ChairWaves

Rob Halverson has spent his career in the trenches with small business owners, from supporting Snap-on Tools franchisees across the country to leading peer groups in Omaha, Nebraska. As a Vistage Chair, he leads a Small Business group that gives smaller-scale entrepreneurs the peer community and strategic insight they’ve often been missing. In this episode, Rob shares how his background prepared h...

Jeff Oak spent his career fixing what others broke, leading complex turnarounds at massive health systems where ethics weren’t just an HR talking point—they were the whole strategy. Now, as a Vistage Chair, he brings that same clarity to business leaders who want more than just better numbers. In this episode, we talk about why integrity is more than a checkbox and how culture, not just strategy,...

Before becoming a Vistage Chair, Howard Alt played key leadership roles in growing and selling businesses in the plastics industry—including one that manufactured massive paper tubes. He also spent eight years as a Vistage member, doubling his company’s size, increasing profitability, and ultimately setting himself on a path to guide others. Now 18 years into chairing, Howard reflects on what make...

Cindy Cornell’s leadership journey includes global corporate finance, executive coaching at top universities, and a commitment to personal development that shows up both in the boardroom and on the water, where she spends her free time racing sailboats. As a Vistage Chair, she’s focused on helping members make smarter decisions by creating space for deep conversations and peer accountability—bring...

Tom Klein has opened luxury hotels around the world—and now he leads CEOs in San Francisco. In this episode of Chairwaves, Tom shares lessons from decades leading teams at top hotel brands like Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont, where he served as regional VP overseeing eight hotels. He also breaks down what it really takes to build a high-performing team, from hiring the right people to creating a cultur...

Spending over three decades at Ford taught Dave Alden how to thrive in large organizations—and how to navigate change. That experience paid off when he moved from Detroit to Philadelphia and rebuilt his entire Vistage Chair practice from the ground up. His method? Coffee with one new person every day. In this episode, Dave shares what it was like stepping into a group built by another Chair, the k...

Leadership isn’t always lonely, especially when you’re co-chairing with someone who pushes you to grow. In this episode of Chairwaves, Vistage Chairs Daron Shepard and Mike Tetreau break down how they built a successful co-chairing partnership and what it’s teaching them about leadership. They explore the mindset shifts required to move from solo to shared leadership, the pressure points in small...

What do you do when Monday hits and you've got zero RSVPs for a critical event that’s supposed to happen this week? If you're Vistage Chair Tim Cole, you dig deep. Tim talks about the moment he realized his drive to succeed wasn’t just about him, but about showing his daughters what it looks like to push through. We also unpack Tim’s journey from corporate tech at IBM to running a Hallmark...

Julianne Roth had a choice: buy an existing business or build one from the ground up. She chose to start from scratch and it paid off. In this episode, Julianne shares how she launched her home care company, scaled it into the top 4% of the industry, and led it through a successful acquisition, all while raising kids and staying true to her standards. That same clarity and resilience now fuels her...

What if building a Vistage group didn’t require selling at all? Suzanne Livingston has spent the last 20 years helping hundreds of Vistage Chairs discover a deeper, more sustainable approach to recruiting members—one rooted in purpose, not pressure. She’s not currently a Chair herself, but she’s worked alongside them long enough to know what actually works and what leads to burnout. In this episod...

Sometimes the million-dollar insight doesn’t come from the $100 million CEO. It comes from the $5 million CEO sitting across the table. That’s the power of Vistage, and it’s the kind of magic Nancy Capistran sees in her groups every month. Nancy is more than a Vistage Chair: she’s a crisis strategist, a leadership coach, and a self-proclaimed “911 call for executives.” Her journey spans startups,...

The values that guide Charlie Hoch today were forged in the military and they haven’t faded one bit. Charlie Hoch isn’t just launching his first Vistage group, he’s doing it with the intensity and integrity of a former Marine, corporate executive, and leadership trainer. In this episode, we talk about the moment a sergeant major told Charlie to “put the shovel down” (yes, it’s as brutal and brilli...

Joe White believes in the power of teams—not just in sports, but in business. In this episode, Joe breaks down the crossover lessons from his career as a baseball pitcher, teacher, and high school coach into his current role as a Vistage Chair. Be sure to listen when Joe walks through his CPC leadership model:  Coach it, Practice it, Challenge it. Most leaders skip the third step, they teach and r...

Amanda Carrothers grew up with Vistage speakers at the dinner table—literally. Her father, a longtime Chair, exposed her early to the power of peer advisory and the people who make it work. Years later, she bought a training and development company at age 21 and turned it into a global business serving clients like the UN and World Health Organization. Joining Amanda in this episode is Emma Doyle,...

What does it take to build a peer group that actually accelerates growth? According to Denver-area Vistage Chair Michael Flannery, it starts with members who are as eager to give as they are to receive. In this episode, Michael shares how his career as a serial COO and business builder led him to Vistage—and why his groups are full of leaders with big visions and open minds. These are not “lifesty...

For our 50th episode of Chairwaves, we’re joined by New York City Chair Mark Taylor, who tackles one of the toughest challenges in group dynamics: How do you serve CEOs ranging from $5M to $350M in revenue? His answer: Triads —small groups of three members with shared characteristics who meet regularly to give each other focused, actionable feedback. Mark reflects on 20 years as a Chair, the busin...

Facilitating a Vistage group solo means juggling a lot—coaching, listening, guiding, and watching the room. But what if you didn’t have to do it alone? Aviva Leebow Wolmer and Renee Klein believe two leaders are better than one. Their partnership raises the bar for member impact, decision-making, and group dynamics. With distinct strengths and shared values, co-chairing enables them to stay fully...

If you’ve ever reached a point where you thought, “I don’t know how to go on,” you’re not alone—and Steve Sager gets it. Years before selling his business, Steve hit a wall that nearly ended his entrepreneurial journey. From sweeping shop floors in his dad’s countertop business to leading a successful tech company for 19 years, Steve shares his full-circle journey and why he now helps other CEOs a...

After 18 years running a digital marketing agency, Denver Vistage Chair Mindy Phillips knows the realities of growth, exit, and reinvention. Now, she’s guiding small business CEOs through challenges she understands firsthand. In this conversation, Mindy shares how her experience scaling an agency prepared her to lead a peer group and why the first year as a Chair is more demanding than expected. S...

Marc Wallace has no plans to slow down—and he’s counting on his members to be the first to tell him if that time comes. The longtime Colorado Vistage Chair has built an ecosystem of groups where candor, trust, and real human connection are the norm. Drawing from an extraordinary career at Dow Chemical, launching and taking a consulting firm public, and navigating personal loss, Marc shares how he’...

Ana Quinn knows what it’s like to guide people through uncertain times. When a career change landed her in coaching just before 9/11, she found herself helping people navigate layoffs, immigration challenges, and personal upheaval. That experience still defines her approach today: meet people where they are, clear the “head trash” that gets in their way, and help them reach their full potential. H...

Recruiting new members isn’t just a process—it’s a skill, and one Scott Bunce had to learn the hard way. Scott’s journey is anything but ordinary. From running global hotel operations to stepping into a Chair role after the sudden passing of his mentor, Scott now leads a thriving group—and is helping his wife launch her own. In this episode, we talk about the emotional transition from member to Ch...

How long does it take to build trust? The answer can vary, but for Nancy Girres, Vistage Chair and Best Practice Chair for Colorado, it can happen fast when you lead with vulnerability. Nancy leads her groups with a level of openness and intention that invites others to do the same. In this conversation, we talk about her journey from tuxedo executive to peer group powerhouse, and how she’s made h...

RJ Kolton has led soldiers in combat, taught at West Point, worked under the Drug Czar in the White House, and built a private sector career in the government contracting world. Today, he brings all that experience to his Vistage CE group—one that’s made up almost entirely of GovCon CEOs. With government policy shifts constantly in play, RJ’s group stays grounded through a mindset he calls “stoic...

How do you go from nurse to franchise founder to aerospace advocate to Vistage Chair? Ask my Chairwaves guest Erin Herringshaw. Her career path is anything but conventional—but every step has led to deeper insight into what business owners truly need: support, perspective, and someone to challenge their blind spots. In this episode, Erin shares how she built and sold a meal-prep business that star...