Experience-Focused Leaders

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes A.J. Thomas , the CEO of The Troublemaker Lab and Founder and General Partner of Good Trouble Ventures . A visionary leader and former "Chaos Pilot" at Google X , A.J. specializes in helping extraordinary founders build enduring companies through coaching, strategy, and mindful innovation. In this conversation, A.J. explores the intersection of technology, creati...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Nicole Alvino, a pioneering leader in employee experience and founder of FirstUp, a platform that connects organizations with their workforce at scale. With experience building technology solutions for some of the world’s largest companies, Nicole helps enterprises engage frontline employees, drive alignment, and create meaningful workplace experiences through pe...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Iliana Oris Valiente, a multidisciplinary innovator at Accenture who sits at the intersection of emerging technology, human-centered design, and capital investment. With experience bridging startups, large enterprises, and family offices, Iliana helps organizations turn insights into measurable business impact, foster innovation, and unlock growth opportunities....

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Stephan Kuhnert, co-founder and co-CEO of Empower, a software suite that helps organizations create consistent, professional, and on-brand content across Microsoft 365. With clients ranging from global enterprises to Microsoft itself, Stephan has spent years helping teams save time, boost productivity, and ensure every document, presentation, or spreadsheet refle...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Kevin Lee , a digital marketing pioneer who has spent decades helping companies grow revenue through sharper execution rather than inflated budgets. Before Google existed, Kevin was already building the technology and tactics many teams still rely on today. He co-founded Didit , scaled it into one of New York’s leading agencies, authored four books, and built non...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Donna Griffit , a globally recognized corporate storyteller who has helped hundreds of startups and Fortune 500 leaders raise more than $1.5B by clarifying their narratives and showing the true value behind complex ideas. Together, they discuss why visual storytelling is the key to breaking through noise , especially in industries where information is dense, regu...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Federico Marchetti , the entrepreneur who reshaped luxury retail by founding Yoox Net-a-Porter , a public company later sold in a transaction valued at $6 billion . Today, Federico serves on the board of Giorgio Armani and leads large-scale initiatives in digital innovation and regenerative sustainability. Together, they explore how creativity and business discip...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Randy Wootton, a seasoned revenue leader and CEO whose career spans leadership roles at Microsoft, Salesforce, RocketFuel, Percolate, Seismic, and Maxio. Together, they explore how AI is reshaping go-to-market strategy and what it takes to build enduring organizations in a time of rapid technological change. Drawing from decades of experience driving growth and o...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Erik Carlson, President and CEO of Notified, a leading technology partner for investor relations, public relations, and communications professionals. Together, they explore how leaders and companies can turn content into trust—and trust into measurable business impact. With more than 15 years of experience across private equity, M&A, and strategic finance, Er...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Christopher Lochhead, a three-time public company CMO, best-selling author of Play Bigger , Niche Down , and The Existing Market Trap , and host of Follow Your Different . Together, they explore what most businesses get wrong about growth, positioning, and innovation. Known as the godfather of category design and often called the Gordon Ramsay of business, Christ...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Haider Alleg — strategist, entrepreneur, founder of Kaiju Marketing, and GP at Allegory Capital — to explore how innovation thrives even in the most regulated industries. With over 20 years of experience helping pharma, healthcare, and compliance-driven sectors evolve, Haider shows that following the rules doesn’t mean sacrificing creativity or connection. In thi...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Sami Inkinen — Co-Founder of Trulia and CEO of Virta Health — to discuss what sustains leaders beyond the big milestones. After scaling Trulia to a $3.5 billion IPO, Sami discovered that while he had trained his body and educated his mind, he had never truly trained his inner world. That realization sparked a 12-year practice that reshaped how he leads, motivates...

Your host Alex Shevelenko welcomes Melissa Reaves — Founder and CEO of Story Fruition — to discuss why stories work outperform data in business communication. Melissa's journey from advertising technology startups to creating her bestselling Mind Movie Method reveals why human brains are wired for narrative over data. In this conversation, she explains the neuroscience behind effective business st...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, sits down with Aaron Dunn — VP of Marketing at Thoroughpass — to explore the evolving world of interactive content in B2B marketing. Aaron’s career spans from the early days at SnapApp, a pioneer in turning static content into engaging experiences, to leading marketing initiatives that shape how businesses connect with audiences today. In this conversation, Aaron reflec...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, sits down with Luke Tobin — serial entrepreneur and investor — to explore how to scale companies with staying power in industries where client loyalty is hard to win. Luke built Digital Ethos into the UK’s fastest-growing marketing agency before its acquisition by Cadastra, where he went on to co-lead EMEA operations with 900 employees and a $50M portfolio serving globa...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, sits down with David Siegel — former CEO of Meetup, Investopedia, and Seeking Alpha — to explore what it takes to lead organizations through growth, reinvention, and successful exits. With 7X and 5X outcomes under his belt, David has guided companies through pivotal transitions while keeping both culture and performance at the center. In this conversation, David shares...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, sits down with Shane Neman — serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and real estate developer — to explore what it takes to build, scale, and exit businesses across industries. From dropping out of NYU Medical School to founding JoonBug, a nightlife digital events powerhouse, and later creating EZ Texting, the largest business SMS SaaS platform in the U.S., Shane’s jo...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, sits down with Geoffrey Reid — former CEO of Marcus Evans Group and author of Revenue Catalyst: Mastering the Art of Sales — to explore what it takes to build a career from the ground floor to the top of a global organization. Over 25 years in the business world, Geoffrey has honed a deep understanding of revenue generation, leadership, and sales mastery. In this conver...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, sits down with Oleksandra Matviichuk — Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ukrainian human rights lawyer, and head of the Center for Civil Liberties — to explore what it truly takes to defend freedom when the systems around you fail. For over 15 years, Oleksandra has been on the front lines of the fight for dignity, justice, and human rights, earning global recognition from TIM...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, sits down with Nick Jane, CFA and CEO of IdeaScale, to unpack what it really takes to drive innovation inside large organizations. Nick shares his journey from academia and Wall Street to leading one of the most impactful platforms in idea management. Along the way, he highlights what slows innovation down—bureaucracy, unclear communication, and the loss of creative hun...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, talks with the Co-Founder and Chief Strategist of Forget The Funnel, Georgiana Laudi. Georgiana argues that the sales funnel model is overly simplistic and dehumanizes customers by reducing them to mere leads. She advocates for a customer-led growth framework that prioritizes understanding and delivering value to customers throughout their entire journey. Georgiana emph...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, talks with the CMO of Dental Claim Support, the Author of Master Content Marketing, and Master Content Strategy, Pamela Wilson. Pamela discusses the evolving landscape of content marketing, emphasizing the impact of AI advancements. She highlights the necessity of human oversight to maintain content quality and authenticity. Pamela explores strategies for engaging diffe...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, talks with the EVP, Chief Marketing and Client Experience Officer of First Command Financial Services, Kellie Richter. Kellie discusses the company's mission to support military families in achieving financial security. She highlights the importance of client experience, emphasizing clarity, consistency, and control. She also discusses the unique financial challenges fa...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, talks with the Founder and President of Cunningham Collective, Andy Cunningham. Andy delves into the intricacies of business positioning, particularly in the tech sector. Andy shares her experiences, including working with Steve Jobs on the Apple Macintosh launch, emphasizing the importance of finding a unique market position. The discussion covers the distinction betwe...

Your host, Alex Shevelenko, talks with the Keynote Speaker, Author, and Friction Hunter, Roger Dooley. Roger discusses how understanding the brain can enhance marketing strategies and improve customer and employee experiences. Roger emphasizes the importance of reducing friction in user interactions, citing examples from various industries. He explores how trust, transparency, and intuitive design...