It’s Not A Straight Line

 Tony Chapman built two internationally renowned communications and marketing agencies, founded a research firm, and was one of the youngest to be inducted into the Marketing Hall of Legends. After selling his remaining business interests, transitioning to conference host and speaker, and seeing those appearances dry up in the early days of the pandemic, Tony launched the top-ranked podcast, Chatt...

"Take a leap of FAITH and have a bit of FUN with it"? That's the mantra Matt Haze follows. From growing up in Cleveland to a short stint in L.A., a few years in New York, and now Puerto Rico.  Matt is the Host and Creator of the "Meet a Stranger" podcast, a content & podcast consultant and the voice behind the @30RockTree Twitter account (a first-person perspective of...

After practicing law for a couple of years, Oliver J. Gleeson knew he needed to make a change. He didn't want to wake up 10 years later, miserable with his career.   Oliver quit his job at the law firm and set off on his travels, ending up in Japan and in his words, he was living the perfect life! After spending some time with ex-Pats he realized he enjoyed travelling but wanted to get back t...

Rob Thompson has spent time with major entertainment conglomerates like The Walt Disney Company and the National Football League. In his early 20s after playing Lineman on his College Football team, Rob launched a Football Recruitment Agency based in the NorthEast U.S. He sold the agency within 18 months and says he was taken advantage of and his biggest piece of advice is to make sure you have me...

Founder and steward of the Dovetail community where she curates experiences for women entrepreneurs as well as building a very special community for these women. She’s an entrepreneur, a speaker, community builder and podcast host of the “Think About This” podcast. Show notes: 2:00 - Early career ideas, thoughts about travelling the world, and teacher’s college 3:00 - early signs of entrepreneursh...

Michael Rossi was the valedictorian of his graduating class at Ivey Business School yet graduated without a job. As his classmates went on to highly respected companies, Michael wanted to pursue his passion and find a role in sports and business. After stints with the NHL and Nestle Canada, Michael went on to have an 18-year career with adidas Canada, where he ultimately became President of adidas...

Mark Drager and I get "real" quick - something he does best. If you've ever felt like you're not enough, this episode is for you. Mark is the host of the podcast - "We Do Hard Things with Mark Drager", his YouTube channel has over 25,000 subscribers and counting, and he founded Phanta Media taking it from $0 to a 7-figure revenue per year business. On today's epi...

Sherry Pedersen-Ajmani is a Principal and Organizational Development Consultant at Talent Craft, a Human Resources firm specializing in Organizational Design, Talent Management, and Culture Change.  Sherry's trademarks include versatility, innovation and collaboration. She is known as a quick study who is agile and credits that agility to her move to Japan when she was 18 years old. She is a...

In the face of risk - with a second child on the way and a spouse not working at the time - Bobby Sahni launched Ethnicity Matters. Bobby is the Co-Founder and Partner of Ethnicity Matters, a multicultural marketing and advertising agency. He has been a pioneer in developing, executing and managing diversity and multicultural marketing initiatives for a number of top brands. We discuss Bobby'...

In part 2 of our conversation, Matt Logue explains why volunteering is important to him and how helping out charities on the "front lines" can bring value and new perspectives. We also speak about hiring transparency and why it can save you a lot of time and make sure the process is equitable.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acce...

Matthew Logue is the co-founder of the greater, a marketing strategy consultancy with the goal of achieving new heights for businesses through purpose-led strategy. 50% of the agency's net profit is invested back into meaningful causes.  After graduating from the Ivey School of Business at Western, Matt spent 4 years at Maple Leaf Foods and then took a chance on a small sponsorship agency to...

Lara Brown is a multimillion-dollar sales girl, a mom, a breast cancer survivor and 2x Ironman! She has worked at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment since 2003 as a leader on the Executive Suites Sales team. Born in South Africa, Lara has been through more setbacks and triumphs than I can imagine. In 2016, as she was just learning how to navigate life as a single mother, Lara was diagnosed with...

Nicol Kalman (aka Ni) is the Recruitment Lead and Founder of aNIthing is Possible. After a degree in hospitality and tourism, Nicol got an offer to be a producer at an ad agency while bartending and decided to take the extra money and go for it. She spent the next 17 years in marketing at agencies and with one of the world's top brands, Coca-Cola. After declining an opportunity to become a pa...

Michelle Robertson has spent 20+ years building and enhancing finance functions across multiple industries - media, events, not-for-profit and technology. As a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), Michelle always had what society deems as "that" well-respected finance job. She worked for top-tier companies such as PwC, the Globe & Mail and the PanAm Games, and thought climbin...

Bonus content from my conversation with Gavin Roth, Founder and Managing Partner of Gavin Roth + Associates. We discuss mental health, a topic he cares deeply about, and the advice he offers his children about careers and life.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jjwharding.substack.com

Gavin Roth's resume reads like a dream career to many who aspire to work in sports and entertainment. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Gavin Roth + Associates and an accomplished sales & marketing executive with over 25 years of success in the sports, entertainment and media industries.  He started out working for two globally recognized ad agencies, before joining World Wrestlin...

Steven Fry's goal is "to be the wild card that ups the ante and redefines the game." It wasn't an easy start for Steve. He was the youngest of 6 siblings and his family was just scraping by financially. His poor grades early in high school pointed toward a bleak future but a high school guidance councillor allowed him to take academic courses in grade 11 and Steve was determine...

Andre Kaden Black had major music management at the age of 17 and signed his first record deal soon after. It was his first big break and difficult for him to fathom just how well his career was going at the time. He was on his way to the success and fame he had dreamed about until his band broke up soon after signing that record deal. Whether it was too many egos, the stress of the music industry...

Michele Ferrari dropped out of University after a mental breakdown; in her first job, the males walked off the factory floor when she showed up; her family didn't always have enough money growing up... BUT Michele did not let her situation define her. In her own words "based on the rules it shouldn't have been possible... I am not supposed to be respected, I am not supposed to be li...

Angela Champ has been named one of Canada's top 20 Human Resources (HR) leaders on the HDR Global 100 and she's been recognized on the Most Inclusive HR Influencers List. As the President of Lean in Canada Vancouver, former Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) of Prospera Credit Union and Intact Insurance (Western Canada), Angela knows a thing or two about how to build high-performing te...

Marc Petitpas was seven courses short of earning his University degree. His honest acknowledgement about something that could have been perceived negatively likely built trust with the CEO of one of the world's biggest sports and entertainment companies, leading to becoming employee #1 at BMO Field a few years later.  Marc discusses lessons from his first job at McDonald's to a career in...

In this episode, Brad Furtney offers his thoughts on sales, networking and career management. He's one of the top sales and networking experts that I know, who is authentic, motivational and always looking to improve himself and those on his team. After a successful 28 year career in beer, media, and technology, Brad had to dig deep to find his next role. He deservingly landed as a President...

During the Northeast blackout of 2003, Pete Bombaci noticed something he hadn't seen in years. He observed people getting together for a BBQ, hanging out with their neighbours and relying on their community. Prior to the blackout and even up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pete had been noticing that people were focused on themselves and even believed that they didn't need each other.  While w...

A "can do" attitude and having the self-confidence that he will perform (if he can get his "foot in the door") has led Rishi to overcome career and personal challenges and thrive as a business professional, entrepreneur, speaker and coach. Rishi's life has included periods of family tension, dealing with high expectations at a young age, and re-invention as he balances his...

During this interview, Kevin wore a shirt that had Sledgendary emblazoned across the front. A nod to his sport, Sledge Hockey, and Kevin (IMO) is legendary! After a terrible accident, Kevin was told he was an incomplete paraplegic and may never walk again. He was determined to show the world that there was another chapter to his story, and he walked almost one year to the day of his accident. Kevi...