Chatter that Matters

Kristi knows that the company needs a rebrand if they are going to battle international food giants for market share.  Mother Raw is born, and the legacy of the Founder, and her mission of 'Good on Good'  is woven across every consumer, retailer, and employee touchpoint. Kristi chooses to manufacture in Canada.   Mother Raw continues to innovate into a lineup of plant-based, organic salad dressing...

Joe O'Brien is a gifted entrepreneur.  His tourism operation, O'Brien Boat Tours , includes three boats, two restaurants, gift shops, and shuttle buses.  His base is St John's  Newfoundland, and he captains his guests to the edge of the world where they get so close to a whale that they can smell its breath. Giant icebergs, a wild bird sanctuary, mixed in with the songs and spirit of Newfoundland...

Lisa Taylor leads a team of a hundred people when she uncovers an insight that would change her course in life, and possibly the future of the Canadian economy. Many people were satisfied at work, but not fulfilled. Even successful people in their mid-career strides described their situation as "hanging in and hanging on". Lisa left the security of a great job to launch Challenge Factory , a resea...

Paul Hemburrow and his partner find the capital to purchase a profitable business that rents TV sets to patients in hospitals. The partners rebrand as HealthHubSolutions.ca and reinvent the entire company by turning the TV into a digital hub, offering a suite of tools for the patient that gives them access, connectivity, and control while making it easier for the hospital to provide better care. P...

Traci Shepheard's lifelong dream was to be an entrepreneur building a health and wellness business.  She had hundreds of ideas, but nothing caught her imagination more than a mobile meditation studio.  She did her homework,  received immediate acceptance with some of Canada's largest businesses, and invested her life savings, including the purchase and retrofitting of an Airstream Trailer to creat...

When Cirque de Soleil files for bankruptcy protection you realize how fast the sun has set on the event business. To find out what it will take to stage a comeback I chat with brothers David and Stephen Shaw , who are Canadian born, and have become global thought leaders in different segments of the event business. David Shaw is the Senior Vice President, International and Content at UFC . David t...

In this episode, I chat with John Ruffolo, Founder, OMERS Ventures and Co-Founder - Council of Canadian Innovators. John Ruffolo name is synonymous with possibilities and the new economy. I first met John when I moderated a panel in support of our mutual friend Chitra Anand and her incredible book the Greenhouse Approach John was the CEO of OMERS Ventures . Today John is the co-founder and Vice-Ch...

The forces of change are rendering much of what we know of business obsolete. Automation, e-commerce, the Amazon effect, increasing bureaucracy and all of this combining with customers wanting more and less. Wanting more personalized solutions, more what matters to them but also want all this with less friction, less effort, and less cost. And then the Covid-19 shows up like a sledgehammer. So wha...

The Coronavirus has presented Canadian businesses with unprecedented challenges. There is no compass for these uncharted waters. New approaches to customer, supplier and employee engagement require consideration and businesses underlying "operating systems" need to be updated and re-written. In this episode, Tony Chapman a luminary of Canada' Marketing Hall of Legends (2008) discusses these challe...

It's the decade of disruption. What we know and understand about education, healthcare, consumerism and capitalism, is being rendered obsolete by forces of change so numerous, swift and impactful, it's sometimes hard to keep up. Artificial intelligence, the platform economy, new digital business models, etc. How do we make sense of this all? In conversation with Corby Fine, I discuss the influence...

Are we real with climate change? Are we separating fact from fiction, hearing arguments from both sides for a balanced opinion on climate change? Should the claims of climate catastrophe be believed and taxed? In this episode, I interview Tom Beakbane, a scientist by training, an entrepreneur by choice. Tom is a family man, loves the outdoors, and a leading brand strategist. Tom put his reputation...

Hugh Evans -Changing Humanity, One Global Citizen at a time   Hugh Evans has two life changing experiences as a teenager, and embarks on a quest to eradicate global poverty.  On his journey he meets people like Bill Gates, Sumner Redstone, Oprah and hundred more people of influence and intellectual capacity.   This is Hugh's story but not once does he make it about himself, or even Global Citizen...

Healthcare is at a crisis point.  An aging population that is demanding more and less.  More life and longevity, with less friction and wait times, and a time when the health sector is straining to do more with less.  Add to this pressure new viruses, superbugs, and climate chain and the essential question is about sustainability. The only path forward is to reimagine and reinvent the sector.  Can...

I first met Joe Jackman 25 years ago. He impressed me then like he continues to impress me now.  He has led, from a strategic, creative and human viewpoint, the reinvention of some of the world's leading brands.  He has passion, personality, persuasion and persona.  In this podcast we talk about his extraordinary career and his new book, The Reinventionist Mindset, which I recommend to anyone who...

A brand new decade should include a brand new you. In 3 months you can dramatically improve your mind and body to prevent disease, and slowing down your ageing process. You will look and feel much younger. You will improve your energy and sex drive and counter years of partying. No pills or magic bullets. In this podcast learn how you are a bitch to the food that strips you of minerals, inflames y...

In part two of my three-part podcast with Gunn Sikk on your health, we talk about the popular Netflix documentary, The Game Changers , presented by #JamesCameron, #ArnoldSchwarzenegger, #JackieChan, #LewisHamilton, #NovakDjokovic, and #ChrisPaul. The Game Changers  showcases the significant performance advantages that happen when someone switches to a plant-based diet.  I asked Gunn if he feels th...

Gunn Sikk  is one of the smartest people I have ever met. Articulate, passionate and consumed by the human body, our chemistry and our biology. Gunn agreed to do a three-part  Chatter that Matters  podcast with me. His advice is simple, there is no voodoo or superfood, just smart advice. It's worth your and your families time and health to listen.  I ask Gunn questions like: Can you slow down your...

Will there ever be homes for the homeless? Will the marginalized always be outside the margins? Tough but essential questions as we are all one society. In today's podcast, I interview Rudy Ruttimann, Co-founder and Executive Director of Sketch Working Arts.  SKETCH enables Toronto's homeless and marginalized youth, aged 16 to 29, to pursue art, music, dance, woodworking, digital media, leadership...

The Experience Economy is growing while the Materialistic is Stalling.  How do you compete when what you offer - a service or experience, is less tangible than a product? This week on #ChatterthatMatter,   Tony Chapman dives into the tourism sector to make his case for 'it's not what you offer but why you matter' The podcast travels back to the birth of tourism, to the present to provide insights...

Will a robot take away your job?  What is the future of work? These are two of the essential questions that I ask Angela Donnelly , founder of Corethentic . I admire Angela immensely for her point of view on the future of work. Angela is a freshly minted Canadian, who immigrated from South Africa two years ago. Her knapsack is overflowing with experience working in human capital for leading financ...

Have you ever gone through, or are you contemplating a career transformation? Is this planned, or because of your circumstances, that changed abruptly? If so, this episode of Chatter that Matters is a must-listen. I interview a Canadian hero who is tackling two societal problems - hunger and waste. Jean-François Archambault left a promising career to pursue a higher purpose. To recover the tons of...

Great leaders are rare, but those who identify and define a new sector are often rarified. For example, Edison with Electricity, Ford in Automotive, Mary Kay with Beauty, Oprah with media, Jobs with consumer electronics, and Bezos with e-commerce made their unique mark but shared common traits. They have vision, curiosity, instinct, and they pursue their dreams with passion and persuasion. One of...

Have you ever wondered how some people manage to do it all? In this week's episode of Chatter that Matters I interview Mary DePaoli, one of Canada's leading Executives. As an interviewer, I have an advantage as I have known and been in awe of this extraordinary human being for over a decade. Mary puts her family first, gives back to her community and humanity, and has a career that includes servin...

We all have a finite amount of time but many treat it as infinite. A resource that can be easily be surrendered even squandered until life passes you by.    What if you knew how much time you had left.  Would you value it differently?  Of course you would.    In this weeks podcast I share my thoughts on how you can get a better return on your time invested.    The average life for someone in North...

In this age of noise, where too much and too many are chasing a finite amount of time and money, you have to know how to sell. This podcast will teach you 'the' strategy for how to engage and persuade any audience. You can use it when interviewing for a job, raising capital, marketing or selling a product or service, leadership and even parenting. I know as I have successfully applied it in my car...