Stare Down the Bull with Susan Hunt

On this episode of Stare Down the Bull, Susan Hunt sits down with Cortney Jonas Burnos for an honest conversation about leadership, AI, motherhood, burnout, and the pressure to appear “fine” in corporate environments. Cortney shares her journey from working in a Disney call center to becoming a VP of AI, while also opening up about foster parenting, career pivots, and the hidden emotional costs of...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, Susan Hunt talks with Jared Eisenlohr to challenge the traditional image of a successful salesperson. From managing high-pressure Vegas restaurants to navigating hypergrowth and AI-driven enterprise sales, Jared shares why calm, steady, and authentic operators consistently outperform the loudest voices in the room. The conversation explores how to cut throug...

Susan Hunt sits down with Gary Clayton to explore the intersection of AI, creativity, and human experience. Drawing from his background in music, technology, and storytelling, Gary shares how taste, timing, and empathy shape great products and why AI’s rapid evolution is forcing leaders to confront deeper questions about ethics, control, and what it really means to build for humans. Connect with S...

On this episode of Stare Down the Bull, Susan Hunt talks with Bruce Eidsvik, Chief Growth Officer at Servion, to explore what it really takes to challenge industry giants and win. From early voice tech battles against entrenched telecom players to today’s AI transformation wave, Bruce shares hard-earned lessons on perseverance, partnerships, and turning innovation into real enterprise outcomes. Co...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, host Susan Hunt sits down with AI pioneer Roberto Pieraccini to explore the gap between what we expect from artificial intelligence and what it can actually deliver today. Drawing on decades of experience at Bell Labs, Nuance, Google, and Jibo, Roberto breaks down why AI progress is often misunderstood and what it really takes to turn invention into meaningf...

Susan Hunt sits down with Lacey Wean of Carahsoft to unpack what it really takes to bring emerging technologies into the federal government. From drones and smart cities to AI in public safety, Lacey shares how mission alignment, trust, and long-term strategy determine which innovations actually scale beyond pilot programs. Connect with Susan:  LinkedIn Website  Connect with Lacey LinkedIn Website

Technology sales veteran Tim Walsh joins Susan Hunt to trace the journey from Wildfire’s pioneering virtual assistant to today’s AI-driven customer experience platforms. They unpack what AI actually does well, why implementation is so hard for enterprises, the ethical moments that defined better CX, and the career pivots required when the market changes faster than your product. Connect with Susan...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, host Susan Hunt talks with CX strategist Chris Arnold to explore what it really takes to build customer experience that works in the age of AI. Drawing on two decades leading CX at enterprise scale and his current work at the intersection of automation and empathy, Chris explains why the future of customer experience is not humans versus AI, but humans and A...

Susan Hunt sits down with speech recognition pioneer Mike Phillips to explore what it really takes to turn breakthrough research into global industries. From the early days at MIT and DARPA to founding SpeechWorks and Vlingo, Mike shares how voice technology moved from lab experiment to call centers to smartphones. The conversation also dives into his next chapter building Sense, applying AI to th...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, Susan Hunt sits down with chief communication and marketing leader Rick Mack to explore how companies communicate under pressure. From 100 acquisitions at Nuance to navigating a global malware crisis and shaping conversations on Capitol Hill, Rick shares what separates confident leaders from reactive ones. The conversation dives into authenticity, the power...

AI isn’t magic — it’s math, scale, and intention. On this episode of Stare Down the Bull, Susan Hunt sits down with AI engineer Justin Chiu to explore what artificial intelligence really is, where it’s headed, and what should genuinely concern us. From enterprise AI and reinforcement learning to AI-powered scams, misinformation, and defense applications, Justin breaks down complex concepts into pl...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, Susan Hunt sits down with enterprise sales veteran Tony Janusky to explore how sales has evolved—from the early days of speech recognition and IVR to today’s AI-powered selling environments. Tony shares lessons from nearly two decades at Nuance, why long-term relationships remain a competitive advantage, and how sales leaders can embrace AI without losing th...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, host Susan Hunt sits down with Tim Delisle, founder of 514 and former Head of Development at Nike. Tim shares his journey from being rejected from an engineering program to leading massive teams at one of the world’s most iconic brands. The conversation explores resilience, leadership under pressure, the realities of acquisition, building effective teams ins...

In this deeply moving episode of Stare Down the Bull, host Susan Hunt sits down with longtime friend Trish Straine as the country approaches the 25th anniversary of September 11. Trish shares her experience of losing her husband, Jimmy in the World Trade Center attacks just days after giving birth to their second child. Together, Susan and Trish reflect on grief, resilience, motherhood, faith, com...

What does it really take to scale businesses, shift venture capital norms, and create opportunities for underrepresented founders? In this episode, Susan Hunt sits down with venture capitalist, former Obama Administration advisor, and ImpactX co-founder Eric Collins for a wide-ranging conversation on capital access, inclusive investing, AI-driven growth, and what happens behind the scenes in ventu...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, I’m joined by Jack Meek, former GoDaddy executive and founder & CEO of AI-centric CX. We explore what leadership-first culture really looks like, how great leaders build change readiness from the bottom up, and why traditional websites are rapidly losing relevance in an AI-driven world.  Jack shares practical insights on preparing organizations for AI adopti...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, host Susan Hunt sits down with Norma Krayem, a nationally recognized leader at the intersection of cybersecurity, AI, and public policy. Drawing on her experience as a presidential appointee, senior federal executive, and trusted advisor to Fortune 100 CEOs and global leaders, Norma breaks down how cybersecurity and AI are actually viewed in Washington, and...

Susan Hunt sits down with Shaun Hervey, founder of Arkham Talent and a brutally honest (and hilarious) voice in recruiting, to unpack why hiring gets so weird, especially in sales. Shaun shares how his comedy-first LinkedIn videos built a business, why leaders cling to outdated hiring “rules,” and what really needs to change: stop wasting candidates’ time and start having direct conversations. The...

Susan Hunt is joined by Lauren Nardone, Chief Legal Officer at CB Insights, known as the “Velvet Hammer”, for a candid conversation about how sales and legal can work together to close deals faster and smarter. Drawing from years of enterprise SaaS and AI negotiations, Lauren shares why legal should be viewed as a strategic partner, not a deal blocker, when to bring legal into the deal cycle, and...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, I sit down with Joseph Hackman, founder and CEO of Permanence, former machine learning leader at Intel, and one of the sharpest engineering minds I know. We talked about his early start in coding at age six, his path through Intel and ASAP, how he built one of the strongest AI engineering teams in the industry, and why enterprise AI adoption keeps failing. J...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, I sit down with Dr. Judy Spitz, AI pioneer, former Verizon CIO, and founder of Breakthrough Tech. We explore Judy’s groundbreaking early work in speech recognition, her rise through the executive ranks, her leadership philosophy, and her mission to change the face of tech by unlocking opportunities for overlooked talent. We also dive into AI ethics, algorith...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, I sit down with Steve Chambers, an early pioneer in speech recognition, AI, and robotics, to explore how innovation, resilience, and reinvention shape both business and life. From scaling Nuance to a multibillion-dollar company to surviving cancer and earning his PhD at Harvard, Steve’s story is a powerful reflection on technology, transformation, and the hu...

In this special episode of Stare Down the Bull, Susan Hunt switches seats as guest host Steve Chambers interviews her about the drive, resilience, and bold leadership that define her career. From her fearless start at Motorola to building lifelong professional relationships, Susan shares how she learned to “stare down the bull” in business, leadership, and life and why she’s determined to make spa...

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, I sit down with Blade Kotelly, MIT senior lecturer, innovation expert, and author of Is This My Home? A Puppy’s Journey. We trace the evolution of speech recognition from the early days of SpeechWorks to today’s AI explosion, explore how design thinking still shapes modern interfaces, and dive into Blade’s creative process blending human imagination with AI...

Stare Down the Bull with Susan Hunt is where innovation meets execution. Each episode dives into candid conversations with top leaders across AI, technology, and enterprise strategy, the people who aren’t just talking about transformation, but driving it. From navigating disruption to scaling smarter, Susan and her guests explore the real challenges behind modern leadership: leveraging AI without...