Career Sessions, Career Lessons

Moving up the ranks in any industry also means earning new responsibilities. Leading a large organization is one of those. Today’s guest is Kevin Barry, the President of Workplace Investing at Fidelity Investments. He joins host J.R. Lowry to share his career journey from majoring in Government to having executive roles in the field of finance. Kevin discusses the importance of having management s...

Are you weighed down by limitations and think you are not good enough to take on life's challenges? This is the podcast for you! In this episode, Jim Gibbons talks about how he overcomes the barriers of disabilities and made a mark as President and CEO across multiple organizations and now as CEO of ImmutriX Therapeutics and Founder of Forward Impact Enterprises, LLC. Jim shares his story of losin...

Public policy-focused non-profits have an essential role in a society dealing with all kinds of issues and challenges. Their financial services have become integral in helping people get through the pandemic. J.R. Lowry dives even deeper into these organizations with Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance. Janine talks about giving aid to people in the UK to address challenges brought by increased c...

No two career paths are identical, and it’s up to you to carve that way to your future. Today’s guest went from traveling around the world taking on expat assignments to now becoming the CEO of his own business. Andrew Hecker is the CEO of Concept Machine Tool. Before that, he held management positions in various manufacturing companies and handled many M&As. Andrew emphasizes the intentionality b...

We have come a long way with diversity in the workplace, but the fight is not yet over. The CEO Of NextUP, Sarah Alter, is all about advancing all women in business by creating opportunities for women leaders. In this episode, she shares her journey from her humble beginnings as a truck dispatcher, being in sales, getting her MBA from Harvard, going into consulting, being a CEO of a non-profit org...

In today's fast-paced and ever-changing landscape, leaders know that it takes speed and agility for a company to succeed. Yet many are frustrated that their organizations aren't moving fast enough to stay competitive. In this episode, J.R. Lowry talks to Jim Whitehurst, a Senior Advisor at IBM and Special Advisor to the private equity firm, Silver Lake. Jim is the former President of IBM and Chair...

There isn’t one right path because life gets in the way, and you have to work around that. J.R. Lowry introduces Yolanda Taylor, an Investment Manager, Small Business Owner, and Author of Take Me Back to Redway. Yolanda talks about the importance of hard work and determination. Even if you’re scared to take the next step, do it anyway. At the end of the day, your life and career are a series of sh...

Many of us worked through multiple jobs before finally ending up with our dream. Erol Munuz has the journey that provided him with hard-won wisdom he has learned for the rest of his life. In this episode, he shares how he went from being an actor in New York to working in corporate marketing, PR, and communications executive. Now, Erol is currently the Senior Vice President for Content, Programs,...

The joy and fulfillment we get from doing the things we love are immeasurable and greater than random work. Becca Carnahan always loved sports marketing, so she started her career as a sales representative for the Boston Celtics. Now, Becca has her own business, which focuses on helping parents find more fulfilling jobs that they love without giving up the flexibility that they need as part of the...

Every single little detail counts for your customer. If you're managing IRONMAN triathlons, the athletes expect you to have everything lined up. They've been training for months, and they expect to have a smooth experience all throughout. Join J.R. Lowry as he talks to Andrew Messick about the IRONMAN Group and how he manages customer experience. Andrew is the CEO of the Ironman Group, a role he h...

Going beyond the administrative duties of HR is what you need to do in strategic HR. Tracy Keogh has done just that. She got into the mindset of reinvention and reinvented everything from culture to management. She placed people front and center. Tracy has worked with and supported many great CEOs and helped develop world-class leaders. She worked for Sapient, Analog Devices, Hewlett Packard, and...

When it comes to the marginalized youth, many doctors or clinicians, unfortunately, don't have the skillset to relate with them. However, Dr. Rob Garofalo is different. He experienced many challenges in his life, including surviving cancer. Dr. Garofalo is a pediatrician, researcher, activist, author, ally, and leader. He also founded the charity Fred Says, which raises money for HIV-positive yout...

We get too caught up in getting ready and don't notice that we've left the most important things behind. And, most often than not, we find ourselves stuck in a situation where we cannot access health and wellness products when we need them. Robina Verbeek and Susanna Twarog, co-founders of the innovative start-up SOS, join J.R. Lowry to share how their vision was formed. They sit together to discu...

What does the future of work look like? In this episode, J.R. Lowry talks to the expert herself. Debbie Lovich is a Managing Director & Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious management consulting firms. With a focus on leadership, BCG has produced top consultants. Debbie shares her story and experiences at BCG, and we hear her views on lea...

Black Americans are one of the most underinvested sectors in the US markets today. Stackwell Capital is a fintech startup that aims to change that. J.R. Lowry talks to the founder and CEO of Stackwell Capital, Trevor Rozier-Byrd. Together, they dive into Trevor’s career—looking back at his experiences as an M&A lawyer, working for the SEC, and his motivations for creating Stackwell. Tune in for gr...

Entrepreneurship is considered one of Brown University’s highest-rated programs. Like many others in the field, Danny Warshay embraced this empowerment and carved his path. He believes that entrepreneurship is not a gift but rather a process that anyone can learn. In this episode, Danny sits with J.R. Lowry to talk about his journey through the entrepreneurial world. From his college days to his l...

Bill Boor is the President and CEO of Cavco Industries, a company focused on designing and building systems-built structures. As CEO, Bill makes decisions that can affect the success of the company. So how does he do it? J.R. Lowry teams up with Bill to give us a look at a journey of leadership and learning. Tune in and hear great insights on leadership, decision making, and finding the right fit....

Finding success in a single career path is hard, but today's guest managed to do the improbable four times and counting. Rohini Dey moved from the academe to the World Bank and McKinsey and now the restaurant business. She is the founder and owner of Vermilion, an Indian-Latin fusion restaurant in Chicago. She is also the founder of Let's Talk Womxn, which connects and empowers women business owne...

Now more than ever, protecting the outdoors has become—and should be—the priority. One of the people helping create positive changes and moves for the environment is John Judge. John is the President and CEO of The Trustees, a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He joins J.R....

Launching a startup business is a risky move for any entrepreneur. But there are cases where those risks pay off. Jason Krantz is the CEO of Definitive Healthcare. Jason founded Definitive Healthcare ten years ago, and in September of 2021, it IPO’d on the NASDAQ Exchange and is expected to finish the year with revenue of over $160 million. In this episode, he sits down with J.R. Lowry to share ho...

Kim Crider is a decorated, retired Major General in the US Air Force with 35 years of service and a flexible military-private sector career. She most recently served as the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer for the US Space Force. Kim joins J.R. Lowry to discuss an impressive career she describes as unscripted. She details the series of events that led to her retiring under the US Space Forc...

Michael Alter, Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, joins J.R. Lowry on our first episode to share his career story and the things he learned along the way. Michael talks to J.R. about how his bachelor's degree in economics from Northwestern University and his MBA from Harvard Business School equipped him with the skillset he needed to jum...