio State University and former U.S. Navy servicemember, Chris worked his way from Ohio high school football fields to the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference, earning assignments to major bowl g...

#263: Jason Jacobus is the Chief Commercial Officer of Brainerd Chemical , where he leads commercial strategy and growth for one of the country’s established chemical manufacturing and distribution companies. With decades of experience in sales, operations, and leadership, he has built a reputation for combining business performance with long-term relationships, operational discipline, and values-...

#262: Samyr Qureshi is an entrepreneur, investor, and business leader best known as the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Knack, a nationally recognized education technology company focused on advancing student success through peer learning. Under his leadership, Knack partnered with universities across the United States and raised significant venture capital to support its growth a...

#261: Mark C. Fava is a career aviation lawyer and retired naval flight officer. He is a prolific writer and entertaining speaker. Mark retired from the US Navy as a captain having commanded three units, including an aviation squadron. He has been a law firm partner and a corporate executive lawyer. He has written numerous articles, including “What I Learned from the Judge” in the SC Lawyer and “S...

#260: Jess Ekstrom is the founder of Headbands of Hope and Mic Drop Workshop, investor in women, best selling author, Forbes Top Rated Speaker and mom. Her first brush with success was selling all of her toys on eBay when she was twelve. Since then, Jess and her companies have been featured on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America and more. More importantly, her companies have helped millions of wo...

#259: Tony Schell is the co-founder and general partner at Escalate Capital Partners, a leading private credit and growth equity firm based in Austin, Texas. Since co-founding the firm in 2005, he has helped build Escalate into a prominent provider of flexible, non-dilutive capital solutions for growth-stage companies across technology, software, services, and healthcare sectors. With decades of e...

#258: Frank Weisser is a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot best known for flying with the elite Blue Angels and for his role as a pilot and aviation coordinator on the blockbuster film Top Gun: Maverick. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Weisser logged thousands of flight hours in high-performance aircraft like the F/A-18 Hornet, earning recognition for both his precision in the cockpit and his l...

#257: Michaella Gallina built the career most people spend their entire lives chasing. She is a former Wall Street investor, VP of H&R Block and Chief Financial Officer who walked away from the pinnacle of her career to pursue a greater mission—helping others achieve true financial freedom and design a life on their own terms. Raised in a small rural town of just 4,000 people, Michaella learne...

#256: Luke Frizzell is a former Navy Seal & real estate entrepreneur with the RAL Room, but he is also one of my best friends and I am excited to share’s story today. He grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his upbringing was deeply rooted in faith, family, and sports. Influenced by his family's athletic background and his grandfather's wisdom, Luke developed a strong work ethic and a p...

#255: Chris Kreider is the Rice Men's Basketball Associate Head Coach. He is a dedicated basketball coach with a rich background shaped by unique life experiences. Growing up as the son of missionaries, Chris spent his formative years in Colombia, South America, where he developed a deep appreciation for diverse cultures and a passion for basketball. His journey in coaching began with a stron...

#254: Tanner Gardner is the Director of Athletics at Pepperdine University and a former three-time All-American wrestler at Stanford, where he built a legacy of excellence both academically and athletically. After earning advanced degrees from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard, Gardner began his career in consulting before rising through leadership roles in college athletics, including serving as D...

#253: Jake Boss Jr. is the head baseball coach of the Michigan State Spartans and one of the most respected leaders in college baseball. Since taking over the program in 2009, Boss has guided the Spartans to more than 400 victories and led Michigan State to a Big Ten regular-season championship in 2011 and the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.  He has coached multiple All-Big Ten performers and...

#252: Brett Ledbetter is an industry leading thinking partner for high performers in sport, eduction, and business. He is the founder of What Drives Winning, where he studies the mindsets and cultures behind sustained excellence. Brett works with elite athletes, championship coaches, executives, and high-performing teams to help them understand the deeper drivers of performance, leadership, and pu...

#251: Manish Vora is the Founder and the CEO of the Museum of Ice Cream, an immersive “experium” built to bring people together through play, joy and creativity. In 2016 he launched the first pop-up in New York City, which quickly grew into a global phenomenon with multiple permanent locations across the United States and Singapore, known for its colorful interactive exhibits and multi-sensory exp...

#250: Tod Brown is the head baseball coach at the University of New Mexico, bringing more than two decades of Division I coaching experience and a reputation for steady program building. A former left-handed pitcher at the University of Arizona, Brown first made his mark as the longtime head coach at North Dakota State, where he transformed the Bison into a Summit League contender and led them to...

#249: Jared Mosley is the Vice President and Director of Athletics at the University of North Texas, where he oversees the Mean Green athletic department and leads more than 300 student-athletes competing at the Division I level. A former college basketball standout turned administrator, Mosley previously served as Athletic Director at Abilene Christian University and as CEO of the Texas Sports Ha...

#248: Kyle Stark is a baseball executive and leadership consultant best known for his long tenure with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he served as Director of Player Development before being promoted to Assistant General Manager and later Vice President/Assistant GM, playing a key role in rebuilding the organization’s farm system and supporting the club’s return to postseason contention in the mid-...

#247: Paul Mainieri is the South Carolina Head Baseball Coach. He was also the head coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), where he led the Tigers from 2007 to 2021 and won the 2009 College World Series national championship. Over a coaching career spanning four decades, Mainieri also led successful programs at St. Thomas University, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the University of Notre Dame...

#246: John Cohen is the Athletic Director at Auburn University, a position he assumed in October 2022 after a long career in the Southeastern Conference. Before coming to Auburn, Cohen was athletic director at Mississippi State University from 2016–2022 and previously spent 25 years as a college baseball coach, including head coaching stints at Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Northwestern State,...

#245: Mac Lake is a trusted voice in Christian leadership and church multiplication. With over 30 years of experience equipping leaders, Mac is passionate about helping individuals and organizations develop the character and competency needed to lead themselves—and others—with purpose. In 1997, Mac planted Carolina Forest Community Church in Myrtle Beach, SC. He later served as Leadership Developm...