If The Public Only Knew- Behind Every Success, a Story Worth Telling

About Laurie Battaglia: Laurie Battaglia is the CEO of Aligned at Work and a leadership coach known for helping organizations dismantle unhealthy hierarchies and build cultures where people and performance can thrive. With decades of experience in organizational development, her work centers on trust, accountability, and authentic leadership that drives measurable results. She holds a Master of Sc...

About George Pesansky: George Pesansky is a leadership expert, educator, and founder of MyBlendedLearning.com , a training and development firm focused on deliberate improvement, risk management, and building high-performing teams. Drawing from experience across the military, manufacturing, and corporate consulting, his work helps individuals and organizations unlock sustainable performance throug...

About Myles Powell: Myles is a business leader and problem solver with 10+ years of experience scaling companies, managing multimillion-dollar projects, and coaching entrepreneurs. As Founder & CEO of Myles Comfort Foods, he built a national brand distributed in 700+ retail locations and raised over $1M in capital. His background also spans utility project management, financial services as a m...

About David Carter: David Carter is a serial entrepreneur, longtime CEO mentor, and founder of The Truth Contract, a platform created to challenge mainstream narratives and investigate the systems shaping our health, freedoms, and future. He began his career in high finance in the late ’70s and ’80s, working on leveraged buyouts and private equity across the US, Europe, and the Middle East before...

About Lamell McMorris: Dr. Lamell McMorris is a nationally recognized leader at the intersection of business, justice, and social impact, and the best-selling author of The Power to Persist: 8 Simple Habits to Build Lifelong Resilience. His work draws from his South Side Chicago roots to offer a practical, inspiring framework for turning challenges into purpose and momentum. Building on the book’s...

About Rob Cromer: Rob Cromer is the CEO of Aisle3, an Amazon-first agency built for founder-led brands that want real scale without losing their identity. He calls Amazon the Third Aisle of commerce, the place where volume lives, competition is real, and the details decide who grows. His background runs from capital markets to ad tech to performance marketing, which shapes how he thinks, part oper...

About Wombi Rose: Wombi Rose is the Co-Founder and CEO of LovePop, the innovative consumer brand creating intricately engineered 3D pop-up greeting cards designed to spark “magical moments” between people. A former naval architect turned entrepreneur, Wombi blends technical precision with emotional storytelling—building a product loved by millions worldwide. Originally trained in ship design at th...

About Jim Martin: As founder and managing partner of ACM and an internationally recognized turnaround expert, James “Jim” Martin has created and restored more than $1 billion in value to private companies. In addition, Martin has raised half a billion dollars in capital and bought and sold companies in excess of $500 million. Mr. Martin specializes in turnaround advisory and has vast experience in...

About Priya Nalkur: Priya Nalkur, Ed. D., a psychologist with a genuine and authentic approach, has earned her educational stripes from Harvard and Yale. She is the heart and soul of the RoundTable Institute, a pioneering force in inclusive leadership and professional coaching. Her recent book, Stumbling Towards Inclusion: Finding Grace in Imperfect Leadership, offers an engaging and human narrati...

About Patrick Donohue: Patrick Donohue is the Founder and CEO of Hill Capital Corporation, an investment firm that reimagines the relationship between capital and entrepreneurship. A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with roots in investment banking and private equity, Patrick brings a unique perspective to supporting vision-driven founders. Through Hill Capital, he has developed an innovative inv...

About Mark Rampolla: Mark Rampolla is a visionary entrepreneur, investor, writer, and coach who inspires mission-driven leaders to build businesses that matter. As Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of GroundForce Capital, he helps bold founders scale companies rooted in purpose and impact. Previously, Mark founded ZICO Coconut Water, pioneering the multibillion-dollar coconut water category and s...

About Candice Ammori: Climate Vine brings together Founder Candice Ammori’s 10 years of experience and learnings in community strategy building. After reading the 2018 IPCC report, Ammori realized the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration in addressing climate change. She made a career transition from ethics of AI to climate, starting On Deck Climate Tech to help diverse experts meet, con...

About Ari Rastegar: Ari is the CEO and Founder of Rastegar Property Company, a real estate investment firm dedicated to helping high-income individuals and institutional investors generate stable income and sustainable wealth. Guided by a clear mission—to make institutional-grade opportunities accessible to everyday investors—Ari leads with both expertise and empathy, believing that financial grow...

About Mike Manazir: Mike Manazir has a passion for stories, leadership, big ships, fast jets, thundering Harleys, and one woman: Kelly, his bride of more than forty years.  He is a graduate of Top Gun and commanded an F-14 squadron, the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, and a Carrier Strike Group. Mike retired as a Two-Star Admiral and is now an executive with a Fortune 100 aerospace and defense c...

About Garr Russell: Garr Russell is a lifelong entrepreneur whose journey began in the fifth grade and evolved through grit, reinvention, and faith. After overcoming personal setbacks and rebuilding from bankruptcy, he founded a successful credit counseling company that helped countless families restore their financial health and achieve homeownership. In 2016, a single family camping trip inspire...

About Kasim Aslam: Kasim Aslam is an entrepreneur and business strategist who has built and scaled multiple successful ventures — including six 7- and 8-figure businesses with three exits. He’s the Co-Founder of Driven Mastermind and Pareto Talent and the co-author of HIRE: The Proven System for Finding Top Remote Talent . With a proven record of driving transformation and sustainable success, Kas...

About Andrew Ira Kolikoff: Andrew is the founder of The Secret Sauce Society and a trusted advisor to leaders seeking transformational growth. He specializes in helping leaders create better journeys and greater profitability by elevating their people, teams, culture, and customer experiences with a passion for meaningful connections to sustainable success. Andrew empowers businesses to thrive thr...

About Kerry Siggins: Kerry Siggins is the CEO of StoneAge, a fast-growing, employee-owned manufacturing and technology company based in Colorado. In 2023, she was honored as EY Entrepreneur Of The Year as well as Colorado’s CEO of the Year. StoneAge has earned recognition from Outside Magazine and Inc. Magazine as one of the best workplaces in the country. A highly engaging speaker, Kerry presents...

About Nick Jonsson: Nick Jonsson, widely recognized as the World’s #1 Thought Leader on Executive Loneliness, is an award-winning speaker, bestselling author, and transformational coach ranked among the Top 3 Coaches Worldwide by SpeakIn in 2025. He is a Certified Master Coach and Professional Certified Coach with multiple accreditations, specializing in Executive, Life, Team, and Sober Coaching....

About K'lee Terrazas: K'Lee Terrazas is the founder of Legal Lead Sharks, where she partners with law firms to drive client acquisition and build the systems that support sustainable growth. With 15+ years in sales and marketing, she leads a team that specializes in Google Ads—but focuses just as much on what happens after the lead, helping law firm owners go from click to signed case with precisi...

About Rick West: Rick West is the husband of one, father of three, Grandaddy of two, and a friend to many. He is an experienced CEO and serial co-founder with a focus on technology, innovation, and consumer packaged goods. After nearly two decades leading in the retail industry across the United States, Hong Kong, and Thailand, Rick stepped into entrepreneurship more than sixteen years ago and has...

About Ryan Hogan: Ryan Hogan is a serial entrepreneur, Naval Officer, and founder of Talent Harbor, a recruiting firm transforming how businesses hire top sales talent through a modern Recruiting as a Service model. Prior to Talent Harbor, he co-founded Hunt A Killer, an immersive murder mystery subscription company that scaled to $55 million in revenue, was ranked #6 on the Inc. 5000, and recogni...

About Elliot Kallen: Elliot Kallen is the Founder and President of Prosperity Financial Group, Inc., a fiduciary wealth management firm based in San Ramon, California. With more than 30 years of experience as a Financial Advisor and 401(k) Fiduciary, he specializes in guiding individuals, families, and business owners through retirement planning, investment management, and wealth preservation. Ell...

About Mark Ryski: Mark Ryski is the Founder and CEO of HeadCount Corporation, a pioneering firm in store traffic and conversion analytics since 1994. He is a recognized industry authority and the author of three influential books, including Store Traffic Is a Gift and CONVERSION: The Last Great Retail Metric . Mark’s work has shaped how retailers worldwide measure and improve in-store performance,...

About Firdaus Kharas: Firdaus Kharas, OC, FRSA, DHum, LLD, recently reached a groundbreaking milestone: the creation or co-creation of 5,000 media productions aimed at driving positive social change. Since founding social enterprise Chocolate Moose Media in Ottawa, Canada, in 1995, Kharas has dedicated his career to tackling some of the world's most pressing issues through innovative media solutio...