Success Beneath the Surface

Art Saxby's wisdom resonates with CEOs seeking transformative growth. His insights crystallized his journey from Frito Lay's marketing to turning around bankrupt entities. Saxby delineates the disparity between small and big M marketing, advocating for a holistic approach that combines tactical execution with strategic vision. He spotlights Imperial Sugar's shift from a sugar manufacturer to a sup...

Deborah interviews Art Saxby, CEO, Founder and Principal of Chief Outsiders. They unravel the secrets behind building a thriving business empire. In the first half, Art shares the genesis of his business. He realized the potential of leading mid-size companies strategically. This inspired him to start his own company, but he faced the challenge of finding clients who couldn't afford full-time exec...

Last week, we delved into the world of customer knowledge on Success Beneath the Surface, and what an eye-opening journey it was! As Susan Finch and I explored the importance of truly understanding our customers, we uncovered a game-changing insight that separates successful businesses from the rest. We often claim to know our customers, but do we really grasp their desires and needs beyond the su...

In this episode, CEOs of B2B companies are invited on a transformative journey, discovering the key considerations needed to unlock remarkable opportunities and fortify their businesses amidst the ever-present seasons of uncertainty. Deborah emphasizes the importance of truly understanding customers' experiences, empathizing with their challenges, and aligning with their evolving needs. By staying...

Deborah unpacks last week's episode featuring Ed Valdez, a partner, and Chief Marketing Officer at Chief Outsiders, where they discussed the importance of leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in business processes. He emphasized that companies not utilizing AI are falling behind. Real-time customer insights, such as their responses to website content and search behavior, are crucial for optimiz...

In this episode, Deborah raises the question of the widespread adoption of AI in businesses today. Is AI just a shiny toy, or does it have applications in various areas? Ed Valdez brings valuable insights to the table, highlighting the exponential growth and impact of AI and demystifying terminology many of us pretend to understand. He emphasizes the need for businesses, particularly marketing and...

In our previous episode, we had the privilege of hearing from Xena Urgrinsky, an expert in the field of transformation and data science. Xena shared invaluable insights on the crucial link between building a future-ready business and upskilling and transforming your team. Today, we'll focus on key takeaways from that conversation. Xena emphasized the need for human evolution within organizations,...

In this second episode with Xena Ugrinsky, she emphasizes the importance of integrating new technology with existing systems and aligning it with the overall business strategy. She shares insights on the human aspect of digital transformation, emphasizing the need for upskilling the workforce and creating a culture of experimentation and learning. Xena advises CEOs that the first priority is to de...

Last week my guest was Xena Urgrinsky, CTO, and Founding Partner at Pilotwave Holdings Management and CEO and Founder at Genre X. She's an artificial intelligence expert and author, and data science evangelist, and she's been both partner and principal at KPMG, as well as a partner at Booz Allen Hamilton. Xena immigrated with her parents from Germany and became an American citizen at eight, which...

What happens when Deborah’s guest, Xena Ugrinsky, asks her first acquisition company, “If you could get anything, what would you want that would make you wildly surpass your peers?”   Xena shares her personal journey from immigrating from Germany to the US with her parents who completed their higher education in America and became a college professor (father) and geneticist (mother), and became a...

Welcome to another episode of Success Beneath the Surface, where we uncover the secrets of effective business leadership. In our last episode, we had the pleasure of hosting Peter Schwartz, a seasoned Vistage chair with over 30 years of experience in nurturing early-stage concepts and companies to fruition. Peter's remarkable achievements, having won numerous awards twice over, speak volumes about...

In this episode, we learn from Peter Schwartz, CEO Coaching & Development | Master Chair Vistage, about his journey and insights into leadership. Through his personal experiences, he emphasizes the importance of embracing leadership and influencing outcomes. Peter's involvement in an internet startup was a turning point that made him realize the significance of creating a positive environment...

In today's episode of Success Beneath the Surface, we welcome back Herby Duverné, founder and CEO of Rise Development and Construction and principal and CEO of Windwalker Group. In last week's episode, we heard about his journey, starting from the trenches and growing his businesses. But today, I want to focus on one key lesson from our conversation - the importance of finding opportunities in cha...

In this episode, Herby Duverné continues sharing his journey of building a business on solutions by understanding needs and pivoting towards growth opportunities. He emphasizes the importance of hiring the right team members and creating an environment where people can be themselves, leading to better performance and a special sense of belonging within the organization. Despite the ups and downs o...

In this commentary, Deborah emphasizes a key point that Herby made about his evolution as an entrepreneur, which was shifting from doing everything himself to focusing on company culture. Herby shares his belief that it's not enough just to make money, but you need to make an impact. He emphasizes the importance of creating an environment where employees can be themselves and enjoy what they do, w...

Deborah welcomes Herby Duverné, a successful real estate developer and founder of Rise Development and Construction. Duverné shares his story of growing up in Haiti with a single mother who worked long hours in a factory to provide for her children. He credits his mother's optimism and hope for his success in life, along with his ability to turn setbacks into opportunities. Herby also discusses ho...

In this episode, Deborah gives commentary on our last episode's interview with Brian Williamson, the Brand and Video Leader, and Chief Story Seller at Google and YouTube. Brian shares his insights on modernizing brand strategies and the importance of a full-funnel data-driven approach in today's market. He emphasizes the need for companies to have a clear mission, vision, and values that are curre...

Today's guest is Brian Williamson, a digital media veteran with 20 years of experience in digital marketing and video. He is also Brand and Video Leader and Chief “Story Seller” at Google and YouTube.  Brian inspires customers to modernize their brand strategies, emphasizing a full-funnel data-driven approach.  He walks us through what that means and why it’s critical to growth-oriented businesses...

In this episode, Deborah Fell interviews Chris Yeung, co-founder of Vimbley Group. This company acquires profitable but inefficient companies and optimizes them for even greater profitability. Chris shares his insights on seeking profitability, the synergy between business units, and identifying inefficiencies to improve operations. Deborah encourages companies to look for gold bricks that they ma...

Deborah's guest is Chris Yeung, Founder and CTO of Vimbly Group. Deborah and Chris discuss his approach to identifying businesses where he can leverage his strengths in IP and technology to optimize them. Chris believes in being opportunistic and making strategic decisions. He discovered his strengths lie in operational efficiency and unlocking additional value based on his understanding of proces...

In this episode of Success Beneath the Surface, Deborah Fell gives commentary on last week's episode with Tom Zucker, president of EdgePoint Capital. Tom emphasizes that gross margin is becoming a critical indicator of a company's value and that sustained margins are a reflection of the company's worth. He stresses that businesses need to offer distinct value propositions that set them apart from...

Deborah Fell interviews Tom Zucker, Managing Director at EdgePoint Capital, about transitioning a family-owned business. Zucker emphasizes the importance of preparation and planning, particularly in terms of understanding a business's competitive edge and unique position in the marketplace. Zucker stresses the significance of storytelling in successfully transitioning a family business. A financia...

Last week, my guest Deborah Overdeput emphasized the opportunity for sales and marketing to drive success when they work together vs when they act in silos.  Deborah has a way of taking atmospheric statements like “sales and marketing alignment” and breaking them down into the practical day-to-day of what needs to be done and who needs to do what to move the business. She used the term “sales enab...

In this episode, Deborah Fell is joined by Deborah Overdeput, CMO and Chief Outsiders. Together they talk about the importance of alignment between sales and marketing in order to achieve business success. Drawing from her experience, Overdeput explains how marketing and sales are often at odds because they operate in different silos, with different perspectives and goals. When these two teams wor...

We had a great discussion last episode with Gary Stockman about balancing the push and pull of driving new business and maintaining profitability. Today, I want to dive deeper into one particular aspect of our conversation that shouldn't be overlooked - the value proposition that a company offers to its customers. As Gary mentioned, it's crucial to understand what matters to your customers and wha...